The Hi-Lo's - Back Again (1979/2017) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

The Hi-Lo's were a close-harmony vocal quartet of the 1950's and early 1960's who brought the arrangement and harmonics of popular song to a standard which has seldom been equalled and never surpassed. One of the most innovative jazz/pop vocal groups of all time, the pioneering Hi-Lo's influenced countless pop, R&B, and Doo Wop groups from the '50s right up to the present. The group's personal appearances at this time are well remembered. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, the Gatlin Brothers, Manhattan Transfer and Take Six were all awakening to their own musical ambitions at this time and cite the Hi-Lo's as a major musical influence. Their reunion album have been released in 1978 by MPS Records. Called "The Hi-Lo's! – Back Again" it contained an impeccable selection of standards and stand-by's.

The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is reportedly a reference to their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall, Gene Puerling and Clark Burroughs were short). Bing Crosby’s comment that ‘these guys are so good they can whisper in harmony’ was indicative of the vocal quartet the Hi-Lo’s stature among music’s elite. Frank Sinatra, and Mel Torme were hard-core fans, and Herbie Hancock studied their sophisticated harmonies; their music influenced Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, and the Beach Boys. The Hi-Lo’s heyday spanned the mid 1950’s thru the beginning of the 60’s. The group stopped performing in 1963, but at the request of festival producer Jimmy Lyons, they made a special appearance at the 1978 Monterey Jazz Festival; the performance was a triumphal return to the spotlight, and in response, MPS had the sense to produce this 1978 recording, the Hi-Lo’s first in several years. Accompanied by a 19-piece orchestra, the quartet is in top form. The set features sophisticated renderings of such evergreens as Life is Just a Bowl Full of Cherries, Latin-flavored versions of I Remember You, My Funny Valentine, and Misty, jazzed up versions of Seems Like Old times and Come Rain or Shine, beautiful balladic treatments of When Sunny Gets Blue, Everything Must Change, Then I’ll Be Tired of You, and the sumptuous end to this Hi-Lo’s outing, Georgia on My Mind. Interspersed between the refined vocals are some crack instrumental solos. A very special album, indeed!

Tracklist:

01 - Seems Like Old Times
02 - When Sunny Gets Blue
03 - Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries
04 - I Remember You
05 - My Funny Valentine
06 - Come Rain or Come Shine
07 - Everything Must Change
08 - Misty
09 - Then I'll Be Tired of You
10 - Georgia on My Mind

Produced by Gene Puerling & Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer. Engineered by David Greene.
Instrumental tracks recorded in June 1978 at Stage Sound Studios (Nimbus 9), Toronto, Canada.
Vocals Tracks recorded in September 1978 at the MPS Studios in Villengen, Germany.
Digitally Remastered.



Thanks to the Original customer!