Wes Montgomery's Verve Years "Movin'" to CD on New Box Set

Wes Montgomery’s Verve Years “Movin'” to CD on New Box Set

Hip-o Select announced their latest box set release just before the weekend: a massive chronicle of legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery’s output for Verve Records.

Montgomery was already an influential jazz player in the late ’50s and early ’60s when signed to Riverside Records. His thumb-picked guitar stylings influenced countless axe men, from Pat Metheny to Jimi Hendrix, and his plethora of recordings from the era give even the most seasoned fans much to treasure. But when he joined Impulse! Records founder Creed Taylor at Verve, something interesting happened: Montgomery began to infuse his jazz style with a more traditional pop bent, adding brassy and string-infused arrangements from the likes of Don Sebesky and Oliver Nelson and covering more pop-oriented material, including Little Anthony and The Imperials’ “Going Out of My Head” (his performance would win a Grammy) and the Sherman brothers’ classic “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins. Though Montgomery would be taken from the music world not long after signing with A&M, passing away from a heart attack at the too-young age of 45, his music has lasted more than a lifetime.

And on Movin’: The Complete Verve Recordings, every note of this fertile two-year period is covered. The five-disc set includes all eight of Montgomery’s original Verve albums and a host of bonus material. While none of the bonus content is unreleased, owing to Verve’s heavy output of posthumous releases and CD bonus tracks, 82 tracks is a lot of ground to cover, and with sleek packaging and new liner notes from writer Marc Myers, you can be sure you’re getting the real deal on this set.

The box is available September 27, and can be pre-ordered after the jump.

Movin’: The Complete Verve Recordings (Hip-o Select/Verve B0015613-02, 2011)

Disc 1: Movin’ Wes, Bumpin’ and bonus tracks

Caravan
People
Movin’ Wes (Part 1)
Moca Flor
Matchmaker
Movin’ Wes (Part 2)
Senza Fine
Theodora
In and Out
Born to Be Blue
West Coast Blues
Bumpin’
Tear It Down
A Quiet Thing
Con Alma
The Shadow of Your Smile (Love Theme from “The Sandpiper”)
Mi Cosa
Here’s That Rainy Day
Musty
Just Walkin’
My One and Only Love
Just Walkin’ (Alternate Take)

Disc 2: Smokin’ at the Half Note and more

No Blue
If You Could See Me Now
Unit 7
Four on Six
What’s New
Willow Weep for Me
Portrait of Jennie
The Surrey with the Fringe on Top
Oh, You Crazy Moon
Misty
Impressions

Disc 3: Goin’ Out of My Head, Tequila and bonus tracks

Goin’ Out of My Head
O Morro
Boss City
Chim Chim Cher-ee (from Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins”)
Naptown Blues
Twisted Blues
End of a Love Affair
It Was a Very Good Year
Golden Earrings
Tequila
Little Child (Daddy Dear)
What the World Needs Now is Love
The Big Hurt
Bumpin’ on Sunset
How Insensitive (Insensatez)
The Thumb
Midnight Mood
Wives and Lovers
Tequila (Alternate Take)

Disc 4: California Dreaming, Jimmy and Wes: The Dynamic Duo and bonus track

California Dreaming
Sun Down
Oh You Crazy Moon
More, More, Amor
Without You
Winds of Barcelona
Sunny
Green Peppers
Mr. Walker
South of the Border
Sunny (Alternate Take)
Down by the Riverside (with Jimmy Smith)
Night Train (with Jimmy Smith)
James and Wes (with Jimmy Smith)
13 (Death March) (with Jimmy Smith)
Baby, It’s Cold Outside (with Jimmy Smith)

Disc 5: The Further Adventures of Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery and bonus tracks

King of the Road (with Jimmy Smith)
Maybe September (with Jimmy Smith)
O.G.D. (a.k.a. Road Song) (with Jimmy Smith)
Call Me (with Jimmy Smith)
Milestones (with Jimmy Smith)
Mellow Mood (with Jimmy Smith)
‘Round Midnight (with Jimmy Smith)
O.G.D. (a.k.a. Road Song) (Alternate Take) (with Jimmy Smith)
The Big Hurt (Alternate Take)
Bumpin’ on Sunset (Alternate Take)
Willow Weep for Me (Overdubbed Version)
Portrait of Jennie (Overdubbed Version)
Oh, You Crazy Moon (Overdubbed Version)
Misty (Overdubbed Version)

Disc 1, Tracks 1-11 released as Verve LP V/V6-8610, 1964
Disc 1, Tracks 12-19 released as Verve LP V/V6-8625, 1965
Disc 1, Tracks 20-21, Disc 3, Tracks 18-19, Disc 4, Track 11 and Disc 5, Tracks 9-10 released on Just Walkin’ – Verve V6-8804, 1971
Disc 1, Track 22 released as a bonus track on reissue of Bumpin’ – Verve 314 539 062-2, 1992
Disc 2, Tracks 1-5 released as Verve LP V/V6-8633, 1965
Disc 2, Tracks 6-7 released on The Small Group Recordings – Verve VE-2-2513, 1976
Disc 2, Tracks 8-11 and Disc 5, Tracks 11-14 released as Willow Weep for Me – Verve V6-8765, 1969
Disc 3, Tracks 1-9 released as Verve LP V/V6-8642, 1965
Disc 3, Tracks 10-17 released as Verve LP V/V6-8653, 1966
Disc 4, Tracks 1-10 released as Verve LP V/V6-8672, 1966
Disc 4, Track 12-16 released as Verve LP V/V6-8678, 1966
Disc 5, Tracks 1-6 released as Verve LP Verve V6-8766, 1966
Disc 5, Track 8 released as a bonus track on reissue of The Dynamic Duo: Jimmy and Wes – Verve 314 521 445-2, 1991

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Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.