Lord Love A Duck (Original Motion Picture Sound Track) LP 1966 @ 192

Biography by Scott Yanow

One of the top jazz arranger/composers of the 1950s, Neal Hefti first wrote charts in the late '30s for Nat Towles. He contributed arrangements to the Earl Hines big band; played trumpet with Charlie Barnet, Horace Heidt, and Charlie Spivak (1942-1943); and toured with Woody Herman's First Herd (1944-1946), marrying Herman's singer Francis Wayne. It was with Herman that Hefti began to get a strong reputation, arranging an updated "Woodchopper's Ball" and "Blowin' Up a Storm," and composing "The Good Earth" and "Wild Root." He also took a notable solo during a Lucky Thompson session on "From Dixieland to Bop." However, Hefti soon relegated his trumpet playing to a secondary status (although he played it on an occasional basis into the 1960s) and concentrated on his writing. He contributed charts to the orchestras of Charlie Ventura (1946), Harry James (1948-1949), and most notably Count Basie (1950-1962). For Basie, he wrote "Little Pony," "Cute," "Li'l Darling," "Whirlybird," and many other swinging songs, often utilizing Frank Wess' flute in inventive fashion. Neal Hefti also led his own bands off and on in the 1950s, but in later years concentrated on writing for films while remaining influenced by his experiences in the jazz world.

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01. Lord Love A Duck (Main Title)  (2:15)

02. The Wedding  (1:16)

03. Bob's March  (0:37)

04. Balboa Blast  (3:30)

05. All Night Long (Part I)  (3:26)

06. Arsenic In The Face  (2:59)

07. The Year Of The Duck  (2:41)

08. Lord Love A Duck  (2:29)

09. Gaudeamus - Hey, Hey, Hey  (2:02)

10. All Night Long (Part II)  (3:54)

11. Finale: Lord Love A Duck  (1:53)

Review by Tony Wilds

The soundtrack to a fine George Axelrod movie, Lord Love a Duck combines the standard, pre-psychedelic rock of bands like the Dave Clark Five or Paul Revere with mod organ and blues. The title track, sung by the Wild Ones and composed by Ernie Sheldon, features the typical Monkees-era "hey hey hey" business and even camp duck quacks. The instrumental "Balboa Blast" is the killer, however. Hinging on the basic tension-and-release trick, the organ, guitar, and drums set up for a deep, funky blues riff in the middle with everything, down to a surf drum roll. The teasing lead-in is not strong enough to make it really great, but a remix could turn out something closer to the level of Lalo Schifrin's "The Bird." From The Liquidator soundtrack, "The Bird" rules the roost of jukebox dirges, flying high above all neat pop, rock, blues, and jazz categorization. It cooks. Apart from "Balboa Blast," the rest of the soundtrack mostly just varies the theme a bit, like the cashmere sweaters in every color from the film itself. "All Night Long, Pt. 2" gets into more blues, and "The Year of the Duck" has some Doors-ish organ.

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