Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: What Now My Love

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: What Now My Love

1966

A&M Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. What Now My Love  2.Freckles  3.Memories of Madrid  4. It Was a Very Good Year  5.So What's New?  6. Plucky  7. Magic Trumpet  8. Cantina Blue  9. Brasilia  10. If I Were a Rich Man  11. Five Minutes More  12. The Shadow of Your Smile

I did it! I listened to nothing but Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass for 4 days straight!

Now maybe I should watch Matlock and go to bed at 8:30 P.M. every night...



The year was 1966, the Vietnam war was in full swing as protestor's filled the streets, the cities burned as racial tensions came to a head all around the nation, and no album captured the turmoil of these times better than Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass' "What Now My Love."

 Listen to the existential angst of the marimbas in "It Was a Very Good Year," and  the  subtle outrage during Alpert's dignified trumpet solo in "Plucky."

No, I'm just messing with you...it's still the same laid-back, easy-listening fun as always. Perfect for folks still wanting to have a good time in 1966 as the world burned around them. Hey, I can dig it! I guess a modern analogy would be listening to the Jay-Z/Kanye West record where they get together to brag about all the money they make while the Great Recession rages outside their window. Whatever, I get it...



"Escapism" is the word I'm looking for...Man, that Jay-Z/Kanye West album cover is gaudy...At least the art on the Herb Alpert records has a swinging cool about it. Speaking of this album cover, aren't the covers for "South of the Border" and "What Now My Love" almost the same? The Woman in the yellow dress is just on his right side as opposed to his left on this one...

Well, as far as Herb Alpert records go, I'm jumping off here...I guess after listening to these I just don't have the desire to listen any further...Outside of the Mariachi influence waning ever-so-slightly, they all seemed very similar...or else my ears don't work well enough to pick up on any distinct differences...Oh well...

Y'know, I was actually surprised to find out Herb Alpert was still around and putting out albums! Hey, he should do a collabo with Jeezy and Keezy...or maybe some unholy EBM-Elevator amalgamation...

Let's say adios to Herb Alpert and his "Magic Trumpet..."

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: Going Places

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: Going Places

1965

A& M Records

Track Listing: 1. Tijuana Taxi  2.I'm Getting Sentimental Over You  3.More And More Amor  4. Spanish Flea  5. Mae  6. The Third Man Theme  7. Walk, Don't Run  8. Felicia  9. And the Angels Sing  10. Cinco De Mayo  11. A Walk In The Black Forest  12. Zorba The Greek

You know, I thought by this point I'd be a little more sick of listening to nothing but the Tijuana Brass, but I'm actually holding up alright. Herb Alpert's chirpy trumpet and the soothing vibraphones have been a pleasant distraction.

This album sounds exactly like the last one, but that's not a big surprise since it was released within the same year as "Whipped Cream." At first when I heard the whiplash drum beat to "Zorba the Greek" I thought, "Alright! Herb Alpert's going to do a crust/hardcore song!" .But then the other instruments came in and it turned out to be opne of those traditional Greek "OPA!" style tunes. Aw, phooey! Oh well, there's always the album cover... These guys always had great covers. They're such "Old Man" fantasies...somehow dated yet timeless...

"Old Man" fantasies just sounds terrible...I wonder if it'll get me any bizarre Google hits...




I don't feel like doing an in-depth analysis of  another "Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass"  album today, so instead I'm giving you a recipe and instructions on how to make your own Tom Collins:
Ingredients:

1.25 oz Gin...ahhh, what the hell...it's been a long day...5 OZ of GIN!!!
1 oz. of Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon of superfine sugar...
3 oz. Club Soda
1 Maraschino Cherry
1 Slice of Orange

Instructions:

1. Send your wife to the kitchen... (remember, it's 1965 and I just got off of work! )

2. Fill a swank shaker halfway with ice cubes, sugar , lemon juice, and for the love of God, man...DO NOT FORGET THE GIN!!!

3. Shake the shit out of it.




4. Strain the drink into a Collins Glass filled with ice...

5. Stir it up, and don't forget to garnish with the cherry and the orange peel...This is what gives the drink its garish sophistication...

So while we drink this we're going to listen to "Tijuana Taxi," the title of which sounds like it should have an unspeakably obscene meaning on www.urbandictionary.com...

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream & Other Delights

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream & Other Delights

1965

A& M Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. A Taste of Honey  2. Green Peppers  3. Tangerne  4. Bittersweet Samba  5. Lemon Tree  6. Whipped Cream  7. Love Potion No. 9  8. El Garbanzo  9. Ladyfingers  10. Butterball  11.Peanuts  12. Lollipops and Roses  13. Rosemary  14. Blueberry Park

Yesterday I remarked that if you collect vinyl records long enough there's a 100% chance you'll own at least one Herb Alpert record. And to add to that, there's a 200% chance it's going to be this one. I mean, look at that cover! There's no way not to buy it! Swank! Its ubiquity is probably a factor too. You go to any used record store and there will definitely be 500 Herb Alpert records in a ratty cardboard box that denotes the "dollar" section. It's because the audience for this has literally died off. This music can only be for old people! I mean that as a compliment by the way. Old people are cool. Look...

That cane stands on its own! Rad! 

Let's just say everything the field of medicine knows is incorrect, and it turns out that eating Burger King and drinking beer everyday doesn't lead to an early demise...Then this is exactly what I would want to listen to when I'm retired and playing shuffleboard!



This album also happens to be a concept album about a young boy who is approached by the Council of the Elders by the mysterious Morpheus who takes the young boy on a flute-laden quest to battle the evil forces of...No wait...That's Kiss' "Music From the Elder..."



 This concept record is about Food... Sort of a spiritual Godfather to Weird Al's "The Food Album..."



I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this album is even game-showier that the last one, if that's possible. I can only imagine that putting this on when you're having a down day will either put a big smile on your face or will push you over the brink into suicide. Either way, it's probably best not to know...Save this for the good times...Like the day your social security check comes in...or  when you're on vacation somewhere and need something to listen to while you're drinking a Pina Colada out of a big-ass pineapple...

Life is good...and fleeting...so let's check out "A Taste of Honey." A song that is also good and fleeting...

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass: South of the Border

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass: South of the Border

1964

A&M Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl

Track Listing:  1.South of the Border  2.The Girl from Ipanema  3. Hello, Dolly!  4. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face  5. Up Cherry Street  6. The Mexican Shuffle 7. El Presidente  8. All My Loving  9. Angelito  10. Salud, Amor y Dinero (Health, Love and Money)  11. Número Cinco  12. Adiós, Mi Corazón (Goodbye, My Heart)

Boy, am I out of league with this one. This isn't the type of music I normally listen to, but as anyone who collects vinyl records can tell you, it's only a matter of time before you own a Herb Alpert record...or in my case 5 of them. This particular record was a gift from my friends Paul & Jessica.

This is the third album from Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and if you've never heard them before then I guess the best way to describe them would be easy listening jazz music with strong pop and Mariachi overtones...in other words this sounds exactly like Game Show Music. I'm serious! It's totally impossible to not be happy when you listen to this! When I listen to this I feel like Bob Barker's calling me down to play "Plinko!"



So yea, if you're ever in you're cruising  around in your car and feel like bumping some "Match Game"  music, this is totally the album to play. I was actually familiar with a lot of the songs on the album, although not the Herb Alpert versions...I knew "South of the Border" from a Prince Tubby records I have, and they do a version of "All My Loving" that would sound great in an elevator, and then there's the "Free Bird" of easy listening "The Girl From Ipanema." So this album actually went down pretty smooth for me...

Oh yea, speaking of going down smooth, how's your Mother? Errr...I mean, What should we drink while we're listening to this?



Nahhh, too authentic...



The easy answer would be a Martini, but I don't think that's quite right... Your tie should be tight when you're drinking a Martini...You should be listening to "Herb Alpert" after a hard day at the office...You come home, loosen your tie, put on "South of the Border" and have your wife go to the kitchen and make you...



...A Tom Collins! Perfect!

So let's put up our feet, sip a Tom Collins, listen to "South of the Border" and fantasize about fighting bulls....