Wes Montgomery: A Day In The Life (MFP, 1979)Now, I happen to think that Wes Montgomery is a pretty astounding fellow. There seems to be a school of thought that he took the dollar and blew his talent banging out breezy cover versions for the cocktail and chittter-chatter market when he could have been grinding out three-piece jams for Riverside Records. Well, you know, what, who cares? I don't. The man had his bills to pay and he paid them however he saw fit and everyone else can, frankly, go piss up a rope. Purists and snobs are the death of good music and, if it's good music you're after, then Wes is your chap. Oh yes.
So, anyway, covering The Beatles. It's a tricky job, but I honestly believe that this version of A Day In The Life is better than the original. More soul, more swing. Just listen to the texture and depth of the arrangement. This is one of the funkiest pieces of easy-listening jazz you will ever hear. And all repackaged in a terrible, cheap sleeve for the sort of people who bought their dinner-party LPs in Boots the Chemist while celebrating the arrival of that terribly exciting Maggie Thatcher woman.
And, what's more, Wes was double-jointed and could bend his thumb all the way back to his wrist. Could John Lennon do that? No.
The end.
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