Herb Alpert The Lonely Bull	Herb Alpert South of the Border	Herb Alpert Lost Treasures

(A story of the best laid plans:  one would think that a major commercial carrier could deliver a small package from address A to address B without too much trouble...one would think.  Well, when it came to this case, and that box contained these CDs and a few others, it didn't happen.  The story is too detailed and ridiculous to go into here.  Suffice it to say that after some effort, Matt was able to get...absolutely nowhere with said carrier, so...we had to get new copies of said discs and do it all over again.  This, doubtless, ate up alot of time, and the discs reviewed here were due to post many weeks ago.  Throw into the mix a bit of "the dog ate my homework", and the fact that this reviewer has been laid flat by a particularly stubborn case of bronchitis, and, well...the best laid plans...

We feel we owe an apology not only to the fine folks at Shout!Factory, who have been kind enough to supply us with these discs [and many more in the past], but also to you, dear reader, for not being able to post this review much sooner.  So, finally, without further adieu...)

In the late 1970s, your humble reviewer was the proprietor of a certain record store - vynil LPs, cassettes, and...eeks...8 tracks!  We were the only local store to carry Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass' (HA &TTB) catalog on vynil, and they always sold.  So, if Shout!Factory had checked with yours truly as to whether or not there might be an audience for this series of reissues/remasters, I would have given them a hearty "hell, yes!".

This is Tijuana music, says the liner notes, and so it is.  Perhaps a more in-depth description might be Latin-flavored jazz-pop, and it took the 1960s by storm, filled not only with brass, but also strings, shakers, mandolins, vibes, guitar, congas, chimes, and anything else it took to induce a certain mood from each song.  A little samba here, a bit of bossa nova there...it never gets boring.  Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 were probably HA & TTB's only rivals in the genre at the time, and between them arguably introduced the general public to what we refer to today as "world music".  Each disc in this series, known as the Herb Alpert Signature Series, is superbly remastered in stereo and contains an extensive liner notes booklet (with an introduction by Alpert).

Chronologically, 1962's 'The Lonely Bull' was HA &TTB's first big toot, and it made the band a household name.  Both the title track and the album entered Billboard's Top 10, with the album remaining on the charts for some three years, such was the popularity of this new sound.  Alpert's signature sound here was developed by doubling many of his own trumpet's lead melodies.  The version of "Never on Sunday" contained herein quickly became a staple, as well.  (Of historical interest, this was the very first album released on A&M records, and the "A" in A&M is for Alpert.)

1964 saw HA & TTB's fourth release, 'South of The Border', chart well again.  Covers of Jobim's "The Girl From Ipanema", The Beatles' "All My Loving" and Lerner and Loewe's "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" introduced the American record-buying public to their much-loved Latin-ized pop cover vibe.  This album and 'The Lonely Bull' inspired many a young would-be horn player to take up the instrument.

2005's collection 'Lost Treasures', compiled by Alpert, gathers 22 unreleased or rare cuts on a single, wonderful hour-long disc.  It's truly amazing how good these "throwaways" from the past are, each one worthy of a proper release, and perhaps this disc is, for that reason, the most exciting of these three.  An excellent addition to the HA & TTB catalog.  (Alpert over-dubbed some horn parts for this release that time had not been too kind to.)  Covers include songs by James Taylor, The Beatles, Bacharach/David and Cat Stevens.

And, speaking of lost treasures, get yourself lost in these three treasures, each and every one!  Hours of enjoyment are yours to be had...marvelous!  Not only are the music and sonics quite enjoyable, but the packaging and Alpert's input put these releases over the top.  Absolutely first class in every way!

(Shout!Factory's reissue/remaster of HA & TTB's 'Whipped Cream and Other Delights' drops on April 19th.  I highly recommend it, and I will get a copy for my collection, whether gratis or not - you can bet!  Shout!Factory continues to move right along with an already impressive legacy of releases on CD and DVD.  I am not easily impressed.  I am extremely impressed by Shout!Factory!)