The Andrews Sisters - Their Greatest Hits and Finest Performances (1996)

One of the maddening aspects of the Andrews Sisters' CD catalog is that there is no way to get a single cohesive body of discs that encompasses all of their best work, or even the best of their extant work. At 60 songs, this three-CD set is the most comprehensive set ever issued on the trio, with 42 of their hits from Decca Records, including every song that reached the number one and number two spots. It offers 14 more songs than appear on MCA's double-CD Their All-Time Greatest Hits, but this set is missing 18 of the group's Top Ten singles, and doesn't even contain everything that's on MCA's double-CD collection; among those tracks not present here are "Well All Right (Tonight's the Night)," "Aurora," "Ti-Pi-Tin," "Shortnin' Bread," "Tico Tico," and "Jealous" (and one should note that even the MCA double-CD doesn't have several choice songs that appear on the same label's separate 50th anniversary volumes). On the other hand, this set contains such unique tracks as "You're a Lucky Fellow Mr. Smith" (which the Andrews Sister introduced, along with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," in the movie Buck Privates), "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)," and "Cool Water," as well as a wide range of their collaborations with Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, Les Paul, Danny Kaye, Ernest Tubb, and Carmen Miranda. The thematic and musical groupings into which the songs are divided generally seem both arbitrary and predictable, and afford the listener no chance to appreciate the trio's advancement across a decade of music-making. Still the range of songs and sounds is impressive, and, if one can get past the fairly high list price on this mail-order item, it can be three hours of fun listening, but, unfortunately, not three perfect hours – one will still need those other compilations from MCA, which have advantages in price and content. The sound is a match for the work on MCA's own reissues, incidentally, and the annotation is reasonably complete, with notes referring to each of the 60 songs.

Tracklist:

CD 1

01. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (2:45)
02. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon (3:09)
03. Near You (3:04)
04. I Can Dream, Can't I? (2:41)
05. Beer Barrel Polka (2:55)
06. Rum and Coca-Cola (3:11)
07. Straighten Up and Fly Right (2:28)
08. I'll be with you in Apple Blossom Time (3:01)
09. Ferryboat Serenade (3:05)
10. Shoo-Shoo Baby (2:52)
11. Chattanooga Choo-Choo (2:51)
12. Sing, Sing, Sing (2:40)
13. Too Young (2:40)
14. Nice Work if You Can Get It (2:48)
15. Daddy (2:58)
16. Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar (2:54)
17. Mister Five by Five (3:01)
18. You Call Everybody Darling (2:25)
19. I Wanna be Loved (3:17)
20. Hold Tight (3:14)

CD 2

01. Don't Fence Me In (3:07)
02. Accentuate the Positive (2:43)
03. Pistol Packin' Mama (3:03)
04. Along the Navajo Trail (2:45)
05. South America, Take it Away (3:15)
06. Sparrow in the Tree Top (3:14)
07. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 (3:15)
08. Cool Water (3:05)
09. Is You or Is You Ain't (Ma Baby) (2:57)
10. (There'll be a) Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks go marchin' in) (2:58)
11. Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (2:59)
12. I Don't Know Why (I Just Do) (3:15)
13. Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh! (2:48)
14. Pack up your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile (2:29)
15. Any Bonds Today? (2:20)
16. There Will Never Be Another You (3:15)
17. You're a Lucky Fellow Mr. Smith (2:41)
18. For All We Know (2:24)
19. When Johnny Comes Marching Home (2:38)

CD 3

01. Pennsylvania Polka (2:49)
02. Strip Polka (2:49)
03. Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka) (2:51)
04. Vict'ry Polka (2:47)
05. Merry Christmas Polka (2:52)
06. Too Fat Polka (2:27)
07. Alexanders Ragtime Band (3:00)
08. When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam' (2:44)
09. Heat Wave (2:47)
10. Anything You Can Do (3:03)
11. There's No Business Like Show Business (2:54)
12. Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo) (3:03)
13. Rumors are Flying (2:57)
14. Blue Tail Fly (2:47)
15. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (2:34)
16. Charley My Boy (2:26)
17. The Pussy Cat Song (2:22)
18. Great Day (2:29)
19. I'm Bitin' My Fingernails and Thinking of You (2:51)
20. Cuanto la Gusta (3:06)
21. Christmas Island (2:37)