Please do not be swayed by the bad review knocking the sound on this one. The recording quality is fine considering most of these cuts are 70 years old. An excellent collection, including 2-count 'em-2 majestic takes on the title cut, which is one of the finest songs ever written anyway. And fiddle-dee-dee on the fidelity, because IT'S POPS, MAN - IT'S POPS! This collection along with THIS IS JAZZ- VOLUME 1 (Columbia/ Legacy) are an excellent intro to early Louis. This stuff set the tone for practically everything that followed.

This cd is absolutely great. The recordings included in this record were made in the early 1930s. Louis Armstrong considered these years the happiest period of his life. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But from a musical point of view, Armstrong made some of his best recording in these years. I do not think that Louis Armstrong ever played with the same energy, the same strength, the same passion and the same drive as he did in the late 1920s and in the early 1930s. But for that matter I do not think that anybody has surpassed what Louis Armgrong did in those years. His trumpet solos were just perfect. They're essential, and they're elegant. And they're really intense as the meaning of a whole life, of a whole existence hinged on each of those notes. Louis Armstrong's performance in Stardust, Georgia on My Mind, Home (When Sahdows Fall) is breathtaking. For those who want to understand what jazz is all about, for those who already love jazz, for those who love Pops, this cd - originally released in 1988- is a real treat.

This album, lurking unlistened-to on my LP shelves for years, just knocked my socks off when I finally got around to it. I got me one of them LP-to-digital gizmos and started working my way through my LP collection, starting with A. Found this album, which I don't remember even owning, and which showed few signs of wear and tear. Maybe I got it at the end of the LP era and forgot about it? Maybe it was a gift? Who knows? Anyway, I sat down to transfer it and it blew me away. The digital remastering is fabulous; it sounds like it was laid down yesterday. This sounds great even on small computer speakers. Can't wait to put it on the Big Mama. Nat Hentoff's liner notes, and other reviewers here, say that this was one of the happiest periods in Armstrong's life. To me what's more interesting is the period, 1930 to 1932. This is at the birth of the Swing Era. You can both hear a highly-evolved form of Dixieland still going on, nothing like the formulaic stuff of five or ten years earlier. And, really, you have to admit, by the end, that it sounds like Swing. The rhythm and polyrhythm are phenomenal. Armstrong's horn leads in both heads and solo breaks. Lots of his distinctive jazz singing here as well; Hentoff calls him the best of all male jazz singers and I think he's right, one more feather in Armstrong's hat (along with his phenomenal playing and inventiveness, inventing the modern jazz solo, and inventing scatting.) Armstrong is the most important 20th century American musician. The second is James Brown.

There's not much more one can say about Louis Armstrong. He's arguably the best American musician ever. This CD provides a good sample of some of his work from the early 1930s. And since these songs were recorded in the early 1930s, the quality is relative to the time period. There's nothing unlistenable, just don't expect 21st century fidelity from them (they are very consistent in their quality, so there are no awkward transitions from high hiss to low noise such that a history of Armstrong would inevitably have to have). Still, the quality does not detract from the performances and the songs. Louis Armstrong's energy and showmanship shine through on each track. This is arguably Armstrong at his best (though some will vie that the "Hot 5" era was superior); it's at least a very high point for Armstrong. This is also evident in his speaking during the musical sections. He lets loose one of his famous lines, "I'm ready, I'm ready, so help me I'm ready" on "Chinatown, My Chinatown". One gets an idea why audiences at the time flipped for Armstrong-isms such as this.

Many of the songs will be very familiar even to those with no knowledge of the music of the 1930s. "Georgia On My Mind", "I Got Rhythm", and "All Of Me" are still often-heard standards even today.

The only complaint about the CD has nothing to do with the quality or performances; in fact, it has nothing to do with Armstrong in any way. Why put the alternate takes of "Stardust" and "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" one right after the other? Both versions of both songs are great, but why not split them up to limit repetitive listening?

And, on a more personal note: I'm forever grateful to the Woody Allen movie "Stardust Memories" for making me want to track down one of the versions of "Stardust" included here (though some critics say the song was misused in that film). If I hadn't seen that movie and been entranced by Louis Armstrong's "Stardust" I would not have discovered Armstrong's music as early in my life as I did. For anyone wanting to discover Armstrong, this CD is one potential great starting point.

The recording quality of the CD is pretty low.