thetijuanataxi
Well-Known Member
I've never had a problem with FTJ either.
🎵 AotW Classics Herb Alpert & The TJB - BEAT OF THE BRASS SP-4146
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Dave
Well-Known Member
Mr Bill said:
Hey, being kitschy was trendy or at least it was hip to cover Newley/Bricusse, at least as far as their material for DOCTOR DOLITTLE...
(An escape from love song fare, like "The Joker" and "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me?)"...)
So, yeh, Herb & The Brass are right on the money covering this, and giving it a sort of classy parody, as only "big band wunderkinds" like TjB could do...!
Dave
Mike
Active Member
JOv2
Well-Known Member
Agreed.Captaindave said:...Actually, I don't mind the instrumental sections of it...it's the vocals that...
As a "cutesy" instrumental (of which one seems to plague virtually every '60s TJB LP) it's not any worse than El Garbanzo or Cinco De Mayo. (Actually, the arrangement and scoring is relative complex suggesting the piece required no small amount of rehearsal to prepare.) That said, the singing is embarrassingly hideous. I, too, haven't abused my ears (or head) with that drivel since the late '70s when I first bought the LP.
The Sammy Davis Jr LP Dave mentions is very good! Like Herb/TjB, Sammy possessed a seemingly unmeasurable amount of charisma. Unlike Herb, however, Sammy did it with a very strong personality anchored, obviously, by his "singer's singer" voice: Be it as a jazz vocalist, a soul singer, a drummer, a dramatic stage or film actor, a balladeer, a tap dancer, playing the vibes, a comedian, putting his twist onto a bossa, performing his wonderfully entertaining impersonations, or singing straight up rock 'n roll, he truly was an artist/entertainer unmatched in his ablilty to succeed at a great many musical endeavours. The Dr. Doolittle LP is yet another unique success in what was an incredibly fertile period for Sammy.
Harry S. Anchan
Well-Known Member
Loved it over and over on the Voice of America Breakfast Show back in distant Southern India during 1968. It was an absolute treat for me and my friends. Fabulous memories of 1968 flood over me when I hear it. There was only one problem, though - the song had to end! Long live Herb and the TJB.
Herb's first solo release, his first #1 hit, and his all-time biggest hit. Also the first #1 record for Alpert’s A&M Records label, as well as the first Bacharach/David composition to make it to the top of the Pop charts. Produced by Alpert and partner Jerry Moss at Hollywood’s Goldstar Studios.
According to legend, Alpert recorded his vocal in a single take. He originally performed it on his 1968 Tijuana Brass TV special The Beat of the Brass, made to promote their album of the same name. The song proved so popular, Alpert decided to release it as a single. The following year, Dionne Warwick did a Top 10 cover version called "This Girl's in Love with You" in early 1969; Aretha Franklin featured it as the title track to her 1969 album, but it failed to make the Pop charts. Also covered by Brenda Lee as a 1969 album track [More from the Burt Bacharach Songbook CD]. Oasis later did an homage to this song in the early 1990s as “Half the World.”
Released on May 4, 1968 reaching a well-deserved #1 on June 22.
[Some song notes courtesy of "MusicTrax" software]
Steven J. Gross
Well-Known Member
This one has a "30" sign behind Lou (also found on the cover of the LP).
Great finds! Because of the cropping of the album cover, I'd always assumed it had been taken in L.A. ( https://forum.amcorner.com/threads/the-white-sky-in-los-angeles.19121/ ), but, while this doesn't rule that out, the wide shot shows that it was clouds, not late 60s photochemical smog.
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