Customer Reviews

Beat of the Brass (Spkg)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Beat of the Brass" is tied with "South of the Border" as my favorite TJB albums. This one is a typical TJB formula album (covers of classics and pop tunes mixed in with originals), but the diversity is nice, and the tunes are all done well, although I could do without "Talk to the Animals".

I do agree with a previous reviewer that the music on this album diverges some from the TJB albums that came before it, but I think it's a welcome change. One such tune is "Slick", which has been a favorite of mine for years. Simple enough for me to figure out how to play it on the trumpet without music, but the little chromatic midsection is elegant with nice dissonant harmony. I love the vibraphone plonking away, and the driving rhythm section, which is also going stong on "Monday, Monday". "Panama" is another favorite of mine, as the rhythm section steals the show in that tune. The slower tunes are nice too, good for de-stressing.

The remastering is decent, although for some reason the CD sounds somewhat hollow and a bit muffled in the car, but better on the home stereo. I have a NM LP which I pulled out and plopped on the digital turntable to do a comparison. I was somewhat disappointed with the packaging. The LP has closeup cameo pictures of the band members, which are missing on the CD insert. It would have been nice to have those, and perhaps a name with each picture.

I was raised listening to the TJB so I am prejudiced toward their playing. That said, this is an excellent example of the "old" TJB type of playing--simple, bouncy, uplifting. The TJB have a style that is unique and I never tire of hearing them. I have been listening to this album since it was an LP, back in 1968, and I still pull it out every spring to listen to it again. Long live Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass!

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass/ The Beat of the Brass: There is one truly wonderful cut here and it is "This guys in love with you" on which Herb Alpert sings. That is the main reason for buying this album. The rest of the songs are good, but lack the energy of his best albums.

The Beat Of the Brass is the soundtrack for The Tijuana Brass' second television special. It features Alpert's first number one hit, as a vocalist. This Guy's In Love With You, written by Burt Bacharach, is the last track on the album.
The Beat of the Brass' opener is Monday Monday. A swinging rendition of The Mamas & The Papas hit. After this track, the album goes into a string of tunes with a bossa nova beat. Cabaret, and Panama are the high lights of the first set of brazilian influenced tunes. Talk To The Animals, a rather corny number isn't the best song on the album.
Track seven, Slick is another swinging piece, and the second string of bossa novas starts off again, until the album comes to a close with the vocal.
The original album had a gatefold cover displaying scenes from the special they did for NBC, and very nice pictures. This is a very tight album, with excellent instrumentation. A wonderful album!

Originally released in 1968, The Beat of the Brass (stereo only) might be one of the best albums from Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass. Most of this album is very entertaining. It contains such gems as Monday, Monday, A Beautiful Friend, Panama, Slick, The Robin and of course, This Guys In Love With You. This album just flows from start to finish.

01. Monday, Monday - 10/10 I love the Bob Edmondson trombone work here; in fact he is at his peak all the way through this album.

02. A Beautiful Friend - 9/10 All I can say is, really pretty. Herb's is superb on his horn, the flute work is gorgeous, and there's just the right amount of drums.

03. Cabaret - 9/10 Edmondson's trombone work and Nick Ceroli's drums make this work.

04. Panama - 10/10 Great work by Edmondson again and by the amazing Julius Wechter on the chimes.

05. Belz Mein Shtetele Belz (My Home Town) - 5/10 A punching the clock type number. It's alright.

06. Talk To The Animals - 2/10 This song worked for the TV special but, is a bit awkward on the album.

07. Slick- 10/10 I just love those chord changes in the chorus. A very cool tune.

08. She Touched Me - 9/10 This is a much underestimated little gem.

09. Thanks For The Memory - 8/10 Another good toe-taper.

10. The Robin - 9/10 - A fabulous instrumental that's tucked towards the back of the album.

11. This Guys In Love With You - 10/10 It was great in '68 and still sounds fresh to this day. This was the perfect blending of song and performance which produced the first number one single for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

This is a classic album with great sound quality and so it gets 5 stars for the music and packaging!

I am repeating this story you are about to read as it gives an explanation of why I love this music so much! "The Beat of the Brass" has many of the songs on it used on the ride you are about to read about. It is one of my favorite Herb albums for that reason. That being said....Please read on.....I have fond memories of the music of Herb Alpert! I was introduced to him at an early age as my parents were fans of his records. I didn't hear much of him again until I was coming of age in Wildwood N.J. at the age of 15 when I used to party under the boardwalk with my friends and our girlfriends underneath Hunt's Pier's "El Scrambler" ride. The ride played Herb Alpert tunes non stop! I guess you could say I became a "Man" underneath that pier with my first love listening to the Tijuana Brass. Later in life in my 30's I was taking a break from playing in a band in the local bars,I became a DJ and I would mix Herb Alpert in my mixes and buy shots of Tequila for my fans! To this day when I play these songs at parties we all look for the Tequila bottle! This is a one of a kind sound and if I were stranded on a desert island with only a few albums, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass would be included in that collection! This is one of his best albums and the last great album in my opinion. I no longer own the original records so, I can not say if the new cd's are true to the originals. They sound fantastic to my ear!

Though this album still has great music, it presented the first signs that Herb Alpert was ready to move beyond the Tijuana Brass. First there was the solo singing. Then there was an hour-long TV special (featuring songs from this album). Even though both ventures had high numbers, they were poor representations of the Tijuana Brass phenomenom. While I could tolerate "This Guy's In Love With You", the TV show was a huge disappointment. Other TJB albums followed but I could sense the change here.

I was exposed to this album by my grandmother in the seventies when I was just a little girl. I loved it then and I love it now. I looked for this album for years and it was unavailable.

I've enjoyed the sound of Herb Alpert music since he started in the 1960's. This CD reissue brings back great music enjoyment memories and I throughly enjoyed the enclosed booklet.

It's just what I was looking for. An excellent site to make shopping and the perfect, originals cds that I wanted! Thanks!
Wanda.