ANGRY HERB?

[jazzdre]

TO ME,ONE OF HERB'S MOST UNDERRATED ALBUMS IS 1983'S "BLOW YOUR OWN HORN"LP(HARD TO BELIEVE,TWENTY YEARS ALREADY!) GREAT PLAYING,GREAT ARRANGEMENTS,AND THE VIBE A LITTLE DARKER THAN PREVIOUS ALBUMS.WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT I'M GETTING TO:THERE'S A STRONG UNDERCURRENT OF ANGER(AT LEAST TO THESE EARS) THRU OUT THE SONGS;PARTICULARLY ON THE ALBUM'S TITLE TUNE(I EVEN MANAGE TO HEAR HERB SAY"S---T"! BACK IN '83,MY FRIEND AND I HAD TO PLAY THE SONG THREE TIMES TO HEAR IF HE ACTUALLY SAID IT OR NOT!) THE ANGRY FEELINGS COULD HAVE BEEN DUE TO THE LOSS OF KAREN CARPENTER,TO WHOM HE DEDICATES THE ALBUM TO,SUCH A LOVELY YOUNG LIFE,TAKEN TOO SOON,OR MAYBE HE WAS GOING THRU SOME PERSONAL THINGS IN HIS LIFE. WHAT DO THINK FELLOW A&MERS,DOES THE ALBUM SEEM ANGRY TO YOU?

 

[Rudy]

It doesn't come off "angry" to me...it's always seemed more of a "leftovers" album to me. I haven't seen one consistent theme...even looking at the credits, you can see it's an odd collection. A few Juan Carlos Calderon leftovers from the Fandango era, a remix of "Red Hot", two or three that tap into Motown songwriters, the KC tribute song...I don't think I've listened to it more than a half dozen times at most. Curiously, the Latin version of the album plays a lot better....Noche de Amor. It substitutes one or two tracks, and shuffles the order a bit, but it just seems to gel better. IMHO, in the CD era, it would have made sense to release it as Noche, and throw on the deleted tracks as a bonus.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

It doesn't come off "angry" to me...it's always seemed more of a "leftovers" album to me. I haven't seen one consistent theme...even looking at the credits, you can see it's an odd collection. A few Juan Carlos Calderon leftovers from the Fandango era, a remix of "Red Hot", two or three that tap into Motown songwriters, the KC tribute song...I don't think I've listened to it more than a half dozen times at most. Curiously, the Latin version of the album plays a lot better....Noche de Amor. It substitutes one or two tracks, and shuffles the order a bit, but it just seems to gel better. IMHO, in the CD era, it would have made sense to release it as Noche, and throw on the deleted tracks as a bonus.

I think 'Diversified" is a better label than "Leftovers"...there might not be a central theme to the album, but there are some interesting concepts, here...I wish Herb had been able to do more with the Dozier brothers, for example...and the remix of RED HOT works better thab the original on the BEYOND album, to my ears, at least.


I never hears any obsceneties on the album, though...all I ever heard was Herb saying "Quiet, please. everyone be quiet, this is my solo...if you'll help me, get back in behind me"...during GARDEN PARTY.


SUAVAMENTE is one of my favorite tracks...I've heard before that there were differences between BYOH and NOCHE DE AMOR...what are they?


Dan

 

[Harry]

Blow Your Own Horn

1 Red Hot
2 True Confessions
3 Blow Your Own Horn
4 Gently (Suavemente)
5 The Midnight Tango
6 Garden Party
7 Paradise Cove
8 Latin Lady
9 Oriental Eyes
10 Sundown
--------------------------------------------------


Noche De Amor

1 Sueño Precolombino *
2 Red Hot
3 Noche De Amor *
4 Gently (Suavemente)
5 True Confessions
6 Garden Party
7 Paradise Cove
8 Latin Lady
9 Oriental Eyes
10 Sundown

* These two tracks are unique to this album and replaced "Blow Your Own Horn" and "The Midnight Tango". The titles on Noche De Amor are also, for the most part, printed in Spanish.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Though the differences seem minor, I've always thought that the strengths of those two songs added a great deal to the album - for me, it made a pretty good album into a great one.

And I did exactly what Rudy mentioned, made a CD-R out of Noche De Amor, adding back in "Blow Your Own Horn" and "The Midnight Tango" as bonus tracks.

Harry
...who'll be listening for the 'anger' next time, online...

 

[Rudy]

I don't think of Herb as being the "angsty" type of person. Perturbed, disappointed, maybe...but I'd think more of the late TJB era, not his solo era.

I think the album lacks a cohesive concept...which is why I felt like it was an album of leftovers. Almost like it was time for a new album, and there were enough tracks in the can from various projects. And as Emeril would say..."BAM!!"...a new album.

I'm with Harry--the added tracks sort of glue the album together better than its U.S. equivalent. At least it seems more like a cohesive project.

FWIW, I think I've played this one as little as Wild Romance and Midnight Sun...but more than Colors, alas. Time and again, I've found myself pulling out Fandango on vinyl when I want to hear solo Herb Alpert.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

(I EVEN MANAGE TO HEAR HERB SAY"S---T"! BACK IN '83,MY FRIEND AND I HAD TO PLAY THE SONG THREE TIMES TO HEAR IF HE ACTUALLY SAID IT OR NOT!)

And what kind of prescriptions were you guys on? I don't know about the anger part. I don't hear it myself. I thought it was a bit of an uneven album myself, but it had its good moments. For me, "True Confessions" and "Garden Party" were the highlights of the album. And like most everyone else, Noche De Amor just came across as a better and cohesive album.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Steven J. Gross]

I felt the rage lol

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Judging from his previous solo efforts, Blow Your Own Horn did, indeed, sound somewhat dark to me.

Interesting to note that Blow Your Own Horn became a favorite of mine within a short period of time. I remember when it really "hit" with me...

My girlfriend and I were driving through he mountains on the way to a hiking trip. As usual, I had put Blow Your Own Horn on cassette as soon as I'd brought it home. On first listen, it didn't play well for me; didn't work as an album. It was foggy in the mountains that day, Karen and I were talking about Karen Carpenter's death and I said, "Herb's new album is dedicated to her," or something like that. Karen popped in the tape and we drove in silence, listening to the music, taking in the mountain scenery and absorbing the sounds. It was in that moment that Blow Your Own Horn touched me in a way I didn't think it could.

From then on, I've had a definite appreciation for the message, sound and artistry of this album. Funny how environment, mood and another ear can lead to revelation in music.

Jon

...with good memories of Blow Your Own Horn, online...

 

[Mike Blakesley]

This album was released around the beginning of the "multiple producers" era. At that time, most albums were produced by one person. (Or, the "hit single" would be produced by some hotshot, with the rest of the album produced by some lesser light.)

Now-a-days, of course, having a single producer is the rarity!

This is a pretty good album, but (like most of the solo era albums) it never "grabbed" me the way the TJB albums did. I have pretty much resigned myself to being a TJB fan first, with Herb's solo works taking a very distant back seat. Exception: "Beyond," one of my favorite Herb recordings of any era!

 

[alpertfan]

While we're on the subject of BLOW YOUR OWN HORN, I've got a question about the spoken word part (or should I say, whispering?) of "Garden Party". Here's how I hear it:
"When I look at you,
There is fire that is in my soul.
You give me,
You give me all that I need".

Is this what he's actually saying?

In my opinion, the album is good. I think year by year rather than decade by decade, Herb Alpert has always tried to remain contemporary, as nonsensical as that may sound. Another words, BLOW YOUR OWN HORN is not going to sound anything like MAGIC MAN and MAGIC MAN likewise will not sound like its predecessor, BEYOND.

 

[Captaindave]

Yes, when I want to hear solo Herb Alpert, it would be FANDANGO, followed by PASSION DANCE...some of the other stuff just doesn't get played anymore. I put my TJB vinyl on cassette, and since I don't have a turntable right now, I just don't play the solo albums that I do have.

I'm also a TJB fan - the solo Herb isn't up there among my favorites except for the above mentioned albums...which I don't think are typical solo Herb - I think these are "exceptional" solo Herb

 

[DAN BOLTON]

While we're on the subject of BLOW YOUR OWN HORN, I've got a question about the spoken word part (or should I say, whispering?) of "Garden Party". Here's how I hear it:
"When I look at you,
There is fire that is in my soul.
You give me,
You give me all that I need".

Is this what he's actually saying?

In my opinion, the album is good. I think year by year rather than decade by decade, Herb Alpert has always tried to remain contemporary, as nonsensical as that may sound. Another words, BLOW YOUR OWN HORN is not going to sound anything like MAGIC MAN and MAGIC MAN likewise will not sound like its predecessor, BEYOND.

I never heard that particular phrase in GARDEN PARTY...check my previous post for what I heard...it's a litle difficult to understand, because the voice is filtered through a Vocoder...but I THINK I had the words down...


Dan

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Well, I pulled out the cassette of Blow Your Own Horn and listened to it while cooking dinner this evening. My recent impression? It touched me. Dark? Yes. Angry? No. Pensive? Absolutely.

To me, Blow Your Own Horn is a reflection of the emotion anyone feels with a great loss. Happiness one moment, sadness the next. Blow Your Own Horn covers all bases in this respect.

This is only my opinion. This is how the album strikes me. I have a history with it, a happy memory if you will; a time of reflection. I think, considering Herb's previous solo efforts, Blow Your Own Horn (title and all) is a reflection of where Herb was during this part of his life -- the beauty being that something creative came out of his emotion.

Truth be told, I would expect nothing less of Herb Alpert. As always, his feelings are expressed though song; the result being Blow Your Own Horn.

Thanks Herb.

Jon

 

[Bullish '84]

I've always liked the album, my only beef with it was the order the songs were put in.

Garden Party for me was the natural opener for side one.
Red Hot could have been a great side two opener.
Blow Your Own Horn, the album closer on side two.
The vocal cut from the Latin version is a great side one
closer. (Like the vocal on Fandango!)

Sueno Precolombino I have problems with where to put
it in all this. I guess I'm still getting used to it, haven't
had Noche De Amor that long. I guess I just don't like
slower tunes opening a set.

I would've liked the back cover shot on the front, it seems
to match the album title more. Besides the Cover photo
didn't make me forget the fantastic head shot from the
"You Smile-The Song Begins" TJB album. The photo sessions
for the "Beyond" are also personal favorites.

I like all the musician listings on an insert inside the album.
The shirtless Herb cover photo would have played better
there.....could've scared small children less there.

I like to play "Latin Lady" really loud. Just love his trumpet sound
on this one.

Thank the Lord for CDR and minidisc so we can second guess
everyone's record producing and tracking.

-James(Thanks for letting me Blow My Own Horn!)