🎵 AotW AOTW: Wes Montgomery - GREATEST HITS (SP-4247)

[Captain Bacardi]

Wes Montgomery
GREATEST HITS
A&M SP-4247

Released 1970
Peaked at #4 on the Jazz Albums chart; #46 on the R&B chart; #175 on the Top 200 Albums chart

Format: Vinyl/8-Track/Reel-To-Reel/Cassette

Produced by Creed Taylor

Songs:

• 1. A Day In The Life (Lennon/McCartney) - 5:30
  2. Georgia On My Mind (Carmichael/Garrell) - 2:42
  3. Windy (Ruthann Friedman) - 2:20
  4. I Say A Little Prayer (David/Bacharach) - 3:10
  5. Road Song (Montgomery) - 3:50
  6. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:08
  7. Yesterday (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:24
  8. When A Man Loves A Woman (Lewis/Wright) - 2:52
  9. Scarborough Fair (Simon/Garfunkel) - 4:53
  10. Down Here On The Ground (Schifrin/Garnet) - 3:38

Cover Photography: Jim McCrary




Capt. Bacardi

 

[Dave]

How I first got introduced to the A&M works of Wes Montgomery... And I believe I bought it on the 22nd anniversary of his death...

A good, strong set, at least for those not yet ready for the individual, original albums... Which in turn, it hopefully does whet your appetite for...



Dave

 

[DAN BOLTON]

A good, strong set, at least for those not yet ready for the individual, original albums... Which in turn, it hopefully does whet your appetite for...



Dave

It did for me...years after buying WMGH, I ran across DOWN HERE ON THE GROUND, and snapped it up. I recently found a two-fer (DHOTG with A DAY IN THE LIFE) and like it even better. I used to have a Verve album of his trio work, but I really prefer the CTI recordings. Some critics said he sounded "bored" during the CTI sessions, but I don't think so.

Dan

 

[Dave]

Pretty ironic how this got issued as a standard A&M product, identical to the Herb Alpert/TjB, Sandpipers & Baja Marimba Greatest Hits sets, as opposed to leaning towards something more A&M/CTi as far as "exclusive packaging" goes...

Or at least something more relevant to the post-CTi A&M jazz offerings, although this is probably the first "greatest hits" type of its sort, especially given the commercial nature of its contents, as if they were "designed for radio-play", which you could say for all three of Montgomery's recordings for this label...

(Perhaps, too, having recorded THREE releases, qualify for compilations, as opposed to the one or "contractual obligation" two, other A&M/A&M-CTi artists, have made...)



Dave

 

[audiofile]

Wes was probaly the most successful artist on A&M/CTI at the time. He was also the only CTI recording artist to be featured on "A&M Night" at the Hollywood Palace. For me,

It makes sense that they made a Greatest Hits album. When I think of Wes during this period, (unlike Paul Desmond, Tamba 4, Nat Adderley, Herbie Mann, Walter Wanderley, etc...) I think of him more as a part of the A&M family, then all the other artists who recorded in New Jersey and probaly had very little to do with A&M other than the fact that their records have the A&M logo on them.

Also, Wes's music was featured on two A&M samplers. I think it was just a matter of his popularity.

 

[seashorepiano]

As I don't care much for any of the Wes releases on A&M/CTi (which I learned after acquiring them all on LP or CD), I'd definitely skip on this compilation.