The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk

The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk is a reissue of a Vocalion budget album with the same title and cover photo. The Vocalion album collected a dozen of Welk's Coral recordings from the early to mid-'50s, but was originally released circa 1960, perhaps to compete with another album titled Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk that appeared on the Dot label that year. Two songs from the original Vocalion LP, "Meet Mr. Callaghan" and "Joey's Theme," are omitted in favor of "Oh Happy Day" and "12th Street Rag." "Oh Happy Day" features the bass vocals of Larry Hooper on lead and was a Top Five hit for Welk in 1953, and the instrumental "12th Street Rag" dates from the same period. "The Man with the Banjo," which again features Hooper, is an enjoyable performance that competed unsuccessfully against the Ames Brothers' hit version, whereas Welk's inferior vocal rendition of "Ebb Tide" justifiably failed to gain a foothold in the marketplace against Vic Damone's sublime treatment, which reached the Top Ten. Welk's rinky-dink organ arrangement of "Stompin' at the Savoy" steps lightly instead of stomping, which isn't a criticism — it's Welk's trademark sound. There is also a nostalgic assortment of pop oldies such as "Say It Isn't So" and "There's a Small Hotel," sung by a variety of soloists and vocal groups that are not identified on the CD (and were not identified on the Vocalion LP, either). Welk's recordings have been so haphazardly handled in the digital era that The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk stands out for compiling some rare singles and one actual hit.