Herb Alpert The Tijuana Brass - Going Places (12 tracks) +Album Reviews

The definitive Tijuana Brass album!

David Kenner | Fort Worth, Texas United States | 06/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was #1 in Billboard the week I was born. I've owned this album in mono and stereo LPs, jukebox mini-LP, 8-track and the previously issued A&M CD.

But I've never heard it like this before! This newly remastered version from Shout Factory blows all previous incarnations away in sound quality. The clarity and depth of tracks like "More And More Amor", "3rd Man Theme", "Walk Don't Run" and "Felicia" make me feel like I'm really hearing them for the first time.

And this album is loaded with classic TJB: "Tijuana Taxi", "Zorba", "3rd Man", "Spanish Flea", "Mae", "Getting Sentimental"...if you added "The Lonely Bull" and "Taste of Honey" to the track listing you'd practically have a collection of greatest hits spanning Herb's first 5 years (which is actually all the 1970 TJB "Greatest Hits" release covered anyway.)

Now, if I had my way, the single versions of "Taxi" and "Zorba" would be included as bonus tracks but my way isn't everyone's way and I won't take off any stars for a lack of extra material.

As the Shout Factory Herb Alpert reissue program continues, I am anticipating each new release more than the previous."

Thanks Shout Factory!

P. Dunlop | PORTLAND, OR United States | 06/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I listened to Going Places as a youngster and loved it. Tijuana Taxi, 3rd Man Theme, Spanish Flea, Walk Don't Run...this album is loaded with great stuff. Several years ago, I realized it was virtually impossible to purchase Going Places on CD. Huh? I couldn't believe it. When I learned the Shout Factory label was reissuing Tijuana Brass albums, I ordered my favorites right away, including this one. This is a terrific reissue...good remastering job, classy packaging, informative liner notes that take you back. Finally."

Why do people mock Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass?

Gene DeSantis | Philadelphia, PA United States | 10/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For many reasons, all unjustified. For starters, they were briefly more popular than the Beatles. It was a studio band and its lead performer overdubbed himself. Its success bred bad imitators, dozens of them, from the Nashville Brass to Ray McKinley's Glenn Miller ghost band (shouldn'ta done it). Then Alpert licensed his music to the Longines Symphonette Society for a multi-disc LP box set. Bad move: it identified the Brass with "easy listening" and a-Lawrence a-Welk. His sound showed up on albums by (among others) Dionne Warwick, the Carpenters, and Burt Bacharach (who enlisted him for "Casino Royale" and briefly owned A&M stock), and on "The Newlywed Game", "The Dating Game", and those atrocious Ant and the Aardvark cartoons. ("Hey Ant!") He also sold chewing gum. Then, as quickly as it came, the Brass went. Alpert became a pop elder statesman and supposed the platinum-selling solo MUZAK he subsequently churned out was better, and some CD transfers in the late eighties came and went too. A&M's huge sale to PolyGram (now Vivendi) and a resulting lawsuit didn't help. Finally, several years ago, prodded by an online Brass fan club, Alpert relented (thank you, Internet), and reissued almost all his output for CD a second time, and are we Brass fans glad he did.

It's stuff you can never tire of. This may seem strange given how the Brass's albums got played to death; but after they disappeared they almost never showed up on the radio again, thus avoiding the fate of most pop hits, which can be tiresome solely for lurking wearily around any corner. It's not just Alpert's musicality that shines through, it's his versatility; you could never pigeonhole him, and nowhere is that more evident than on "Going Places", perhaps his best album. Herb wasn't afraid to tackle anything. We see it especially in his covers: the lively "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You," which happily doffs TD's formal wear; the very go-go "Walk, Don't Run", better than the Ventures' version (yes it is); "And the Angels Sing", with its suave strings; and "A Walk in the Black Forest", snappy and eloquent. He used top-notch backers like Julius Wechter who make the guy sound even better. And if Alpert's trumpet playing may be a matter of debate -- he was certainly not a "muscular" player, yet his style identifiably owes something to Harry James, who was -- he could work clever and stylish effects out of his horn, and he deserves more credit for his fine work than he'll ever get.

Alas, these reissues don't seem to have inspired a new wave of mass Brass shining, but so long as Sony/BMG can keep them active, we diehards will be happy -- and with luck, at least a few new listeners will get to know and love this most musical of pop sensations.

Two minor drawbacks: Alpert's insistence on issuing each album separately at a fairly high price point (with luck it will come down over time), and the @#$%&* DIGIPAK packaging, which deserves a one-star review of its own."

Run, don't walk... and buy this now

Mark C. Gionfriddo | 06/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To me, this is the quintessential TJB album. It certainly is one of the best Herb Alpert ever made, if not the best.

Listening to this CD really brings me back to the 60's and what we all enjoyed about the 2' 45" Top 40 radio song of that era. It was flashy and short but memorable. The classic TJB sound of brass and marimba over a foundation of electric guitar, bass and drums is pleasantly infectious, and it can't help but put a smile on your face.

The order of tunes is perfectly paced with the right mix of fast and slow numbers. There are recognizable Big Band era favorites ("I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", "And The Angels Sing"), a lush, syrupy ballad ("Mae") and ethnic romps ("The 3rd Man Theme", "Zorba The Greek"). "Walk, Don't Run" is arranged as a brief nod to surfer music... or is it in the guise of a 60's spy theme? And finally, there are the hits like "Tijuana Taxi" and Julius Wechter's composition 'Spanish Fly', which we learn was more appropriately renamed "Spanish Flea" by Larry Levine, the session's recording engineer. Alpert's trumpet playing is brilliant throughout this thematic travelogue.

Is this swing/pop music? Is it light jazz/pop? Is it a crossover of many different genres? Whatever it is, it's pretty cool stuff.

I agree with my fellow reviewer Micaloneus that it would've been nice to have the mono version included along with the stereo. I personally grew up on the mono albums, so hearing the stereo version is a real treat- I am hearing things that I didn't remember hearing on the album, such as the background chorus in "Felicia" that appears briefly at 1:10 into the song. Having the mono version would've also doubled the rather scant 30 minute total time of the disc. It's a legitimate quibble if there are differences between mono and stereo versions, as exists with songs in the Beatles catalog. (From what I have been reading on fan sites, differences do exist between versions of the albums, and even on some of the singles that were released.)

Let's all be thrilled that Shout Factory is now reissuing these landmark TJB albums with great sound, extensive liner notes and pictures from Alpert, plus scholarly essays from Josh Kun. I am looking forward to the ones to come, like "The Beat Of The Brass"... and a long overdue reissue of the "Christmas Album". I've about worn my copy out."

Trumpet Blast from the Past: ****1/2

B. Niedt | Cherry Hill, NJ United States | 01/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, does this take me back! My dad was a big TJB fan when I was a young teen, and he had all their albums, so by association I became a fan, too. Herb Alpert and company were riding the top of the easy-listening pop charts in 1965 when this was released, and it's brimming with some of their most familiar tunes: "Tijuana Taxi", "Spanish Flea", "Third Man Theme", and "Zorba the Greek". They may not have been critical favorites, and purist jazz fans may have scoffed at their arrangements, but the fact was they were consummate musicians who were very good at what they did: clever mariachi-flavored original and cover songs, driven by Alpert's superb trumpet. No one else of the era had as many top-40 instrumental hits. The remastered re-release of their catalog from Shout Factory has an impeccable sound - I don't remember the original LP's sounding this clear. And the label is generous with liner notes, too. Hearing this CD took me back to the days of listening to them on my dad's old console hi-fi. Perhaps these re-releases will win them some new fans. In any event, it's good, light-hearted fun. Also recommended: "Whipped Cream and Other Delights.""

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