Buried Treasures

[Numero Cinco]

It's good to catch up with this board. Lately I've been much too busy.

Not long ago, while at the gym (where I usually listen to HA/TJB Classics. Vol. 1 on my Walkman), I fantasized a new compilation: TJB Buried Treasures. The premise I gave myself was to put together 16-20 TJB titles for a new CD, which satisfied the following conditions:

A superb song—on its own musical terms and/or owing to Herb's arrangement and/or the performers' execution—,

That had never been included in any previous compilation (of "Greatest Hits," "Classics," whatever).

The songs on this hypothetical CD need never have charted or been recognized as the band's "best," "most typical," or "most important." They may be important to you for personal reasons, some of which you may not even be able to explain to yourself. But every one is a song that speaks to you, without whose recording your life would be somewhat diminished, and which has been largely ingnored, perhaps forgotten.

I'm curious what the visitors to this site would place on their roster of the TJB's Buried Treasures. I'll check in later to find out. Meanwhile, as for my own list—I'm still working on it!

 

[bob]

the treasures I would love to see, as tjb songs on a cd are as follows
the single releases of all remasterd and in stereo
tijuana taxi/zorba the greek the short version
mexicorn corn with the piano part
mexican drummer man
the great manolete with the guitar solo in the middle
this guy's in love with you sung in spanish
and any other outtakes
bob papp

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Thats a good idea.

 

[Rudy]

I'm curious what the visitors to this site would place on their roster of the TJB's Buried Treasures. I'll check in later to find out. Meanwhile, as for my own list—I'm still working on it!

I'll work on one also.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

So we need to pick songs that have never been released on any compilation? I don't have them all, but none of mine have been released on the major US or Japanese comps.

A comp such as this almost has to favor the later albums because the earlier ones had been picked pretty clean on the various other compilations.

(I'm doing this from memory so I may be wrong on a few, but this would make a great CD anyway.) I don't know if all these'd fit or not but it'd be close.

A Quiet Tear (LONELY BULL)
Why this has never shown up on a compilation is beyond me. A beautuful tune.

El Presidente (SOUTH OF THE BORDER)
I like this rendition of the song better than the VOLUME 2 one.

Brasilia (with the trombone parts) WHAT NOW MY LOVE
This song just doesn't "have it" without that trombone in the intro.

Walk, Don't Run (GOING PLACES)
One of the TJB's most rockin' songs ever. Awesome drum work.

The Sea Is My Soil (WARM)
The most astonishingly-ignored song in TJB compilation history!

Marjorine (WARM)
I only fell in love with this song a couple of years ago. It swings!

I'm an Old Cowhand (THE BRASS ARE COMIN')
A hard choice between this and "Robbers and Cops." But this has more humor, so I picked it. But I wish it had the whole trombone fade that was in the TV special.

Monday Monday (THE BEAT OF THE BRASS)
One of my all time favorite TJB songs. Bob Edmondson's trombone makes the song, and those bells on the bridges are cool.

Panama (THE BEAT OF THE BRASS)
This would have been a great concert track. Great trombone, again, and terrific vibes from Mr. Wechter.

Treasure of San Miguel (SOUNDS LIKE)
This one rocks. I have never liked the production of it -- it needs to sound more like the rockers on GOING PLACES. But a great tune anyway.

Love So Fine (HERB ALPERT'S NINTH)
A good album track. I don't know what draws me to it but I like it.

If You Could Read My Mind (SUMMERTIME)
This is a song that's almost impossible to get properly with a needle-drop because it's so prone to noise, distortion, etc. so a CD release of this would be great.

Slick (THE BEAT OF THE BRASS)
I like the saxophone in the background and again, more great vibe work from Julius Wechter.

Town Without Pity (SOUNDS LIKE)
Probably one of the best TJB rockers. Would have been another great live song.

The Third Man Theme (GOING PLACES)
As you can tell, I like the rockers. This thing is just balls to the wall.

Good Morning Mr. Sunshine (THE BRASS ARE COMIN')
Nice ballad and one of the few real "Spanish flavor" songs in the later Brass output.

And bonus tracks from the T. J. B. albums:
I Belong (CONEY ISLAND)
My favorite Herb vocal other than "This Guy." Another one that's hard to get a good needle-drop.

Catfish (CONEY ISLAND)
This just has a good jaunty flavor that is catchy.

Fox Hunt (YOU SMILE - THE SONG BEGINS)
Herb's "comeback" tune must be included.

Promises, Promises (YOU SMILE - THE SONG BEGINS)
One of the few arrangements of this song to out-Bacharach Bacharach. As Burt might say, "Herb nailed this one."

Save the Sunlight (YOU SMILE - THE SONG BEGINS)
The CD could close with this nice environmental message.

 

[Rudy]

Love So Fine (HERB ALPERT'S NINTH)
A good album track. I don't know what draws me to it but I like it.

It's a great Roger Nichols song!

This is going to be harder than I thought. I may limit my choices to one track from each album so I don't worry my list to death.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Brasilia (with the trombone parts) WHAT NOW MY LOVE
This song just doesn't "have it" without that trombone in the intro.
Slick (THE BEAT OF THE BRASS)
The Third Man Theme (GOING PLACES)
As you can tell, I like the rockers. This thing is just balls to the wall.

I agree with your descriptions! These three were on compilations, though: "Brasilia" (sans trombone) was on GREATEST HITS 2, "Slick" was on SOLID BRASS, and "Third Man Theme" is on the GOLD SERIES compilation. But I wouldn't mind seeing them on a US release!

For me I would include:

Limbo Rock
A Quiet Tear
Swinger From Seville
Mexican Drummer Man
All My Loving
Cantina Blue
Walk, Don't Run
Freckles
Wall Street Rag
Blue Sunday
Gotta Lotta Livin' To Do
Treasure of San Miguel
My Heart Belongs To Daddy
The Love Nest
Monday, Monday
Panama
The Robin
The Sea Is My Soil
Marjorine
Robbers And Cops
The Nicest Things Happen
Fox Hunt
Legend Of The One-Eyed Sailor
Coney Island
Senor Mouse
Catfish
Vento Bravo
Whistle Song


Capt. Bacardi
...who has a CD very similar to this online...

 

[Harry]

Good choices there, both Mike and Captain. This is one of those projects that I just never seem to get around to. Maybe because I don't want to actually do it.

Putting together a compilation of favored album tracks from the Tijuana Brass I fear might lessen the impact of the albums themselves for me. I've got a zillion of the TjB compilation discs, all of which cover the 'hits' terrritory reasonably well (though why "Carmen" never showed up anywhere is beyond me). And naturally, when I'm in a TjB mood, I'll cue up one of those comps and get my fix.

Then there are the times when I'll pull out one of the actual albums to listen to, and it's there that I'm treated to these little gems of album tracks - the ones I always loved but were never hits and never anthologized. This makes listening to the albums a special treat, waiting for those lesser-known gems to show up.

Still, the idea has its merits and I'll attempt to list a few tracks that haven't been mentioned so far, though my picks would include a mix from the above lists too:

Mae - a superb track from GOING PLACES that just gets me every time. I'm surprised that it wasn't among the first tracks mentioned in this thread.

Desafinado - a cool track from LONELY BULL, often found on Jobim compilations by others, but never the TjB's version

The Green Leaves Of Summer - from VOLUME 2, a simmering rendition of this great tune

Numero Cinco - a great Bud Coleman tune from SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Butterball - from WHIPPED CREAM, one of the few never anthologized.

And The Angels Sing - from GOING PLACES, who among us hasn't found himself mindlessly tapping out the opening drum cadence to this one?

Plucky - from WHAT NOW MY LOVE, a track that comes in two versions, one with a great striptease middle portion.

For Carlos - from SRO, another of my favorite slow songs along the same lines as "A Quiet Tear" - very moving.

Lady Godiva - from SOUNDS LIKE, this one had to have been a hit in some alternate parallel universe somewhere.

Carmen - from NINTH, though it actually charted as a single, it's never appeared on a compilation to date.

Talk To The Animals - from BEAT OF THE BRASS, this overlooked vocal treasure from the TjB just can't be ignored any longer. [Just kidding!]

To Wait For Love - from WARM, Herb's big followup vocal to "This Guy's In Love With You." Another charting single that's been omitted from all compilations.

Sandbox - another choice from WARM, don't drive while listening to this cooker from John Pisano. You'll get a ticket for speeding.

Anna - from THE BRASS ARE COMIN', a great fast track with some interesting rhythm changes throughout

Darlin' - from SUMMERTIME, a great rendition of a Beach Boys song (and IMHO better than the Beach Boys' own rendition)

I Can't Go On Living,Baby,Without You - from YOU SMILE, THE SONG BEGINS, a track that harkens back to the great TjB days

El Bimbo - non-album track, released as a single, but never went anywhere, the song brings back the Latin flavor of the early TjB days, complete with an "ahh-ahh" backing chorus.

These, plus the many listed above, would make a really nice compilation.

Harry
...picking and choosing, online...

 

[Rudy]

Lady Godiva - from SOUNDS LIKE, this one had to have been a hit in some alternate parallel universe somewhere.

To Wait For Love - from WARM, Herb's big followup vocal to "This Guy's In Love With You." Another charting single that's been omitted from all compilations.

"Lady Godiva" was actually a minor hit in THIS universe, by Peter and Gordon. Even has lyrics (below).

"To Wait For Love" was almost a note for note cover of the young Tony Orlando's version--don't know what appeals to me about it, but I've always liked it.

LADY GODIVA
Peter & Gordon
(M. Leander - C. Mills)

Seventeen, a beauty queen
She made a ride that caused a scene
In the town

Her long blonde hair
Hangin' down around her knees
All the cats who dig striptease
Prayin' for a little breeze
Her long blonde hair
Falling down across her arms
Hiding all the lady's charms
Lady Godiva

She found fame and made her name
A hollywood director came into town
And said to her
"How'd you like to be a star?"
"You're a girl that could go far"
"'specially dressed the way you are"
She smiled at him
Gave her pretty head a shake
That was Lady G's mistake
A-hey-hey-hey
Lady Godiva

He directs certificate 'X'
And people now are craning their necks
To see her
'cause she's a star
One that everybody knows
Finished with the striptease shows
Now she can't afford her clothes

Her long blonde hair
Lyin' on the barber's floor
Doesn't need it long anymore
Lady Godiva

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Ooops, I had forgotten about "Slick" and "Third Man" being on those two comps. I included Brasilia because without the trombone intro, IMHO, the original version has not been released so it would qualify.

If I can't have "Slick" and "Third Man," I would replace them with "Sandbox" and "Whistle Song." Not bad for a compilation done from memory though!

 

[Steven J. Gross]

The "Whistle Song" by Herb (aka Whistlestar written by Cat Stevens) has yet to be heard by these ears, darn it.
I remember hearing the song was originally written FOR HERB. I have heard Cat's version on Numbers, of course.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

The "Whistle Song" by Herb (aka Whistlestar written by Cat Stevens) has yet to be heard by these ears, darn it.
I remember hearing the song was originally written FOR HERB. I have heard Cat's version on Numbers, of course.

I remember reading in Billboard years ago that Cat had written "Whistlestar" for Herb as well, after a trip to Brazil. It was just one of those little snipets in some column.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Talk To The Animals - from BEAT OF THE BRASS, this overlooked vocal treasure from the TjB just can't be ignored any longer. [Just kidding!]

Whew! That was close!

Anna - from THE BRASS ARE COMIN', a great fast track with some interesting rhythm changes throughout

Ack! I knew I forgot one! I have "Anna" on my Closet Jazz compilation.

El Bimbo- non-album track, released as a single, but never went anywhere,

Well, it did hit #28 on the EZ charts in '75. Okay, so that's not anywhere...


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think the Cat Stevens version of "Whistlestar" came first so I have my doubts it was written for Herb. Still a cool song nonetheless and worth seeking out.

 

[Harry]

Talk To The Animals - from BEAT OF THE BRASS, this overlooked vocal treasure from the TjB just can't be ignored any longer. [Just kidding!]

Whew! That was close!

Just a little TjB humor there.

El Bimbo- non-album track, released as a single, but never went anywhere,

Well, it did hit #28 on the EZ charts in '75. Okay, so that's not anywhere...

Actually I was unaware of that. Thanks for the info.

Harry
NP: "El Bimbo" - Herb Alpert and the T.J.B.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Just makin' sure you're paying attention.


Capt. Becaud

 

[Numero Cinco]

I'm glad my little idea garnered some interest. I thought it might or at least hoped it would.

I'm still working on my own list. Spent the evening needle-dropping, which I haven't done in years. Great fun.

Meanwhile, I've learned a lot from the responses posted. Among others:

The lyrics to "Lady Godiva," which I remember hearing maybe once on the radio thirty-five years ago. Thanks, Rudy. This, by the way, could make an interesting thread in its own right: obscure, half-forgotten lyrics for TJB covers.

That I can't properly fulfill my own assignment, because I've never heard some of the jewels mentioned: "Mexican Drummer Man." "Mexican Corn" with a piano part. "Plucky" with the strip-tease middle. Where on earth do you guys find these things? Clearly, I'm an amateur at The Pro's Shop, if not a bastard at the family reunion.

Two things I concluded tonight: (1) Herb Alpert was a brilliant arranger. (2) Did the band ever have a more perfect, B-side LP than that for Going Places!?

 

[Numero Cinco]

I accidentally doubled my own post. Sorry about that—

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Was Herb's version of "Whistlestar" a dud?- VERY hard to find.
Why was it never released on an album

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Numero Cinco: "Mexican Drummer Man" was a single-only release from the early days, before there was actually a Tijuana Brass band. It is a vocal track (not Herb singing, though....it has a female vocal chorus) and sounds like a Phil Spector wall-of-sound production. It's totally unlike the TJB sound, so it's worth looking for just to hear it.

The striptease-middle version of "Plucky" was included on the CD release (and some LPs too, but not the one I have) of the WHAT NOW MY LOVE album. The song is the same as always, but there's about a 30-second break in the middle of the song where the band goes into a David Rose-type swing, and then it suddenly cuts back to the original song. It's pretty cool, but whether it's worth spending huge Ebay bucks on a CD copy is debatable.

Steven: I don't think "Whistle Song" charted, at least not on the Hot 100. If you are a fan of the YOU SMILE - THE SONG BEGINS album, you would probably love the song. it's kind of reminiscent of "Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor," with some Jamaican steel drums and a chorus of kids thrown in. I think it might have been recorded as part of that phantom third "T. J. B." album that we've heard about that was never released....when the public didn't buy this record, Herb split up the band. (At least that's a possible scenario.)

To clear things up, the Cat Stevens version is listed on his LP as "Whistlestar," while the Herb version is called "Whistle Song (Whistlestar)."

 

[Numero Cinco]

Thanks, Mike, for clearing up two mysteries for me.

The striptease-middle version of "Plucky" was included on the CD release (and some LPs too, but not the one I have) of the WHAT NOW MY LOVE album. The song is the same as always, but there's about a 30-second break in the middle of the song where the band goes into a David Rose-type swing, and then it suddenly cuts back to the original song. It's pretty cool, but whether it's worth spending huge Ebay bucks on a CD copy is debatable.

This is fascinating. I thought that H. A. made his David Rose statement with "Love Potion # 9." It's hard for me to imagine the present, up-tempo, quasi-ragtime version stopping for 30 seconds of David Rose, then resuming as was, but I guess that's why I'll never be a music arranger and should keep my day job.

Why did A & M issue different versions of "Plucky" on different WNML LPs? Was this common practice in the Sixties?

I've seen the prices of that CD on eBay. No thanks. I'd like it, but I have a kid to put through college someday.

 

[Mr Bill]

Was Herb's version of "Whistlestar" a dud?- VERY hard to find.
Why was it never released on an album

It was the last single by the reformed TJB in 1975. It and "El Bimbo" have long been assumed to be among the cuts from a third LP by the reformed TJB (others being "Neverland" and "Desert Dance" performed during the Midnight Special show hosted by Herb and "Somewhere" from an appearance on Dinah Shore... Add "Fire & Rain" and you have one side of one LP).

It was never on an album because Herb again disbanded the TJB before this thrid LP was either finished or released. Rumors abound it was finished (or nearly so) at the time Herb shelved it, opting to go solo with Just You And Me.

I personally like all these "lost" songs and would love to know more about the third TJB LP which likely sits in Herb's private vault...

--Mr Bill

 

[Mr Bill]

It's hard for me to imagine the present, up-tempo, quasi-ragtime version stopping for 30 seconds of David Rose, then resuming as was, but I guess that's why I'll never be a music arranger and should keep my day job.

It's not really like it stops for the striptease. It just happens. The best comparison would be how the BMB does the same thing on "Comin' In The Back Door" or "Acapulco 1922."

Why did A & M issue different versions of "Plucky" on different WNML LPs? Was this common practice in the Sixties?

Hard to say. Perhaps Herb thought it sounded too much like wha the BMB did with so many tunes. Or maybe he felt he'd done enough "stripping" music with "LP#9" and "Swinger From Seville." Or maybe he decided he just didn't like it...

--Mr Bill

 

[Harry]

Just makin' sure you're paying attention.


Capt. Becaud

Hanging on your every word...

Harry
...noting that a certain Señor Bill started this odd quoting practice recently, online...

 

[Captain Bacardi]

We've bandied it about quite a bit around here, and all we know is that there are two different stereo mixes of the entire WHAT NOW MY LOVE album. The one that features the "Plucky"/striptease version also seems to have these anomalies:

"What Now My Love" featuring Herb's lead with less of a reverb

"So What's New" also has less or no echo on the whistling part

"Brasilia" is missing a trombone part.

Don't forget that there are extra strings on "It Was A Very Good Year", plus Herb's trumpet is a lot more out front on "The Shadow Of Your Smile". It's almost a remixed album.



Capt. Bacardi