Hugo Montenegro - Good Vibrations '1969

Tracks list

After scoring a pop hit with his eccentric, yet catchy, arrangement of Ennio
Morricones The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, arranger/producer Hugo Montenegro
carved out a career in the world of easy listening by retooling the popular
music of the day into exotic easy listening. This 1969 album finds Montenegro
working comfortably in that vein as he tackles a diverse array of pop songs,
novelties, and film and television themes. As the liner notes state, Montenegro
goes to great pains to incorporate a unique array of instruments and recording
techniques while keeping his arrangements tight and catchy. For instance, the
eerie yet catchy cover of Lullaby From Rosemarys Baby replaces the wordless
female lead vocal of the original with a whistler and adds a thick arrangement
of background vocals to flesh out the originals spare melody. Other highlights
include Tonys Theme and Lady in Cement, both of which incorporate some
hard-edged grooves into their smooth pop sound. However, Good Vibrations fails
to satisfy because it covers so much territory in its song selection that it
never manages to cohere as an album. Also, it suffers from some lackluster
choices in material: the track list is weighed down by an excess of kitsch, like
Classical Gas and Love Is Blue. However, the biggest problem with Good
Vibrations is that all the vocal numbers are performed in choral style: the end
result is a smooth, yet impersonal, sound that robs songs like Happy Together
and Knowing When to Leave of their emotional pull. As a result, Good Vibrations
is a mixed bag that can only be recommended to hardcore lounge fans and
Montenegro completists.
Donald A. Guarisco (AMG)

Tracklist:
01. Hugo Montenegro - Good Vibrations (02:46)
02. Hugo Montenegro - Classical Gas (03:05)
03. Hugo Montenegro - Another Time, Another Place (Theme from television
production The Outcasts) (02:31)
04. Hugo Montenegro - Tonys Theme (from the Twentieth Century Fox release Lady
In Cement) (02:21)
05. Hugo Montenegro - A Future Left Behind (Theme from The Big Valley) (02:05)
06. Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra And Chorus - Lady In Cement (from the
Twentieth Century Fox release Lady In Cement) (02:53)
07. Hugo Montenegro - Happy Together (02:32)
08. Hugo Montenegro - Lullaby From Rosemarys Baby (from the Paramount picture
Rosemarys Baby) (02:28)
09. Hugo Montenegro - Knowing When to Leave (from the Broadway production
Promises, Promises) (02:32)
10. Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra - Night Rider (02:07)
11. Hugo Montenegro - Love Is Blue (02:40)

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