Day in the Life

Wes Montgomery | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1967
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: A&M
• ASIN: B000002G6K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,448 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The album that made me interested in jazz., May 18, 2003

By 

DBW (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day in the Life (Audio CD)

My parents weren't huge jazz fans, but they owned a few jazz-oriented LPs. They liked Wes Montgomery because he was widely played on the MOR AM stations that they listened to, and when they borrowed "A Day In the Life" from our neighbors, it was heard quite frequently around our house.

Though eventually I came to love all of the tracks, "The Joker" was the first thing that grabbed me. Arguably, it might be the track that swings the hardest on the album. While it's true that Don Sebesky's arrangements aren't for everyone, they don't do this tune any harm. Wes doesn't stray far from the melody, as others have frequently pointed out, but his improvisations still add something to the Newley-Bricusse song -- a sort of driving momentum. It's a solid performance, period. Other standouts are the title track, "Windy," "Eleanor Rigby," the Montgomery original "Angel," and "Willow Weep for Me."

Did Wes sell out? I was born the year he passed away, and have absolutely no credentials as a musician, so I'm in no position to say. But I can say that I went on to appreciate styles of jazz that were less targeted at the mainstream. If "A Day In the Life" had that same effect on other listeners, the case can be made for a different interpretation of Wes' A&M period.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Watch what happens!, May 12, 2002

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"songlife" (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day in the Life (Audio CD)

I wouldn't put this in the pantheon of "greatest albums ever", but it is a personal favorite. I've heard almost everything Wes has done, from the hard core improv to the fluffy pop, and while I prefer the former, this so-called pop album is special to me. Particularly because of his version of 'Watch What Happens'. It's a rare occasion when the usually cheesy Don Sebesky orchestration works well; but on that song he created a great arrangement that makes Wes sound like he's playing on a cloud. His playing on this song, the cottony soft octaves and particularly his solo, is a reminiscent of sunny Summer's day. I've listened to 'Watch What Happens' over and over for years, and it never ceases to amaze me. It's a song never anthologized and rarely mentioned, but a classic nonetheless. The rest of the album works too, even the Beatles cover, which is charming and actually pretty funky. Yes, Wes is nearly drowned out by the strings, something which irritates a lot of people, but you can still hear him clearly, and the strings, while occasionally pretentious and intrusive, are generally interesting and well-done. Arranger Sebesky achieved a unique sound on this recording, something he didn't do on the similar but lesser album "Road Song". "A Day In The Life" is consistently rewarding. I give it a solid 3 stars, not only because of the combination of Wes' playing and Sebesky's successfullness in backing him up, but because of the song selection and the very special feeling this album gives me when I hear it. Very, very 60's, which is a *good* thing.

By the way, I suspect that the picture of Wes on the back cover, holding his head in his hands and looking defeated, is a joke. I once read about someone who was a friend of his, ran into Wes at a club, and Wes went out to his car trunk to give his friend his latest pop album, and he seemed very embarrased about it, by either the cover or the content. Wes was somewhat under fire at the time, being accused of "selling out" his jazz roots in favor of shallow pop recordings. Wes was a sensitive, unassuming guy who probably took that kind of ridiculousness seriously. That's so sad, and unfair. This is a damn fine album and he should have been proud to give it to anyone. Wes' pop albums have impressed and intimidated just as many guitar players as his jazz albums did - there was just no stopping that kind of talent. Wes shines through on anything he ever did - the Golden Thumb. There will never be another like him.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazz not jazz. Hard Bopper does Pop. And Pop Lounges..., June 2, 2000

By 

yygsgsdrassil "yygsgsdrassil" (Crossroads America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day in the Life (Audio CD)

...this is probably Wes Montgomery's best selling album, because of the MOR/pop bent to these jams, but it doesn't really show how much a hard bopper Wes actually was. He got a lot of radio play with this, especially his version of the Association's "Windy". The Creed Taylor/Rudy Van Gelder production and engineering team was in effect on this at A&M records. (As an aside, back in the day, this was big lounge music 'cause my dad and uncles each had a copy of it. They were, if you've been somehow following, great loungers.) Not too long afterwards the Great Wes sucuumbed to a heart attack...his music, however, lives on. Check out his earlier work from the Impulse and Verve studio days. Oh yeah..."I'd love to turn you on"...