We'll Meet Again- Very Best of Vera Lynn

Need track listing
Hard to know whether to buy this cd without knowing what it contains- I have other Vera Lynn recordings and there's much duplication out there. What tracks does this contain, and how is this cd better (eg technically)? Cover design is perfect.Is there a way to comment without rating?

Brilliant music but could have been compiled better
To anybody who is not particularly familiar with Vera's music and who just wants a selection of some of her most famous songs, this compilation provides that.. It includes We'll meet again (albeit a re-recording from 1953) and White cliffs of Dover, but it in no way could truly be called the very best of Vera Lynn. It focuses mainly on her recordings from the fifties, yet even omits most of her fifties pop hits. I have several compilations of Vera's music, which between them represent her career as a recording artist from 1936 to 1977. Vera recorded for Decca (now part of Universal) until 1960, before switching to a label that is now part of EMI for the remainder of her career. In the sixties and seventies, Vera appeared regularly on TV and recorded plenty of great music during those decades, some of which is available on Singles Collection. However, people are primarily interested in the early half of her career so it is her Decca recordings, 20 of which are included here, that Vera will always be remembered for. Closer inspection shows that the people at Universal didn`t put a lot of thought into the track selection. Of the compilations of Vera Lynn's Decca music that I own, there are two double CD's that I particularly love. One is Forces Sweetheart: 49 Original Mono Recordings 1936-1952, released on the ASV label that has now been shut down. Now out of print along with all other ASV titles, it includes 43 tracks from the period 1936 to 1945, together with six from 1951 and 1952. The other great double CD, Decca years 1936 to 1960 (not listed here), was originally released on Universal. It contains 56 tracks including some from the thirties and the war years, but mainly focuses on Vera's music of the fifties. So while there is some duplication of tracks, there isn't very much. If Universal had selected the best tracks from both compilation, I would have been very happy to give this five stars. As it turns out, this was compiled entirely from Decca years 1936 to 1960, which means that very few of these recordings are from the war years, which the compilation is supposed to commemorate. Looking at the track listing for (and listening to) Forces sweetheart, I would certainly have expected to find Wishing and A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square in any compilation that claims to be the very best of Vera Lynn. From the Decca years 1956 to 1960, I would have expected Forget-me-not, The homing waltz and My son my son, all big UK pop hits during the fifties (My son my son went all the way to number one), to have been included here. Of Vera's big hits of the fifties, there is only one (Auf Wiederseh'n sweetheart) here, despite the preponderance of fifties recordings. There is, of course, plenty of great music here. Among the highlights are Harbour lights, which Vera recorded in March 1937 (and may well be the original artist) and Up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire, which was Vera's first recording in February 1936. There are covers of songs associated with others, including I'm forever blowing bubbles (a song that West Ham fans know well), As time goes by, When I grow too old to dream and Faraway places. Vera sings them all superbly, but I wouldn't have included them at the expense of the omitted songs that I mentioned. As a sample of Vera's music, this is great but could have been better, hence only 4 stars. Still, I'm pleased that it has proved popular. If nothing else, it shows that there is still plenty of interest in Vera's music and not just among older people. Perhaps Universal may be encouraged to re-release more of Vera's Decca music. Now that they know there's money to be made from it, they may put more thought into future releases.

great to see you back in the charts
the great dame vera, back in the charts with this wonderful cd, there is no one to touch our great dame vera