The CD Reissues are Wonderful.

I didn't pay too much attention to the Shout version of S.R.O. when it first came out, but upon listening to it more closely on my system earlier this year, it struck me how dull and lifeless it sounded. Granted even then it suffered from some tape degradation, but it almost feels as though they were trying to cover up some of it. This new S.R.O. is back to being closer to the LP version, noticeably brighter than the Shout version (as it should be). Yes, there is still a tape issue with "Our Day Will Come" but that's unavoidable--the tapes are around 50 years old at this point, and that type of damage just can't be undone. They just made do as best they could.

Well, okay. Perhaps others may benefit from my explanation. Either way, the MFSL lift-lock is still my all-time favorite cd holder, and the card sleeve (absolutely no plastic - i.e., the new HAP series) is my second favorite.
I guess I'm OK with any CD hub that will keep the disc in place while it is in storage. I remember a couple of times early in the CD era, I had ordered some import discs years before they came out in the US, and found that a couple had come loose from the hubs (partly from brittle plastic on the tines). The worst offenders were the "fat boy" 2-CD cases. Thankfully the discs played OK, but it's a bit disheartening to see a brand new disc scratched up. For some of those, I ended up buying replacement cases with much stronger hubs.

The soft innersleeves that MFSL is using for their SACDs in recent years are really nice. Like the LPs, they also include a "stiffener" insert around the disc, inside of the mini LP jacket.

I've seen some really lousy packaging as well...
 
Thank you, Rudy, for both replies above! The ABSOLUTE WORST cd packaging I have EVER seen is the updated packaging used for the Elvis Presley: Complete 50's (& 60's & 70's) Masters 5-CD box sets. When those box sets first came out in the early 90's, regular jewel cases were used. A few years ago those boxes were updated with a cd storage system that abandoned the jewel cases and utilized some bizarre plastic storage system that was literally impossible to use without either breaking some of the plastic tines, or scratching the CDs, or - more than likely - both. I have a rather low opinion of a substantial percentage of package engineers in most industries because it seems to me that many of those engineers must not be end users of their own products. If they actually tried to use the packaging that they themselves designed, I would think they would understand that a career change would be a great idea. Anyway, bringing this discussion back to the topic at hand, I like the card sleeves being utilized now for the HAP series. It's very simple, dependable, and elegant IMHO!

So far, my HAP purchases have included TLB, Volume 2, WC&OD, Warm (which I have LOVED since its 1969 release - SO happy to have this new HAP version of Warm on cd) through Coney Island, Beyond, and Magic Man. Again, it is my intention to purchase the complete series as disposable income allows. I have the Shout! versions of Rise and Fandango and like those a lot, especially Fandango. I'm wondering if the HAP versions of Rise and Fandango also benefit from the "warmer" sound that seems to be the prevailing opinion in regards to the older TJB titles.
 
I haven't yet directly compared Fandango or Rise in the Shout vs. HAP versions. I suspect the differences would be minor.

I have a rather low opinion of a substantial percentage of package engineers in most industries because it seems to me that many of those engineers must not be end users of their own products.

Yes, definitely, there are some real packaging issues. One thing that has bugged me in recent years are the SACD cases--they look nice with the rounded corners, but on some of them, the "ears" for the hinge are broken off way too easily. Since the printed inserts are cut to fit, they don't fit the other style of SACD case (nearly identical, but those "ears" are wider and more secure). In some of those cases, too, the hub has a death grip on the disc, and I'm afraid to pull on those discs with a lot of force. I have two discs that are cracking--that was a known issue with discs from one of the production plants back then (Crest). So on those, I have to be careful.

Some box sets are horribly designed, especially DVD box sets. I don't own many, but had one that was so difficult to remove the discs from that I ripped the discs to the computer and burned DVD-Rs, playing those and keeping the originals stored with the set.

Some vinyl I buy comes in printed paperboard innersleeves rather than plastic or "rice paper" sleeves, and those are nearly impossible to get the vinyl out of without touching it. (I end up replacing the sleeves on those.) It's like you said earlier--do any of these designers ever think to try their own packaging??
 
I haven't yet directly compared Fandango or Rise in the Shout vs. HAP versions. I suspect the differences would be minor.



Yes, definitely, there are some real packaging issues. One thing that has bugged me in recent years are the SACD cases--they look nice with the rounded corners, but on some of them, the "ears" for the hinge are broken off way too easily. Since the printed inserts are cut to fit, they don't fit the other style of SACD case (nearly identical, but those "ears" are wider and more secure). In some of those cases, too, the hub has a death grip on the disc, and I'm afraid to pull on those discs with a lot of force. I have two discs that are cracking--that was a known issue with discs from one of the production plants back then (Crest). So on those, I have to be careful.

Some box sets are horribly designed, especially DVD box sets. I don't own many, but had one that was so difficult to remove the discs from that I ripped the discs to the computer and burned DVD-Rs, playing those and keeping the originals stored with the set.

Some vinyl I buy comes in printed paperboard innersleeves rather than plastic or "rice paper" sleeves, and those are nearly impossible to get the vinyl out of without touching it. (I end up replacing the sleeves on those.) It's like you said earlier--do any of these designers ever think to try their own packaging??
Thank you, Rudy! I appreciate your comments!
 
Thank you, Rudy! I appreciate your comments!
No problem!

I can give the files a spin tomorrow, as I am just getting the Vandersteens dialed in to the room and moving things around a little. That should help me hear the differences between them, but I suspect they'll be minor.
 
I have a former theatre employee (just off to college) who is into vinyl...I should send her one of the vinyl releases for fun and see if she digs it. Although, she's more into "alt-rock" so she might kind of roll her eyes at a TJB record, but hey, she's into vinyl so she could be just quirky enough to "get it."
When we were growing up, unfortunately our schoolmates were all listening to what would now be called "classic rock." (In the smaller group I hung with, it was more about funk/soul/R&B.) Still, we would never admit publicly we listened to our parents' music!

With the younger kids today listening to music (and especially vinyl), they all come at it with the notion that it is "vintage," and vintage is good. They don't get that negative stigma about certain types of music like we would back in our school days.

I found it interesting last year when I was at a local vinyl store. Some 20-somethings were in the store, and one girl among them was asking the owner all sorts of detailed questions, and I'm talking about differences between different releases or pressings of particular albums. She really knew her records! And I know the owner enjoyed talking shop with someone younger like that. It's sort of like passing the torch to a younger generation that way.
 
BTW, since I'm not buying the CDs, I wondered what kind of packaging they are arriving in. Are these mini-LP, DigiPak or jewel case?
Digi-Paks,with the CD encased in a slot inside the Back Cover. No Booklets,unlike the SHOUT! Factory issues,however.
 
Hi Mike- Whipped Cream is by far and away the all time biggest selling TJB album all around the world. US included. To this day, that album is selling all over the world. There is a lot of mis-information out there so please do not believe all that you hear. Hope you had a good summer!
With the liners the SHOUT! Factory issues had,I'd gotten to know a lot of Behind The Scenes facts,like the model they used was 7 Months Pregnant,and the Cream they used was Shaving Cream,Not Whipped! Also,my copy came with a Poster,since it was the 40th Anniversay issue of this Iconic Album!
 
Hi Steve- you are 100% correct. A huge amount of the really young music listeners are very, very anti hype. These are the kids embracing vinyl. These kids want truth and transparency. Like the Beatles re-releases, I just wanted these albums to be released as Herb & Jerry released them. Liner notes, song titles, cover art, etc. The only major thing I really wanted was for the sound to be as best as possible. And I think that we achieved that. Many years was spent preserving these tapes and doing digital transfers and remastering by Bernie who is part of the TJB and A&M family. We had no choice but to re-create all of the artwork as we had Zero original artwork. And 80% of these albums were created before the CD. The art was created for a huge 12x12 surface and not a small CD package. The colors, the typeface and music will never, ever, ever be as they were 50 years ago but everything that we have done is absolutely the very best that we could do with what we have. I am very proud of these albums and am happy that these are now out in the world. There is so much piracy with crappy over=priced TJB/Herb recordings all around the world that I wanted to create "Official" TJB/Herb recordings which is why I called the label HA Presents.. Also, I have read that several long time fans are unhappy with us not using plastic CD Jewel cases. When I came on board to help Herb with Steppin' Out (both he and I are very ecologically minded) we discussed cardboard packaging (which is more expensive) as opposed to the Jewel Pack and we agreed to the cardboard. Also, there are some mis-conceptions that we are waiting to see how these albums do sales-wise before we release other titles. NOT AT ALL TRUE. These releases were brought about by me. Money and sales have absolutely NOTHING to do with anything. "Bullish, Blow Your Own Horn, Herb & Hugh" and several others are all coming out. I just want to ensure that those releases sound as good as these other albums sound and I did not want to delay these re-releases because these others were not what I intended them to be. Again, I want people that are discovering the TJB for the very first time to have the same joy that I had as a kid hearing these albums in the same way that everyone here had joy and happiness hearing these for the first time 40, 50 years ago. I mean how crazy is it that we are all here 50 years later talking about drop outs on songs, extra trombone tracks on certain mixes, typos on credits, colors on CD packages, etc. This is so fantastic because we are really all here because a guy with a really cool sound on his horn picked some great songs and recorded them in a way that touched millions of people and obviously brought a whole lot of happiness and memories to all of us on this forum. For me this is a tribute to my uncle who is a rather shy, kind, generous, warm human being that has a wonderful legacy of music that deserves to be passed on to future generations.
Thank You,Randy! These are the way I remember them,buying these on the Original A&M Vinyl! Everything is Eye Pleasing,and brings back precious memories of listening to these Iconic Alpert Classics! I Love these,and will aquire them all soon! We all owe you plenty for returning our Childhoods back to us,Mr. Badazz!
 
Hi Steve- you are 100% correct. A huge amount of the really young music listeners are very, very anti hype. These are the kids embracing vinyl. These kids want truth and transparency. Like the Beatles re-releases, I just wanted these albums to be released as Herb & Jerry released them. Liner notes, song titles, cover art, etc. The only major thing I really wanted was for the sound to be as best as possible. And I think that we achieved that. Many years was spent preserving these tapes and doing digital transfers and remastering by Bernie who is part of the TJB and A&M family. We had no choice but to re-create all of the artwork as we had Zero original artwork. And 80% of these albums were created before the CD. The art was created for a huge 12x12 surface and not a small CD package. The colors, the typeface and music will never, ever, ever be as they were 50 years ago but everything that we have done is absolutely the very best that we could do with what we have. I am very proud of these albums and am happy that these are now out in the world. There is so much piracy with crappy over=priced TJB/Herb recordings all around the world that I wanted to create "Official" TJB/Herb recordings which is why I called the label HA Presents.. Also, I have read that several long time fans are unhappy with us not using plastic CD Jewel cases. When I came on board to help Herb with Steppin' Out (both he and I are very ecologically minded) we discussed cardboard packaging (which is more expensive) as opposed to the Jewel Pack and we agreed to the cardboard. Also, there are some mis-conceptions that we are waiting to see how these albums do sales-wise before we release other titles. NOT AT ALL TRUE. These releases were brought about by me. Money and sales have absolutely NOTHING to do with anything. "Bullish, Blow Your Own Horn, Herb & Hugh" and several others are all coming out. I just want to ensure that those releases sound as good as these other albums sound and I did not want to delay these re-releases because these others were not what I intended them to be. Again, I want people that are discovering the TJB for the very first time to have the same joy that I had as a kid hearing these albums in the same way that everyone here had joy and happiness hearing these for the first time 40, 50 years ago. I mean how crazy is it that we are all here 50 years later talking about drop outs on songs, extra trombone tracks on certain mixes, typos on credits, colors on CD packages, etc. This is so fantastic because we are really all here because a guy with a really cool sound on his horn picked some great songs and recorded them in a way that touched millions of people and obviously brought a whole lot of happiness and memories to all of us on this forum. For me this is a tribute to my uncle who is a rather shy, kind, generous, warm human being that has a wonderful legacy of music that deserves to be passed on to future generations.

Randy,

This post says it all. Love Herb's superb work with the TJB and solo, and have since I was little and these recordings on the early end were brand new. And your commitment and attention to superb quality are very welcome and refreshing. I own many of these if not all on original A&M vinyl LP discs, 45 RPM singles, and on open reel tapes. And yes, Herb's spirited, happy music, has brought pleasure and made me smile for so many, many years.
 
Amazon presently has 10 of the Herb Alpert (HAP) reissues (CDs) priced at $7.19 apiece! I just ordered Herb's Ninth and Beat Of The Brass at that price, which completes my collection of all the HAP releases thus far, in addition to my complete set of Shout! Factory releases. At any rate, THIS is the time to buy!!!!
 
Correction: Make that 13 Herb Alpert (HAP) CD reissues presently priced at $7.19 apiece on Amazon! Time to pick up those wish list items!
 
I happened to stop by here after, well, I have no idea how long it's been actually, looking for some information on the three newer releases I bought a few days ago at a Barnes and Noble, and I see discussions here indicating that at some point Herb Alpert has pretty much re-released his entire catalogue on CD? I must be dreaming, right? There's a lot of them that I've never heard and would love to hear.

If I'm not dreaming, I want to know what store has them, preferably in either the Des Moines or Twin Cities area since those are the closest bigger towns to where I live and I don't much relish the idea of having to go on a road trip to find them (though, for something like this, maybe I would).
 
Barnes & Noble stores have been known to carry Herb Alpert CDs and even vinyl. You can probably check the stock at a particular store online. And you can always have them order them for you to pick up in-store.

Almost all of Herb's albums have seen re-release in the past couple of years.
 
Barnes & Noble is likely a good bet.

herb alpert, Music

I haven't used their site in a couple of years, but it is possible that 1) you may be able to check stock at B&N stores which might be closer to you, or 2) they may have a "ship to store" feature where you could order online and have them shipped to the nearest store of your choosing.

I've only driven through Iowa, so I don't know if there are any good local music stores that might stock these.
 
I only looked at a couple albums, but the B&N website tends to list all the available "editions." So gameenjoyer, if you go in to a B&N and need to special-order anything, be sure to specify that you want the "Herb Alpert Presents" editions -- they're the most-recent remasters and the sound on them is generally improved over the Shout Factory editions. Some albums are improved more than others, for example S.R.O. is miles ahead of the Shout! edition, in my opinion.
 
I only looked at a couple albums, but the B&N website tends to list all the available "editions." So gameenjoyer, if you go in to a B&N and need to special-order anything, be sure to specify that you want the "Herb Alpert Presents" editions -- they're the most-recent remasters and the sound on them is generally improved over the Shout Factory editions. Some albums are improved more than others, for example S.R.O. is miles ahead of the Shout! edition, in my opinion.
I noticed Even the download version of SRO is sounding much better not quite as gritty as the shout factory cd but yet both versions have their good points and equally to be savored
 
Well, I checked a couple random TJB albums against the Barnes and Noble stores in the area of the Twin Cities I normally go to, and, as I suspected, not carried in store. Makes sense. I doubt that these reissues are hot sellers since they're mostly either another re-release of albums most who cared would have bought the Shout Factory versions of or albums that weren't ever popular for reasons beyond my comprehension.

Grr. Knowing that these exist and that there's no way I can get my hands on them is going to drive me mental. It's been bad enough these past few years having never come across a copy of the Shout Factory edition of Fandango (the only one released on Shout Factory that I'm missing, so far as I know, unless others were released after it). I hate buying things online, but I may have to consider making an exception, though it appears this would be a VERY expensive exception if there's really around 20 of them that I don't have that are in release now. :sad: If I do, can I just order them direct from Herb Alpert Presents? Is it cheaper that way?
 
I believe Herb's site only points back to Amazon and other online places to order them.

Over on the Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass Discography and Collector Resource site, in the left column, I have a list of all of the albums with their most current releases linked directly to Amazon. For most, they are the new Herb Alpert Presents releases. For a couple (like Lost Treasures and Rewhipped), they point to the Shout Factory versions. For a few others that have not seen a recent CD release, they point to used copies of the original CDs (like Wild Romance). Keep in mind that on Amazon, you can still find older versions of these recordings...

upload_2017-8-23_11-25-4.png

Incidentally, Amazon still has one of the Fandango from the Shout Factory series in stock. https://smile.amazon.com/Fandango-Herb-Alpert/dp/B00ARX2W24 But from what others have said, the newer remasters from 2016-2017 do sound better. At this point, getting older versions is more for those who might want to complete a set.

You might keep an eye on Amazon's prices, if you don't mind waiting. Every so often, they'll discount a series of CDs, as they did with the Herb/TJB reissues just a month or two ago.
 
I don't know if they still do it, but would B&N special order titles for you?
 
There is also e-Bay where you can find bargains and also some sellers who price-gouge. Buyer beware!
 
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