Ferrante & Teicher - Getting Together

All Music Guide

On Getting Together Louis Teicher and Art Ferrante go back to movie themes and show tunes as well as popular songs that Bob Crewe and others were bringing to life on the airwaves. In doing so they hit a home run with this lp. Getting Together is just the album title, so don't expect a cover of the Tommy James The Shondells hit of the same name or the different tunes called "Getting Together" released by Bobby Sherman and Charles Mingus. Recorded at National Sound with production by George Butler the boys bring back that "water guitar" found on The Box Tops "Cried Like A Baby" and their own "Midnight Cowboy" giving it to the Bob Dylan cover "Lay Lady Lay". A strange mix of their eclectic experimental side melting into commercial glitz makes for an interesting combination. They churned out so much product at this point in time that their creativity sometimes took a back seat to giving the people what they want. Art and Lou successfully merge the two concepts on this collection, a terrif...ic instrumental version of George Harrison's "Something" segues into a rendition of "Hair" that has no hint of The Cowsills frivolity. The Toys get a nod with the duo's play on Bach calling it "A Familiar Concerto", leaving songwriters Linzer Randell out in the cold in regards to their version of Johann Sebastian's pop hit. Art Lou take all the credit with "Arranged by Ferrante Teicher giving them the royalties. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" has no personality, the pianos play cute against strings that would be happy in any elevator car. The arpeggios and interesting production return with "Good Morning Starshing", moody it allows unfolding sounds to play with the speakers as did Bob Crewe's production of Oliver in 1969. The traditional and eternal favorite, "Colonel Bogie March", concludes an lp with material as diverse as John Denver's "Leaving On A Jet Plane" and Roger McGuinn's "Ballad Of Easy Rider", the latter getting surprise vocals as if half of the Ray Conniff Singers showed up for a cameo. When Ferrante Teicher experiment they are superb, and when they go through the motions they are a fine middleoftheroad juke box. This lp goes back and forth on both sides of the stick. - Joe Viglione, All Music Guide Read more Less