First, don't confuse this 2005 release with the unrelated and vastly inferior 2006 release of the same title. This 2005 album offers more numbers and the best sound I've heard yet on a GM remastered compliation.

I've been buying GM albums since the late 1960s, starting with a vinyl LP compilation that "enhanced" each track with synthesized "stereo" (awful), so I've experienced the steady improvements in sound quality as remastering technology has become more sophisticated. The quality of the sound on this album is a revelation. Except for being in mono, the tracks sound much more recent than 1939-1944. And although the original recordings were made under all kinds of conditions with varying quality of equipment, the remastering produces a consistent sound quality across all tracks. I would dare say that these recordings probably sound even better than fresh-out-of-the-package 78s did back in Miller's heyday, except perhaps on the very best phonographs.

Few people still living today heard GM in person, and the number is rapidly dwindling. RCA's willingness to put this kind of investment into remastering a collection of his music shows that new audiences continue to discover and appreciate that distinctive GM sound.

To most people the words "big band" means Glenn Miller (1901-1944.) Born in Iowa, Miller showed an early interest in music and dropped out the University of Colorado to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician. As it happened, the dream was too small for the man: by the time of his death his was easily the best known popular musician in the world, working with a host of major musicians to create a unique, tightly harmonic sound that often involved mingling saxophones with the brass section. Not everyone was impressed, and it is true there is a certain "safeness" in Miller's mainstream swing, especially when compared with the likes of Benny Goodman and other jazz masters--but Miller frequently noted that he wanted a dance band, not a jazz band, and while he may not have created swing, he damn sure defined for an entire generation. From about 1938 to his untimely death in 1942, Glenn Miller and his orchestra played to packed houses, his records dominated the charts, and he was the first musician to receive a Gold Record. At the time of his death he was arguably the best known popular musician in the world, and while times and tastes have changed, but Miller is still known, still played, and still beloved by legions of fans the world over.

THE ESSENTIAL GLENN MILLER--well, like all collections you can argue over what should have been included and excluded. I personally feel that several selections are distinctly minor and I greatly regret the exclusion of "Sunrise Serenade." That said, however, the double CD THE ESSENTIAL GLENN MILLER is easily one of the best Miller anthologies going. The great thing about it is not so much the selection (some are indeed superior in terms of selection) as it is the absolutely marvelous remastering. Every few years some manufacturer somewhere puts out a Miller CD, and the results are usually pretty dire. Not so here. Every instrument shines clear and the harmonies are dazzlingly clear, as pristine as the moment they were first recorded. It's the best remastering of a Miller collection I have encountered to date. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I am new to big band music, and I think this is a great collection of Glenn Miller. This album has great sound quality and a good overall track selection.

Folks could argue forever about which songs constitute the most important Glenn Miller recordings. So I am not willing to go there. Heck! I have favorites that almost never make it on to compilations of 1 - 3 discs (Boulder Buff, Caribean Clipper, Sweeter Than The Sweetest, Make Believe Ballroom Time). Content is not worth arguing. This disc, is what it is. This review short, and meant to be entirely about sound quality. This Essential Glenn Miller is the BEST sounding that any of this material has been for one simple reason: The restoration was done my a guy named Doug Pomeroy, who must me a genius at restoring vintage material. I have heard many of his other restorations, and they are simply the best the material has ever sounded: Never overprocessed---(translation: no swirling digital artifact). Totally natural sound with all of the music there---(he never removes essential frequencies to try and "fool" the listener into thinking it is a modern recording). You have to remember that these master discs have been used for a multitude of issues (and re-issues) over the past sixty-plus years. These tired, overused masters have been given new life in this set, making it a new listening experience, even for someone like me who has virtually every authorized re-issue of Glenn Miller's for the past 40 years.

I bought this for my mom, she really enjoyed the old tunes. The seller delivered as promised.