⭐ Official Review You Smile -- The Song Begins [Herb Alpert & The T.J.B.]

...an interesting number. :wink:

Maybe Moon was related to one of my co-workers. This guy used to have a post-it note with the following legend in his office, "the most rhythm-less white man in America." :D
 
I still think "I Might Frighten Her Away" is a gorgeous ballad.

It's one of my favorite Bacharach tunes, although I do like the Bacharach version (from Living Together) better. But, that version concludes with a great trumpet solo!
 
This album is fantastic. As well as Herb and the other brass-playing guys blowing their eyeballs out, there's some wonderful marimba work by Julius Wechter on tracks like 'Fox Hunt', 'Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor', 'I Might Frighten Her Away', the title track and 'Up Cherry Street', etc. etc. Vince Charles goes to town, (to Tijuana?) on the steel drums on 'Dida' and this makes for a brilliant recording. I love the guitar and keyboard on 'Save the Sunlight'. Herb sounds just as laid back as ever in his vocal on this. There's a wonderful mix of quiet, chilled-out tracks and frenetic energy on this album. The blend of instruments and the arrangements by Quincy Jones make this recording wonderfully engaging and relaxing. Herb's and Bob Findley's trumpet playing is brilliant. A lovely record, and I'm glad that I've now got it on CD. It's called, 'You Smile - The Song Begins', but it should be, 'The Song Begins - You Smile', because that's what you're sure to do when you hear music like this!
 
I have always thought this album deserved a better cover. I mean, Herb looks great in the picture, but it's just not an exciting cover. I was expecting it to at least have a cool innersleeve and it didn't even have that (nor did Coney Island). Even Summertime had more going for it than this one due to the cool back-cover photography, and also the front picture with its infamous pants DID at least look ... summer-y.

I can never pick a favorite TJB song, but it's easy for me to pick a favorite album cover: SRO. It shows the whole band and is just a classy looking cover. Some people might say "what about Whipped Cream?" Well, I leave the first 4 albums out of competition because the band hadn't been formed yet. (My contest, my rules!)
They had obviously realised that Herb's face could sell a lot of records, if he hadn't already convinced everybody with his trumpet playing. His portrait is on almost every album cover.
 
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Yeah, I have this album(and I mean that literally) Bought it at my friend Julie's uncle's record shop here in Brooklyn THIRTY TWO YEARS AGO!! (My, how time really does fly!!) I had just gotten into things Alpert a few years earlier, and was more familiar with the solo stuff(Rise, Magic Man,Beyond, etc), but I was just getting into the TJB stuff as well. In fact, a friend of mine in high school had sold me the WARM lp, and that was my first TJB album. Then I bought The Beat Of The Brass lp; which took a bit getting used to(at that time, it sounded to me like 60s sitcom music; please don't get mad at me for this, I'm translating this back into this time in my life when I was a LOT younger, and also remember I was primed by Herb's solo jazz/funk period when I first heard his music.)

Eventually, I bought more of the TJB stuff, and I came to love that music eventually as well. I bought You Smile in '85, and really liked it! I liked Dida(given my West Indian background, I liked Vince Charles' steelpan playing) Promises, Promises is a very good arrangement of this tune, with the acoustic guitar playing, and Herb's scat vocals, Legend doesn't have the power of the Mangione original, but it still holds up anyway. I really, REALLY like I Can't Go On Living, 'cause it reminds me of Herb's 60s TJB sound(he still hadn't let go of the old stuff completely) My absolute favorite is the title track You Smile, because it is Alpert at his melodic best.(Interesting note here: this tune was later remade on the Magic Man album, but with a more up tempo arrangement, then the title track Magic Man was later remade on the 1999 Almo Sounds Colors cd! It's interesting to me because these two tunes were title tracks to albums of Herb's, then later he remakes them under the title track of ANOTHER album! Just an aloud thought here...) All in all, it's a very good album, and to my ears, it's kind of like a mixture o9f easy listening, adult contemporary pop, and a little jazz here for good measure. I'd give it three stars.
Til next time, take care.
jazzdre
 
When this came out, I was in the music business. I knew the album was coming and had ordered it, but our rival music dealer in town (a variety store) got it in before we did! But I couldn't stand to wait a few more days and went ahead and paid their slightly-higher price. (This was before the days when "street date" was so widely publicized and people would line up for new releases.)

I've always liked the album a lot -- it didn't sound like the "old" TJB but really, every album since Beat of the Brass had had a markedly different sound, so it was getting to be normal to be surprised by Herb's latest style.

My go-to tunes are "Save the Sunlight," "Fox Hunt" and "Legend of the One Eyed Sailor." But my favorite on the album is "Promises, Promises," which boasts a killer arrangement and some very cool scat vocals by Herb. It's one of those many TJB tunes that I really enjoy cranking the volume on.

I'm looking forward to revisiting this one.
HI Mike -- Thank you for recommending this recording many years ago. You said I would like it -- and, well, as it turns out, I did and I do! I also select "Fox Hunt", "Promises" and the Mangione composition as my favourites. Herb's tone and technique, to my ears, surpass all his '60s efforts. Wonderful record. Thanks again. -James
 
Well his name (back then) was also James so I'm betting he's one and the same guy.
Point to Mike! Back after a 10-or-so year hiatus. How are you? As for the LP, when I first heard "Fox Hunt" I was on cloud 9: Herb summed up all the beauty and imagination of his unique '60s creations and gave it a slight '70s -- if not slightly Bacharachian -- tilt.
 
I remember when I first heard it. There was a radio station in Billings which we used to have on at work all the time, since we had no local station. They were an MOR station so I heard a lot of classic A&M on it. I had heard that there was a new Herb Alpert album coming out and as soon as I heard that trumpet (even on the scratchy static-y radio) I knew it was the "new Herb" album.
 
Hi Harry! Yes, that's me -- hence the "v2" addendum. How goes it in A&M Corner land?
Welcome Back JOv2 I seen many of your past posts I've only been here since 2012 but I admired your boldness of opinions even though I may disagree with some of them its ok we are all friends here. As far as Herb's " You Smile" Album I thought it was quite excellent and I agree with the term a" Bacharachian" tilt and I also Like Burt Bacharach too and the CD version is a huge step up from the vinyl version to my ears
 
I remember when I first heard it. There was a radio station in Billings which we used to have on at work all the time, since we had no local station. They were an MOR station so I heard a lot of classic A&M on it. I had heard that there was a new Herb Alpert album coming out and as soon as I heard that trumpet (even on the scratchy static-y radio) I knew it was the "new Herb" album.
Mike, somehow I missed Fox Hunt as a kid in the '70s. It opens with the same simple 2/4 (notably with the piano: bass-chord-bass-chord) pattern that was used on Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends LP opener, Don't Take Your Time -- so my ears perked up from the start as it had that '67 "A&M sound" that for me, sealed my sonic fate!
 
Welcome Back JOv2 I seen many of your past posts I've only been here since 2012 but I admired your boldness of opinions even though I may disagree with some of them its ok we are all friends here. As far as Herb's " You Smile" Album I thought it was quite excellent and I agree with the term a" Bacharachian" tilt and I also Like Burt Bacharach too and the CD version is a huge step up from the vinyl version to my ears
That first unexpected modulation in the A section and its release (...the Bacharach part) gets me every time...and when Bob blows that pretty legato line, we're assured the TJB has returned! Fox Hunt is timeless as well as a stellar LP opener.
 
I don't think I ever heard "Fox Hunt" on the radio. By the time that single was out, the station I listened to had gotten "mushier", playing a lot of really soft vocals. By the time they straightened out, "Fox Hunt" was well off the charts.

Sometime in the last year or so, I learned of a little extra vocalization at the tail end of "Fox Hunt" that only appears on the stock single. It's not on the album, nor the promotional single. I found one and put it on YouTube. At the end, really crank the volume and you can hear someone saying something.

 
I don't think I ever heard "Fox Hunt" on the radio. By the time that single was out, the station I listened to had gotten "mushier", playing a lot of really soft vocals. By the time they straightened out, "Fox Hunt" was well off the charts.

Sometime in the last year or so, I learned of a little extra vocalization at the tail end of "Fox Hunt" that only appears on the stock single. It's not on the album, nor the promotional single. I found one and put it on YouTube. At the end, really crank the volume and you can hear someone saying something.


I first had this single in 84 and I noticed that at the end to my ears it sounded like Herb faintly in the background saying " I got it" . Or something to that effect nevertheless its a goody
 
I first had this single in 84 and I noticed that at the end to my ears it sounded like Herb faintly in the background saying " I got it" . Or something to that effect nevertheless its a goody
Thanks, Harry! Though I'm not fully intimate with the LP version, the 45 mix seems slightly different -- with the marimba and accordion a bit hotter on the single (of course there's the computer (45) vs. stereo (LP) fidelity issue at hand as well).
 
Solid LP. It's great to hear HA's trumpet back at -- and beyond -- the GP--WNML plateau. My faves are Fox Hunt, Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor and Promises, Promises. Thanks again to Mike B. for recommending the two '70s-era TjB recordings years ago.
 
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