[TR24][OF] The Count Basie Orchestra - High Voltage (Remastered) - 1970/2017 (Big Band)

Not entirely the Basie we've grown up with. The earthy, blustering swing of the Kansas City days are gone and there are no new pieces to match the pinnacle that was The Atomic Mr. Basie. On the plus side, there are no Beatles or James Bond numbers which had been the theme of albums preceding this 1970 recording. Instead, we have an album of standards that display the band as a most superior dance band, and I'm not using the term in a derogatory manner. They'd just completed a ten-day cruise of the West Indies on the QEII and, obviously, the mixed audience weren't looking for Flight of the Foo Birds or Splanky.
Nevertheless, this was still a swinging band with Lockjaw booting it out, Eric Dixon adding some flute delicacies, Joe Newman handling the trumpet solos, Dodgion and Adkins the alto shots and, surprise guest, Buddy Morrow taking the 'bone blasts. Basie reveals he could play as sophisticated as anyone with Green comping alongside his career-length master and Harold Jones kicking it along on drums.
Back then, Harry James had a swinging Basie style band and, in many ways, apart from the soloists, this bears a close resemblance. Sort of, Basie plays James plays Basie - sort of but not quite!
The modern Basie band made it's comeback on Clef with Dance Sessions 1 and 2 so perhaps this could be classed as number 3. Green and Newman are on all 3.
I wonder, did those passengers on the QEII realise that what they were getting for their money was worth more than the rest of the cruise offerings combined!
Chicago; Have You Met Miss Jones; The Lady is a Tramp; I'm Getting Sentimental Over You; Bewitched; Day In Day Out; Get me to the Church on Time; When Sonny Gets Blue (I assumed this was to be a feature for Sonny Cohn but it wasn't - typo on sleeve I guess); On The Sunny Side of the Street; Together; If I Were a Bell; I Didn't Know What Time it Was.

A dozen generally excellent standards are given overly brief interpretations by the Count Basie Orchestra. Chico O'Farrill was responsible for the arrangements and he should have given the band more space in which to explore these tunes. Since only one number exceeds four minutes in length, none get much beyond the melody.

foobar2000 1.3.9 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2018-09-04 00:45:33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: The Count Basie Orchestra / High Voltage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR13      -1.17 dB   -17.68 dB      2:48 01-Chicago
DR12      -1.43 dB   -18.87 dB      2:44 02-Have You Met Miss Jones
DR12      -2.97 dB   -17.93 dB      2:56 03-The Lady Is A Tramp
DR12      -2.78 dB   -19.46 dB      2:48 04-I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
DR12      -1.76 dB   -17.30 dB      4:03 05-Bewitched
DR12      -2.29 dB   -16.84 dB      2:37 06-Day In Day Out
DR13      -1.80 dB   -17.47 dB      2:16 07-Get Me To The Church On Time
DR13      -2.99 dB   -20.53 dB      3:40 08-When Sonny Gets Blue
DR13      -0.31 dB   -16.15 dB      2:17 09-On The Sunny Side Of The Street
DR13      -2.31 dB   -16.97 dB      3:11 10-Together
DR13      -1.40 dB   -16.32 dB      3:08 11-If I Were A Bell
DR12      -1.72 dB   -16.38 dB      2:13 12-I Didn't Know What Time It Was
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of tracks:  12
Official DR value: DR13
Samplerate:        192000 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   24
Bitrate:           5690 kbps
Codec:             FLAC
================================================================================