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A Day in the Life (Wes Montgomery album)

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A Day in the Life
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1967[1]
RecordedJune 6 & 26, 1967
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
GenreJazz
Length34:21
LabelA&M/CTI
ProducerCreed Taylor
Wes Montgomery chronology
Tequila
(1966)
A Day in the Life
(1967)
Down Here on the Ground
(1968)

A Day in the Life is an album by the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1967. It reached number one on the Billboard Jazz album chart and number 2 on the R&B chart. It also reached number 13 on the Billboard 200. The single "Windy" became his biggest Hot 100 hit, peaking at number forty-four.

After recording for Riverside and Verve, Montgomery signed with A&M. His renditions of pop hits were played regularly on Top 40 radio.[2]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[3]

In his AllMusic review of the album, Scott Yanow wrote:

In most cases the guitarist did little more than play the melody, using his distinctive octaves, and it was enough to make him saleable. Of his three A&M recordings, A Day in the Life (the first one) was by far the best and, although the jazz content is almost nil, the results are pleasing as background music.[2]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Day in the Life"John Lennon, Paul McCartney5:45
2."Watch What Happens"Jacques Demy, Norman Gimbel, Michel Legrand2:43
3."When a Man Loves a Woman"Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright2:52
4."California Nights"Marvin Hamlisch, Howard Liebling2:29
5."Angel"Wes Montgomery2:46
6."Eleanor Rigby"Lennon, McCartney3:04
7."Willow Weep for Me"Ann Ronell4:31
8."Windy"Ruthann Friedman2:20
9."Trust in Me"Milton Ager, Jean Schwartz, Ned Wever4:25
10."The Joker"Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley3:26

Personnel

[edit]
  • Wes Montgomery – guitar
  • Herbie Hancock – piano
  • Ron Carter – bass
  • Grady Tate – drums
  • Ray Barretto – percussion
  • Jack Jennings – percussion
  • Joe Wohletz – percussion
  • Ray Alonge – French horn
  • Phil Bodner – woodwind
  • Julius Brand – violin
  • Peter Buonconsigilio – violin
  • Mac Ceppos – violin
  • Lewis Eley – violin
  • Harry Glickman – violin
  • Harry Katzman – violin
  • Leo Krucczek – violin
  • Sylvan Shulman – violin
  • Gene Orloff – violin
  • Tosha Samaroff – violin
  • Jack Zayde – violin
  • Harry Urbont – violin
  • Harold Coletta – viola
  • Emanuel Vardi – viola
  • George Marge – flute
  • Joe Soldo – flute
  • Romeo Penque – flute
  • Margaret Ross – harp
  • Alan Shulman – cello
  • Charles McCracken – cello
  • Stanley Webb – flute, woodwind

Production notes:

Chart positions

[edit]
Year Chart Position
1967 Billboard Jazz Albums 1
Billboard R&B Albums 2
The Billboard 200 13

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Billboard". September 16, 1967.
  2. ^ a b c Yanow, Scott. "A Day in the Life > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  3. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 147. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1028. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.