Customer Reviews

What Now My Love (Spkg)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With over 2 months in the #1 spot, this was the commercial peak for Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass. Like other popular acts of the sixties, Herb was releasing LPs fast and furious and this came hot on the heels of "GOING PLACES". And like he had with every previous album, he took the basic elements of what made his earlier recordings work but added a little something extra here and there to make the current release unique. "WHAT NOW MY LOVE" finds Herb in a more pensive mood on most of the tracks, and even the more upbeat numbers have an air of sophistication about them. "Freckles" and "Brasilia" may swing free and easy, but the raucous throwing-caution-to-the-wind attitude of "Third Man Theme" and "Zorba The Greek" are absent. Herb's arranging genius continues to shine on great versions of "If I Were A Rich Man", "Five Minutes More", an elegant "Shadow Of Your Smile" and a somber "It Was A Very Good Year". And then there's the title track which waged a cover battle in 1966 with Sonny and Cher. Both versions were big hits, perhaps because both were unique. While S&C's version relied on the schmaltzy lyrics and the singers' dramatic intensity, the Brass' version was the complete opposite -- melody driven with a light, breezy jazz arrangement.
There were two different mixes of this album floating around when it was originally released. For anyone familiar with both, it should be noted that this CD contains the extended "bump and grind" version of "Plucky" and the version of "Brasilia" which is missing the trombone overdub.
Overall, another great Shout Factory TJB reissue with beautifully remastered sound and a nice booklet containing an essay and great photos.

Ignore the silly gripe in that other review that lamented the decision to offer only the stereo mix of this cd. Herb wisely embraced stereo, not mono. So thankfully the mono sources were not utilized on this cd. The remaster job is good, although a little more treble would benefit the entire Signatutre series...They sound a tad muffled. But their reisssues are definately a highlight of 2005. I look forward to more to come...But "What Now My Love" is their best album ever! It's a pleasure to hear again and again...Cheers to you Herb and the entire team responsible for the reissues. The covers reproductions and inside booklets are delicious and great fun...just like the music itself. Bravo!

I've been waiting a long time for this album to be on CD! The quality is great and the songs are beautiful, just as Herp Alpert always does. This CD brings me a lot of memories. Hope you like it.

It was like listening for the first time, an awesome, clear big sound that was exciting to hear this time as it was the first. If you never heard Herb Alpert before, listen carefully, this is what harmony and orchestration is all about.

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass enjoyed great success in their heyday during the 1960s; and enthusiastic fans on both sides of the border invariably came to hear them perform. This CD tells us why. Their sounds are smooth as silk, rich as Rockefeller and as sophisticated any Rhodes Scholar could ever be.

The CD starts with "What Now My Love;" for this number the horn carries the bulk of the melody as the arrangement makes great use of the percussion to enhance it's beauty. The guitar solo in the middle of this track shines like gold! "Freckles" follows next; the guitars, horns and percussion all combine to produce a joyful musical number.

The guitars and horns work hard once again to make "Memories Of Madrid" work very well; and I liked that the tempo of "Memories Of Madrid" spins somewhat faster than the tempo for the first two tracks. Excellent!

Other gems on this CD include "It Was A Very Good Year;" this number uses the piano, guitars, horns and percussion to produce a lush and rather sensitive musical arrangement. "So What's New?" uses the ukulele and percussion to work wonders; the whistling and the tempo also make "So What's New?" a very joyful sounding tune. "Magic Trumpet" also stands out as the trumpets, whistle and percussion infuse this ballad with a marching tune flavor. The cries of joy from the performers as they do this number highlight the joyfulness of this marching band-style number.

"If I Were A Rich Man" demonstrates Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass' ability to blend together what would appear to be two completely different styles of music: the band successfully infuses a Jewish Broadway show tune with a Latin American flavor. The horn and guitar start out carrying most of the arrangement and when the percussion joins in you can really sense the happiness of this very special number. Excellent accomplishment!

The CD ends with the classic love song entitled "The Shadow Of Your Smile." The strings and percussion begin this melody; and when the horn joins in it only serves to enhance the beauty of this number. In fact, the depth of the emotion associated with "The Shadow Of Your Smile" makes this ballad a strong and fitting ending for this album.

The liner notes include awesome photos. You also get a commentary by Herb Alpert; and Josh Kun contributes an informative essay as well.

Fans of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass will not be disappointed with this great CD. I also recommend this CD for people who enjoy easy listening music from the 1960s.

Virtually anything that Mr. Alpert and TJB recorded in the 60's is worth having, yet this set is arguably their best. Accessible, breezy, and free from what some may call "Austin Powers cheese," you could probably hit repeat on this CD more than any other album from these cool cats. In fact, this might be the ideal place for a casual Herb Alpert fan to begin expanding their horizons beyond the greatest hits of the time period.

"What Now My Love" is a solid and lovable 5-star album, and I'm glad that people of a new generation can now have the opportunity to enjoy it.

This is the album that sold 6,000,000 copies. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass was number one. They had 5 albums in the top forty, and out sold the Beatles for 1966.
This is a beautiful album. It opens up with the hit What Now My Love. Freckles, a happy swinger, Memories of Madrid, a nice rolling tune, It Was A Very Good Year, the classic Sinatra piece, So What's New, John Pisano's popular original, and Plucky round out side one on the original record.
Side two opened up with Bert Kampferts, Magic Trumpet; a happy mexican march. The album then proceeds to Sol Lake's Catina Blue, Julius Wechter's Brasilia, If I Were A Rich Man, Five Minutes More, and the beautiful standard, The Shadow Of Your Smile.
Overall this is a great record. The first in a string of albums that really epitomized the TJB sound.

Hey, it's a real treat to have these re-issues available and the packaging is nice BUT the alleged "re-mastering" is horrendous throughout the entire signature series. Sorry Herb, I still love ya and the TJB but I cannot tell a lie here. So...I proceeded to email Shout Factory on this and I got back a robotic-style message that these were re-mastered to Herb Alpert's exceedingly high level of quality. Yeah, OK. The LPs, which reside in my basement, have more punch, more presence, better low and high ends to them than these Shout Factory re-issues. The hiss is prevelant throughout the series of CDs, yet there are a few scattered tracks, like Casino Royale on Sounds Like, that actually sound really good....almost as if a different process was used just for that track. Very odd. There is distortion on SRO and a "bump" sound on one of the tracks that can be heard in the car as well as the home equipment. Herb's trumpet should come thru clean & bright but it seems to be under a cloudy membrane. Now I don't want to sound like an audio geek, which I am truly not, but these CDs could have sounded A LOT better!!! The LPs do, and they were purchased 40+ years ago and are quite worn. ~SL

Herb Alpert and the TJB are a class act. Even more, they are timeless. Although their music tends to have a Latin theme, it cannot be qualifed that way. It is just great music to sit back and listen. This collection is no different.

I would not consider this one of their best albums but, when dealing largely in superlatives, lesser works are very good indeed. These are all very good. Don't look for great vocals; look for catchy tunes and superb musicianship. Look for fun.

I grew up listening and enjoying this album (along with other TJB records) in mono. My father was a firm believer in the mono format. He would say - it sounds good any where you stood. We hear the mix just as the artist intended.

Years later when I became a TJB fanatic, I of course picked up the stereo versions and grew to love those too. But there are times where the mono mixes have something special to offer, something different. It would have been nice to have both the mono and stereo versions on a single disc. Oh well. Maybe someday "Shout Factory" will put out a four disc "mono" box set of the first eight albums (1962-1967) which were available in both mono and stereo.

In any case...a wonderful album, of course!

01. What Now My Love - 10/10
02. Freckles - 9/10
03. Memories Of Madrid - 10/10
04. It Was A Very Good Year - 8/10
05. So What's New - 10/10
06. Plucky - 8/10
07. Magic Trumpet - 10/10
08. Cantina Blue - 9/10
09. Brasilia - 10/10
10. If I Were A Rich Man - 8/10
11. Five Minutes More - 9/10
12. The Shadow Of Your Smile - 10/10

5 stars - #1 for 9 weeks.
3 stars - for a blown opportunity.

4 stars!