Okay okay okay, before we get to the song itself, let’s talk about the horrific album cover.
It’s sexist. It’s got nothing to do with the music. It’s ridiculous, and when paired with the equally ridiculous title of the album, it’s downright offensive. It’s a 1950s version of Blink-182’s Enema Of The State, except that one was ridiculous on purpose.
But as far as I can tell, all this ridiculousness says more about Curtis Counce’s record label than it does about Counce himself. Counce’s label was Contemporary Records, and browsing their catalog is like visiting the Bad Design Hall of Fame.
One really wonders who was making the album art decisions at Contemporary. Their covers range from the highly unimaginative “guy-playing-his-instrument” style to the low-budget “my-kid-drew-it” style to the downright creepy “multiple-homicide-in-the-studio” style. (In case you’re wondering, Counce’s album is not the only Contemporary record in the “objectifying-women-because-why-not” style.)
Then there’s the issue of the titles of these albums. To say that Contemporary Records was pretty liberal with their use of exclamation marks would be a colossal understatement. A startling number of their releases have at least one exclamation mark in the title, even if the name of the record doesn’t seem like something particularly exciting. Three examples: Leroy Walks! Let’s Cook! Leroy Walks Again!! Notice the two exclamation points in that last one. Was it really that surprising that Leroy walked again? This record label clearly has a low standard for excitement.
So let’s all agree that Curtis Counce was most likely not to blame for a) the album cover, b) the lame album title, or c) the unnecessary exclamation mark in said title.
If we can agree to do that, we’ll be able to appreciate bassist Curtis Counce for what he was: a seriously awesome and under-appreciated jazz talent.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. All the instruments are panned hard left or right, giving the headphoned listener the impression of being on stage, surrounded by the band.
2. Even though Counce was the band leader, he didn’t seem to give himself gratuitous bass solos. Maybe he was easy-going enough not to worry about spotlights, solos, or ridiculous album titles dreamed up by an insane record label.
3. Although Counce’s version is instrumental, the original lyrics by Irving Berlin are touching. And best of all, the lyrics are a series of questions. No exclamation marks required.
Recommended listening activity:
Writing a poem with no punctuation.