The "haunting" undertone of many late '10s/early '20s songs

[EdisonSquirrel]

Here's a link to "Sweet love" by Lenzberg's Riverside Orchestra on Robert's Music Page.

http://home.pacbell.net/drakcap/OldMus.html

I note that this record has a subtle "haunting" feel to it--a feel that I frequently come across in records from that era. Other examples are Lenzberg's "Rose of Washington Square," and Selvin's "In your arms" and "Dardanella."

Has anyone else noticed this in recordings of that time?



Rocky

[Lenoirstreetguy]

That was indeed the zeitgeist of the post war era. And the time of the Spanish flu which in Canada at least , was a nasty go. They were also coming to terms with rampant inflation. By 1921 the economy was beginning to sink into quite a nasty little recession, so yes,,,there was a sort of haunted aspect to the 1919-22 era. The twenties didn't really start to " roar" until about 1924, a fact which is often missed in popular histories. And the popular image of the short skirted flapper with a flask in her garter was really post 1926. Skirts were way below the knee until then.

Jim

[EdisonSquirrel]

Jim,

I agree with your comments. A dance tune recorded in '20 or '21 is vastly different from one recorded in '24 or '25. I find that the jazzy sound that we usually associate with the '20s really didn't come into being until '23.

Good observation about the start of the '20s. The characteristics that one might ascribe to a decade usually don't come into being neatly synchronized with the calendar.



Rocky

[Schmaltz]

Besides the true things that lenoirstreetguy mentions, there was also prohibition on this side of the border. That definitely affected the collective mindset.

[WDC]

I totally agree with all post above. But when it comes to the musical style there is a clear line to see with the post-charleston era which is actually '23/'24. This is also when real blues recordings became popular and certainly gave another highly important influence on the repertoire of these days.