Montage - Montage (1969).
Growing up, Michael Brown was no stranger to music; his father Harry Lookofsky was a classically-trained composer, and saw that his son followed in his musical footsteps. While Brown was an ardent classical music fan and dedicated to his musical training, he also acquired a love for the newfangled music known as rock ‘n roll.
As the chief songwriter for The Left Banke, Brown composed an array of songs that conflated Baroque style classical music with rock ‘n roll reminiscent of popular British bands such as The Zombies and The Beatles. The string-heavy “Walk Away Renée” peaked at #5 in 1966 on the Billboard charts, and with the help of Brown’s father, The Left Banke released an album on Smash/Mercury Records in 1967. With the release of the album, the piano-driven “Pretty Ballerina” also charted, the single soaring up to #15.
In January 1967, Brown walked out on The Left Banke in the midst of a tour, hoping to be a studio auteur. Montage is what became of Brown’s aspirations; Brown wrote a majority of the band’s songs (with some help from his friends, such as Woodstock performer Bert Sommer and Left Banke musician Tom Feher), played the keyboards, and produced the record.
While The Left Banke’s 1969 sophomore album, Too, may be a disappointment for some fans (only a small handful of songs were written by Brown before he left, the others were written by Finn, who had taken over as primary songwriter), Montage recalls the earlier, more seminal work of The Left Banke. Montage is exactly what you’d expect of Brown— meticulously crafted pop songs drenched in strings, harmonies, and the occasional horn section. Montage’s lyrics cover a vast spectrum of subjects: a tale of early love (“I Shall Call Her Mary”), a story of a woman that cannot forget her late husband (“She’s Alone”), the confessions of a high-esteemed pianist (“Grand Pianist”), a commentary on man’s role in destroying the environment (“Men Are Building Sand”), a jab at the infamous Vietnam War (“Wake Up Jimmy”). Some songs have nonsensical lyrics (“Tinsel And Ivy”), while songs such as ”An Audience With Miss Priscilla Gray” leave nothing to the imagination. Unlike some of The Left Banke’s works, this album uses stereo’s full potential— audiophiles will be ecstatic to hear plenty of layers streaming out of both speakers. Zealous fans of The Left Banke will notice that the Montage album has a remake of the 1967 monetary flop “Desirée” (the record company dished out for a 27-piece orchestra, only to have the song hardly make Billboard) and a version of “Men Are Building Sand” that has less robotic vocals than The Left Banke’s rendition.
Unfortunately, Montage’s eponymous album failed to chart, and the group disbanded. Brown continued his musical endeavors with The Stories (scoring a hit with a remake of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie”), The Beckies, and an obscure Yvonne Vitale record. Montage remains the album that picked up where Brown left off in The Left Banke; The Stories and The Beckies were more art-rock than baroque pop, and the Vitale album (recorded in the early 1990s) remains an ephemereal collection of songs that sound unfinished.
Montage - Montage is now available on compact disc through the much-beloved Sundazed Records. It features four previously unreleased tracks (#11 - #14). The original LP can occasionally be seen floating around on eBay.
01. I Shall Call Her Mary
02. She’s Alone
03. Grand Pianist
04. Men Are Building Sand
05. Desirée
06. The Song Is Love
07. Tinsel And Ivy
08. An Audience With Miss Priscilla Gray
09. My Love
10. Wake Up Jimmy (Something Is Happening Outside)
11. The Mirror
12. Thor And Or (instrumental)
13. The Song Is Love (instrumental)
14. Desirée (instrumental)
