Your Favorite CHRIS MONTEZ Album:

[Dave]

Since Chris Montez only made a few albums on A&M (And probably has more fans here than Claudine Longet) and they all seem fairly diverse in Production, it would be nice to see which LP my fellow-cornerites like the most...

The "Herb Alpert (and Jerry Moss) discovery" of
The More I See You/Call Me:

The "Teeny Bopper/Malt Shop-fare" (With even a track or two produced by Phil Spector protegé, Marshall Lieb) of
Time, After Time:

The "straight-forward" Easy Listening/Radio-Friendly Pop (Backed by Pete Jolly and his stable of Musicians) of
Foolin' Around:

The "Party Album" (With Live/Crowd Sounds, dubbed-in on Side 1--much like Ramsey Lewis' "The In Crowd") of
Watch What Happens:

The 1983 Alpert-produced return to A&M (albeit the Español AyM Division) of
Cartas De Amor:

Please tell us Your Favorite(s) and "Why"...!​

Dave

[Moderator added Cartas De Amor for completeness sake]

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

Where is Cartas De Amor?

 

[Harry]

Since Chris Montez only made a few albums on A&M (And probably has more fans here than Claudine Longet) Dave

I didn't know Claudine Longet was a Chris Montez fan... You learn something everyday.

Where is Cartas De Amor?

Where indeed. I've not been able to find it...

Seriously though, Chris Montez remains the only A&M artist who can claim that The Beatles once opened for HIM!

[Poster stitched together from frames from THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY DVD]

Harry
...in wiseguy mode, who actually voted for the first album, online...

 

[seashorepiano]

Hearing him sing "The Face I Love" and "Foolin' Around" were enough for me. Don't care for him much at all.

 

[Dave]

OK, thanks for adding Cartas De Amor; the image of that one I couldn't easily (or legally?) find... But I was fairly aware of... (Though I never heard)

Cool how a "newly discovered" Tommy Roe had toured with Chris as well! I'm as big of a fan of Tommy's and he seemed to play the same "Teeny Bopper" role on another favorite record label of mine, ABC...

OK, the Claudine Longet tag was put in just because it would be more easier to determine a favorite among Chris's LP's than hers, if only because I thought the "production" seemed to be more fairly similar, album-to-album, compared to Mr. Montez, but maybe I could give her Five A&M LP's a fairly close listen and put up a Poll on her in the future... And didn't she make the "Least Favorites" thread?? aughalone:

--Anywaaaayyyy...



Dave

 

[alonely bull in paradise]

I haven't heard an entire Chris Montez album YET, but his wife is now an on-air personality at Oldies Radio, a nationally syndicated format broadcast by ABC Radio Networks, Inc.

I don't know that much of Chris Montez, just his major hits, that's about it.

 

[Mike]

The only Chris Montez CD I have is “The More I See You/Call Me”. I picked it up here in Japan about 5 years ago and the first time I listened to it I almost burst out laughing at the sound of Chris Montez singing. I thought, is this a joke? Was this A&M’s answer to Tiny Tim?

Well, if one listens to “The More I See You/Call Me” enough, it can grow on you; it grew on me. I will say that the studio musicians do an outstanding job – if they’d have scrubbed the vocals you’d have an outstanding instrumental album.

Mike

 

[JOv2]

...the first time I listened to it I almost burst out laughing at the sound of Chris Montez singing. I thought, is this a joke? Was this A&M’s answer to Tiny Tim?...

I first heard the opening bars to Foolin' Around and I thought it was either a teenage girl or a 10-year old boy. When it became apparent it was an adult, I thought it was a joke.

 

[audiofile]

I don't think Chris Montez is an outstanding singer, but I must admit I love his first three albums.

This is just me, but I would not call Time After Time a Teeny Bopper Malt Shop Fare. Besides Montez's technically lacking voice, there is some pretty sophisticated and outstanding playing from the backing musicians on the first couple of records. I'm assuming some of the musicians are Pete Jolly. Tommy Tedesco, and Julius Wechter.

All of the songs are very enjoyable, or maybe it just reminds me of a simpler time.

Being a jazz musician. it is essential to know a lot of standards, and many of the standards on these first Montez albums are the first time I was ever acquainted with them, and now I play some of them every night.

The only album where out of the first four, where Montez is really struggling in my opinion is certain spots of Foolin Around. But the album is saved by awesome song choices and excellent playing.

I didn't care too much for Watch What Happens.

 

[audiofile]

Just one more note. The guitarist on Time After Time does a good job at emulating Wes Montgomery.