The Now Sound Of THE BRASS RING

Original released on LP RCA Victor DS 50023

(US, 1967)

With a title proclaiming "The Now Sound of the Brass Ring", the instrumental purveyors of space age pop effectively abandoned the practice of padding their long-players with dated show tunes and standards, some of which dated back to the '40s. The success of "The Dis-Advantages of You" apparently encouraged Phil Bodner - the ad hoc combo's primary component/musical director - to continue mining the modern pop songbook for selections that would be suitable for a Brass Ring treatment. For the most part, lightweight and catchy melodies, such as "Sunny," "Up, Up & Away," "The Look of Love," and "Don't Sleep in the Subway," - encompassing practically the entire first half of the album - are uniformly excellent choices for the "music as wallpaper" ethos that defined the easy listening leanings of the Brass Ring. However, there are a few musical truffles to be rooted out over the latter half of the disc. The Paul McCartney-penned "Love in the Open Air" was taken from Macca's score to "The Family Way" (1966). Another mod cinematic number comes from Lovin' Spoonful leader John Sebastian who had written "Amy's Theme" for Francis Ford Coppola's major directorial debut comedy "You're a Big Boy Now" (1967). Again, the fresh, unconventional approach uncovers a minor classic, in terms of the original and Bodner's sax-filled interpretation. (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)

BRASS RING - "The Dis-advantages Of You"

Original released on LP Dunhill DS-50017

(US, 1967)

The Phil Bodner-led Brass Ring took their light instrumental pop back into the Top 40 for a final time with the Mitch Leigh-penned title track "The Dis-Advantages of You." On its own, it is doubtful that the tame melody and equally docile performance would have made much of an impact. However, stateside the song was concurrently being incorporated in a humorous cigarette advertising campaign for Benson & Hedges 100s, thus making it all the more memorable. To similar effect, "Music to Watch Girls By" - which had been used in a late-'60s diet soda commercial - was updated by Bodner for inclusion on this LP. Continuing a trend that began with the Brass Ring's debut collection, there are a few show tunes worked into the project. "I Will Wait for You," from the film "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964) takes on a definite Tijuana Brass feel, while the "Theme From (The Sand Pebbles)" aka "And We Were Lovers" is served up in a pensive and wispy arrangement. By contrast, the tempo of the catchy and familiar theme to "A Man and a Woman" is quickened, giving it a freshness and buoyancy that escaped many of the better-known versions. Bodner even dips back into the Brass Ring's previous long-player "Lara's Theme" (1966) for an encore presentation of "Born Free." The trend of recycling material off of earlier albums doesn't end there as the cover of "California Dreamin'" - by Dunhill Records labelmates, the Mamas & the Papas - had also been featured on the aforementioned "Lara's Theme" platter. In 2007, Collectors' Choice Music reissued "The Dis-Advantages of You" coupled with "The Now Sound of the Brass Ring" on a two-fer CD - making both available for the first time in decades. (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)

BRASS RING - "Sunday Night At The Movies"

Original released on LP Dunhill DS 50015

(US, January 1967)

The Brass Ring was a New York City-based, Herb Alpert-esque outfit from the '60s, led by reed player Phil Bodner. The group specialized in a short-lived musical style called "the Now Sound," which was largely instrumental and possessed a looser rhythm than Alpert's trademark style. The Brass Ring scored several minor hits in the '60s, their best-known being "The Love Theme from the Flight of the Phoenix," while another of their songs, "The Dis-Advantages of You," was used in a series of TV commercials for Benson and Hedges cigarettes. Bodner and the Brass Ring issued several largely overlooked albums during their brief career. (Greg Prato in AllMusic)

THE BRASS RING: "Lara's Theme"

Original released on LP Dunhill DS 50012

(US, September 1966)

Less than four months after releasing the Brass Ring's debut album, "Love Theme from the Flight of the Phoenix" (1966), Phil Bodner's New York-based instrumental ensemble issued their follow-up, this "Lara's Theme". As their first long player merely bubbled beneath the Top 100, the question as to why they were so eager to issue a second volume can be traced back to Dunhill Records' desire to create a catalog of product as efficiently as possible. As was the occasional custom of the day, producers chose to recycle the title track from "Lara's Theme" directly off of their first LP - not even going so far as to re-record it. Unlike anything that was attempted on their previous effort, Bodner and company make an initial venture into the concurrent pop charts for inspiration. Not surprisingly, the Mamas & the Papas' - who just happened to also be on Dunhill Records - Top Five smash "California Dreamin'" is among the project's hipper entries. Similarly, Pete Seeger's translation of "Guantanamera" would have been another melody familiar to listeners as the Sandpipers had a hit with it just a few months earlier. The sassy interpretation of Pérez Prado's "Patricia" and the Dick Hyman-penned "Uncle Jose" lean heavily on the Brass Ring's West Coast contemporaries, the Herb Alpert-led Tijuana Brass. The style has an obvious effect on Bodner's own "Bahama Shuffle," which also recalls the bandleaders days as a mainstay in Enoch Light's late-'50s Provocative Percussion-era recordings. In 2007, Collectors' Choice Music compiled "Lara's Theme" with its long-playing predecessor "Love Theme from the Flight of the Phoenix" onto a single compact disc.

THE BRASS RING: "The Flight Of The Phoenix"

Original released on LP Dunhill DS 50008

(US, 1966)

Although once considered the height of sophistication, by the mid-'60s, instrumental pop - known to some as "space-age bachelor pad music," "space age pop," "beautiful music," and/or "elevator music" - had all but met its match on the charts and radio airwaves. The rise of rock and folk initially complemented combos such as the Brass Ring - a group of studio professionals led by the incomparable Phil Bodner. His career boasted stints with Benny Goodman and as a co-founder of the Metropolitan Jazz Quartet. However, it was his contributions to Enoch Light's "Persuasive Percussion" platters that became the impetus for a modernized version that blended concurrent songs with a lighter and non-threatening sensibility. Bodner chose selections inspired by or lifted from tunes on the silver screen for the Brass Ring's debut long-player "Love Theme from the Flight of the Phoenix". The two non-cinematic exceptions being the midtempo bossa nova vibe that flavors the pop standard "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" and a saxophone-led reading of "My Foolish Heart" that is set to a steady doo wop backbeat. Hammond B-3 enthusiasts will revel in "Secret Love" and the solos on "Moment to Moment" as they capture the almost obligatory "mod" mid-60s sound. The interpretations of "Unchained Melody" and Henry Mancini's classic "Moon River" are particularly notable for their seemingly incongruent upbeat arrangements. This emerging "inspiration"quickly became one of the Brass Ring's primary assets. While the album landed just shy of the Top 100 (number 109) chart, the "Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine)" would be the Brass Ring's highest scoring single, topping out at number 32 in April of 1966. (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)