Full title: Top O' The Morning: His Irish Collection.
Personnel includes: Bing Crosby (vocals); John Scott Trotter, Bob Haggart, Victor Young, Matty Matlock, The Jeff Alexander Chorus, The Perry Bodkin String Band, The Jesters, The Mellowmen, The King's Men.
Digitally remastered by Paul Elmore.
While this collection of Bing Crosby's Irish material contains more than double the amount of tracks on the singer's A LITTLE BIT OF IRISH, there is no overlap whatsoever between the two, which tells you something about the breadth of Irish tunes in the Crosby oeuvre. The approach to the songs here is similar to that found on A LITTLE BIT OF IRISH; pop-oriented orchestral arrangements hold sway instead of traditional folk-oriented instrumentation.
Nevertheless, the increased selection offered here affords the opportunity to dig a little deeper into Crosby's Irish repertoire. So while familiar tunes such as "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra" and "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" are present, there's also more obscure material, including such light-hearted romps as "Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder?" The extensive selection of TOP O' THE MORNING makes it the definitive Crosby Irish collection.