(Universal Music)

Hark back to an era of cocktails and Caddys, style and swing, with a collection of songs which crafted legends out of the artists who performed them.

Whether it’s the Chairman of the Board himself, Marilyn, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Nina Simone or anyone of the other household names which fill these discs, you can be guaranteed of one thing – quality.

The aftermath of the Second World War triggered a new confidence and creativity in both the UK and the US, with artists establishing themselves through definitive versions of songs which have since passed into musical mythology.

There’s an inherent glamour to these tunes, as their performers became stars of a golden age the likes of which modern musicians can only dream of, and yet they have stood the test of time in a way only truly remarkable combinations of song and singer can achieve.

A compendium of this calibre doesn’t come along very often, but when it does it deserves a place in any decent record collection.