The CD Reissues are Wonderful.

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.

I still believe that you can go into the store and have them order them for you, and you'll get a phone call when they come in. You might have to leave a deposit for good faith, but I can't imagine them not offering this service. You'd probably do better pricewise by ordering online, but I'm aware of @gameenjoyer and his resistance to Internet orders.
 
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?

Look at it this way: You could split it up into two or three orders on Amazon and that way you know you're dealing with a reputable supplier, will get reasonable prices, AND you will only have two or three transactions, rather than shlepping around the internet trying to find deals here and there. Just make sure, as I noted above, that you're getting the Herb Alpert Presents versions -- they generally sound the best. That info is easy to find on the Amazon site.

Herb's site is, unfortunately, poorly maintained and has a lot of broken links etc. We've heard rumors of an updated site (or a pair of sites, depending on which rumor you are hearing) but so far, Herb's been too busy touring, and making and promoting new albums, to worry about the web.

I can't speak about the HAP version of Fandango, as I don't have that one, but the Shout Factory issue sounds wonderful. (That was always a great sounding album anyway, even in its initial CD release on A&M.
 
Look at it this way: You could split it up into two or three orders on Amazon and that way you know you're dealing with a reputable supplier, will get reasonable prices, AND you will only have two or three transactions, rather than shlepping around the internet trying to find deals here and there. Just make sure, as I noted above, that you're getting the Herb Alpert Presents versions -- they generally sound the best. That info is easy to find on the Amazon site.

Herb's site is, unfortunately, poorly maintained and has a lot of broken links etc. We've heard rumors of an updated site (or a pair of sites, depending on which rumor you are hearing) but so far, Herb's been too busy touring, and making and promoting new albums, to worry about the web.

I can't speak about the HAP version of Fandango, as I don't have that one, but the Shout Factory issue sounds wonderful. (That was always a great sounding album anyway, even in its initial CD release on A&M.
I agree with you Mike on all points the shout factory version of Fandango is the best version I've heard so far sadly I missed out on the A&M cd version but I had the vinyl version and I must say I didn't want to buy the CD again so I'm content but anybody who doesn't have it yet Get it and All these HAP Releases while they are still available and to borrow an expression from another online label "BUY NOW OR REPENT LATER"! Or something to that effect.
 
Harry, I'm surprised you remember me after all these years, although I bet my comment about how "I hate buying things online" probably helped jog your memory.

To the other comments, I honestly don't know if Barnes and Noble would "special order" things for me or not, but, truth be told, while I'm sure that during my last period of presence here I was still worried about the whole "credit card number going over the internet" thing, I've largely outgrown that. I'll pay bills and stuff online that way these days, and it doesn't really bother me. My issue anymore with online purchasing is that, if I were to start, I don't know if I could stop.

Consider, for example, how there are, like, 20-something of these Herb Alpert Presents CDs that I don't have (just a rough guess). That's one artist. Multiply that by the number of other artists I'd love to have more stuff by (the list is long and of people outside the purpose of this board, so just take my word for it) plus the list of artists I'd like to have anything by but don't yet (probably not as long of a list, but only because I've never actively sat down and made one), and we'd potentially be talking thousands of dollars spent quite quickly. You don't believe me? I have never been able to walk into a Half-Price bookstore, peruse their selection of CDs, and get out for under $100 (and we're talking used CDs for the most part, almost nothing over $10 and most closer to $6 if not on a $2 clearance rack). Granted, I don't get to one very often, but still, you get my point.

I'm, for lack of a better word, "addicted" to music. I always want more. It's that reason that keeps me from risking internet buying these days. Every once in awhile I see something online that tempts me, and sometimes it's hard to talk myself out of it. I'm worried it may turn out to be impossible with these, though I'm confident they would be worth every penny if I do end up breaking down.

Back to "special orders", if I understand the concept correctly, I go to the store, ask them to special order the item/items, then go back when the items arrive. Now, I'm about two and a half hours from either Minneapolis or Des Moines, so we're talking a five to six hour round-trip, twice, per order if I went that route. Obviously, that makes zero sense. If I'm not holding myself to what I can find in the wild, I may as well take the plunge into online ordering. Shipping would be cheaper and less time-consuming than that.

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. I'll shut up now.
 
I remembered your profile name right off too, which is pretty easy around here because the number of active members is pretty small, except in the Carpenters forum.

You could probably order what you want from B&N online and be able to go pick it up in the store. OR, you could call them on the phone and tell them what you want. Then, maybe send a friend or relative to pick up your order for you, so you don't have "impulse purchase" issues.

I can relate on that...I can hardly ever walk into a B&N and come out with less than 2 or 3 books.
 
If I had a dollar for each CD or LP I've passed up that I said I would buy "next time," and then never saw again, I could retire on my own island somewhere!
I know what you mean that has happened to me more times than I care to recall
 
I have never been able to walk into a Half-Price bookstore, peruse their selection of CDs, and get out for under $100 (and we're talking used CDs for the most part, almost nothing over $10 and most closer to $6 if not on a $2 clearance rack).
Music collecting. You're doin' it right. :thumbsup:

:D

I can relate though. I'm fortunate that the used record store near me doesn't have the best grade of vinyl. I'd be there once a week, probably buying more than I could ever listen to. I have a few friends that have done this. They buy so much that they have a backlog of records, and I'm talking hundreds, which they haven't played yet. AXPONA is rough on a person also--they have dozens of tables of new vinyl for sale at the show, the titles you've read about for months (or years), and it is very difficult not to get a bit crazy there. Then if someone plays something you really like in a demo in one of the rooms, then you're itching to go down and buy that title. (I think two or three of my pals bought the Dave Brubeck Time Out on 45RPM vinyl immediately after hearing it in one of the demo rooms, a couple of years ago. :laugh: )

And I find that when I shop online, I try to get over a minimum order amount so I get free shipping, but then I get kind of crazy and start adding more items...oh, what's another $20 for this record I maybe kinda-sorta want? I end up having to trim the cart way back.
 
Well, Rudy, I'm not so sure that I'm doing it "right" after having read some of the posts over in that thread about pirated CDs. Half-Price bookstore does have some "new" stuff available as well, by older artists. I had noticed that it seemed like everything released by some of those European companies that they were carrying was stuff that was over 50 years old, but I figured that just meant those things were cheaper to release when they were that old. I didn't realize there were no restrictions and fewer payouts. Now I feel kind of bad for having some of that stuff. Not bad enough that I'll quit buying it since it's completely legal and much of it's stuff I wouldn't otherwise be able to find, but kind of bad.

Thankfully, I've never seen any TJB stuff like that, though, at the rate things seem to be going, it could be the only way any of us ever find some songs on CD, like "Mexican Drummer Man". I'm not sure if Lost Treasures got a HAP release, but, if it didn't, he should remove the songs from that that are now actually available on the HAP release of "You Smile - The Song Begins", replace them with other songs that were released on singles but not albums, and create a rarities release of some type. He could even source some of the pre-TJB stuff however he could and release it through a European company if he doesn't have the rights to those songs otherwise. The demand for that might not be too high, but I doubt the demand for the two mid-'70s TJB albums or many of the solo albums is either, and it'd make the hardcore fans happy if nothing else. If any of you actually have his ear, maybe you should suggest it. Of course, for me all that would mean would be one more Alpert album that I knew existed but couldn't find.
 
Now I feel kind of bad for having some of that stuff.
I wouldn't feel too bad--there is a flood of that stuff out there, and really, there is no way to tell which ones are legitimate releases, and which are questionable, without having a source of some sort to check them against. That is one reason I wanted to post info about the TJB releases here--someone doing a search is likely to find us, and then be able to determine whether or not it is legitimate.

Thankfully, I've never seen any TJB stuff like that, though, at the rate things seem to be going, it could be the only way any of us ever find some songs on CD, like "Mexican Drummer Man".
So far, the non-legitimate releases seem to be contained to repackagings of Lonely Bull, Volume 2 and Beat of the Brass--I don't recall ever seeing any B-sides in these releases. They do not go out of their way to find the best source--they could be using an existing release, or a needle drop...anything, really. That is another reason it is best to go with a legitimate release--at least I know something was taken originally from sources controlled by the artist or the recording label.
 
I'm not sure if Lost Treasures got a HAP release, but, if it didn't, he should remove the songs from that that are now actually available on the HAP release of "You Smile - The Song Begins", replace them with other songs that were released on singles but not albums, and create a rarities release of some type.

That's a great idea. Randy "Badazz" Alpert is the man behind the Herb Alpert Presents label, and he pops in here from time to time, and Steve S. is in contact with him too, so maybe there's a way to get the idea to the powers that be. It wouldn't even necessarily need to be a full 80 minute CD....but a CD of otherwise-unavailable rarities would be a good thing.

Herb is, of course, currently engaged in touring and recording (his Christmas album comes out in a few weeks) but maybe at some point, this idea could be considered. I am still hoping the song "Desert Dance" will see the light of day somehow, somewhere.
 
That's a great idea. Randy "Badazz" Alpert is the man behind the Herb Alpert Presents label, and he pops in here from time to time, and Steve S. is in contact with him too, so maybe there's a way to get the idea to the powers that be. It wouldn't even necessarily need to be a full 80 minute CD....but a CD of otherwise-unavailable rarities would be a good thing.

Herb is, of course, currently engaged in touring and recording (his Christmas album comes out in a few weeks) but maybe at some point, this idea could be considered. I am still hoping the song "Desert Dance" will see the light of day somehow, somewhere.
I think it's a Great Idea too however Let's Hope it will be possible I never knew Desert dance even existed until I found this site in 2012 ( among other things I wasn't aware of) So add me to the chorus for more rarities
 
I have never heard this "Desert Dance" of which you speak, Mr. Blakesley, so I'm assuming it's another single-only song. Is it from the TJB era or the solo era, though? That name doesn't sound overly TJB-ish to me. I don't even recall how it is that I've heard of "Mexican Drummer Man". Probably a link to it on here. I remember it sounding more like a prototype of the Brasil '66 style than a TJB song, though, with the female vocals, although some of the early TJB songs used some vocalizing too.
 
I don't even recall how it is that I've heard of "Mexican Drummer Man". Probably a link to it on here. I remember it sounding more like a prototype of the Brasil '66 style than a TJB song ...
It's actually a very heavy Phil Spector-ish wall of sound style production. (Engineer Larry Levine was directly involved with Spector.) Vox were by The Blossoms, who were on many of Spector's productions under various names.

 
Okay, I had never heard "Desert Dance" or "El Bimbo" that I recall, and "Mexican Drummer Man" isn't quite what I remembered, but I hope you don't think I'm completely off the wall for thinking it was more like Brasil '66 with its two female vocalists than a TJB song.

Also, problem is, Mr. Blakesley, that even if Mr. Alpert could be convinced to release a rarities CD, he'd have no recording of "Desert Dance" to release unless he pulled the music straight off of the TV special, unless he actually has an unreleased recording of that song in his master vault that nobody knows about. Even without that, though, he'd have plenty of material between the tracks on Lost Treasures that weren't from You Smile - The Song Begins and songs like "El Bimbo" and "Mexican Drummer Man", among other singles and single B-sides that probably haven't been mentioned yet. I don't even know how many such songs there are.

Perhaps he could find enough material to release a rarities CD without re-releasing any of the Lost Treasures stuff, though. Even if he doesn't own the masters, his pre-TJB stuff would all fall into that 50 year European thing, so, if he wanted to contract with a European company to release the rarities album, he could release whatever of that stuff he could find any copy of, and those of us his true fans would thank him for an "official release" of that material even if the sound quality wasn't the greatest, I'd think, just to have it.
 
That is tempting, to have a copy on vinyl vs. the styrene single.
 
I grabbed a copy of that Stateside LP looking for a bit more quality from "Mexican Drummer Man", but it sounded just about the same to me. I suppose a really clean copy might be good.
 
The song "El Bimbo" went to # 28 on Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart in August of 1975. The flip 45 was "Catfish" (from "Coney Island"). Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
So, "El Bimbo" isn't on Coney Island, apparently, given the way you wrote that up, was a CHART SINGLE, and still didn't qualify for Lost Treasures? How exactly does that work?

Maybe the question here is "who decided what songs were on Lost Treasures, and what criteria did they use to make that decision?"
 
I suppose a lot of decisions were governed by what they found in the vaults. Record company vaults are notorious for being disorganized....old reels of tape aren't like computer files, where you can look on a screen and see what's there. You just have to hope the boxes are labeled properly. Many a "rare" track in the past has been discovered just by playing through a tape and finding something tacked onto the end of the reel. (The Beatles and Led Zeppelin have had a whole 'nother career from finding lost snippets on old tapes.)

The other thing is "Herb's memory." He put out a lot of music, and sometimes he doesn't recollect everything he ever did. He might have just forgotten about "El Bimbo." But chances are better that they just couldn't find the master.

As for "Desert Dance".... there was talk about a third "T.J.B." album to come out after Coney Island. "El Bimbo" could have been a single from that album, but before it was finished or released, Herb split the band. So there's a chance that a studio recording of "Desert Dance" exists somewhere, but if it does, it hasn't been found.
 
For anyone who's procrastinated on picking up the existing LOST TREASURES, this would be a good time. It's out of print but still easily obtainable from third party sellers.
 
For anyone who's procrastinated on picking up the existing LOST TREASURES, this would be a good time. It's out of print but still easily obtainable from third party sellers.
I'm so glad I got my copy when it was first released I loved it so much I bought my then school age Daughter a copy ( plus a couple of his better known cds) as my way of introducing her To Herb's music.
 
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