I must admit that, as an avid theatre recording collector, I've heard of most of the items I get for review in some form or other. However, the latest release from Masterworks Shuffle Along and Blackbirds of 1928 was completely new to me. As with many of Masterwork's re-issues, they have previously only been available on LP.

This new release features the 1953 studio recordings of both musicals - albeit only 4 tracks from each. The shows were pioneering in their time in that they were some of the earliest examples of all-black musicals.

Shuffle Along featured music by Blake & Sissle and premiered in 1921 with Thelma Carpenter and Avon Long, who can be heard on this recording. Blackbirds of 1928 was written by the popular songwriting duo of Fields & McHugh, premiering in 1928, again with Carpenter, this time accompanied by Cab Calloway. Conductor on this recording is Lehman Engel.

This is a pleasant enough recording, if a little short. And there's the issue I have with it - eight songs for a cast recording is slim, but to cover two shows is pushing it. You get absolutely no idea of any story (if there was any) of either shows, and the tracks are available elsewhere on CD if you dig around (Thelma Carpenter's 'Seems Like Old Times' release has 5 of the tracks on). There is a digital booklet supplied with the download, which I didn't receive with my review copy, so hopefully this will give some more details on the shows themselves.

All in all, a nice listen of good renditions of 1920's standards, but nothing stood out for me, and I found it hard to listen to as a 'cast recording'.

6

Ian Gude