GREAT SONGS OF WORLD WAR 2 (Vera Lynn/George Formby/Ethel Merman) NEW SEALED CD

Jasmine Records (UK) ( July 13, 1999 ), Genre: Pop Vocal

Liner Note Author: Walter J. Ridley.Many years after the close of World War II, Vera Lynn was still singing the songs remembered by countless British servicemen and women as well as anyone else who had heard her radio program Sincerely Yours. Her voice is as clear and compassionate as ever while singing the ballads "The White Cliffs of Dover, " "Yours, " "There'll Always Be an England, " and a medley of "When the Lights Go On Again All Over the World, " "I'll Pray for You, " and "We'll Meet Again." She also finds time for a few exotic specialties including "Besame Mucho" and "Lili Marlene." Unfortunately, the disc is of uncertain recording vintage, although it's most likely the '60s or later. ~ John Bush

Sepia Records

Includes liner notes by Stephen Cole.Digitally remastered by Adrian Cosentini.Mermania! Vol. 1 is a collection of several medleys performed by Broadway sensation Ethel Merman. Despite the poor sound quality at times, this is a good selection of songs that showcase Merman's dramatic singing talents. At times her voice can start to warble, which can definitely put off some listeners. Also, some of the songs appear more than once in the context of the medleys, which only counts against the album because of the varying quality of some of these repeats. But to hear Merman performing these American standards is really quite nice, as she had a voice that was stamped with her charismatic personality. Overall, this is a solid album of songs that are quite familiar, performed by one of the most unique voices in showbiz. It may not be great, but it at least does justice to Merman's legacy as a singer. ~ Bradley Torreano

Release Date: 2005-10-25, Audio CD, Prism

By George! released 2006 - is a collection of 13 songs that were hits for the incredible George Formby. In case you've never heard of him George Formby was a star to the British people who was every bit as famous to them as Elvis Presley would be to the Americans in later years. Not bad for a ukulele player! As Britain’s highest paid entertainer in the late 1930’s and early ‘40s “Our George” was equally loved by Royalty & the working poor alike. He was a lovable clown and the comic songs he sang, punctuated with his brilliant syncopated uke solos, brought laughter to millions. He never performed in the United States and Ralph hopes that his versions of these Formby favourites will bring knowledge of Formby to a new generation of ukulele fans. The songs on this CD are all played using a banjo ukulele which was George Formby's preferred instrument. His syncopated strumming was a hallmark to the Formby sound. Ralph has demonstrated this technique on his teaching DVDs (also available on Amazon.com). The tunes are catchy and upbeat causing the foot to tap and the mouth to smile. In most of the songs the lyrics present an amusing theme in which the verses consist of two line jokes that are brilliant in their economy. Also there are the romantic love songs. When George sang a love song it conveyed as much sincerity as a ballad sung by the great crooners of his time. Talking to the Moon, Lampost and Noughts and Crosses (Tic Tac Toe for Americans) are great examples of such songs.