1. King Of The Road - "Vista"
2. Engine, Engine, No. 9 - "Vista"
3. Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte
4. I Know A Place
5. Can't Buy Me Love
6. A Hard Day's Night
7. If I Fell
8. Downtown - "Vista"
9. Mr. Tambourine Man
10. If You Can't Beat 'em Join 'em - "Vista"

July 22 & 26-28, 1965

 LINER NOTES

CRITICS LAMENTED, AND JUSTIFIABLY. BUT IN HOPING ROCK-AND-ROLL AND COUNTRY-AND-WESTERN MUSIC WOULD JUST FADE AWAY, THEY WERE UNREALISTIC. IF AMERICAN LIGHT MUSIC WAS TO BE RESTORED TO ITS FORMER EXCELLENCE, IT WOULD HAVE TO COME ABOUT THROUGH A RAISING OF THE STANDARDS WITHIN THIS KIND OF POP MUSIC ITSELF.

THIS HAS HAPPENED.

FORTUNATELY, THERE IS A SEEMINGLY IRRESISTIBLE URGE IN MEN TO IMPROVE WHAT THEY DO. LET A GROUP OF THEM LEARN TO DO SOMETHING, AND ONE OR TWO OF THEM WILL INEVITABLY GET THE BUG TO DO IT BETTER. THIS IS TRUE IN ROCK-AND-ROLL AND COUNTRY-AND-WESTERN, AS IN OTHER FORMS OF MUSIC. IN THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS, THE "POPS" FIELD HAS BEGUN TO PRODUCE SOME GOOD TUNES TO THE SURPRISE OF MANY CRITICS. OTHERS AMONG THEM ARE NOT SURPRISED, FOR THE GOOD REASON THAT THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT. AS THERE ARE CLASSICAL CRITICS WHO THINK THEY ARE DEMONSTRATING THE ACUITY OF THEIR TASTE BY SAYING THEY HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO JAZZ, THERE ARE JAZZ CRITICS WHO THINK IT IS A MARK OF THEIR VIRTUE THAT THEY WON'T LISTEN TO, SAY, THE BEATLES. NEITHER KIND OF MAN CAN BE CONSIDERED MUSICALLY ALERT. MUSICIANS, HOWEVER, TEND TO LISTEN TO EVERYTHING. AND ONE OF THE MOST OPEN-EARED MUSICIANS IN MY EXPERIENCE IS GERRY MULLIGAN. THE TUNE GERRY WROTE FOR THIS ALBUM, IF YOU CAN' BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM, IS SARDONICALLY TITLED. ACTUALLY, HE HAS BEEN WELL AWARE OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE POPS FIELD FOR SOME TIME, AND THE TUNES HE PICKED FOR THIS DISC ARE STRICTLY SONGS HE LIKES. ABOUT THE TIMES HE BEGAN LISTENING TO THE WITTY TUNES OF ROGER MILLER, GERRY REMARKED WITH SOME WARMTH, "HE'S A VERY TALENTED GUY. I THINK I'D LIKE TO RECORD A COUPLE OF HIS THINGS." TWO OF MILLER'S TUNES, KING OF THE ROAD AND ENGINE NO. 9, ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ALBUM. BOTH SONGS WERE GRAMMY AWARD WINNERS IN THE COUNTRY-AND-WESTERN CATEGORY. GERRY HAS, OF COURSE, REWORKED THE MATERIAL TO SUIT HIS OWN STYLE AND MUSICAL THINKING. ENGINE NO. 9 BECOMES A BALLAD PLAYED AT A LOOSE, WALKING TEMPO, AND A SURPRISINGLY PRETTY ONE.

ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING SUCCESS STORIES IN MODERN LIGHT MUSIC IS, OF COURSE, THAT OF THE BEATLES. STARTING AS A FAN PHENOMENON AMONG TEEN-AGERS, THE BEATLES SOON WON THE SYMPATHY AND THEN THE ENTHUSIASM OF ADULT AUDIENCES. MORE TO THE PRESENT POINT, THEY ALSO WON THE RESPECT OF MUSICIANS, WHO NOTED WITH PLEASED SURPRISE THAT JOHN LENNON AND PAUL McCARTNEY WROTE GOOD SONGS. THREE OF THEM ARE HEARD HERE - MONEY CAN'T BUY ME LOVE, IF I FELL, AND A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, THE LAST BEING THE TITLE TUNE OF THEIR FIRST MOVIE.

ALSO THE TITLE TUNE OF A FILM IS HUSH HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, WRITTEN BY FRANK DE VOL, A VETERAN COMPOSER AND ARRANGER WHO COMMANDS GREAT RESPECT AMONG ARTISTS.

FROM THE FIELD OF MODERN FOLK MUSIC (SOMETIMES REFERRED TO BY MUSICIANS AS "FOLKUM") COMES BOB DYLAN'S MR. TAMBOURINE MAN. GERRY HAS FITTED IT WITH RICHER AND MORE INTERESTING HARMONY. "I'M SURE BOB DYLAN WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE IT," HE CHUCKLED. "PETE JOLLY PLAYS IT SO PRETTY, IN A SORT OF ERROLL GARNER STYLE." DOWNTOWN AND I KNOW A PLACE WERE WRITTEN BY BRITISH COMPOSER-ARRANGER-PRODUCER TONY HATCH FOR SINGER PETULA CLARK. DOWNTOWN WAS, OF COURSE, HER FIRST BIG HIT IN THE UNITED STATES. NONE OF THIS IS MEANT TO IMPLY BLANKET PRAISE OF CURRENT POP MUSIC. MUCH OF IT CONTINUES TO BE TRASHY. BUT THE LEVEL IS COMING UP, AND GERRY PICKED THE MATERIAL CAREFULLY FROM AMONG THOSE SONGS HE THOUGHT WERE THE BEST OF THE CURRENT CROP. "IT TOOK A WHILE TO BECOME CONDITIONED TOTHE LOUD GUITARS AND THOSE SAME FEW CHORDS PLAYED OVER AND OVER," HE SAID. ONCE HE DID, HE WENT TO THE MELODIC HEART OF EACH TUNE AND BUILT FOR IT A HARMONIC AND RHYTHMIC UNDERSTRUCTURE THAT CONTRIBUTES CONSIDERABLY TO THE APPEAL OF HIS TREATMENT.

HE PICKED HIS MUSICIANS CAREFULLY, TOO. THE NAMES OF PIANIST PETE JOLLY AND BASSIST JIMMY BOND ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR TO JAZZ FANS. THOSE OF GUITARIST JOHNNY GRAY AND DRUMMER HAL BLAINE WON'T BE. "THEY'RE TWO OF THE BUSIEST MUSICIANS IN HOLLYWOOD," GERRY SAID. "THEY MAKE ALL THE ROCK DATES OUT HERE. THEY'RE BOTH VERY GOOD PLAYERS. IN SOME OF THE TRACKS WE GOT INTO A STRAIGHT JAZZ GROOVE AND THEY PLAYED VERY NICELY."

I ASKED GERRY IF THERE WAS ANY PARTICULAR POINT HE'D LIKE TO MAKE IN THESE NOTES. "NO," HE SAID THOUGHTFULLY, "I DON'T THINK SO. I SAID WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IN THE MUSIC. ALL I CAN TELL YOU IS TO HAVE FUN WRITING THEM. WE SURE HAD FUN PLAYING."

- - GENE LEES