England's Famed Clown Prince of Song [Box set]

When you've been an admirer of George Formby's music for the best part of thirty years and have bought most of the LP's and CD's that have been issued, it's not easy finding further CD releases that are worthwhile purchasing.
This is one such set, a 5 CD set comprising all of George's recorded songs from his Winner session of 1926 up to his last pre-war sessions of August 1939.
What makes this release special is that these recordings have been remastered to sound the best they have ever sounded, courtesy of Ted Kendall.
Even the base notes, so frequently wiped out during the re-mastering process, are as clear as can be.
The pristine 78's of the late Kevin Daly were used for this release and it shows.
Quite a few songs are being released on CD for the first time - a few tracks have never been re-issued since they were originally released on 78.
All the tracks are presented in chronological order, enabelling us to hear the progress made - both in George's presentation and the recording techniques used.
Even if like me you have most if not all those CD's that have gone before, buy this set - you will not regret it.
There will be a second set which will pick up from where this one finishes (does anyone know when this one is due out).
So, if you never buy another Formby CD, buy this and the 2nd set - you will never hear George Formby sound better, and at this price, can you really go wrong?
I will give this set another blast tomorrow - in celebration of George's 100th birthday (26th May).

I was impressed by the quality and clarity of most of the tracks in this collection. I compared them to my other George Formby CD's and there is no comparison. Its great to hear both versions of his banned and then modified songs ie. With my little ukelele in my hand etc. and I also loved hearing the movie trailers. I am anxiously awaiting the release of Volume II.

George's father was born James Booth but became one of England's most successful music hall performers using the stage name George Formby; he died in 1921. George junior, who had been raised as George Hoy, eventually took over his father's stage name and perfected his craft on the northern club circuit. He made his first recordings in 1926. All six songs were part of his father's repertoire and it seems that George sounded exactly like his father. At the time this was not appreciated, but they now serve as a historical document in the absence (it seems) of any original recordings by George's father. George junior's own style only began to emerge in 1932 with Chinese laundry blues, track 11 of the first CD here.

Chinese laundry blues, apart from showing the public that George had finally broken away from his father's style, introduced that same public to Mr Wu, who featured in several more of George's songs through the years including The wedding of Mr Wu and I`m the husband of the wife of Mr Wu, both featured in this boxed set. More songs about Mr Wu can be found in the second boxed set covering George's later recordings.

Another early success for George was With my little ukulele in my hand. It aroused much controversy and the BBC banned it, which boosted its popularity further. The BBC never learner the lesson that the publicity generated by their banning a record because of obscene or otherwise offensive content only serves to increase its popularity. They banned several of George's records and, following the impact of the first ban, he was always happy to hear of another record of his being banned. Perhaps the most famous of his records to receive a ban was When I'm cleaning windows. As a contrast, Leaning on a lamp post (revived by Herman's Hermits in the sixties) represented a departure from George's usual repertoire, but demonstrates his versatility.

On the fourth CD, there's a track titled Remember me, on which George does not sing. Tommy Farr is the singer here, but George supplies a spoken introduction and also plays ukulele (briefly) during the track. It barely qualifies as a George Formby track, but a footnote beneath the track listing says that he is not audible on the track, although some discographers insist that he is. We are then invited to judge for ourselves. Well, I judged and I heard him on that track - but the following track, Maybe I'll find somebody else, also features Tommy Farr singing. I don't hear George or his ukulele on that track. After those two tracks, normal service is resumed.

This boxed set doesn't have a comprehensive booklet, but a little booklet with each CD. Between them, they tell us about George (up to 1939), his wife Beryl (who seems to have been a battleaxe), the women who co-starred in his films, his father and the music hall tradition. As for the sound quality, it is re-mastered from the best source of George Formby material, so it's unlikely that you'll hear George's music sounding better than it does here. We must remember that these tracks were originally laid down between 1926 and 1939, when technology was very primitive, even compared to the fifties and sixties, let alone what is available now.

If you're looking for a greatest hits collection, this obviously isn't it, since some of those (including Auntie Maggie's remedy) came later in his career. However, this collection and the companion volume DO contain all the hits between them, along with nearly everything else that George recorded in his career. Are any of the omissions worth worrying about? Probably not.