Customer Reviews

Trini Lopez at PJ's

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With the release of this album in April 1963 Trini Lopez became one of the more unusual singing stars of the Folk Revival. "Trini Lopez at PJ's" made it to #2 on the Billboard charts and stayed in the Top 40 for about a year while the single "If I Had a Hammer" became Lopez's first hit. Lopez was actually the singer and guitar player for a folk trio that had Dick Brant on bass and Mickey Jones on drums. A key part of this album is that it is a live performance, which played to Lopez's strengths as an infectious and likeable performer. Not that Lopez was an overnight sensation. Buddy Holly had tried to get Lopez signed with his label, but prejudice against his ethnicity killed that deal and it was not until Frank Sinatra signed Lopez to his personal label, Reprise, that Lopez was able to record his first album under his own name.

Lopez's reputation as a folk singer was made on the strength of "If I Had a Hammer," which eventually sold five million copies and made it to #1 in over two-dozen countries around the world. A fair share of the songs here are indeed folk songs, such as as "This Land Is Your Land" and his medley of "Gotta Travel On" and "Down by the Riverside," but Lopez also plays on his Latin heritage by doing "A-Me-Ri-Ca" from "West Side Story," his own versions of "La Bamba" (the song that greets you at Lopez's official website), "Cielito Lindo," and "Granada." He even throws in a little Ray Charles by covering "What'd I Say." The common denominator for all these songs is Lopez's high energy.

Hoping to repeat the instant success of this album a second LP, "More Trini Lopez at PJ's" came out in August of that year, but it represents more of a shift away from folk and towards rock. Trini Lopez is one of those artists where his best album was the first one, and if you pick up anything beyond one of his better hits collections this would be the album.

As a child in the 60's, I fondly remember listening to my parent's Trini Lopez albums. By the time I was old enough to play them myself, they had the familar scratching sounds that almost all our records had! When I was in college in the late seventies, I still had this great desire to listen to Trini Lopez. I went to all the resale shops in town and bought all the old Trini albums I could find! Years later, we now have the luxury of capturing Trini at his best on CD! I never thought the day would come that I could find Trini Lopez on a clear CD! Trini Lopez at PJ's brings back all the cherished memories of my childhood. Now when I listen to the CD, I imagine the PJ patrons sipping their drinks and clinking their glasses to the Latin beat. Yes, we have many new Latin-style singers, but none can compare to Trini's combination of Folk, Latin, and pure fun. No one can sing Bye Bye Blackbird the way Trini can. If you have Trini memories, this CD is a must!

For Trini Lopez fans, this is Trini at his absolute best. On this CD, you can hear the audience keeping time to Trini's tunes with their cocktail glasses, fists and feet. If you love Trini Lopez, this is a must have!

Live album's don't always work, but this one certainly does. Trini & his band put in an amazing performance, impassioned but always professional, but where this recording really scores over others is in the sound recording. It's not a technical masterpiece but is done with real love for the music, the performer and the venue. Put simply: fix yourself a cocktail, close your eyes, and you're right there! Wonderful songs, brilliantly performed, this whole record crackles with atmosphere. I defy anyone to listen to this and not at least momentarily project themselves into the PJ's of the early 1960's.

In my opinion this was Trini Lopez most popular album of his entire career. Recorded live in 1962 during one of Trini's memorable performances at PJs in Texas, and released by Frank Sinatra's "Reprise" label, this CD a must have for all Trini Lopez and rock music (with tex-mex music influence) fans. In my opinion, the crown jewels of this recorded live performance are definitely the old time hit classics "America" and "If I Had a Hammer". This album includes its original Lp cover and also offers memorable bonus tracks which makes its purchase mandatory for all those of us who remember listening and dancing to it when it was released during 1963 and long after that. Its a wonderful thing that those who think likewise released it on CD format therefore making it possible for us to keep enjoying it today.

The one constant thought that crosses my mind when listening to Live at PJ's is how I wanted to be in that audience; to soak up that 1960's nightclub atmosphere. A place where gin, bourbon and cigarettes ruled and no one was ordering Skye Vodka or drinking French wine. This is Trini Lopez at his early and hungry best, before the horns, the orchestra, overproduction, time and big money combined to clutter up his clean and unique sound. This is raw, energetic, live music at its best with just a guitar, bass and drums and no toys in between to mess up the signal. You can hear the obviously well-lubricated crowd drowning out Trini when they join in on the refrains and screaming "one more time" again and again as they clearly enjoy a night they will never forget. This was entertainment before the smoking nazis and health police forever destroyed the classic nightclub scene.

By the time that this was recorded in 1963,the word had already been out that Trini was in a league of his own.This recording showcases him in the live format he does best.Both his vocal's and guitar strumming suit each other to bring together the unique combo of that Trini sound,and in particuliar the drummer on this record complement's the trio's overall sound as a whole.Whether as fan's already or as a great introduction to new listeners,this is a must have for anyone wanting to experience the infectious vocal delights of a once in a lifetime performer.

Trini Lopez's landmark 1963 album comes back into print, sounding just as good as always. It's a party album, with Lopez leading a bunch of happy revelers at the extinct P.J.'s nightclub. This is the album that produced "If I Had A Hammer" and was a smash hit in its day. Strangely, for some reason, a number of German-language studio songs by Trini are shoehorned into the middle of the disc, breaking up the mood. Wouldn't it have made more sense to put those songs at the end?

This Cd is Great! I grew up listening to this " record" and I remember taking it to parties with me! Hearing it on Cd just brings back such wonderful memories of the 60's and 70's for me. Bye Bye Blackbird was always a favorite
of mine where I could really sing out! It was well worth the wait from Amazon.

All the tracks on this CD stand the test of time.
They bring back the simplier times of the 60's and let us know how bad the music is today.
This CD brings back the good music.