What new can one say about Tauber singing Lehar under the composer's baton? Suffice it to say that, in the excerpts from Das Land des Lachelns and Giuditta that make up the bulk of this well-filled collection, the music holds the attention and tugs at the emotions in a way never achieved by other tenors and conductors in the same items—above all, perhaps, when Tauber is joined by Vera Schwarz and Jarmila Novotna respectively in the love duets.
Not all the items here have Lehar as conductor or Tauber as soloist. It seems to me a mistake to begin with Tauber's recording of the Lustige Witwe Waltz song sung in French, since both singing style and dance-band accompaniment are so far from the true Lehar sound. On the other hand, Pearl offer some fascinating rarities, including a couple of numbers from Der Furst der Berge (a revision of the early Das Furstenkind) and the lovely waltz Wilde Rosen. Perhaps nothing in the collection quite matches the duet ''Wenn zwei sich lieben'' from Der Rastelbinder, a glorious outpouring of love between Tauber and his real-life wife Carlotta Vanconti.
Alas, Pearl still have some way to go to approach EMI's ability to suppress background noise on recordings that go back some 60 years. Still, true Tauber admirers will already be well practised in ignoring crackle and savouring the artistry of these performances.'