REVIEW: Sylvia Herold & The Rhythm Bugs’ “The Spider And The Fly”
If the type of jazz is of the vocal variety, not only solo but with group harmonies, you will like the old time vibe of The Spider and the Fly by Sylvia Herold & The Rhythm Bugs. Some of what they do reminds me a bit of what makes The Manhattan Transfer so great, and in this case, Sylvia Herold goes back to the songbooks and explores songs that were once cherished but may be honored by select audiences. In fact, the youngest song on the album is a Dallas Frazier composition from 1965 clalaed “Mohair Sam”, made famous by Charlie Rich. The rest of the songs are from the 30′s and 40′s and despite the vintage of these compositions, they hold up quite well. One may only hear it as far as the music and go “oh, this is completely dated” but then that means you’re not truly listening. Herold’s voice is a joy, and while I would not mind hearing her do other styles, I love hearing her in this context.
What do you think?