 |
|
| Hobby Forum Index » Music - Reviews » CD Review: Arthur Lyman “The Winner’s Circle / T... |
|
Page 1 of 1 |
|
| Author |
Message |
| ... |
 Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 12:38 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
Arthur Lyman "The Winner's Circle / Today's Greatest
Hits" (Collectors' Choice)
Hawaii-born Arthur Lyman joined with Martin Denny to invent "exotica"
on the latter's 1957 debut album. Exotica combined the melodic sounds
of the islands with unusual percussion (notably the scratching sound
of the guiro), pop changes, and human-voiced bird calls to create a
soundtrack to the late '50s fascination with all things tiki. As a
vibraphonist, Lyman's jazz background added an element of cool to
Denny's classical training. Splitting after their debut release, Lyman
created a new quartet and recorded dozens of exotica-inflected albums
for the Hi-Fi, Life and Crescendo labels. Collectors' Choice latest
series of reissues gathers eighteen of Lyman's releases from Hi-Fi and
Life, fits them two per CD, includes full-panel reproductions of both
album covers, adds a full-panel back cover and new liner notes from
Scram's Kim Cooper and David Smay.
The Winner's Circle, waxed in the latter half of 1968, picked its song
list primarily from the pop-charts. Even the film and stage selections
were drawn from among the popular songs of the day. The selections are
thus less inventive, and in retrospect appeal as kitschy. The
arrangements, including guitar and full-kit drums, are adventurous in
the context of Lyman's earlier catalog, but can also sound to be
trying too hard to "get with it." Still, the haunting "Windmills of
Your Mind" is nicely spiced by the interplay of guitar and vibraphone
riffs, and the album's jazz arrangements of "Talk to the Animals,"
"Love is Blue," "Mrs. Robinson," and "Sunrise, Sunset" range from
light and cool to fast-rolling and freely swinging. With the exotica
touches stripped away, Lyman really shines as a straight vibe player.
His mallets strike chords that are playful, nostalgic, moody, and
moving. Highlights include a haunting arrangement of Simon &
Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence," and a superb bossa nova of "With a
Little Help From My Friends" that adds a gear to Sergio Mendes earlier
hit.
"Today's Greatest Hits" closed out Lyman's eleven year run on the Hi-
Fi/Life labels with eleven contemporary selections. The album opens
with a spare harmonica-led arrangement of John Barry's title theme to
"Midnight Cowboy" that's even more downcast for its lack of the
original's overt percussion. The film's other hit, Fred Neil's
"Everybody's Talkin'," is given a Latin beat and light vibes for its
melancholy melody. As on The Winner's Circle LP, some of the well-worn
contemporary titles (e.g., "Aquarius" and "Hey Jude") lend a kitsch
factor, but Lyman's playing rescues just about every one. "Love Theme
Quote: From 'Romeo and Juliet'" is forlorn, searching and dramatic, and a
bossa nova beat turns Oliver's "Good Morning Starshine" into a real
dance floor mover. The album's best treat is a cover of the theme song
to television's "Hawaii Five-O" that opens with a flute against heavy
exotica percussion before developing a swinging go-go beat.
The performances on both of these albums are fine, but neither the
arrangements nor song selections break any new ground. Production
notes: "Windmills of Your Mind" is presented here in mono, and the
track listing for "Today's Greatest Hits" is printed incorrectly on
the liner card. The correct track order is: Midnight Cowboy; Aquarius;
Everybody's Talkin'; Love Theme From "Romeo and Juliet"; Spinning
Wheel; Abergavenny; Hey Jude; Good Morning Starshine; California
Summer; Hawaii Five-O; Theme From a Summer Place. [(c)2008 redtunictroll
at hotmail dot com] |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Thu Nov 26, 2009 2:37 am
|
|