Englebert Humperdnick's We Made It Happen

I got beat. I bought what I thought was Led Zeppelin IV for a dollar at goodwill, but inside the sleeve was Engelbert Humperdnik. I guess I'd be justified in asking for my dollar back, but I figured my dollar would be just as well spent trying something new.

The album consists of rock standards of the late 60s to early 70s sung by a crooner backed by an orchestra. Easy. Mellow. Regal. Elegant. Boring.

Consider the recent Rock Swings by Paul Anka as a point of reference. On that album, Anka reaches out to a rock audience – showing us that swing can rock as much as rock can swing.

“We Made It Happen” doesn't rock or swing. The best that can be said for it is that it replaces all the rock & roll passion in songs like “Something” and “My Cherie Amour” with well balanced orchestration. And these are hardly rock & roll's most passionate numbers . . . .

The best track on the album is the Bee Gee's Words. The production is vaguely reminiscent of The Doors' Soft Parade - except without any balls.

At first, it was hard for me to fathom who the intended market for this album was. After some thought, I speculate that Humperdnick had a an album or a single that got some traction with the generation that came of age after Korea but before the baby boomers started rocking. Perhaps the people who listened to Sinatra in the 60s – a mature and often nostaligic audience - an equivalent of today's adult contemporary alternative rock market. Once rock and roll took over, I speculate that “We Made it Happen” was an attempt to keep Humperdnick relevant. I also speculate that the album was played by radio stations whose primary market was that in-betweener generation – again to stay relevant, cross market, or even just have some new material to play.

I mean, The Beatles and Stevie Wonder are hardly unaccessible acts, but these are performances for an audience too white bread for even the most accessible rock and roll. These are the people who were too young to have truly experienced swing but too old to revel in rock – and that's a damn shame. Believe me – I'm glad as hell I came of age the year punk broke. A few years in either direction and the music of my generation would be the swan songs of over exploited dying sub-genres.

So in the end – I thought I bought Zeppelin, and what (I think) I got was a snap shot of one moment in the pitiful and slow the death of pre-rock crooning.