Composer, librettist, playwright, actor, singer and director - Noel Coward was all of these, and he remains one of the most famous figures in twentieth century British theatre. Quintessentially English he was too, and patriotic, and proud of it. In this collection of twenty-three different recordings ranging from 1928 to 1950, we are proud to present a tribute to the versatility and brilliance of this multi-faceted major talent.
From the time of his first published recording in 1928 into the 1940s Coward frequently used Carroll Gibbons as his accompanist or orchestral conductor - a wise choice as the American-born (but confirmed Anglophile) was a first-rate musician. At the keyboard he was matchless, with his own immediately identifiable style which we can enjoy on the sides where he accompanies Coward and, more specifically, in our opener, Something To Do With Spring. By this time, Carroll had sole leadership of The Savoy Hotel Orpheans as co-leader Howard Jacobs had left in June 1932 to direct the band at the Berkeley Hotel. Words And Music also gives us four more numbers or selections which first saw the light of day in this revue. Light years away from Gertrude Lawrences 1932 recording is the delectable Dinah Shore, from Tennessee, who gives us her caressing rendition of Mad About The Boy. This firmly points the way to Dinah Washingtons classic version sixteen years later. By 1939, the seven year-old The Younger Generation was in need of a little dusting off. This is certainly gets with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappellis breathtakingly dazzling improvisations at a time when the soloists and The Quintet Of The Hot Club Of France were at their cohesive best. The outbreak of war found them in England; Reinhardt risked life and limb to leg it back to France while Grappelli stayed in the UK for the duration of the hostilities.
The talents of the sixteen year-old Ray Noble were first revealed in 1926 when the young man won two first prizes in the Melody Maker arranging contests. In August 1929 he became assistant to Carroll Gibbons at HMV records. Carroll had been appointed the labels Director of Light Music where his activities included the formation of a house band, the New Mayfair (Dance) Orchestra (the title Dance often being dropped from light orchestral selections, as here). When Carroll took off for Hollywood early in 1930 to work for a while as a staff composer for the MGM film studios, directorship of the HMV house or studio band was passed over to Ray Noble. Noble had the pick of all the top musicians from the leading London dance bands and made such a success with the unit that his own name started appearing on some of the sides in 1931 and attracted attention from the United States. In fact Noble emigrated to the USA in August 1934, but that is another story. For now we can enjoy what must surely be one of his own superb arrangements in a selection from Words And Music made a couple of days before the revue opened in Londons Adelphi theatre. Six days later Noble and orchestra accompanied Coward himself in four numbers from the show, including his renowned recording of Mad Dogs And Englishmen. So its a brave man who follows in the steps of Coward and carries it off. This is certainly the case with Danny Kaye, not going over the top for once, and delivering a different but equally amusing rendition with sympathetic accompaniment by Johnny Green. A couple of months after this recording, Kaye appeared at the London Palladium for the first time and caused an absolute furore, creating the biggest impact in the theatres history. Newspaper reports like "The biggest individual variety success in London for many years" only confirmed this.
With one exception, the five songs featuring Noel Coward himself were not written for any show, but simply as one-offs. (For a comprehensive, chronological survey of songs from the shows and revues, performed exclusively by Coward and Gertrude Law