What must have been one of the most productive years in the history of the Harvard Band has come to a climax with the release of its long-promised selection of Ivy League songs. More than a private endeavor, this Ivy League Album, as the band calls it, will fill a need for undergraduates and alumni of the four Eastern colleges with whose tunes it deals.

From any critical viewpoint, the new band records are tops. Musically they represent what is probably the best band in the United States, playing what are certainly the most unusual and refreshing arrangements. Technically, too, they are surprisingly good--actually more than good, with very smooth surfaces and excellent recording effects.

Most of Leroy Anderson's famous medleys of Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton, and Harvard songs can be found among the four 12-inch records of the album. It is hard to choose between the first three--about all you can say is that the Harvard ones come out a poor second by virtue of their own inherent inferiority.

The big record companies and their publicity departments might polish their buttons before making any comparisons with the Ivy League album. Despite its limited production, it sells for little more than the domestic record, and the band's records--put out by a company which calls itself Trans-Radio--are superior to Victor or Columbia efforts all the way down to the good-looking album itself.

If you can scrape up $6.35 and have even the slightest streak of sentiment in you, try the Ivy League Album. With a half-glass of punch mixed in, you can almost see the big drum rolling onto the field one November Saturday.