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Alpert and his Tijuana Brass were enormous, becoming the biggest-selling instrumental act in the US. In the UK, they enjoyed five top 10 albums and two top 10 singles. Although he had his first minor UK hit in 1963 with The Lonely Bull, a moody piece of bullfight music, it was the forever jaunty Spanish Flea that took him into the top three in 1966. The following year he was to soundtrack the original Casino Royale.
The first disc moves from his 60s heyday to his 80s revival. It is what it is, impeccably played, perfectly arranged. When easy listening became dubbed lounge-core to compliment Britpop in the 90s, Alpert's breezy rendition of A Taste of Honey was adopted by Chris Evans in his first, more notorious stint as a BBC breakfast DJ.
Why we should care about Alpert in 2010 is down to two shimmering recordings: Rise and This Guy’s in Love With You. Recorded in 1979, Rise grooved perfectly and demonstrated how Alpert could be in step with the times. The breakdown became the main sample for the Notorious B.I.G.’s Hypnotize.
This Guy’s in Love With You, ironically the one track without a trumpet, is the one for which Alpert will be most fondly remembered. Written by Burt Bacharach, Alpert’s fragile vocal (one of the very few times he took the mic) is perfect for the song, which still sounds like a shy groom singing to his bride at his wedding for the first and only time ever in public.
This two-CD set also features a recent live recording of Alpert in cabaret concert with his wife, singer Lani Hall. It is straightforward, supper jazz, delivered impeccably. It will win no new fans but delight his hardcore audience, sounding fantastically out of time.
The Essential Herb Alpert proves that the smooth shiny veneers of Alpert and his horn were as central to the 60s as peace and love. You may not wish to return to it often, but the highlights here are rather fabulous.
--Daryl EasleaFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Taking the hits CD first, it is presented in chronological order beginning with The lonely bull, which became an American top ten hit in 1962. Subsequently, the band had many American top ten hits in the adult contemporary charts but few made the top ten in the main pop charts. 1965 was a successful year for the band, who had an American top ten pop hit with A taste of honey and just missed the top ten with Zorba`s dance, then had a British top three hit with Spanish flea.
Their first American number one pop hit (and also their second British top three hit) came in 1968 with This guy's in love with you, which features Herb as vocalist. It was the first number one record for the fledgling A and M record label, which Herb co-founded and which is best remembered for the Carpenters' music; the co-founders sold it to a major label in 1987. Nobody would describe Herb Alpert as a great vocalist, but this particular song suited him and he comes across very effectively.
Herb disbanded the Tijuana Brass in 1969, but periodically reformed it thereafter. He continued to have solo hits in America, but two stand out. The first came in 1979 with Rise, which gave him his second American number one but his first as a solo performer; it made number thirteen in Britain. The second came in 1987 with Diamonds, a duet with Janet Jackson that made number one in the American R+B charts as well as the top five in the main American pop charts and the top thirty in Britain.
The second CD was originally released in America as Anything Goes in 2009. As far as I know, it wasn't released in Britain but it was probably a good idea to hold it back and combine it with a hits compilation to form this double CD. I believe the live recordings were made on a 2008 tour that Herb and Lani did together. The music here is very different from any of the music on the first CD. Here, we are treated to jazz music with Brazilian influences featuring classic songs from the first half of the twentieth century as well as less famous songs of more recent vintage including two original songs and a revival of This guy`s in love with you.
Personally, I like the old classics best here - Fascinating rhythm, The trolley song, That old black magic, It`s only a paper moon, Let`s face the music and dance, I`ve grown accustomed to her face, Anything goes and I`ve got you under my skin - most of which I`ve heard plenty of times before, but the versions here are a little different in various ways, and not just because they are live recordings. Still, there .is plenty of great music and while I don't always like half and half doubles in which a hits compilation is augmented by an original album, the pairing here suits me just fine.
I doubt that this set will do much business in America, where they have been able to by hits compilations and the live jazz album separately, but it's not meant to. This is really aimed at the British market, where it is the most heavily promoted Herb Alpert album that I can remember. It deserves to do well, though I suspect that some people will enjoy either the hits album or the live album but not both. My tastes are sufficiently eclectic that I can enjoy both.
Herb's music is so incredibly catchy it makes you want to get up and dance, it really is a most enjoyable 2 cd set.
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