A & M Gold Series

[Numero Cinco]

Having visited this forum several times, often in the small hours after a long working day, I finally decided to take the plunge. It's an interesting site, obviously visited by a lot of technically knowledgeable people who are, of most importance, passionate aficionados of Herb and the TJB. ("Aficionados," incidentally, is the only multisyllabic I'll use in this post. I've learned what happens to new posters who use words like "troika.")

So . . . how shall I spend my first post? Maybe I should begin with what I was listening to while working out tonight: a recently purchased CD entitled
A & M Gold Series: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. This disc was new to me, discovered while prowling the B & N music site before Christmas. Imagine my surprise when I received it, read the fine print on the bitty booklet, and saw the copyright date for this compilation as 1991 (A & M Records, Inc., L.A.; #397082-2). The CD was made in West Germany, distributed by Polydor/Polygram. (Who or what are they?) 15 tracks, some utterly predictable ("A Taste of Honey"), others idiosyncratic ("Cabaret"). I bought it because it includes tracks, like "Mexican Road Race" and "Hello, Dolly!," that I didn't have on CD.

So, all you TJB mavens out there: what gives? Has this disc really been floating around for 13 years and I'm only now tumbling to it? Who made its track selections, and on what principles? How do the audiophiles rate its production quality?

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Welcome to the Corner!

a recently purchased CD entitled
A & M Gold Series: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. This disc was new to me, discovered while prowling the B & N music site before Christmas. Imagine my surprise when I received it, read the fine print on the bitty booklet, and saw the copyright date for this compilation as 1991 (A & M Records, Inc., L.A.; #397082-2). Has this disc really been floating around for 13 years and I'm only now tumbling to it?

This is actually the second volume of Gold Series. There is a more complete one called Startrax that has 11 additional songs not included on Gold Series. But it's out of print. But yes, this one had been available for quite a while. It used to be a special-order kind of deal, but now it's easier to find.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Harry]

The Australian STARTRAX was harder for me to find. In fact, I just located one within the last few months. STARTRAX' track listing is:

1. A Taste Of Honey
2. This Guy's In Love With You
3. The Work Song
4. Spanish Flea
5. Mame
6. The Happening
7. Mexican Road Dance
8. Third Man Theme
9. South Of The Border
10. A Banda
11. Hello Dolly
12. Marching Through Madrid
13. Whipped Cream
14. Mexican Shuffle
15. Cabaret
16. Tijuana Taxi
17. Theme From Zorba The Greek
18. Casino Royale
19. The Lonely Bull
20. The Girl From Ipanema
21. A Walk In The Black Forest
22. Acapulco 1922
23. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
24. More & More Amor

When I learned of STARTRAX' longer track list, I initially thought it might be a combination of Volumes 1 and 2 from the GOLD SERIES, though that turned out to be untrue. Instead, it grabs five from volume 1, and tacks on four more tracks which made neither 1 or 2 in the GOLD SERIES.

Once I got all three, I decided to do a one-volume version of 1 and 2, since both fit on one disc, with no overlap of titles. In fact, there was room for one more song on an 80-minute CD-R. Here's what that disc looks like:

[1] THE LONELY BULL
[2] WHAT NOW MY LOVE
[3] TIJUANA TAXI
[4] THE MALTESE MELODY
[5] BITTERSWEET SAMBA
[6] CASINO ROYALE
[7] FLAMINGO
[8] ZORBA THE GREEK
[9] OUR DAY WILL COME
[10] THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA
[11] MY FAVORITE THINGS
[12] WADE IN THE WATER
[13] SPANISH HARLEM
[14] SO WHAT'S NEW
[15] WITHOUT HER
[16] A TASTE OF HONEY
[17] THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU
[18] THE WORK SONG
[19] SPANISH FLEA
[20] MAME
[21] THE HAPPENING
[22] MEXICAN ROAD RACE
[23] THIRD MAN THEME
[24] SOUTH OF THE BORDER
[25] A BANDA
[26] HELLO DOLLY
[27] MARCHING THROUGH MADRID
[28] WHIPPED CREAM
[29] MEXICAN SHUFFLE
[30] CABARET
[31] LOLLIPOPS AND ROSES

The lines are where the volumes 1 and 2 end. This made a good generic TJB hits sampler for staying in the car.

As the Captain mentioned, GOLD SERIES 2 used to be harder to find. These days, with a lot of Alpert product gone from the shelves, it seems to be fairly common, even showing up in some brick & mortar stores, as well as just about everywhere online. It's confusing too, as the latest issues of the disc have dropped the 'Volume 2' designation, just calling it GOLD SERIES. Volume 1 is a bit more elusive - the one I found is from the NEW GOLD SERIES in Japan. All of these, incuding STARTRAX feature the same picture of Herb & The Brass posed in a stockroom of brass instruments. I believe these GOLD SERIES discs originated in both Germany and Japan.

Polygram is the company that initally purchased A&M Records from Mssrs. Alpert and Moss back around 1989. These GOLD SERIES/STARTRAX discs were among their earliest efforts to mine the back catalog for new titles, coming out in 1990-1991 in countries other than the US. They are usually a good representation of an artists better stuff, and if you can find them for sale not to pricey, can be a bargain, as they often contain around 20 tracks.

Harry
NP: GOLD SERIES 2, Herb Alpert & The TJB

 

[Harry]

Old topic, but with a surprising update:

An eBay seller has the A&M New Gold Series Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Volume 1 for a Buy It Now price of....wait for it....

$910.55 !!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCCY-10087-...t=Music_CDs&hash=item3cbb857106#ht_1252wt_905

I saw the listing a couple of days ago and thought it was some rare iteration in the Pony Canyon series - and maybe it is - but I have this actual disc. And I know I didn't pay $910.55 for it! It may be a grand disc, but is it worth a grand?

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Wow....I have one of those. Maybe I'll list it. I'd probably take, oh, $800 for it!

I remember when I ordered both of the Gold Series volumes. At the time I only had the Going Places, Whipped Cream, What Now My Love and Beat of the Brass albums on CD. I ordered the Gold Series "sight unseen" in the hopes that some of the other tracks would be included. There were some pleasant surprises, but the one song I was hoping for the most ("Sea Is My Soil) wasn't there!

 

[Harry]

The same seller only wants ninety-something for the companion Volume Two. I don't have the matching white-cover issue, but I have the green-colored one from Germany - sans the "Vol.2" designation.

Harry