It is now listed by Amazon US.

I assume only a matter of time before it is listed elsewhere.

http://www.amazon.com/Bing-Crosby-Rosemary-Clooney-Recordings/dp/B00FTJ10TM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1381865388&sr=1-1&keywords=bing+crosby+and+rosemary+clooney%3A+the+new+recordingss

Richard,

The video that you posted here does sound amazing; however, I have never been a fan of overdubs, even when, as in this case, they are well done. For example, I have the 2-CD set of the Barnes-Moore overdubs of Bing tracks and don't dislike it, but I much prefer Bing's original recordings with Buddy Cole, even if the arrangements are sparse. I feel the same way about the Jim Reeves material that was overdubbed after his tragic death. Reeves was also a fantastic vocalist, and I feel like more intimate arrangements suit his music best.

Of course, tastes and motivations differ.  And I suppose wanting an excellent stereophonic rendering could be high on some listeners' lists. Being just old enough to have had some favorite monaural LPs at a time when Stereo copies of the same albums cost twice as much and I couldn't afford them, I never cultivated the idea that monaural was less acceptable. For example, I don't feel disappointed that my copy of the "How the West Was Won" album is the mono and not the stereo release. It's in good condition and sounds great. But then, that's my taste, not everybody's.

Also, I can recognize that a great deal of the motivation for re-orchestrated Crosby recordings is a lot of listeners' dislike of Buddy Cole, or at least his electric organ playing. Perhaps it makes me an oddball, but I particularly like Buddy Cole as an arranger and as a musician. The main thing I like about Buddy's arranging is that I don't recall ever hearing a Buddy Cole arrangement that made it hard to hear any nuance of Bing's singing. Perhaps others forget about that aspect of the arrangements if they very much dislike the parts of the same songs when Bing is not singing and we only hear Cole and his trio or a larger ensemble playing, like the Dixieland band. A lot of attention is given to Cole's electric organ playing, but that would only affect minority of the recordings.

Pehaps I am further an oddball for liking Buddy Cole's electric organ playing. It marks a time when the Hammond was still newly being embraced by a variety of jazz and pop musicians, each exploring differing aspects of the instrument's potential. Buddy Cole decided not to imitate his piano stylings, or even his pipe organ effects (he had been a virtuoso theater pipe organist in his youth, before coming to California). Buddy Cole struck out in a new direction with the electric organ. If more followed that direction, we might think more highly of what he did now. He may have been more of a voice crying in the wilderness than a harbinger of what was to come in pop and jazz electric organ playing.

But I see his electric organ playing as but one small aspect of what was produced by this exceedingly talented keyboardist.  Keep in mind that when the more famous Cole, Nat King Cole, left the piano bench to stand before the microphone--a major transition in his career--Buddy Cole was hired to replace Nat at the piano in his next concert tours!   Buddy wasn't just one of Bing's musical pals getting a lot of work on that basis.

Last edited by Steve Fay (02/2/2020 6:58 pm)

ModernBingFan0377 wrote:

Speaking of the Barnes and Moore overdubs, what are the names of the CDs? I can't find any versions of the songs on YouTube and I'd like to listen to them (along with the London Palladium CD which is very expensive - and rare - the only times I've found it).

So far as the Pete Moore overdubs are concerned, go to the online discography, the page covering CD issues here 
and use your browser's search on the word "overdub". You'll find several. 
The best set in my view was the Tenth Anniversary Collection 3 cd set shown on Discogs here, where there are several offered for sale.  

Similarly a Palladium CD here 

Graham Pascoe wrote:

I clicked on Richard's post but the message is that copyright prevents me from hearing it. Pity!

Graham, Thanks for drawing attention to that. I have attempted to play the clip using different proxy settings - i.e. identifying myself as being in different localities, and none work. Clearly Youtube believe rights are contravened and the notice relating to "Your country" is in fact comprehensive. I have added a note to my original post.