REPLAY : THE BOSWELL SISTERS--SWINGING, SWEET & LOVELY : <i> A feature spotlighting noteworthy re-releases and compilations. </i>

Album: “Okay, America!” (Jass).

Artist: The Boswell Sisters.

History: It’s strange and sad but true--while the Andrews Sisters remain well-remembered, the Boswell Sisters are known only to aficionados of early-’30s pop and jazz. The Andrews were terrific, but the Boswells were even better in many ways. While in their early teens, Connie (she later changed the spelling to Connee), Helvetia (Vet) and Martha Boswell won a New Orleans singing contest in the mid-’20s and recorded four songs. A concert tour brought them to Los Angeles, where they began broadcasting on KFWB in 1930. The next year they began recording (most often backed by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra) for the Brunswick label, and their dynamic jazz arrangements of songs like “It’s the Girl” were big sellers until the trio disbanded in 1936. Connee--despite being crippled by polio since childhood--carried a successful solo career into the mid-’50s. Like two other adventurous vocal groups of the era, the Mills Brothers and the Rhythm Boys, the Boswells used the human voice in an exciting manner not heard before or since.

Sound: Think of a jazzier, more low-key and dimensional version of the Andrew Sisters, capable as much of slow, soulful passages as hot ones. But to really realize how special this group was, find one of the British compilations like “It’s the Girls” (on Living Era), an excellent best-of. Highlighted by such transcendental and incomparable recordings as “Gee, But I’d Like to Make You Happy” and “Shout, Sister, Shout,” this is the best place to start. There are also collections on Ace of Hearts and Biograph, but the former is hard to locate and the latter has poor sound. This new collection, though supplemental to those and more uneven, isn’t a bad starting point either. Versions of “Lullaby of Broadway” and “Dinah” are creative and thrilling--and while some of the others (“Stardust,” for example) don’t work as well, they usually show the Boswells taking chances few other singers would even dream of. The alternate takes are sometimes notably different from the originally released versions--especially a slow, spooky “Was That the Human Thing to Do.” Some things here--like “Sing a Little Jingle”--are lightweight throwaways, but overall this album, while directed toward fans, should also make fresh converts to one of the most marvelous vocal sounds ever recorded.