All posts by Rudy

Official Reviews are in progress

Product DetailsWe are preparing a set of “Official Reviews” of the entire Herb Alpert catalog in our forum. We will begin introducing these reviews over the coming weeks, starting with the brand-new-to-digital releases like Summertime, Coney Island and Main Event Live.

These will coincide with the rebuilding of our discography here on the tijuanabrass.com site. We have delayed our new discography due to the availability of the new remasters, so, we will have the latest information available as each new section launches. Check back often!

New Herb Alpert reissues now streaming!

Coney IslandGood news for those of you who choose to stream your music.  Today, the 25 new Herb Alpert remasters are available on the streaming services!

All of the newly remastered catalog has been spotted on Spotify, as well as Tidal‘s premium streaming service (which, we emphasize, is the only streaming service to offer these in uncompromised, lossless CD-quality audio).  First-ever digital releases such as Summertime, You Smile–The Song Begins, Coney Island and Main Event Live (with Hugh Masekela) are all present and accounted for.

This is a great way to preview the new remasters while you save up your piggy bank funds to purchase these in the coming months!  If you’ve had a chance to catch these on streaming, hop over to the forum and leave us a message!

 

Herb Alpert remasters officially released as downloads today!

Today is officially the street date for the remastered Herb Alpert titles to hit the download services.

Amazon is starting to list a handful, and iTunes has most of them listed today as well.  HDTracks is also getting a trickle and so far, they appear to be the only source for the lossless versions of these albums.  If you are unsure about the downloads being the new remasters, look for the Dec. 4, 2015 release date.

Notable inclusions include first-ever digital releases of the albums Summertime and Main Event Live.

We are currently revamping our new discography section, and will have links to all of these sources.  Whether you prefer downloads, CDs, or vinyl, we will have all of the details for you!  We will also be hosting “official reviews” of the new reissues, where we will all become reacquainted with our old favorites, while introducing new generations of listeners to these classic recordings.

Keep up with the latest: follow our forum thread for further, up to date release information as we receive it!

 

Herb Alpert vinyl at selected stores near you

Ann ArborWhile the new Herb Alpert 180 gram vinyl reissues are easily found online at stores such as Amazon, we have found that the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain in the US is now stocking Herb’s titles on vinyl.  Both Come Fly With Me and the Whipped Cream reissue are stocked at many B&N locations.  Visit the B&N site to check stocks at your local stores, and reserve your copy for pickup.  (Shipping is free on orders over $25, if you choose to order online instead.)

MusicDirect in the Chicagoland area also sells these, but you may want to call ahead to check stock. They can be ordered in very quickly if not in stock.  They stock thousands of brand new 180 gram and audiophile pressings, along with audio hardware and record cleaning supplies.

There may be other brick and mortar retailers who carry these vinyl reissues. If you see any copies locally, please post in our forum thread.  We would like to put together a listing of retailers that stock the vinyl versions of these records, for those who would rather pick one up in person rather than order one online.

Is the new “Whipped Cream” better than the old?

Those of us wondering about the sound quality of the new Tijuana Brass reissues have some great news: the newly remastered Whipped Cream & Other Delights is a clear improvement over the Shout!Factory release from a decade ago.  Listeners are greeted with a cleaner, more natural sound with better extension at the higher and lower ends of the frequency range.

So far, we have forum member feedback only for the CD version, but we will have a complete review of the vinyl version once our review copy finally arrives.  We anticipate the whole series of reissues will be a winner. Stay tuned!

And in a fitting bit of trivia: the album’s lead-off track, “A Taste of Honey,” peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 this week in 1965.  50 years later, the track is sounding better than ever!

First new Herb Alpert vinyl releases in decades!

Whipped Cream & Other Delights Product DetailsVinyl collectors have every reason to celebrate today: after decades of digital releases, two noteworthy Herb Alpert titles make their debut on vinyl today!

The groundbreaking classic Tijuana Brass album Whipped Cream & Other Delights has been reissued on 180 gram vinyl, mastered by Bernie Grundman, himself an alumni of A&M’s mastering studio.

In addition, Herb’s warmly received new album, Come Fly With Me, also sees its vinyl release today. Both are now available at your favorite vinyl outlet, and via Amazon; click the links above to check them out.  Check back here soon, as the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album is due to be released in the coming weeks as well.

Once we receive our review copies, we will post our impressions here.  Join our forum discussion.

JazzTimes reissue article: clarification for our readers

Posted today on the JazzTimes site is an article regarding the reissue of, what, maybe 26 albums by Herb Alpert.  The article is indeed confusing, as it seems to indicate that it will only be an iTunes project, and it gets the number of reissues wrong.

First of all, we are assured from Herb’s management that there are a total of 26 reissues, of which the Christmas Album and Whipped Cream are a part of.

The article mentions first “Whipped Cream plus 26 others,” then lists only 25 albums including Whipped Cream.  The releases will not be only on iTunes–other digital downloads will be available (including high-resolution), and CD releases will follow in the future.

This is just a clarification for those who were confused by the article.  We will always post only official information here at the site, so stop back often for the latest.

Composer/producer Allen Toussaint passes

The legendary composer and producer Allen Toussaint (77) passed away Monday, Nov. 9 while on tour in Europe.  Tijuana Brass fans will remember him as the composer of the track “Whipped Cream” from the famous album of the same name (written under the pseudonym Naomi Neville, his mother’s maiden name).  This tune was used as one of the themes for the popular game show The Dating Game in the 1960s.

Join our remembrances and read the press release at the A&M Corner Forums.

Just in time for the holidays: The Christmas Album reissued!

Christmas AlbumGood news for fans of the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album:  this recording is being reissued both digitally (on download and CD) as well as on 180 gram vinyl.  Featuring a lot of holiday favorites in unique arrangements, the Christmas Album has become a perennial holiday classic.  The CD is available as of this writing, and the 180 gram LP is due for release on Nov. 27.  The digital downloads will come later, but you can still get the Signature Series downloads from Amazon or iTunes.

50th anniversary 180 gram vinyl and digital reissue of Whipped Cream

Whipped Cream & Other Delights (180 Gram Vinyl)Anticipating a flood of new digital reissues arriving in 2016, Herb Alpert Presents is releasing the 50th anniversary edition of Whipped Cream & Other Delights.  This is the classic album that seemingly everyone owned in the 1960s!  It is being presented on newly remastered 180 gram vinyl, as well as a new remastering on CD, with original cover art.  Release date is Friday, Nov. 20th.  Preorder now from Amazon.  Digital releases will come later, but you can still get the Amazon or iTunes downloads of the older Signature Series remasters.  Keep in mind that the new 2015 versions of this album do not include the two bonus tracks which were available on the Signature Series remasters so, if you own that version you may want to hang onto it, or you might want to pick up a copy of the old Signature Series CD before stocks are depleted.