BOBBY RYDELL

"AN ERA REBORN"

BOBBY RYDELL

AND THE BERNIE LOWE ORCHESTRA

RECREATE THE DAYS

OF THE BIG BANDS

CAMEO RECORDS No. SC-4017

RARE 1962 STEREO RECORDING

"4 CHANNELS ON 35MM FILM"

"THE NEWEST ADVANCEMENTS IN RECORDED MUSIC"

ORIGINAL 1962 PRESSING

Condition

Vinyl: Near Mint

Jacket: Near Mint

Cameo Records Inner Sleeve: Near Mint

Cover retains original Barkers (Connecticut) store label

Along with Liner Notes, Back Cover has section on Technical Data and the use of 4-channel, 35-millimeter film instead of conventional magnetic tape for sound quality.

Songs

SIDE I

A LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO

AL DI LA

MARIA

I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU

STRANGER ON THE SHORE

LAZY RIVER

SIDE II

MY KIND OF GIRL

SEALED WITH A KISS

MOON RIVER

AROUND THE WORLD

TONIGHT

ROSES ARE RED (MY LOVE)

Bobby Rydell and the Bernie Lowe Orchestra "re-create the days of the big bands" on "An Era Reborn." This 1962 LP was released as part of Cameo's 4000 Series, devoted to pop albums recorded on 35 millimeter film instead of magnetic tape for improved sound quality. Traditional pop music and big-band vocalists prevailed in popular music before rock & roll, but rock didn't render pop obsolete; the teen idols brought traditional pop arrangements and melodies to rock, creating a new kind of music that retained some of rock's energy and youth orientation while having broader intergenerational appeal. Critics blame the teen idols for making rock "safe" and for smoothing its rough edges, but there is something to be said for artful arrangements and sophisticated melodies. Rydell was a talented vocalist who could handle traditional pop, and on "An Era Reborn" he is given the opportunity to prove his ability as a classic pop singer over an album's worth of arrangements by Jack Pleis. The songs -- show tunes, recent hits, and pop standards -- are varied and well performed, and the big-band arrangement of Brian Hyland's tremendous hit "Sealed With a Kiss" is a particularly rewarding exercise, along with Rydell's "A Lot of Livin' To Do" which he recreates from his performance in the film version of "Bye Bye Birdie." Pleis and Lowe enjoy a high profile on this release, with a period-appropriate emphasis placed on long instrumental passages and intros. "An Era Reborn" flatters everyone involved and shows that the big-band format still had some life left in it in the '60s.