LOST TREASURES - Your Reviews

[Mr Bill]

I had no luck finding Lost Treasures or the other two reissues on release day. I checked at 5 local "big box" stores (Best Buy, B&N and Borders). Luckily, I found all three last night at Tower. They had Lost Treasures and SOTB not only in the Herb bin but on the overhead display as well. I couldn't find Lonely Bull in either spot, though. I knelt down and in understock were a dozen LBs. So...

Big sneak that I am, I replaced a Richard Clyderman stack in the overhead display with LB so all three are on open display. I also dropped a few more of each in the Herb bin. BTW, Herb is now only in the EZ section at this particular Tower. To add insult to injury (or would it be vice versa in this case?) the the bin card is attributed to the notorious Herb Albert...

But enough on that. now that I have the three gems in my posession I will comment on my takes on each in the appropriate threads...

I popped this one into the car CD player as soon as I left Tower. What a treat! I was smiling, enjoying a new TJB LP for the first time since 1975! (Not that I didn't enjoy many of the solo LPs -- I most certainly did). Even the versions of songs previously released sounded fabulous (though I hear no difference between this version "I Might Frighten Her Away" and the YS-TSB version from 1974).

Captain B mentioned hearing the LT version of "Raindrops" on the radio... well I heard "Lazy Days" over the mall sound system last night!

One distraction is the lack of detailed liner notes. In some ways it makes it fun to try to determin from which era a song was originally recorded. The mid-70's TJB cuts are fairly obvious thanks to Vince Charles' steel drum, and of course when a song was written more or less locks in a "no earlier than" date. Most of the others, by sound, seem largely from the 1967-9 era. I doubt there's anything post-Warm besides the obvious mid-70s stuff.

The cuts that really grab me are "Julius and Me" (I'm a marimaist, so of course it does) and "Flowers On The Wall." Another Statler Bros song that would've fit the TJB mold would've been "Do You Remember These" but that was a hit during the 3+ years Herb was on "hiatus." Doing "Tennessee Waltz" as anything but a waltz was a stroke of genius, IMO.

"Whistlestar" was a terrific single when it came out. In the liner notes Herb says he doesn't know why it didn't come out, but it did -- I know I got a copy (though I had to special order it). I was really looking forward to a third "reunited TJB LP" based on this tune, "El Bimbo" (a single-only cut that immediately preceded "Whistlestar"), and a few tunes played on The Midnight Special and The Dinah Shore Show ("Neverland", "Desert Dance" and "Somewhere"). Anyway it's great in its full "digitally rematered" richness vice the flatness of a polystyrene 45.

Same for "Fire & Rain" though I'm not sure if this is really an alternate version, or just the same version with new trumpet tracks replacing the old. In fact, if that is the case with the YS-TSB tracks, they may just be a case of alternate mixes ('bring up the Nick Ceroli "whoop" track! More marimba, less guitar!') of the existing multi-tracks -- versions that originally faded out go longer here and end as they would in a concert. A nice side effect is hearing a little in-studio goofing off like the banjo stinger at the end of "Up Cherry Street" and others...

But overall this is my favorite TJB album in a long time. It's great to be humming along to new stuff, a smile on my face and my toes-a-tappin' like they have a mind of their own! Here's hoping for a Lost Treasures Volume 2!!!

--Mr Bill

 

[Harry]

Something in "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" tripped my LHDC*.

*Lani Hall Detection Circuitry

There are a few vocal lines where Herb is singing with a female, and it sounded to me like it COULD be Lani.

Any takers on this theory?

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[Mr Bill]

Any takers on this theory?

I'm with you on that. This one sounds a lot like it could've come form the sessions that gave us Summertime, in which case Lani would be the natural choice.

Another thing I noticed on Lost treasures is the photo under the inlay tray. It sort of conflicts with the notion that Tonni wasn't in the recording sessions as it's clearly him, Herb and Bob E at the back of the room. Lou, Nick, Pat and John P are also fairly obvious, though Pat & John are easy enough to mix up even without the fish-eye distortion. And there's an eighth person in there as well -- Julius? Of course, it may be a pre-tour rehearsal session and not a recording session. Looks like the big "Old-Stage" at A&M to me.

--Mr Bill

 

[Harry]

The arrangment sounds a lot like the same track on the PISANO & RUFF album. Perhaps it was tossed around as to who would do it, and Herb ultimately 'gave' it to John Pisano for his album.

Harry

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I, also, thought it was Lani on "I'll Never..." The Summertime theory makes sense, but Herb's vocals sound "younger" than that to me somehow. I wonder if it maybe could be a new recording of her, since she is a co-producer on the album.

As for that photo -- to me it looks more like a rehearsal than a recording session. Awesome picture! I'm hoping more such pics will surface in the later TJB albums where the band members were supposedly featured more in the recordings.

 

[Rudy]

Good stuff...I like the alt version of Up Cherry Street; Happy Hour was cute; Julius and Me - wow; and Tennessee Waltz made me chuckle...

 

[Willieboy]

This is my first posting but I've been reading all the comments for the past few months.

I love Lost Treasures (as well as LB & SOTB). I can't thank Mr. Alpert and his crew enough for the wonderful work they've done. I bought two copies of each of the three CDs, and I look forward to doing the same on each of the upcoming releases. I feel like I've waited a lifetime to hear this great work sounding so good.

I've listened to LT about eight times now and, while I like everything on the album, I'm beginning to have a few favorites. To me, the standout is the cover of 'Killing Me Softly'; it's just so beautifully done.

I've contacted my local Public Radio station to make sure they know about the releases and especially to encourage them to play the LT cuts. That venue seems to be most suited for helping spread the word about these releases.

Keep 'em coming! Thanks!

Willieboy

 

[goldwax]

As someone fairly new to Herb's work, these threads are great--lots of info on. But I have a suggestion: It's great to voice our opinions here, but it's preaching to the choir, isn't it? I was on Amazon today and Lost Treasures has only one review at the moment--it's a glowing, detailed review, but the guy only gave it four stars! I don't feel knowledgeable enough to post a review there, but perhaps some others here would?

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I am a member of a film handlers' forum and I posted the release news there. About a dozen members have said they'd seek out the releases. One sourpuss hatest the TJB but he's the only dissenter (so far). Must've had an unhappy childhood or something.

 

[Harry]

One sourpuss hatest the TJB but he's the only dissenter (so far).

He must be of such advanced years that he useth Olde Englysh!

Harry
NP: LOST TREASURES

 

[Mr Bill]

One sourpuss hatest the TJB but he's the only dissenter (so far).

He must be of such advanced years that he useth Olde Englysh!

Harry makest good play on Sir Blake's immodest typo-grafical mistaketh.

--Duke of Bill

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Egads and forsooth! A TYPO! I must have been tapping the keyboard in tyme to the music.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Well, I FINALLY got TLB and LT today, still no SOTB...and after playing LT a few times, I have a few thoughts. The tracks that were duplicated from YSTSB seem to have a more -familiar-old-style-TJB feel to them [I'm beginning to feel that it must have been a very hard time for Herb as he was putting the YSTSB album together...he HAD to change the sound a bit, but I really don't think he wanted to...just my opinion...].

HAPPY HOUR reminds me of a song the group played on a TV special that I'd never heard before or since...I think Jackie Mason was the guest, and he played an old beat-up horn that fell apart as it came his turn to play, or maybe it was Sheckie Green, I forget just who...but I THINK HAPPY HOUR must've been the song they were playing...it wasn't MUSIC TO WATCH GIRLS BY...


TRADEWINDS reminds me of a more contemporary solo effort, maybe the trumpet track was one of those he redubbed...

SPEAKEASY should also get the Nancy Ames vocal treatment...it sounds a lot like SO WHAT"S NEW, doesn't it?


I can't wait to play FLOWERS ON THE WALL and TENNESSEE WALTZ for a buddy of mine who's really into country music. I'm sure that the popularity of The Nashville Brass had a lot to do with these recordings. BTW, Danny Davis did a vocal cover of LET IT BE ME on Hee Haw once...

I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN is one of Herb's better vocals, and I'm sure that it's Lani singing with him...

I wonder what else Herb has locked away in his vaults...but this is pretty good stuff! Thanks, Herb, Randy and Larry...and everybody else involved in putting this project together.



Dan

 

[bruckner1]

I've seen Danny Davis' Nashville Brass mentioned occasionally here and in other forums. Their first album was released late in 1968. Danny Davis (who was also a Nashville producer for RCA at the same time) said he formed the group out of admiration for Herb, and asked Chet Atkins if they could record. Chet gave the go-ahead, and the Nashville Brass was in business.

 

[music]

I COMPLETLY ENJOYED EVERY SONG ON THIS ALBUM.I SAY TO ALL ENJOY.

 

[bruckner1]

I bought my copy of "Lost Treasures" tonight; fortunately the store where I get new releases had some left in stock along with TLB and SOTB. The highest compliment I can pay is that when I started listening I got goose bumps AND a lump in my throat. Does that mean I think this disc is perfect? No, but I think what we have here is something we can only be thankful for. I would have liked to have more tracks from the mid-sixties, and I'd also love to have "Fire and Rain" in its original form, as it appeared on the flip-side of "Last Tango." But I'm more than grateful for what we have here. What a joy to go into a record shop and see Herb and the TJB for sale again! ("Definitive Hits" notwithstanding.)

 

[DAN BOLTON]

The comedian I was thinking of was Jackie Vernon...


Dan

 

[Dave]

Up Cherry Street -- Easily and ably resurrected 'alternate' version from South Of The Border... With more jazz and dixie-rhythm, a-plenty... Takes a lot away from what TjB was about, but a showcase of what Herb could do, had he taken another "direction"...

Lazy Day -- Not done with the "trippy" sounding arrangement of the Spanky & Our gang original, but a more relaxed and "lazy" kind of sound...

Wailing Of The Willow -- Really heart-felt and mellow, sentimental sound...

Fire And Rain -- It was done right before, and WITHOUT the mute... I really wonder why there was never an 'alternate version' of "Last Tango In Paris"... It just seems like that could have been included, perhaps without Quincy Jones' arrangement of...

And I Love Her -- Best "instrumental" arrangement of the Beatles standard, but I don't think it would have hurt if Herb had sung on this one...

I Can't Go Living, Baby, Without You -- A clean, comfortable standard, that written by Nino Tempo and Jerry Riopelle, conveys the traditional essence of the former, and the more newer 'geared toward the young' of the latter composer... Herb blows this one quite good--a trumpet, in place of Nino's sax--makes this a unique adaptation...

(They Long To Be) Close To You -- Wish Herb hadn't sung on this one; it is NOT 'another' "To Wait For Love" or "This Guy's In Love With You"... The Samba arrangement is nice, though, but sometimes wearing...

Promises, Promises -- Almost captures Bacharach's "big grandoise arrangement", on a smaller scale and much like "Casino Royale", which is almost in the same "performance style"...

Happy Hour -- Conveys a good "cocktail lounge" atmosphere... And a lot of more newer, formulaic bands could sure learn a thing or two on how to make "cocktail lounge" music actually sound GOOD, without being obtrusive or just inaudible... Ah, but first you need to mix it with a good, steady Latin beat...

Julius And Me -- Good song to make the "last played"--And it was when I hit the "radom" buttom, the first time I played Lost Treasures... If Herb hadn't done anything NEW, as a tribute to the late Mr. Wechter, then this definitely "fits the bill", then, too...

I Might Frighten Her Away -- Nice touch, though still haven't noticed anything vastly different from his earlier version... But like Burt's original, it's still kept fairly low-key...

Alone Again (Naturally) -- Think it wasn't released, just due to the myriad remakes--both vocally and instrumentally out there at the time... I even have Doc Severinsen doing it on a '45', backed with "Last Tango In Paris", actually... But Herb made the wait very worthwhile... Good upbeat, melody that make you 'forget the melancholy...'

Tennessee Waltz -- A 'country ballad' that you can...well, WALTZ, to... He must have had "I'm An Old Cowhand", from THE BRASS ARE COMING, in mind and equally good, it is...

Tradewinds -- Doesn't have that "feel of an ocean breeze", unless you're maybe "on the Mexican Riviera or at least in the Gulf..." But potential for being a good TV or Movie theme...

Flowers On The Wall -- That old "ballroom or barn-dance" feel, or maybe "old saloon" feel is still there and would sound just right played at your next party or social gathering...

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head -- A pretty OK arrangement; somehow sticks too close to the original, where it could have been a bit improvised some more... A Walter Wanderley-Trio album, I recently picked up, Return Of The Original somehow did its remake of "Raindrops..." like this too... The "Mariachi"-trappings of Alpert and "Samba"-idiom of Wanderley are intact and a nice touch, but both lack the zest of say, an Andre Kostalentz version I have... ...Or Andy Williams (Superb!, in my opinion...) Vs. Ed Ames (...eh, Too ordinary...!)

Popcorn -- "Pure Poppycock!!!" ...But only because I just never heard the original (by German synthesizer-wiz, Gershon Kingsley)... Funny how it was a Disco song set to synthesizers, becoming Herb's "Latin-Ameriachi-Bravado" and not the other way around... One that's still hard to "warm up" to...

Chris -- Well, "I" thought it was for Chis Montez, a 'discovery' of Herb's...! Good beat, and 'characterized' by that 'marimba-dominated TjB sound...!!'

Killing Me Softly -- This could have been 'left in the can'...! It has some good 'international flavor', but just doesn't sound as good as 'Mariachi+Samba piece' as say a "Swedish version by Lars Samuelson..." But over time, it may grow on me...

I'll Never Fall In Love Again -- Covered so many times and better by others, yet Herb takes this one on in a different key, so it makes it interesting, but to me, a bit predictable... Think it is better sung by others; Herb can't cut it here, either...Sorry!

Speakeasy -- Lives up to its name... Could use a few 'sound effects', otherwise a bit like "Happy Hour"...

Whistlestar -- A cheery, whistlin' remake of an almost "unknown" Cat Stevens song... And good that his catalog was capable of supplying musicians like Herb some good tunes that were as easily improvasional, yet as still inspiring as his own...

Good album--Rated FOUR STARS * * * *--in the sense that it is much more geared toward a Herb and/or TjB fan familiar with Alpert's work than just any music collector... Best album to accompany DEFINITIVE HITS, FOURSIDER or SOLID BRASS...or even either or both GREATEST HITS Volumes... You may also need a few '45's here and there, if not a good copy of MUSIC BOX or FAMILY PORTRAIT...well, to get "the complete picture..."

But, Lost Treasures easily whets your appetite for the other TjB releases coming out and we'll see if a LOST TREASURES, VOLUME 2, ever emerges...

The photo of the band playing on the "Chaplin Soundstage", before it was "Drastically Renovated", behind the CD, is also real classy...

Herb said it best, at the end of his liner-notes: ...the reason my music worked then and could still work now, is that it's not contrived. It's what really comes out of me. That's the way it is. I'm not screaming for anyone's attention...


Dave

 

[Harry]

I think LOST TREASURES deserves one of Mr. Bill's Haikus.

Harry

 

[thetijuanataxi]

To answer Mr. Bill's statement about whether FIRE AND RAIN was the original track with the trumpet overdubbed, no it isn't. The original had a different ending and faded out. That's why I can't understand why Herb put an alternate version of this song on LT when the original has never been put on an album here in the states. Perhaps with the passsing of time, Herb has forgotten that he never put it on an album here. So if you're reading Herb, Shout Factory, Randy. Larry this is a perfect bonus track to put on YOU SMILE, THE SONG BEGINS when it is released. Or a LOST TREASURES 2.

David,
loving the original version of FIRE AND RAIN........

 

[manifan]

To answer Mr. Bill's statement about whether FIRE AND RAIN was the original track with the trumpet overdubbed, no it isn't. The original had a different ending and faded out. That's why I can't understand why Herb put an alternate version of this song on LT when the original has never been put on an album here in the states. Perhaps with the passsing of time, Herb has forgotten that he never put it on an album here. So if you're reading Herb, Shout Factory, Randy. Larry this is a perfect bonus track to put on YOU SMILE, THE SONG BEGINS when it is released. Or a LOST TREASURES 2.

David,
loving the original version of FIRE AND RAIN........

I feel so left out...I never heard the original!

 

[Captain Bacardi]

To answer Mr. Bill's statement about whether FIRE AND RAIN was the original track with the trumpet overdubbed, no it isn't. The original had a different ending and faded out.

That's wrong. This IS the exact same track, just a different mix - and a far better one at that.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[thetijuanataxi]

Then how can you explain the fact that it doesn't fade out? Also, I never said it wasn't a good mix, I said that it didn't sound TJB. The original version was much better in that regard. If this was a solo works album, I would probably feel differently.

David,
if something ain't broke, don't fix it..........

 

[goldwax]

Then how can you explain the fact that it doesn't fade out?

Just guessing, but it can still be an alternate mix even if it fades out later, can't it? As they were mixing this version, they just let the tape run longer before fading it down. Does that make sense or am I totally off base?

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Then how can you explain the fact that it doesn't fade out?

That's easy. Original tapes don't change. There's a beginning and an end. We don't hear Herb counting off the tunes, but it's on the original tape. But when it gets mixed and mastered to a format (45, Vinyl, CD, etc) that's when you cut out the counting off, where you do the fades, and so on. You can take the original tape and do as many versions as you want with as many different fade outs as you want. But the original tape stays the same. This is basic studio 101 stuff. I have a 4-track analog at home and I can do the same thing. On some of my tunes where I have a fadeout at the end I go through several scenarios of fading. Do I want to start the fade here? Or maybe here? It won't effect the original recording.

On "Fire And Rain" Herb's original trumpet part is still on the original tape, but in this case he zeroed out that trumpet track and added the new muted trumpet onto a different track of the recording. And you know he probably had this on a 16-track back in '73 when he recorded the song.


Capt. Bacardi