See, It Was Like This was released in 1989 as a brand-new set of acoustic re-recordings of songs from
Aztec Two-Step's early-'70s albums. Not a cynical attempt to avoid paying licensing fees to Elektra Records for reissue rights or an admission of complete creative brain-death,
See, It Was Like This instead functions as a kind of alternative greatest-hits package of
Aztec Two-Step's early years. The duo's early work with producer
Jerry Yester was truly lovely in the near-orchestral manner of
Yester's own work with his wife,
Judy Henske, around the same period, but these much simpler, almost stark new versions of the songs strip away the slightly dated orchestrations and put the focus entirely on
Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman's close harmonies and acoustic guitars, both of which are in top shape throughout. ~ Stewart Mason