Music, maybe more than any other popular medium, is a sort of "time capsule" - both coloring and thereafter reflecting the moods of an age. And there's probably no better evidence for this than "The Essential Glenn Miller," a new two-disc reiteration of the Glenn Miller Orchestra's unquenchable legacy. "THE big band of the Big Band Era," this collection testifies with gusto. And it's a reminder of a time of war - rumors of war, war over the seas, and then war not so far away after all.

All of the music in this restored and remastered anthology, presented chronologically, was recorded in a golden three-year span, from April 1939 to July 1942, as Miller and company rose to become the most popular band in the land.This does not, as many multi-disc collections set out to do, try to give us a complete overview of Miller's development and career. Before he formed his first eponymous orchestra, Miller performed with and arranged charts for the likes of the Dorseys and Ray Noble. During his peak, he and the band performed constantly on radio; RCA has released fine albums from that "live" trove. After the United States was swept up in World War II, Miller created the much-expanded Army Air Force Band. But this set focuses entirely on the studio recordings of Glenn Miller & His Orchestra during its popular and trend-setting heyday.

With 47 tracks, listeners are given a taste of everything the band could deliver. Miller masterminded a combo that merged reeds, horns and percussion into a molasses-smooth flow; the tap could be controlled and elegantly romantic or opened up for a swing-crazy fest. The result was a sequence of signature classics: "Moonlight Serenade," "Little Brown Jug," "A String of Pearls," "In the Mood," "Tuxedo Junction," "American Patrol." Fans are also treated to a bubbly "Over the Rainbow" and a moody, saxy "Stardust." Even numbers like "Pennsylvania 6-5000," "Juke Box Saturday Night" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" seem more like cheerful delights of their time than what would later be pooh-poohed as "novelties."

Besides fine musicians like saxmen "Tex" Beneke and Hal McIntyre, trumpeter-arranger Billy May and bassist Trigger Alpert, the Miller orchestra featured flavorful vocalists such as Ray Eberle, Beneke and Marion Hutton and the Modernaires.

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The remastering job is first rate - those with old pop- and click-riddled albums will particularly relish the clarity and sweetness of these gems. But sometimes there's only so much that can be done with old tracks that may not have been recorded all that well a half-century ago. "Little Brown Jug," for example, sounds a little dense here, muffled by time and perhaps bad sound equipment. It remains a peppy little number, though.

The chief attribute of "The Essential Glenn Miller" is its success at reminding us just how classy, as well as out-and-out entertaining, this great band was.

- Those who'd like to revel a bit more in the instrumental prowess of Glenn Miller & His Orchestra might want to check out another new anthology from RCA-Bluebird, the one-disc "The Spirit Is Willing." Also a remastered reissue, the collection includes 22 songs, unfolding again in chronological order, and covering the same time span as the popularity-oriented "essential" set.

The swinging instrumentals - a short course in then-quickly evolving big-band jazz and pop - include "Pagan Love Song," "Glen Island Special," Duke Ellington's "Take the `A' Train" and a slow, pared-down serenade arrangement of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Overall, the absence of vocals makes for a luscious mood-setter, most often lively but sometimes blue.

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