Customer Reviews

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, Vol. 2

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"Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass ~ Vol. 2" was recorded in 1963 but didn't hit the Billboard 200 until January 1966 between the "Going Places" and "What Now My Love" albums, peaking at #17.

Too often we tend to think of "V2" as some kind of discarded pile of junk, because of it's rather ill-fated original reaction. But "V2" has always been one of my favorite Tijuana Brass albums. It makes me imagine a romantic Madrid. There's more of an international sparkle to this album, a Spanish feeling. It's unquestionably a party album and not as commercial sounding as some of the later releases.

Listener reaction is mixed on this album, some like the more authentic Tijuana sounds, while others feel it is gimmicky, with the occasionally crowd noises. I believe Herb did a spectacular piece of work with this album. I still play my mono copy quite frequently. Hopefully I'll feel good about the stereo version when it finally makes it's second appearance on compact disc. I will certainly purchase it.

Tracklisting:

The Great Manolete {Alpert}
Spanish Harlem {Leiber-Spector}
Swinger From Seville {Alpert}
Winds Of Barcelona {Sol Lake}
Green Leaves of Summer {Tiompkin-Webster}
More {Ortalani-Oliviero}
A-me-ri-ca {Bernstein-Sondheim}
Surfin' Senorita {Moss-Alpert}
Marching Thru Madrid {Sol Lake}
Crea Mi Amor {Sol Lake}
Mexican Corn {Bowman-Alpert}
Milord {Marguerite Monnat}

I loved this album on vinyl -- as a teenager in California I dreamed of romantic summer nights and days in Spain. "Winds of Barcelona" was the peak in the sequence on side one, and ending with the whimsical "Milord" was the perfect coda to side two. Now I have The Lonely Bull, South of the Border, Whipped Cream and Other Delights, Going Places and What Now My Love on cd -- but Vol. 2 is just as good and is my favorite Tijuana Brass recording.

This was my first Herb Alpert record that I bought at age 7 in the summer of 1966. The Winds of Barcelona will always be my favorite Herb Alpert song. I have gone back and bought every other Tijuana Brass original album since they came out on CD. I am still waiting for this one! My collection can never be complete without it. When is it finally coming out on CD?????

Track #1 on A&M's 1963 LP of HERB ALPERT's TIJUANA BRASS * VOLUME 2 (SP 103) opens much as Herb's previous hit single "The Lonely Bull," with overdubs of an appreciative corrida crowd.

The follow-up to that popular tune and debut LP was created when the Tijuana Brass was a still non-band. Herb, a few studio musicians and some chorus or sound effect overdubs represent this TJB "group." The record sold poorly and its only single, "Marching Thru Madrid" briefly sat at the bottom of Billboard's Pop Hot 100 chart. This track lends itself to the LP's cover art of a sihouetted procession traveling down an irregular incline; a cathedral rises beyond. Heard here are hoof clops and a wordless chorus with soaring soprano.

Artistically, "Green Leaves of Summer" is best here. Herb's appropriately melancholy horn is backed by subdued brass, marimba, rhythm and dubbed-in strings. "Swinger from Seville" has a burlesque setting of stripper and hooting audience. The applauding crowd returns for a WEST SIDE STORY cover of "America," a track that oddly opens with a strain of "Jingle Bells." Herb whistles the melody of "Mexican Corn after its first go-round. The curious album closer, "Milord" is a familiar Édith Piaf chanson entitled "Ombre de la Rue."

Nearly 50 years later, TJB Volume 2 remains one of Herb Alpert's weakest efforts. For TJB completists only.

PROGRAM--

SIDE ONE:
[2:35] The Great Manolete (La Virgen de la Macarena)
[2:52] Spanish Harlem
[2:30] Swinger from Seville
[2:20] Winds of Barcelona
[2:30] Green Leaves of Summer
[2:28] More

SIDE TWO:
[2:45] America
[2:07] Surfin' Señorita
[2:30] Marching Thru Madrid
[2:27] Crea Mi Amor
[2:05] Mexican Corn
[2:17] Milord

TOTAL TIME: 29:26