Revisiting A&M Records No. 37
Pete Jolly: ‘Herb Alpert Presents Pete Jolly’ (April/May ‘68)
‘Since liner notes are seldom written by people who come into direct contact with the artist or the recording sessions in question, and since Pete Jolly really tells his own story inside this package, I’ll forego the usual copy on his first A&M release and simply say that I’m proud to have played a part in producing an album for people of all ages with one of the finest musicians in the world today.’
Revisiting A&M Records No. 35
Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart:
‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite?’ (April ’68)
I have only two quibbles over this pretty close to perfect proto-power-pop platter, the sort of still-sparkling gem you just know bands like Jellyfish and the Posies pored over at some point.
Revisiting A&M Records No. 34
Claudine Longet: ‘Love Is Blue’ (April ’68, possibly earlier)
Say this much for that ingenue de chanson then equally known as Mrs. Andy Williams: back in the ‘60s she had exquisite taste. Or, at least, the men (entirely men) shaping her sound and style did, though I can’t fathom even such a lightweight artist agreeing to sing just anything placed before her.
You tell me: should a collector be absolutely precise and file this under N for ‘National Lampoon’s Animal House’ or ease up on being so exact and stick it under A for how it’s commonly known?
Revisiting A&M Records No. 32
‘Liza Minnelli’ (February ’68)
Despite its self-titling, this is far from the debut of Judy’s daughter. By the time she was about to turn 22 and relaunch her recording career via the auspices of Mr. A & Mr. M, Minnelli had already issued three LPs for Capitol Records, starting with ‘Liza! Liza!’ in ’64, the same year she embarked on her first national theatrical run as Luisa in the touring production of ‘The Fantasticks.’
But the reality remained that after four years of working her young tail off — including landing the lead in ‘Flora the Red Menace,’ her Broadway debut — Liza was still struggling to step out from her mother’s formidable shadow.
Revisiting A&M Records No. 29
We Five: ‘You Were on My Mind’ (September ‘65)
We Five: ‘Make Someone Happy’ (December ‘67)
Backtracking here to pair this SF ensemble’s debut sensation with the overly delayed follow-up that didn’t arrive until the quintet was breaking up, at least temporarily. As the horribly written back-cover notes indicate, the latter album was reason for fans to be both glad for their return yet sad that ‘(t)here is this album and there will be no more albums because there is no more We 5 [sic].’
[Measuring the marigold.]
Revisiting A&M Records No. 22
The Sandpipers: ‘The Sandpipers’ (May ’67)
[Cherchez la femme.]
Revisiting A&M Records No. 21
Claudine Longet: ‘Claudine’ (April ’67)
Claudine Longet: ‘The Look of Love’ (October ’67)
[What a groovy time they were having.]
Revisiting A&M Records No. 18
Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart: ‘Test Patterns’ (Sept ’67)
