🎷 AotW: CTI Tamba 4: California Soul (reserved for SP-3021)

All the CTI releases
The album is worth getting just for the cover. And the song selections are enticing. Viva Brazil.
 
It is nice that they found unused Pete Turner photos for both front and rear, the rear being an unused snapshot of the band from one of their previous albums.
 
Happy about the album being available....hopefully this means Spotify will get STONEBONE, too.

The artwork? Seems a little too obvious compared to what I’d imagine Pete Turner submitting in 1969.
 
It's also available on Qobuz, for streaming and also for purchase at $10.49. Keep in mind that Qobuz is a lossless 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC or ALAC file (your choice), as well as AIFF, WAV and WMA (I'm assuming lossless WMA).

Album California Soul, Tamba 4 | Qobuz: download and streaming in high quality

7digital also offers it for sale as lossless FLAC for $10.99 or MP3 for $7.99:

California Soul (2019) | Tamba 4 | MP3 Downloads | 7digital United States

You won't need a streaming account to order from either one.

Amazon also offers it in lossy MP3 (which of course I don't recommend due to poor sound quality):

Amazon product ASIN B08BHRT6MM
Tamba4CaliforniaSoulNewArtwork.jpg

I'll take what's on the real album!
I will too, but only because I know that photo is an authentic, authorized Pete Turner photo. No idea whose photo this is, but I'm guessing that the Turner estate probably licensed the LP's photo for the LP release only. This photo is nothing special. I'd be really surprised if Pete Turner took this one. (Honestly it's not that good of a photo with average composition and questionable lighting, and lacks Turner's unique use of color.)
 
Correction on Qobuz. I just purchased the download and they do offer MP3 (I thought they ditched lossy downloads but they haven't yet):

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The green Download button lets you download your purchase without needing to install the Qobuz app.
 
I saw The california soul digital version today I'm planning to buy it to finish my A&M Tamba set I already have the first two I was hoping this would make it to digital hearing the samples it is Half vocal and Half instrumental but I Like it it does fit my formats just nicely
 
Well, here's the whole thing on YouTube already (as a playlist)...terrible alternate cover art and all:

 
I listened to it on Spotify yesterday. I gotta say "meh". Most of my reasons for that have been covered by others in this thread, but bottom line is that this is so bland...watered-down Bossa Nova. The fact that the same guys could give us WE AND THE SEA just makes this all the more a letdown for me.
 
I listened to it on Spotify yesterday. I gotta say "meh". Most of my reasons for that have been covered by others in this thread, but bottom line is that this is so bland...watered-down Bossa Nova. The fact that the same guys could give us WE AND THE SEA just makes this all the more a letdown for me.

It's one that grows on you with repeated listening. No, it's no WE AND THE SEA, but I find it quite listenable, particularly the non-vocal side B.
 
It does grow on you a bit over time. I was lukewarm the first few listens myself, but it's not as murky sounding as Samba Blim (which always sounds like it was recorded under a wet blanket).

What's disconcerting is that we don't hear Luiz Eça's piano--he is playing Rhodes throughout. The horns are like other CTi records of the time, kind of in a light jazz/funk mode. It's no Tamba Trio and not really Bossa Nova either, but it's still catchy when in the right mood.
 
I got the Album and after listening I consider this more of an Easy Listening jazz album which probably would have got more play on such MOR Easy stations had it been released in the late 60s but as I said I'm A Huge fan of Some kinds of Easy Listening the instrumentals primarily however the vocal side of this Tamba 4 release would fit the Easy Listening vocal side too I enjoy it despite its imperfections
 
One wonders if the cover of the LP will ever see the light of day on a perhaps future CD, or will the digital photo above prevail. It reminds me of the situation with Jobim's WAVE. On LP, the picture was deep red:

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but when the CD was issued, somehow it became blue-green.

1593867874723.png

Will CALIFORNIA SOUL's original photo survive to a potential CD?

1593867953205.png 1593868012048.png
 
I doubt a CD would ever materialize--the labels pretty much don't want to press them anymore unless it sells in huge numbers. I could see some of the fanatics in Japan doing one eventually though. 😉 It's just good to have the music out now to a wider population.

That new cover art is absolutely horrible, the more I look at it. At least Jobim's album was a printing mistake. Funny that when I first saw the correct California Soul Pete Turner photo, I immediately thought of the salt flats in Utah, and that's exactly what they are. This new one doesn't really relate to anything, and doesn't look remotely Turner-ish IMHO.
 
I doubt a CD would ever materialize--the labels pretty much don't want to press them anymore unless it sells in huge numbers. I could see some of the fanatics in Japan doing one eventually though. 😉 It's just good to have the music out now to a wider population.

That new cover art is absolutely horrible, the more I look at it. At least Jobim's album was a printing mistake. Funny that when I first saw the correct California Soul Pete Turner photo, I immediately thought of the salt flats in Utah, and that's exactly what they are. This new one doesn't really relate to anything, and doesn't look remotely Turner-ish IMHO.
Agreed. The new cover looks like a vacation snapshot. Turner had better outtakes.
 
Yeah, if a CD materializes, I could see it being a Japan import.
 
Agreed. The new cover looks like a vacation snapshot. Turner had better outtakes.
I'm just waiting for someone to prove us wrong and say it is a Turner photograph. 😁 But I kind of doubt it. They could have at least found something that didn't scream "first year art college student"...
 
I'm just waiting for someone to prove us wrong and say it is a Turner photograph. 😁 But I kind of doubt it. They could have at least found something that didn't scream "first year art college student"...
I mean, just Googling "Pete Turner", I found a shot that (if we really can't have the first one) would be fine for an album called "California Soul":

primary-colors-main-002.jpg
 
So I've been hoping to hear this album since I first learned of it from Doug Payne's website years ago. And last night, I did. It sounds like 1969. But I think one reason it didn't get released is that it's not very good. The album lacks the soul and sparkle of the previous two. There's not a standout cut, and the vocals aren't memorable. Considering "Samba Blim" would be one of my desert island discs, I'm disappointed, but grateful I got to acquire a copy.
 
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