Just bought ten Herb 45s on eBay - any unique mixes?

beatcomber

Well-Known Member
Hello, fellow Herbivores! Someone on eBay listed ten Herb singles for just $5 shipped, and I hit the Buy-It-Now without hesitating!

The discs are:

Spanish Harlem / A-me-ri-ca (1963)
Numero Cinco / The Mexican Shuffle (1964)
All My Loving / El Presidente (1964) Beatles cover
Taste of Honey / 3rd Man Theme (1965)
What Now My Love / Spanish Flea (1966)
The Work Song / Plucky (1966)
Flamingo / So What's New? (1966)
To Wait for Love / Bud (1968)
Jerusalem / Strike Up the Band (1970) - with picture sleeve
El Bimbo / Catfish (1975) - listed on label as "Herb Alpert & the T.J.B."

I am aware that "El Bimbo" is a bit of a rarity. Are any of the others non-LP tracks? (I don't think so, but I am not certain.)

Any alternate mixes vs. the mono LPs?

Thanks!

s-l1600.jpg
 
BTW, I also pulled the trigger on five picture sleeves (without discs). Three of these match the 45s I bought, but some will be orphaned until I find the discs.

 
Congrats.

Well, for sure you'll find a different lead vocal on Herb's "To Wait For Love", "Numero Cinco" has the Spanish engineer that's not on all mono albums, but is on some, and "A Taste Of Honey" has an extra trumpet stab or two that are missing from the stereo versions. It's also a few seconds longer. And all of the records in that bunch are mono. You might find that some sound a little "punchier" than their mono album counterparts since singles were often "goosed" a bit to make them sound better on AM radio.

I love the sound of all of these mono mixes. You did exactly what I did to find them too. I started with a big bunch of about twenty-five of these singles that someone sold in a "lot" on eBay. I was lucky in that nearly all of the ones I bought were in first-class shape with picture sleeves already on them. It was a great purchase. I then filled in the missing ones with individual purchases on eBay and Discogs to finally get them all and compile a nice set of CDs.
 
Congrats.

Well, for sure you'll find a different lead vocal on Herb's "To Wait For Love", "Numero Cinco" has the Spanish engineer that's not on all mono albums, but is on some, and "A Taste Of Honey" has an extra trumpet stab or two that are missing from the stereo versions. It's also a few seconds longer. And all of the records in that bunch are mono. You might find that some sound a little "punchier" than their mono album counterparts since singles were often "goosed" a bit to make them sound better on AM radio.

I love the sound of all of these mono mixes. You did exactly what I did to find them too. I started with a big bunch of about twenty-five of these singles that someone sold in a "lot" on eBay. I was lucky in that nearly all of the ones I bought were in first-class shape with picture sleeves already on them. It was a great purchase. I then filled in the missing ones with individual purchases on eBay and Discogs to finally get them all and compile a nice set of CDs.

That's really great to know, Harry! Many thanks for that info.

I wasn't expecting there to be anything special here, so now I'm even happier with my score. :righton:
 
I just managed to locate a copy of the Japanese LP compilation called EL BIMBO.

ElBimbo1.JPGElBimbo2.JPG

This was a 1976 compilation and has the A&M silver and tan. "What Now My Love" is the wet version, somewhat unusual for this late date. As far as US appearances go, anything after about 1971 or so, "What Now My Love" had switched to the dry version only. I guess the Japanese used what they had on hand.
 
I just managed to locate a copy of the Japanese LP compilation called EL BIMBO.

ElBimbo1.JPGElBimbo2.JPG

This was a 1976 compilation and has the A&M silver and tan. "What Now My Love" is the wet version, somewhat unusual for this late date. As far as US appearances go, anything after about 1971 or so, "What Now My Love" had switched to the dry version only. I guess the Japanese used what they had on hand.

That's cool! I would guess you're right, King Records was sent tapes from A&M in the '60s, and just kept re-using them.
 
Just bought another batch of singles off eBay. One or two doubles, but it's OK.

Casino Royale / The Wall Street Rag PICTURE SLEEVE
Wade In The Water / Mexican Road Race
Plucky / The Work Song
Zobra the Greek / Tijuana Taxi
A Quiet Tear / This Guy's In Love With You
Flamingo / So What's New?
The Beat Of The Brass

@Harry , are there any unique mixes in this batch? What's the deal with the "Beat of the Brass" EP, is that a jukebox record?

 
"Zorba" and "Tijuana Taxi" are very much unique mixes of course. BEAT OF THE BRASS is a 33 1/3 LP with probably six tracks for jukebox album play.
 
I've been on a real spree of buying TJB 45s! I have a few more coming in soon. They sound great and are so much fun.

I just got this delightful treasure, in VG+ condition:

s-l1600.jpg


What I find interesting about this early (1962) 45 is how a few things hadn't been fully fleshed out yet in the A&M/TJB world.

The most obvious one is they hadn't settled on the branding for A&M Records, using a simple type treatment in lieu of a proper logo.

The name of the group - The Tijuana Brass Featuring Herb Alpert - seems to me to have been created as a name for a one-shot novelty record, not something with any longevity in mind or with a distinctive identity.

A very cool artifact.
 
What was released as A&M 700, 701 and 702?

Nothing. Jerry Moss figured that starting with a single number like 100 or even 700 looked like a one-off record - or the first and only. He rationalized that a number like 703 didn't look that way and might not be dismissed as such.
 
What was released as A&M 700, 701 and 702?

Well, I don't think that the numbering was pulled out of thin air. Carol 700 was Herbie Alpert & His Quartet (Sweet Georgia Brown b/w Vipers Blues), Carnival 701 was Dore Alpert (Tell It To The Birds b/w Fallout Shelter) and Carnival 702 was Charlie Robinson (Love Is Back In Style b/w Peppermint Twist). As we know, Carnival was already taken and A&M Record Co. was born! :wink:
 
Well, I don't think that the numbering was pulled out of thin air. Carol 700 was Herbie Alpert & His Quartet (Sweet Georgia Brown b/w Vipers Blues), Carnival 701 was Dore Alpert (Tell It To The Birds b/w Fallout Shelter) and Carnival 702 was Charlie Robinson (Love Is Back In Style b/w Peppermint Twist). As we know, Carnival was already taken and A&M Record Co. was born! :wink:

I'm gonna have to do a YouTube search for these!
 
Nothing. Jerry Moss figured that starting with a single number like 100 or even 700 looked like a one-off record - or the first and only. He rationalized that a number like 703 didn't look that way and might not be dismissed as such.
Well, I don't think that the numbering was pulled out of thin air. Carol 700 was Herbie Alpert & His Quartet (Sweet Georgia Brown b/w Vipers Blues), Carnival 701 was Dore Alpert (Tell It To The Birds b/w Fallout Shelter) and Carnival 702 was Charlie Robinson (Love Is Back In Style b/w Peppermint Twist). As we know, Carnival was already taken and A&M Record Co. was born! :wink:

Ok, right. It was the 700 number that Moss wanted to start with, rather than a 1 or 100 number.

Still, it's pretty brilliant that Moss was even thinking about things like that!
 
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