Search - Herb Alpert :: Rise

"RISE" -- Remastered and Expanded!

David Kenner | Fort Worth, Texas United States | 06/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, the Herb Alpert Signature Series continues. We didn't get CDs of TIJUANA BRASS VOLUME 2, WARM, or THE BRASS ARE COMIN' but they have been made available in digitally remastered form on Apple iTunes. Not counting compilations, the next 6 albums chronologically would be SUMMERTIME, YOU SMILE-THE SONG BEGINS, CONEY ISLAND, JUST YOU & ME, HERB ALPERT/HUGH MASEKELA, and THE MAIN EVENT/LIVE, all origially issued from 1970 to 1978. Instead, they've skipped ahead to 1979 and Herb's big comeback hit, RISE.

This CD is another high quality reissue in the Signature Series. As far as improved sound over the previous CD issue, there is no comparison. "Rise" and "Rotation" even sound remarkably better than they did on DEFINITIVE HITS which wasn't mastered all that many years ago. The drums and fanfare on "1980" come barrelling out of the speakers to let you know up front that there are some serious sonic improvements on this new edition of the album. On "Rise" the voices from the first bass break are much more audible, on "Rotation" the opening percussion has an echo that I've never been able to distinguish before. It gives the intro to the song a bounce that only improves upon what was already my favorite track on the album. Louis Johnson's bass on "Love Is" is much more pronounced -- it really restores the snap to Johnson's slap and the whole track sounds much fresher. There's too many things going on in "Aranjuez" to discuss, but they all sound better now due to a first rate remastering job. As the crazy-mad-one-star-reviewer pointed out earlier, Alpert did resequence the album, swapping "Street Life" with "Aranjuez". This keeps the orginal "Aranjuez" track from being too close to the bonus track remix though, and personally, I think the order of the songs works just fine. The new version of "Aranjuez" is listed as a 2007 dance mix but there really isn't a whole lot that's been changed on the track and I have to agree with Crazy-mad-one-star-reviewer once again when he says that the track doesn't seem all that modern dance-wise. But there are some noticeable differences -- the Spanish guitar intro has been cut and the drums have been remixed to the point where it doesn't scream "Disco!" as much as the '79 original. It's a good mix and I think I may like it as much, maybe even a little more, than the original version. The other bonus track is a new version of "Rotation". I originally thought they had included a '79/'80 era dance version of the song but this version sounds like it would be right at home on the WHIPPED CREAM RE-WHIPPED album along with "Lemon Tree" and "Ladyfingers". At any rate, it's a great version and I think fans of the original will like it.

I always thought RISE was a great album and really deserved all of its success. With this reissue, I think it's become an even better album.

"

Herb Albert 'Rise' At Last!

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 06/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was hoping when the original CD of this album went out of print a remaster would follow soon and it did.This album supervised by Mr.Albert himself contains not only a fat liner booklet but a remastering sound so vivid it will simply blow you away!As for the music itself,being that 'Rise' is Herb's big comeback he did everything in his power to beef up his sound and make it contemporary;what that really means is Herb Albert brings in members of the Crusaders for a huge sound that embraces modern pop,jazz-funk and a lot of disco.The open fanfare of "1980" does showcase one fact;Albert has not elected to alter his trumpet style one bit despite the extremely produced music.And then we're onto the title song everybody knows-again given new life here by the GREAT sound!"Behind The Rain" finds him in full on 4/4 disco beat mode,complete with all the big strings that usually come with it.The real fine for funk fans on this album though has GOT to be "Rotation"-now this is almost as pure a "rare groove" as you can get,with little more then a brooding funk bass synth pulse backing up Albert's dramatic trumpet solo-next to the title song it's probably one of the finest tunes on the album.Along with a couple more returns into the disco relm,including one with a lite reggae influence the catchy "Love Is",the only vocal tune on the album appears and the album ends with a funky cover of The Crusaders "Street Life".Herb Albert proceeded to smooth out his sound on his releases after this recording but 'Rise' is a pivitol moment in his career.And well worth investigating."

Herb Alpert's Disco Album

Ross Ford | Miami, FL United States | 08/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is classic Herb Alpert, but it is also disco. If you are not a disco fan, then this may not be the Herb Alpert album for you. If you are a fan of late 70s/early 80s refined loungy disco this is the album for you. Alperts trumpet sings. The title track (which I believe he won a Grammy for) is a 7+ minute soulful funky disco ballad. This is not the BeeGees, this is disco at the most refined; very classy, expertly arranged and flawlessly played. This is not a disposable pop disco hit, this is disco crafted by musical visionary, who as co-founder of A&M records recorded some the biggest hits of the later 20th century (everyone from Captain Beefheart to The Police to Janet Jackson)."