Saturday Sentimentalist: A&M Gems (a playlist)

I was brought up with Bacharach, the Carpenters and the Tijuana Brass on the record player. These bands have always been associated in my mind with my family's existence before I came around in '82. One classic example is a great scene in our family's home movie collection (the film kind) from the 1970s in which my siblings and cousins tube the canal behind our house, which has no audio save for a soundtrack of the instrumental version of Bacharach's "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" that my dad appropriately added.

Even though the records weren't played quite as often during my childhood, if there is one sound that I will forever love, it is that of the early days of A&M Records, the label that helped make a name for all of those guys. Herb Alpert co-founded this record label in the 1960s, and the music that came under it during those early years shared a polished, brassy, Latin, Brazilian, jazzy, easy sound. It's not for everyone, but I can't say I've had a hard time finding people who love it as much as I do.

I resisted my attraction to this music as a kid because it all seemed outdated, but once I got to college, it was a completely different story. Because if there's anything I've learned about college, it's that college is where your unconventional taste in music (or in anything, really) is an effective way to find your best friends. By senior year, I had a late-night radio show, a small gaggle of avid listeners and a solid group of friends who may not have listened to my show, but were nevertheless supportive. I usually stuck to lounge music varieties from labels like Verve and Capitol. But other nights - the truly indulgent ones  - were dedicated to the old gems of A&M.

I'm revisiting some of my favorites with you, as well as some that I've come across more recently. Enjoy this little slice of nostalgia, even if you weren't around to appreciate it the first time. (You'll need a Spotify account to play this...sorry!)