Customer Reviews

Music to Watch Girls By

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd take issue with the previous evaluation. There are only a couple of Al's CDs that include Latin music, and this is one. He brings his unique power and style to a fine mix of upbeat hits, mostly from the 60s and 70s. These include a couple of Brazilian hits of the era, an old popular standard like "Elmer's Tune," and of course a cover of TJB's "Music to Watch Girls By." I see this as a nice contrast to his Dixieland and symphonic albums. While several of his CDs share many cuts (to the point that a collector might find himself buying a CD just to get two or three new songs) MTWGB includes a lot of pieces that are found nowhere else. Out of a collection of >20 Al Hirt CDs (I'm a fan!) this is one of my top picks!

I too take issue with the reviewer who gave this CD 2 stars. I can understand where many people wouldn't particularly like this style of music; they may listen to it and find it little more than vintage easy-listening music best suited to a patio party in the 1960's. For those folks, this will probably sound generally cheesy and downright lame at times. But anyone who buys an Al Hirt record probably knows what this music is about and will appreciate it for what it is. Al was amazing - always tasteful and tuneful; never a bum note. He managed to take what could have been pretty forgettable recordings and elevate them to real artistry.

As one of the other reviewer mentioned, this album contains some real gems that didn't appear on his other albums, like the lovely "Nature Boy." "Music to Watch Girls By" is an instant radio classic, and his solo on "I Love Paris" is exceptional too; a bit more gritty and adventurous than his more typically lyrical playing. And most of these tunes are bossa/latin pieces, which I particularly like.

So for any Al Hirt fans out there, this is a must-have CD! It appears to already be out of print, so grab it if you see it for a decent price.

It was so great to be able to have one of my favoite records in CD form. I can now play it all the time......It brings back some great memories!

I have the disc in format LP and it seems to me that the

digitalization this better congratulations

I'm a huge fan of Al's mellow-but-mighty horn sound, but even he can't save most of the music on this album from fading into the wallpaper. There are some good tracks, but mostly it's just very blah. I guess 40 years ago these were hits, and I'm just barely old enough to even remember some of them. Al, as always, wrings the last drop from them, but some of them just don't contain much musical worth to begin with. If you've got all his other albums, or are curious as to what he'd do with some of these songs, as I was, buy it; otherwise, go for one of his better albums.