If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em! Explained

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em!
Type:Album
Artist:Gerry Mulligan
Cover:If_You_Can't_Beat_'Em,_Join_'Em!.jpg
Released:1965
Recorded:July 22, 26, 27 & 28, 1965
Studio:Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre:Jazz
Length:33:46
Label:Limelight LS 86021
Producer:Jack Tracy
Chronology:Gerry Mulligan
Prev Title:Butterfly with Hiccups
Prev Year:1964
Next Title:Feelin' Good
Next Year:1965

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em! is an album by American jazz saxophonist Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1965 and first released on the Limelight label.[1] [2]

Reception

AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars and its review by Ken Dryen states, "Many jazz musicians were frustrated with the public's focus on rock & roll and pop music in general at the time this recording was made. So Mulligan, like many other jazzmen, decided to take a few of the hits and recast them in a jazz setting. ...of borderline interest to serious fans of Gerry Mulligan, due to the uneven material and a supporting cast that is not up to the level one expects on the baritone saxophonist's records".

Track listing

  1. "King of the Road" (Roger Miller) - 2:32
  2. "Engine, Engine No. 9" (Miller) - 3:53
  3. "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (Frank De Vol, Mack David) - 4:02
  4. "I Know a Place" (Tony Hatch) - 3:25
  5. "Can't Buy Me Love" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:34
  6. "A Hard Day's Night" (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:51
  7. "If I Fell" (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:12
  8. "Downtown" (Hatch) - 2:30
  9. "Mr. Tambourine Man" (Bob Dylan) - 3:17
  10. "If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em" (Gerry Mulligan) - 3:30

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. http://www.gerrymulligan.com/wp-content/uploads/GMD-2011.pdf Gerry Mulligan Discography
  2. http://www.jazzdisco.org/mercury-records/catalog-limelight-series/#lm-82021 Mercury Records Catalog: Limelight series