Customer Reviews

Lonely Bull

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Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' "The Lonely Bull"--their first album, way back from 1962--confirms the astonishing amalgam of talent that made up this seminal instrumental group. Combining as it does trumpets, strong backing rhythms, and the occasional odd instrument like marimbas, vibraphones, and penny whistles, TJB puts their inimitable spin on every song on this must-have album.

"The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro)" kicks off the album with a bang, showing the TJB's original strongly Mexican influences. "El Lobo" has a brooding, melancholy flavor to it, while still evincing a south-of-the-border flavor with its acoustic guitar and trumpet harmonies. "Tijuana Sauerkraut" was the first of TJB's many songs flavored with a fat and happy German-beer-drinking element. A musical friend has told me that "Desafinado" is a terrifically difficult song to play well because of its continuous switching from major to minor and because of its offbeat rhythms. It seems to have given the TJB no trouble whatever--it's done to perfection here. "Never on Sunday" is a lovely song with long, gleaming trumpet notes and a strong underpinning by the tuba. "Struttin' with Maria" has a contagious marching swagger to it, as does "Limbo Rock" which improbably has both a Mexican and a Mediterranean vibe--listen for the cracking of a whip in the background!

This is a classic for good reason, and a must for any serious fan of jazz brass playing. Alpert and his beloved Tijuana Brass ensemble are masters of their craft, and we are lucky that they recorded as many albums as they did--beginning with this very fine first effort.

Either you like Herb Alpert or you don't. It's that simple. I do. Ever since I heard his "Lonely Bull" theme in the early sixties. I treasure my record albums since most of them are still not available on CD. This album was supposed to be replacing the oldest Alpert LP album in my possession. Finally without any clicks and hiss. Unfortunately not so. The clicks are gone, but a lot of tape hiss was added. A great opportunity lost. I have copied the CD tracks to my PC, removed the constant hiss and re-recorded it. Now *that*'s an improvement. But I think the CD is not near the LP original in quality.

Herb Alpert's first album is an excursion into quasi-mariachi music. Trumpet lines in 3rds, mandolins, acoustic guitars, and percussion fills this record. And most of it is pretty good. It also contains a bit of jazz with "Desafinado" (where Alpert trades solos with marimba player Julius Wechter) and "Crawfish", which has Herb playing a hot muted trumpet solo. "Limbo Rock" is calypso romp. "Never On Sunday" is beautifully arranged. And the title tune is mesmerizing. A very good start for Herb and the TJB.

This is Herb Alpert's first LP from 1962, recorded with studio musicians before he actually formed the Tijuana Brass. It's a strong mixture of originals and current hit covers. The remastering is better on this CD than any other Tijuana Brass disc yet released. The sound is sparkling throughout. It's the stereo version of the LP that's on this CD, and some fans may recall that the mono and stereo mixes were a little different. There is a little added instrumentation on the stereo version of some tracks. I do wish that the mono version of the title track was available somewhere, though, because the stereo mix sounds like the whole song on one channel and a trumpet overdub on the other.

This is Herb Alpert first recording. The sound of the mexican frontier at its best. The sound of the bullfight ambience in THE LONELY BULL makes you feel you are there at the arena. Very much recommended for those fans who want to share a piece of Mexico. I am so proud to have this album now in my collection.