ANYTHING GOES - Reviews and comments

[Mike Blakesley]

Well Sergio Mendes' last two albums were sold in Starbucks, and I think Concord has some kind of a deal with them, so in this case the answer might be yes.

Pride in selection doesn't go too far when nobody is buying the stuff you're selling.

 

[Harry]

For what it's worth, there's no mention of ANYTHING GOES on the Starbucks' website. I don't know whether their online site matches their in-store selection, but Sergio's albums were represented online.

Harry

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I had to run a bunch of errands today and checked out several stores to see who was stocking the CD. The two Best Buys I was at had a couple in stock in each store, Barnes & Noble was sold out (they had 4 copies to start), Fry's had a couple of copies, Waterloo had three copies, Walmart had one and even Target had a copy. So they are available in stores. Of course, that doesn't mean much unless you live in Austin.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[gameenjoyer]

Walmart and Target? Hmm, I may have to check those places then. Why can't stores that sell music just carry everything that's in release so I don't have to search so hard?

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Well...it's because of all those bad people buying all that stuff online!

But it's a vicious cycle...

Store can't afford to stock everything > Customer can't find an item in the store, gets frustrated, buys it online > Finds out it's easier to shop from home than go to store > Eventually buys everything online > Store closes (or changes to alternative inventory that will move)

Back on topic: I gave this another listen tonight. I'm enjoying it more and more every listen. "Besame Mucho" is still my favorite track. That's amazing -- Herb has recorded that song so many different ways and still nails it every time!

 

[Mike]

Walmart and Target? Hmm, I may have to check those places then. Why can't stores that sell music just carry everything that's in release so I don't have to search so hard?

Hey, McFly, wake up! ... go on line, or go home empty handed. It's as simple as that.

Mike

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Anything Goes debuted at #7 on the Jazz Albums chart last week, and it's at #13 for this week, according to the Billboard site.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Stephen Vakil]

Has anyone received their Japanese version yet? Mine came today! In addition to the booklet, there's another one with all the lyrics.

Night and Day is pretty good, with vocals from both H and L and the gemini trumpet too! There's also nice solos from MS, HJ and BC. A nice addition to the album which could, perhaps, have been included in the original!

Stephen

 

[Mike Blakesley]

ey, McFly, wake up! ... go on line,

Well, he ought to know where he could order one by just picking up the phone (unless he doesn't trust phones either) but, not for 2 weeks -- I'm going on vacation.

 

[Harry]

Has anyone received their Japanese version yet? Mine came today! In addition to the booklet, there's another one with all the lyrics.

Night and Day is pretty good, with vocals from both H and L and the gemini trumpet too! There's also nice solos from MS, HJ and BC. A nice addition to the album which could, perhaps, have been included in the original!

Stephen

Mine's on the way - it could have arrived over the weekend - I'll know later. Good to hear that the bonus track is worthwhile.

Harry

 

[Stephen Vakil]

Sounds like I was the first person to get it

 

[kenny]

I wish Berimbau was on the cd. They opened with that at the shows I saw and it was fantastic.

 

[gameenjoyer]

Mr. Blakesley, I'm confused. What phone number are you alluding to? I don't know the phone number of any stores that carry it.

Oh, and to the other Mike, I did feel like your comment was just slightly on the disrespectful side, although I assume you were just trying to be funny. We all have our own little hangups. That's a part of life.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

The phone number is for the store I work at - 406-346-2143. We carry all of the Herb Alpert that's in domestic print, including ANYTHING GOES. But like I said above, I'm on vacation until the 21st so there's nobody there to do mail-out orders until I get back.

 

[Harry]

Has anyone received their Japanese version yet? Mine came today! In addition to the booklet, there's another one with all the lyrics.

Night and Day is pretty good, with vocals from both H and L and the gemini trumpet too! There's also nice solos from MS, HJ and BC. A nice addition to the album which could, perhaps, have been included in the original!

Stephen

I finally got my Japanese edition of ANYTHING GOES today. A few differences noticeable right away:

(a). The Japanese edition comes in a jewel case as opposed to the cardboard pack in which the US edition appears.

(b). Because of being in a jewel case, the cover photo is a little different - cropped on the right side so there's none of Herb's ear visible. That also pushes the "ANYTHING GOES" text a bit farther to the left.

(c). Because the Japanese booklet uses the album cover for its own first page, the US edition differs as it's just text.

(d). Because of the extra track, the booklet's opening tracklist page is laid out just a little differently, squeezing an extra track on the first page to make room for the "Night And Day" info on the second page. That also reduces the font size and spacing just a little bit.

(e). With the US edition, you actually get a few more pictures inside the tri-fold package.

(f). And because of the extra track, the Japanese version's back cover track listing is smaller in font size and spaced slightly differently.

(g). Concord Jazz titles are distributed in Japan by Universal Music, so that text is added to the back cover.

(h). The disc has an additional "JASRAC" and "COMPACT DISC" logo plus the Universal Music text.

(i). Of course, the Japanese package has an obi.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the disc yet (or the extra track). I'l probably get to that sometime tomorrow.

Harry

 

[Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar]

The first thing that caught my eye because of my thinning problem was "All that Hair"! They are all follically gifted. Did you see Mr. Alpert's Johnny Weissmuller?

The album is great. The CD is worth the price just to listen to Bill Cantos on piano.

later........JO

 

[Nathan Strum]

I posted a review up in my blog. In short - I think it's excellent.

 

[gameenjoyer]

My "buy it the old fashioned way" nature has finally been vindicated, as I was able to find a copy of this album out in Illinois while I was out there over last weekend for a wedding. God bless big cities like Rockford, Illinois for existing, and so close to where the wedding I was going to was.

Well, technically, I found copies in two distinct places: the Border's and the Best Buy, which, as luck would have it, were right next to each other. I checked Border's first since I had checked the Best Buy in Mason City multiple times to no avail, and they did have it, but for $18.99. I was willing to pay that if necessary, but decided since they had two copies in stock I'd probaby be safe checking the Best Buy first before committing to that price. Luckily, the Best Buy had copies as well, and for the more reasonable price of $14.99. Needless to say, the Best Buy got the honor of fulfilling my goal of owning a copy of the CD.

I will say this in defense of the Border's though: while the Best Buy only had copies of Anything Goes and Definitive Hits, Border's had copies of some of the volumes of the Signature Series in stock. None of Christmas Album, though, unfortunately, at least not there or anywhere else that I could find.

Okay, enough about how I found a copy of the CD as I'm sure you all couldn't care less about that. My opinion of the album: interesting, very interesting. The numbers featuring Alpert almost sounded semi-TJBish to me, but I'm sure that's just my amateur Alpert ear talking. My one complaint is that Hall seemed to be featured on more of the recordings than Alpert, with the trumpet doing little more than filling small interludes between the vocals on most of the tracks, and on a couple of the tracks, I couldn't even hear that he did that much.

Now, let me be clear on this point. From listening to this album, I will certainly now attest that Lani Hall is a very talented vocalist and she is very nice to listen to (I've never actually heard anything else by her, to be honest). Please don't get the impression that I'm putting her down in any way. However, I expected the album to be more evenly split than it was and to have more Alpert-featuring tracks on it. I think I counted all of 3 tracks that featured Alpert more than Hall, which disappointed me since I am primarily a fan of Alpert.

The thing is this. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I listen to Alpert albums for the trumpet and the awesome instrumental arrangements, and where Alpert is given a chance to shine on this album (even in the interludes of the Hall numbers), shine he does. If I want to listen to a vocalist, I'll pull out one of my Elvis CDs or a Gene Pitney or a Bobby Vinton or (insert names of other vocal artists I have CDs by here).

But that's just me. My main problem is that I approached this album anticipating it as an Alpert album and didn't realize that it would be more of a Hall album in actual execution. That was my mistake, and I know that the Hall numbers will grow on me as I listen to the album more because she really is a very talented vocalist.

Okay, I've bored you all long enough with my rant, so I'm going to leave it at that.

 

[Harry]

...Lani Hall is a very talented vocalist and she is very nice to listen to (I've never actually heard anything else by her, to be honest).

You sir, are in serious need of some Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 recordings.

Harry

 

[gameenjoyer]

Explain to me though how the group is called Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 if Lani Hall is the lead vocalist of the group (which I presume she is since you are recommending them for hearing more of her stuff). Shouldn't it be Lani Hall and Brasil '66?

 

[Mike Blakesley]

It was Sergio Mendes's group, but Lani was the lead singer. That is actually a more common thing in music than a lot of people realize: For example, Ted Nugent's records have his name on them, but (at least in his '70s heyday) he wasn't always the vocalist on his records.

Or another good example is the Alan Parsons Project: He NEVER sang lead on his own records* and in fact, didn't even play an instrument on most of them, and (in many cases) didn't write the songs either, even though his name was listed as a writer. His primary input was as producer and engineer.

Sergio Mendes was already pretty well known when he formed Brasil '66, but he hadn't found the "magic formula" yet to hit the mainstream charts. When he hit upon the two-girls-singing idea, and found Lani Hall, the package was complete.

I would recommend you seek out the Sergio Mendes album LOOK AROUND or EQUINOX. You'll see Herb Alpert listed as the album producer on both records but he doesn't play on them. But if you enjoy Lani on ANYTHING GOES, you'll be blown away by either one of those records.

Mike B.

* However, his voice WAS run through a vocoder on the song "The Raven," but that should hardly count. And he did sing lead on one song on his album A VALID PATH but that's a solo album, not a Parsons Project album.

 

[Dave]

Carlos Santana, too, also "hired" lead singers... (And quite a lot to mention, male & female, I should say...!)

Hence the only thing distinguishing his work "under his name", Santana was of course his guitar-work...



Dave

 

[Mr Bill]

It's because it's Sergio's band. Like Alan Parsons, Sergio was the guiding force of the band and its sound. Another example would be Quincy Jones. While his playing (and composing/arranging) was the focal point of the early CTi recordings, his later A&M output featured less Quincy playing and more Quincy "producing/arranging." Something even Sergio did on some tracks during his second A&M stint in the 80s...

--Mr Bill

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Well and it's nothing new for Herb either, when you think about it...he used Janet Jackson on a couple of fairly well-known hits in the '80s. It didn't become common for the "featured" artist to get label billing until that era -- up to that point, the lead singer had to become a superstar in his/her own right to get name mention (thinking of "Tony Orlando and Dawn" here -- their first couple of albums were just credited to Dawn.)

ANYTHING GOES is different though -- it is a co-billed album, and while Herb plays on every song, Lani probably gets more minutes of vocals on the vocal songs, so it figures there would be a handful of instrumentals to "even things out," so to speak.