"As You Remember Them"

[daveK]

Does anyone remember a boxed set of records from Time-Life called "As You Remember Them"? I think it came out in the early 70s. It was recreations of famous instrumental hits done in the style of the artists who made them famous. I came across one of those Eva-Tone flexi-disc sound sheets that advertises the set. They play a lot of excerpts from selections in the set. I noticed that the recreations are very, very close to sounding like the originals in almost all cases. The musicians are able to mimic the sounds of Leroy Anderson, Mantovani, Percy Faith, Victor Young, Roger Williams, Henry Mancini, Les Baxter and others with astonishing accuracy. However, there's an excerpt from their version of "A Taste Of Honey" that's performed in the style of Herb Alpert, and it doesn't sound like Herb's original. I mean, they try, and you can tell that all of the same instrumentation is used right down to the percussive shakers but it just doesn't sound the same. I guess my point is that Herb's TJB sound is not only unmistakeable, but it's impossible to reproduce. I guess that's why the TJB sound was often imitated but never successfully duplicated.

 

[Rudy]

Wow--I have that same flexi-disc, since I remember that ill-performed version of "Taste of Honey" being sampled on there. The problem is the trumpet was too "straight" (or "square" ).

 

[W.B.]

Does anyone remember a boxed set of records from Time-Life called "As You Remember Them"? I think it came out in the early 70s. It was recreations of famous instrumental hits done in the style of the artists who made them famous.

I.I.N.M., it was produced around 1972-73, with at least some of the sessions led by the late Billy May. From my recollection, it was made in the wake of / as something of a follow-up to The Swing Era box set (recorded c.1969-71) which had had recreations of Big Band-era standards -- and with which Mr. May was also involved.

However, there's an excerpt from their version of "A Taste Of Honey" that's performed in the style of Herb Alpert, and it doesn't sound like Herb's original. I mean, they try, and you can tell that all of the same instrumentation is used right down to the percussive shakers but it just doesn't sound the same. I guess my point is that Herb's TJB sound is not only unmistakeable, but it's impossible to reproduce. I guess that's why the TJB sound was often imitated but never successfully duplicated.

Now, isn't that something? I have a Jackie Gleason album from 1967 called A Taste Of Brass, in which they had a version of "A Taste Of Honey" done in pretty much the same tempo as the T.J.B. recording -- but that, alas, is where the similarities end. The brass arrangement is more big band-ish than "Ameriachi," for what it's worth . . . not to mention being four semitones higher than how Herb and co. had performed it.