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I'd skip all and just take a scratchy old Hasil Adkins rekkid.
I'm with you brother!
No desert island is complete without a dying can of commodity meat.
In a way, it has a "demo" feel to it. I think some of the songs were indeed demos, or taken from longer recordings. Listen to the opening of "Grandpa Lou"....that echo before the opening piano is definitely the tail end of something that was edited off of the beginning.
It always struck me as an intended haunting ethereal echo, much like the few seconds of baby Aria playing with her toy rattle that open the tune named for her. Upon "relistening" I think you may be right. Heck, it's even possible Herb just had some ideas for piano beds and recorded a bunch back to back in one session and then worked melodies on top of them later. But then, if it wasn't intended, why not edit it off closer to the first note.
Very low-key, sparse, a no-frills, very personal concept. The songs themselves are pretty strong, but the actual recording leaves something to be desired.
I really like "Promenade" and "Musique". I thought "Just You And Me" could've been an incredibly strong track, with its shifting time signatures and Herb's fiery trumpet solo. But that vocal he does is terrible! I just don't know how he could've kept that on the record, particularly when he jumps up an octave. Worst thing he's ever done. "Grandpa Lou" is kind of haunting. "Aria" is kind of neat with the cello there. Interesting juxtaposition between "Grandpa Lou" - the death of his father - and "Aria" - the birth of his daughter. "Yankee Doodle" didn't do much for me - I guess that was his tribute to the bicentennial that year. "Spanish Nights" has its moments, but seems to be lacking something. I liked the muted trumpet parts in both "One Night Lover" and "The Lady Needs Romance". "The Day Will Come" also had its moments, but was kind of shaky in places.
I would like to hear this album with a better recording - not a ReWhipped remix, mind you - just a better effort. Herb's piano playing isn't exactly inspiring, either. Oscar Peterson he ain't. I would imagine this album will be one of the last that gets reissued.
Capt. Bacardi
At the top of this page - four years ago - I had done a rudimentary clean-up of JUST YOU AND ME. That was either among my first experiments with Audacity or not long after.
I'd gotten so much better at cleaning up audio in the intervening four years, that I'm sometimes appalled at what I once considered cleaned-up. Also, I now have a better cartridge for my turntable so a new attempt was in order. I just finished and am quite satisfied with the sound. I'll match it up with any official attempt by the Alpert camp!
Oh, and for those of you who aren't all that crazy about the title track because of the vocal section with the octave jump, I did an edit to remove those two portions:
Harry