Down Here on the Ground

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Down Here on the Ground
Down Here on the Ground.jpg
Studio album by
Wes Montgomery
ReleasedApril 1968 [1]
RecordedDecember 20, 1967 – January 26, 1968
Studio Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre Jazz
Length31:11
Label A&M
Producer Creed Taylor
Wes Montgomery chronology
A Day in the Life
(1967)		Down Here on the Ground
(1968)		 Road Song
(1968)

Down Here on the Ground is an album by the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1968. It reached number one on the Billboard Jazz album chart and number 4 on the R&B chart. It also reached number 38 on the Billboard 200.

Contents

The song "Down Here on the Ground" is Montgomery's version of the theme song from the movie Cool Hand Luke , by Lalo Schifrin. [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

In his AllMusic review, Michael G. Nastos wrote: "The arrangements of Don Sebesky are for the most part pretty, unobtrusive, and pleasant but lack groove and soul in the main… In many real and important ways, this is the beginning of the end for Montgomery as a jazz artist, and the inception of bachelor pad lounge/mood music that only lasted for a brief time. This recording, with no extra material, alternate takes, or bonus tracks, cannot compare to Charlie Parker with strings. It does fall in that category of recordings where the musicians chose to produce, rather than create their personal brand of jazz, and is at the very least an historical footnote." [3]

Track listing

  1. "Wind Song" (Herb Alpert, Nick Ceroli, Neil Larsen, John Pisano, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:22
  2. "Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) – 2:46
  3. "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" (Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent) – 2:36
  4. "Down Here on the Ground" (Lalo Schifrin, Gale Garnett) – 3:42
  5. "Up and at It" (Wes Montgomery) – 4:15
  6. "Goin' on to Detroit" (Montgomery) – 3:38
  7. "I Say a Little Prayer for You" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:18
  8. "When I Look in Your Eyes" (Leslie Bricusse) – 3:11
  9. "Know It All (Quem Diz Que Sabe)" (João Donato, Paulo Valle) – 2:59
  10. "The Fox" (Lalo Schifrin) – 2:56

Personnel

Production notes:

Chart positions

YearChartPosition
1968Billboard Jazz Albums1
Billboard R&B Albums4
The Billboard 20038

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References

  1. ↑ "Billboard". April 27, 1968.
  2. ↑ Woodard, Josef (July–August 2005). "Wes Montgomery: The Softer Side of Genius'". JazzTimes .
  3. 1 2 Nastos, Michael G. "Down Here on the Ground > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  4. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1028. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 147. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
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