Classic Album Review

Music review time. And for this one we take a trip down memory lane. My musical upbringing was somewhat different than the other white suburban kids in the late 70’s and 80’s. Of course, all you need to do is meet my parents and you'd understand completely. But for those that haven't met them, my dad listened to a lot of Jazz, not really having the musical talent to play an instrument or sing. But my father's ear has always been very good, and his taste has generally followed suit. My mom was the performer, belting out Handel’s Messiah during the Holiday Season and anything from Aretha to John Lee Hooker the rest of the year. So you could say my taste were born in the roots of soul.


Which brings us to this week’s music pick, Wes Montgomery’s Tequila. As a jazz guitarist, Wes was very popular in the 60’s when my dad followed his music. Growing up, we listened to Montgomery’s classics like Movin’ Wes and Bumpin’ all of the time. In his heyday, Wes Montgomery was considered a very unique player; his style and sound were original and compelling. Through the years, his playing has been copied and emulated by practically every jazz guitarist on the planet. So much so, that listening to him now, he almost sounds like a cliche’. Wes' most popular records in the 60's are so overloaded with big horn and string arrangements, that it’s hard to find the place where you can hear the genius in his work. But the tone and flavor of Tequila is different.

Tequila is a collection of smooth, well-crafted cover tunes of popular music ranging from the title track to an amazing guitar solo on “What The World Needs Now Is Love”. The groove recording of “The Thumb” is highlighted by another silky guitar solo. The title track never has the yell of “Tequila!” at the end of each chorus, but instead ops for a light ba-dum-chish of the drum. Classy. Ron Burgundy would have loved Wes Montgomery. More Fusion than the traditional Jazz outputs, this album was criticized for selling out. But I wholeheartedly disagree and would counter that Wes brought new life to the songs and made his guitar sing on an understated masterpiece. The recording is an easy going blues jam with Wes riffin’ along, backed up by Ron Carter, Grady Tate and Ray Baretto.