Name: The Monument Years
Brand: Ace (UK)
SKU: 160714
Price: 18.3 USD
Availability: InStock

The Monument Years

Rating

Album: The Monument Years
#	Song Title		Time
1)	For You (BABY)	More Info...	0:02
2)	The Other Woman (IN MY LIFE)	More Info...	0:02
3)	Stay By Me	More Info...	0:02
4)	Me and Mine	More Info...	0:02
5)	Show Me the Road	More Info...	0:02
6)	Turn Around (AND TRY ME)	More Info...	0:02
7)	Baby This, Baby That	More Info...	0:03
8)	Baby I Love You	More Info...	0:02
9)	In My Sorrow	More Info...	0:02
10)	I Want to Marry You	More Info...	0:04
11)	In My Baby's Eyes	More Info...	0:02
12)	Love's Where Life Begins	More Info...	0:02
13)	Miles And Miles From Nowhere	More Info...	0:03
14)	You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)	More Info...	0:02
15)	I Need You Baby	More Info...	0:02
16)	We're Gonna Hate Ourselves (IN THE MORNING)	More Info...	0:02
17)	Spanish Harlem	More Info...	0:02
18)	Concrete Jungle	More Info...	0:02
19)	Taking Care Of A Woman	More Info...	0:02
20)	Set Me Free	More Info...	0:03
21)	Bye Bye Love	More Info...	0:03
22)	Another Place, Another Time	More Info...	0:02
23)	Cry Like a Baby	More Info...	0:02
24)	Glory Road	More Info...	0:03
25)	Call Me Honey	More Info...	0:02
26)	The Migrant	More Info...	0:04
27)	Lover Please	More Info...	0:02
28)	In the Middle of It All	More Info...	0:03

Album: The Monument Years
#	Song Title		Time
1)	For You (BABY)	More Info...	0:02
2)	The Other Woman (IN MY LIFE)	More Info...	0:02
3)	Stay By Me	More Info...	0:02
4)	Me and Mine	More Info...	0:02
5)	Show Me the Road	More Info...	0:02
6)	Turn Around (AND TRY ME)	More Info...	0:02
7)	Baby This, Baby That	More Info...	0:03
8)	Baby I Love You	More Info...	0:02
9)	In My Sorrow	More Info...	0:02
10)	I Want to Marry You	More Info...	0:04
11)	In My Baby's Eyes	More Info...	0:02
12)	Love's Where Life Begins	More Info...	0:02
13)	Miles And Miles From Nowhere	More Info...	0:03
14)	You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care)	More Info...	0:02
15)	I Need You Baby	More Info...	0:02
16)	We're Gonna Hate Ourselves (IN THE MORNING)	More Info...	0:02
17)	Spanish Harlem	More Info...	0:02
18)	Concrete Jungle	More Info...	0:02
19)	Taking Care Of A Woman	More Info...	0:02
20)	Set Me Free	More Info...	0:03
21)	Bye Bye Love	More Info...	0:03
22)	Another Place, Another Time	More Info...	0:02
23)	Cry Like a Baby	More Info...	0:02
24)	Glory Road	More Info...	0:03
25)	Call Me Honey	More Info...	0:02
26)	The Migrant	More Info...	0:04
27)	Lover Please	More Info...	0:02
28)	In the Middle of It All	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Arthur Alexander, Jerry Reed, Charlie McCoy, Glen Campbell.
Recorded between 1965 and 1972.
Audio Mixer: Ken Robertson.
Liner Note Author: Richard Younger.
Between his most famous recordings in the first half of the 1960s, and his early-'70s album for Warner Brothers, Arthur Alexander kept sporadically active as a recording artist, putting out half a dozen singles on the Monument and Sound Stage 7 labels. None of these were hits, and as the original 45s are so hard to find, it remained a mysterious missing link in his career to most listeners. This CD rectifies that problem by collecting all of those singles, and adding 16 previously unreleased tracks that he cut in the last half of the 1960s and the early '70s. It's quite a useful service for fans, but it can't be denied that these performances aren't the high points of the fine soul singer/songwriter's career. The mix of soul, pop, and country forces at work in these sides is similar to those heard on Alexander's earlier efforts. However, the material, whether penned by Alexander or others, just isn't that outstanding, and sometimes sound like lesser reworkings of ideas and riffs he'd plied more effectively in prior days. When Alexander covers a well-known song like "Spanish Harlem" or "Cry Like a Baby," he adds little to it; when he tries to be uncharacteristically funny and risqu‚ on "I Want to Marry You," it's embarrassing. On the later stuff, the pop influences become more prominent, usually to the disadvantage of the music. His distinctive brand of somber soul, with his reserved and sad, vulnerable vocals, does shine through to a large degree, and those that have enjoyed his other releases will find much to appreciate. But it should not be regarded as a first or second choice for the Alexander neophyte. ~ Richie Unterberger

Professional Reviews

Q (7/01, p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A fine collection....Alexander made some excellent singles, blending laid-back R&B and country-soul with pop harmonies and orchestral arrangements..."

Living Blues (1-2/02, p.61) - "...This colleciton covers a hitless but artistically fertile period..."