AOTW: Herb Alpert & the TJB - GREATEST HITS VOL. 3

[Mr Bill]

I always thought that Solid Brass made a better version of GH2...

Great minds (or is it 'Great Bills'?) think alike!

--Mr. B

 

[Mike]

Well, speaking of Solid Brass…

I have the Japanese pressed CD of Solid Brass and one of the nicest things about it is that there is a great sounding version of “Summertime” on it. Now, the first time (and many times after that) that I heard “Summertime” on the vinyl LP I was confused; as in what the heck is this! It doesn’t sound like Summertime to me. I doubt that even George Gershwin would recognize it.

Anyway, over time, Summertime really grew on me and now I think it’s a wonderful song; very jazzy and cool. It makes having the CD very special because as far as I know it’s the only place one can find this song in a digitized format.

All the best,
Mike

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

The wildest thing about "Summertime" is that in a way, it's Herb's version of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross' version of Miles Davis' version of this Gershwin song.....! When you hear all the versions it makes a lot more sense.......

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I picked up a compilation of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross a few years ago that had "Summertime" on it and it's incredible. They really swing it, but you can see where Herb got the idea from. LH&R also seemed to be the inspiration of groups like the Manhattan Transfer, obviously, especially since Jon Hendricks wrote several lyrics for tunes that MT did.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mike Blakesley]

The wildest thing about "Summertime" is that in a way, it's Herb's version of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross' version of Miles Davis' version of this Gershwin song.....! When you hear all the versions it makes a lot more sense.......

Rudy put together a short compilation of samples from those various versions which really gives the Herb version some background as to where he got the ideas. Very cool. I don't know if there's a link to it somewhere now or not.

 

[toeknee4bz]

Okay. I guess I do have something to add to this thread (Honestly, at first I considered it pointless to chime in on a hypothetical compilation)...

Let me see if I have this compilation timeline down correctly: GREATEST HITS (SP 4245) was released in 1970. Then SOLID BRASS (SP 4341) in '72. Then, just a mere year later, the double album FOUR SIDER (SP 3521) came out. So by '73, there were already three compilations available. Four years later, in '77, GREATEST HITS, VOL. 2 (SP 4627) was released. Four compilations, all original A&M releases, released in a seven-year period. And this doesn't even count all the imports, bootlegs and K-Tel, mfp and others wanting nothing more than to cash in.

GREATEST HITS 3??? Even I must admit that this would have constituted saturation. And by '77, the music scene had changed so much, the TJB, while a lifelong staple to us, had unfortunately become somewhat passe in Top 40.

Tony

 

[Charles H.]

With regard to airplay and general (public) popularity, I would include "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle." It's a personal favorite and, along with "My Favorite Things," puts the TJB back on the radio every year. (Although, admittedly, for inclusion in a Greatest Hits 3 album, "MFT" is a more 'universal' tune).

Charles

 

[Harry]

"My Favorite Things" was included in GREATEST HITS VOLUME 2.

Harry

 

[Charles H.]

Sorry, I should have written, for inclusion in any Greatest Hits compilation, "MFT" is a more 'universal' tune.

Charles

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Four compilations, all original A&M releases, released in a seven-year period. And this doesn't even count all the imports, bootlegs and K-Tel, mfp and others wanting nothing more than to cash in.

Herb was ahead of his time doing that. Take a look at the catalog of almost any superstar act today...you'll find multiple compilations, usually released about a year apart. It's about keeping the name in front of the public.

 

[Rudy]

It doesn’t sound like Summertime to me. I doubt that even George Gershwin would recognize it.

The wildest thing about "Summertime" is that in a way, it's Herb's version of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross' version of Miles Davis' version of this Gershwin song.....! When you hear all the versions it makes a lot more sense.......

Rudy put together a short compilation of samples from those various versions which really gives the Herb version some background as to where he got the ideas. Very cool. I don't know if there's a link to it somewhere now or not.

It's like four degrees of separation, or whatever they'd call it.

You can actually hear the original melody of "Summertime" faintly in Herb's "scat" vocals (the "do be do be do" part...with apologies to Sinatra ).

I actually never made the connection when I was young--I'd heard and also had seen Porgy & Bess on TV (in the Harry Belafonte/Lena Horne version), so I knew the song, but until recent years didn't realize it was the same song. Then thanks to some clues posted here, I managed to get ahold of the LH&R version (via another forum member) and spliced them all together to show the development of it:

http://www.amcorner.com/media/SummertimeComp.mp3

(I'll remove this link in a week or so, to keep the spambots from picking it up.)

First clip is the Miles Davis/Gil Evans version--listen to the countermelody echoed in the horns behind Miles. Then listen to the LH&R vocals which pretty much bring both melodies up in the mix. Herb's arrangement pushes the original melody into the background, and uses the countermelody ("In the summer summer time") as the new melody.

Neat!