Goin' Out of My Head (album)

Untitled

Goin' Out of My Head is an album by American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1965. It reached number 7 on the Billboard R&B chart. At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

History

Goin' Out of My Head was Montgomery's third album in 1965 and his first with sales reaching near one million. It was producer Creed Taylor's idea that Montgomery should do a cover of the title song, a 1964 hit by Little Anthony and the Imperials. At the time Taylor brought the song to Montgomery, he was playing at the Half Note Club in New York City with the Wynton Kelly Trio—sessions that appeared on his acclaimed 1965 release Smokin' at the Half Note. Taylor said in a later interview: "If you take away the R&B performance and just look at that song, it's an absolutely marvelous song to improvise on. For that time, it had sophisticated changes and the whole structure was great. I was thinking, 'This would be perfect for Wes Montgomery. But how am I going to overcome the fact that here's Wes and his background? He'd be about the last person to listen to Little Anthony and the Imperials.'"

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

In his Allmusic review, music critic Scott Yanow called the album "...little more than a pleasant melody statement... Recordings like this one disheartened the jazz world but made him a household name and a staple on AM radio. Heard three decades later, the recording is at its best when serving as innocuous background music."

Jazz writer Josef Woodard called the release "Commercial firepower and Grammy-winning accessibility notwithstanding, it's a classic big-band album, with smart charts by Nelson and stolen moments of Montgomery's guitar grandeur and romantic truth scattered throughout. The title track that made so much commercial and critical noise is all of 2:12 in duration, but the album also features plenty of jazz fiber..."

At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

Track listing

1. "Goin' Out of My Head" (Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein) – 2:14
2. "Morro"(Vinicius De Moraes, Antonio Carlos Jobim) – 4:46
3. "Boss City" (Wes Montgomery) – 3:46
4. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" (Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman) (From Disney's Mary Poppins) – 4:51
5. "Naptown Blues" (Montgomery) – 3:08
6. "Twisted Blues" (Montgomery) – 4:15
7. "End of a Love Affair" (Edward Redding) – 3:43
8. "It Was a Very Good Year" (Ervin Drake) – 3:43
9. "Golden Earrings" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Victor Young) – 5:14

Personnel

• Wes Montgomery – guitar
• Phil Woods – alto sax, clarinet
• Bob Ashton – flute, clarinet, saxophone
• Romeo Penque – tenor saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn
• Jerry Dodgion – tenor saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet
• Donald Byrd – trumpet
• Ernie Royal – trumpet
• Joe Newman – trumpet
• Danny Moore – trombone
• Jimmy Cleveland – trombone
• Quentin Jackson – trombone
• Wayne Andre – trombone
• Tony Studd – trombone
• Herbie Hancock – piano
• Roger Kellaway – piano
• George Duvivier – bass guitar
• Dan Bank – drums
• Grady Tate – drums
• Candido Camero – congas

Production notes:

• Creed Taylor – producer
• Oliver Nelson – arranger, conductor
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Orrin Keepnews – original liner notes

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1966	Billboard R&B Albums	7