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In an era when elaborate wordplay and adventurous production were the order of the day, Herb Alpert made an impact barely uttering a word or breaking a mold, other than expanding the commercial parameters for pop instrumentalists. Dashing trumpeter Alpert and his Tijuana Brass scored five top-20 hits between 1962 (when "The Lonely Bull" climbed to No. 11 in the U.S.) and 1968 (when the vocal-driven "This Guy's in Love with You" cracked the top 10), racking up five No. 1 albums over the same period. The group's patented "Ameriachi" sound made up in south-of-the-border sprightliness what it lacked in innovation; the likes of "Spanish Flea" and "Casino Royale" possessed the kind of unshakable hooks that fit perfectly on top-40 radio sandwiched between Nancy Sinatra and the Mamas & the Papas. This 20-track overview serves up 13 selections from the Tijuana Brass's heyday and is rounded up with seven Alpert solo selections, including comeback hits from 1979 ("Rise") and '87 ("Diamonds"). --Steven Stolder
Definitive Hits Reviews
Definitive Hits Reviews
| 67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:  Disappointing replacement for the TJB catalog!, By -=Rudy=- (Canton, MI USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Definitive Hits (Audio CD) Being at the epicenter of A&M Records fans around the world at our A&M Corner website, I found this release to be a curious event. With all the available (and far superior) Tijuana Brass and solo Herb Alpert compilations available, why was this project created? It only took a couple of months to find out the reason: Universal took its axe to the Alpert catalog, to where this compilation and one or two other very recent Alpert recordings are all that remain in print. A pathetic situation for an artist with well over 30 albums to his name, one who set Billboard records that still stand to this day.It's my gut feeling that Universal is in the process of shrinking their catalog considerably. Over the past few years, they've routinely picked an artist and slashed the artist's catalog back to one or two recent albums (if the artist is still musically active), and a compilation. And like clockwork, every couple of years, we'll get yet another different compilation that they feel... Read more 108 of 121 people found the following review helpful: Not Really "Definitive", By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Definitive Hits (Audio CD) While it's always a thrill seeing a new Herb Alpert CD, I kind of wonder about this one. Yet another Greatest Hits collection, but this one with a new twist. A 20-bit mastering system is used here, yet it's more of a two-bit sound. There are so many dropouts in songs like "Tijuana Taxi" and "The Work Song" that it actually detracts from the performance. The original master tapes of "Lonely Bull" were lost, so an enhanced mono version is used here. One other complaint I have is that this should've been a 2 CD set. Alpert certainly had enough hits in his career to justify a 2 disc set. The TJB hits alone would've filled one CD. But the other tunes that are here a nice representation - albeit too short - of Alpert's long career. It's just too bad that a bad mastering job was done on this collection, because Alpert deserves better treatment. 45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:  Did a great job at introducing Alpert's talents to me, By L.A. Scene (Indian Trail, NC USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Definitive Hits (Audio CD) Herb Alpert is one of those musicians that everyone has probably heard of, but not many really know when it comes to his music. Yes they have heard his pop hit with Janet Jackson "Diamonds", yes they know he is one of the brains behind A&M music, and yes they may even know an instrumental hit he had called "Rise". One reason for purchasing "Definitive Hits" was to get to know him better when it came to his music. From what I had heard, his horn playing was extremely good and I wanted to hear more. I figured purchasing a Greatest Hits collection would be a great starting point. I'm happy to report - I am very satisfied.This CD does a great job at chronicling about 1/4 century of Herb Alpert's career - starting in 1962 and going out into 1987. The CD really covers three distinct phases of Alpert's career. The bulk of the CD (or first 13 songs), cover Herb when he was with his band, the Tijuana Brass. This really covers a period from 1962... Read more |
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