Good Vibrations

by Donald A. GuariscoAfter scoring a pop hit with his eccentric, yet catchy, arrangement of Ennio Morricone's "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 'Rosemary's 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 original's spare melody. Other highlights include "Tony's 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.