A Capitol Idea
Robert J. Usher | The Real World | 11/15/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Stan's long association with Capitol Records was in its death throes when these two albums were released in the late 1960's, and the music shows. The label had long-since focused its attention and resources on promoting such as the Beatles and Beach Boys, leaving Kenton and contemporaries such as Peggy Lee to play out the string until their contracts expired, not to be renewed. A similar fate would most likely have befallen the great Nat King Cole, had he not died tragically of lung cancer in 1965. In this environment, artistic integrity played a distant second-fiddle to record sales. It was a particulary uncomfortable time for creative powerhouses like Kenton, who were literally forced by their labels to abandon any semblance of creative control in favor of what the record producers, in their convoluted wisdom, believed would sell. In Kenton's case, the result was monstrocities such as "Finian's Rainbow" and worse yet, Stan's rendition of the music from the Broadway play "Hair". Having said that, there are a couple of pretty decent sides in the album "The World We Know" ("Imagine", "Theme For Jo",) which are reminiscent of the album "The Ballad Style of Stan Kenton", and a couple of other decent sides ("Interchange", "Changing Times") which are reminiscent of the album "Adventures In Time"). As such, this CD is not a total artistic flop. One of my favorites (not the critics, mind you -- just mine) is the Neal Hefti composition "Girl Talk", which I have always found to be quite catchy despite the detractors. These sides alone make this CD worthy of inclusion in your Kenton collection. But if you ever see "Hair" reissued on CD, run the other way!!!"
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1