Customer Reviews

Reflections

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I've owned this controversial album for years and have always enjoyed it. The arrangements are interesting, with alot (sometimes too much) back-up from vocals and strings. However, it seems to me that Stan Getz puts more into his playing on this disc than he does on the formulaic bossa nova albums of the same period. Worth the small price just to hear Stan's version of "Blowing in the Wind".

This was a demonstration that Stan Getz refused to be boxed into any one area of music and for that he deserves tons of credit. Whether it was lilting bossa-nova or unique classically-infused outings like the brilliant "Focus", Stan was indeed taking risks. On "Reflections", he goes for a more commercial pop angle and succeeds about half the time, not because of his playing so much as Claus Ogerman's arrangements which can range to very thoughtful and colorful to outright schlock that gets DANGEROUSLY close to Ray Conniff Singers territory.

The real gems include "Moonlight In Vermont" with its sweeping arrangement, "Love" with its fiery percolating Latin rhythms and Stan just letting loose, "Spring Can Hang You Up The Most" and "Nite Street" are real highlights too with tastefully swinging arrangements. "Charade" is a better than average Bossa tune and "Penthouse Serenade" is a real ear opener with its tricky 6/8 heavily syncopated meter and Stan just coloring it like an expert painter.

The rest of the album goes more than a little saccharine and as much as I"ve tried I just CANNOT GET BEHIND this schlock-treatment of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind", it just does not work! "A Sleeping Bee" is just too bogged down in Ray Conniff-esque vocal choruses to be listenable, ARRRRRRGH!

If anything, I'd recommend downloading the individual mp3 tracks that you like.

I've been looking for a CD by Stan with "Blowin'In The Wind" on it for twenty years or more. I've checked all music stores(often), have been checking with Amazon(often). I've even contacted "Verve" asking where I could locate, but was told that It wasn't on any CD yet. After finally finding at Amazon after all this time, made me very happy. I like the other music on the CD, just not as much. "Blowin' In The Wind"is my favorite instrumental of all time. It was on the Juke Box in 1964 when I was going into the Army. Just couldn"t get enough of that song. I still have vinyl that includes the song. Too bad Stan is forever gone.

Arlis F. Rice

An obvious contractual obligation.

Poor Stan valiantly struggles to keep from being drowned by 10,000 strings.