The Very Best of David Rose (Nostalgic Memories Volume 12)

The Very Best of David Rose is, more accurately stated, the best of his MGM recordings. Rose charted a half-dozen instrumental hits during his MGM period, including the 1962 chart-topper "The Stripper." Rose also scored with "Like Young," a collaboration with pianist André Previn, and "Swinging Shepherd Blues," which was one of three charting renditions of that tune in 1958. The "Holiday for Strings" that appears here is not the hit rendition from 1943, but a 1950 remake. "Holiday for Trombones" is Rose's modestly successful follow-up to "Holiday for Strings," and "Calypso Melody" capitalized on the then-current calypso craze. The non-hits that round out the package are all soundtrack recordings: "Forbidden Planet," replete with space-age sound effects, was written for but not used in the film of the same name; "Bonanza," "Ponderosa," and "Hoss" are taken from the Bonanza television soundtrack; and "How the West Was Won" is a Western movie theme. The four Western themes huddled on the second half completely change the tone of the album, which up to that point plays like (and is) a miscellany of singles. Suddenly, after experiencing a romantic calypso holiday in space, the listener finds himself or herself in the Wild West for the remainder of the program. Even the appearance of "The Stripper" in this context isn't much of a change of pace, and evokes the dance of a ruffled saloon girl in a dusty cowboy watering hole. The Very Best of David Rose is useful as a complete compendium of Rose's MGM hits, but it is surprising that the compiler included nothing (besides "The Stripper") from Rose's most popular album, The Stripper and Other Fun Songs for the Family.