Woody Herman, almost alone among the veteran bandleaders of the swing era, went out of his way to keep an open mind toward new developments in jazz and pop music. This particular LP dismayed many of
Herman's longtime fans, because it found his orchestra performing such numbers as "Macarthur Park" (before
Maynard Ferguson discovered it), "Light My Fire," "I Say a Little Prayer" and
Smokey Robinson's "Here I Am, Baby."
Richard Evans contributed the arrangements and two originals including "Impressions of Strayhorn," a feature for
Herman's alto and clarinet. The other soloists include tenors
Sal Nistico and
Frank Vicari. Although a sincere effort, the end results often sound a little silly, as one would expect in encountering
Woody Herman's Big Band playing
the Doors. [Originally released 1968,
Light My Fire was reissued in 2000.]