Listen for Men

This fragrance was converted, my understanding is that it was sold to the company, by the original owner transferring it to The Sharper Image Co. (Who put their name on it, replacing Listen) after a few years. It was sold for a few more through their catalogs. No longer available! Hasn't been around for quite some time...

It's just a lighter version of Sung Homme. Call it Sung Homme Eau. Skip.

Herb Alpert may be the first pop musician to have a signature fragrance --- at least the first American one I can think of. And Listen is entirely consistent with his musical legacy. For several decades, Herb produced masterful instrumental pop records, both with the Tijuana Brass and as a solo artist. Although both jazz and classical influences were clearly present, Herb always stuck pretty close to the melody. He wasn't a trailblazer like Miles Davis or a virtuoso like Freddie Hubbard, and he seemed less interested in pushing boundaries or exploring new textures than in making memorable and melodic records that appealed to both musical sophisticates and mainstream pop record buyers. Nothing wrong with that. Listen takes a very similar approach. Even as the fragrance evolves, the focus is always clearly on the prominent notes of each stage --- the crispness of the lemon and bergamot providing the opening "fanfare," then giving way to the harmonious fruit and green blend of the middle notes before settling into a familiar but subtle fougere base of tonka, amber and woody musk. There's nothing here you haven't smelled/heard before, but the elements are combined in a very distinctive and concise way. For 1991, this is a somewhat subdued creation, and its understatement works perfectly with its composition. There are moments in the early stages when it resembles Eau Sauvage or Signoricci, and later hints of Vetiver and Paco Rabanne, but not enough to seem like a "clone" of any of those. Listen actually IS distinctive, just not in the overstated way that was typical of its era, and I suspect it would find more favor in Europe than in the States. As a "light" fragrance, Listen is WAY more original and distinctive than the plethora of aquatics that glutted the market soon after, and if it were re-released with new packaging and a better marketing strategy, it might even find a new audience today.

I don't understand the opinion that it's similar to Sung Homme, which features strong lavender, imparting an obviously "soapy" quality. This one has quite a bit of geranium, which along with cyclamen, basil, and carrot, could almost be used as a smelling salt, at least for a while (and it's not spicy, which Sung Homme definitely is). Later, the wood is more apparent, and it softens up more than a little. Overall, I'd say this is for someone with specific preferences. Of course, if you want to wear it once every couple of years, like me, that's not an issue. I would advise against a blind buy, but it's rather unique, and probably could be marketed as a niche geranium scent. Quite strong too.