AOTW: Pete Jolly, "Seasons" SP3033

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Rudy

¡Que siga la fiesta!
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PETE JOLLY
SEASONS

SP3033 (Released 1970)
Vinyl, Cassette and 8 Track

Produced by Herb Alpert

Piano: Pete Jolly

Additional Musicians:
Bass: Chuck Berghofer
Guitar: John Pisano & Paul Humphrey
Percussion: Milt Holland & Emil Richards
Brass Arrangement on track 11: Bill Holman

Track Listing:

1. Leaves (Jolly)
2. Younger Than Springtime (Rodgers/Hammerstein)
3. Bees (Jolly)
4. Rainbows (Jolly)
5. Plummer Park (Jolly)
6. Springs (Jolly)
7. Seasons (Nichols)
8. Sand Storm (Jolly)
9. Autumn Festival (Jolly)
10. Prairie Road (Jolly)
11. The Indian's Summer (Jolly)
12. Pete Jolly (Jolly)
 
It IS hard to find. I didn't even know it existed until I found it many years ago (either at Record TRrader on Reseda Blvd or Rene's On Melrose). When I met Mr. Jolly at Monteleone's West and got him to autograph the trio of LPs he even mentioned it was a tough one to find.

This is in many ways superior to his prior A&M efforts, although I could not pick a favorite among the three. This one is good because it's highly personal -- to Jolly what I imagine Just You & Me was to Herb Alpert. The title track was even coverd by Herb, IIRC, though with a different title. The last cut on side two (#12 in the above list) is actually printed on the label not in type liike the rest of songs but in Jolly's signature, making it, one can assume, his "signature tune." (where's a rim shot when you need it?)

--Mr Bill
who's about to post the first Jolly Haiku
 
What I find funny is how easily I found Seasons. I'd looked around online sometime in 1995 or 1996 and came across the LP of Seasons and a reel copy of Herb Alpert Presents. The tape sucked, as many A&M tapes do, and it took me a few more years before I found it and Give A Damn on vinyl. Just shows you that timing is everything. :wink:
 
I found Seasons with virtually no trouble at all. Once I learned of it here, I found a copy languishing in the record library here at the station. Needless to say, it was never really used on air.

I really didn't have too much trouble finding the other Jolly albums either, but they required a bit of online searching.

Seasons has not been one I play much, but being the AOTW, I guess I should give it a spin.

Harry
...getting ready for lunch, online...
 
This album is such a departure from the other A&M albums that Jolly has done, as well as albums on other labels. I think that's why I like it a lot. There are spots on this album, especially on the first side, that sound a bit like an early Weather Report album. Of course the song "Seasons" is also known as "A Song For Herb" on Herb's You Smile - The Song Begins album. But I like the concept of this album, sound-wise. As a producer I think Herb really pushed the proverbial envelope with this LP. He took Pete out of his usual trio/quartet format.

This used to be a hard album to find for me, but I've found three copies in the last year, with one being pretty clean. Give A Damn is the one I'm finding hard to get a clean copy of.


Capt. Bacardi
 
I agree--I've only seen Give A Damn once, and bought it. It's not the cleanest, and has some groove wear. Not too bad, but not perfect either. (Also, it's quite a short album, under a half hour...maybe like 24-25 minutes if my faulty memory serves.) Pete Jolly around here is a rarity to begin with...I don't even run into his RCA albums anywhere. And since I bought Seasons through mail order, I've actually never seen that one locally either.
 
SEASONS was very difficult for me to find, but when it turned up at a record show I paid $1 for it. This was a promo copy, unceremoniously mixed in with 12" singles in a box under one of the display tables. To this day I spend more time sitting in the floor digging through dollar boxes than looking at the albums displayed at eye level. The next copy of SP 3033 I found also was a promo.
Also I've got two copies of GIVE A DAMN; both are promos and sound great, although well worn (cover and disc) and not much to look at. Didn't pay more than $2 for either.
JB
 
I've owned this since the initial release,probably buying it at Sam Goody's in Philly back when Sam Goody's meant something(BTW-Best Buy is trying to unload Sam's parent Musicland with evidently no suckers...er,potential buyers around since even the possible Trans World mall rat which owns Camelot,FYE & others is continuallly losing money.) I love this album,though . Yeah,it was a surprise in the beginning. I can't help but think that the master tapes have extra and formulative pieces but since it was such a tough sell first time sround,it ain't never gonna see light of day. Percussionist Holland and Richards are key to the enjoyment of this date which ,even with electric piano,has a timeless sound to it. The brass at the end is nice(as opposed to the additions on GIVE A DAMN)but my dream CD release would have both with/without versions available. Oh, to find a clean copy like Harry did or LP Jim's perserverance payoff at a reasonable price.Mac
 
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