Little White Lies (Remastered) - Single

British archival label ASV/Living Era's Little White Lies is a companion volume to its earlier You'll Never Know, a second collection of recordings from Dick Haymes' most popular work. Like the previous title, this album mixes Haymes hits with more obscure performances, or, as co-compiler Clive N. Fuller's liner notes put it, "This collection includes many of his biggest chart hits as well as some rarely heard but beautifully performed songs." In practice, this means that, of the 25 tracks, 14 chart hits (including "Serenade in Blue," which is technically a Benny Goodman performance with a Haymes vocal) are augmented by 11 non-chart items. Seven of those tracks are standards written by Irving Berlin and performed with a trio led by pianist Carmen Cavallaro; three were recorded for the Irish album Little Shamrocks; and the remaining track is "The Christmas Song." The hits include the title track, Haymes' third biggest hit; "Long Ago (And Far Away)," his fourth biggest hit and a duet with Helen Forrest; and "Count Every Star," his last Top Ten hit, recorded with Artie Shaw & His Orchestra. There is some hiss and the occasional bit of distortion on these transfers from 78s, but the sound isn't bad and Haymes, of course, is in excellent voice on the performances that helped make him one of the most successful male singers of the 1940s and early '50s. With the two volumes, ASV/Living Era has mined the Haymes catalog for only a little over half his 51 chart hits of 1941-1951 (counting his vocals with Goodman and Harry James). So, there is room for another compilation to accompany this one and its predecessor.