For better or worse, the world has seen only a handful of truly successful all-harmonica ensembles. Arguably, the best of this bunch was Borrah Minevitch & His Harmonica Rascals. From the late '20s through the '50s, Minevitch and a quintet of fellow harmonica powerhouses put Raymond Scott energy and Mickey Katz shtick into big band and pop tunes. It's hard not to feel blown away after hearing Borrah and his crew swing through "Chinatown, My Chinatown" or "Daybreak Express" on a handful of harps. Unfortunately, just as you can't keep a good man down, you can't keep a harmonica virtuoso in a band for too long; in the mid-'40s, some of Minevitch's finest left to form the archrival Harmonicats. A little later, even Johnny Puleo (the group's midget) went solo. Still, the instrumentals Minevitch made in his prime-perfectly remastered here and sounding as timeless and oddball as ever-have a jazz energy and vaudevillian humour nobody has been able to match. A few tunes from the laid-back Harmonicats are included, but the sound quality--and energy level-are no match for Borrah's best

Produced by Geoff Milne

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1. THE CARIOCA
2. CHINATOWN, MY CHINATOWN
3. DAYBREAK EXPRESS
4. MOONGLOW
5. NAGASAKI
6. BUGLE CALL RAG
7. CAPRICE VIENNOIS
8. ON TREASURE ISLAND
9. LIMEHOUSE BLUES
10. I'VE GOT A FEELIN' YOU'RE FOOLIN' / YOU ARE MY LUCKY STAR
11. THE GHOST WALK
12. DEEP RIVER
13. LIEBESTRAUM
14. HORA STACCATO
15. LA VIOLETERA
16. ON THE LOOSE
17. BOOTS AND SADDLE
18. THE MUSIC GOES 'ROUND AND AROUND JERRY MURAD'S HARMONICATS
19. PEG O' MY HEART
20. FANTASY IMPROMPTU
21. BYE BYE BLUES
22. WILLOW WEEP FOR ME