We are getting old!

[david]

It just hit me today. The TJB favorites of mine like "Sounds LIke" and "Going Places" are old! When I think back to when they were popular and what has happened since that time, it hits home just how long ago theses recordings were made. My point? Gosh, I don't really know. I guess it is amazing that after all the years Herb still has a following when many performers have been long forgottan. I was also thinking how much luck plays a part in this. For instance, would "Beat of the Brass" been nearly as popular if not for his vocal of "This Guys in Love with you." Had it not been for that song, I wonder if his popularity would have diminished earlier...just conjecture on my part. Of course, luck goes so far, talent, vision, and flexibility last much longer.
It still amazes me that when Herb Alpert seemed to run out of gas so to speak, he would nail it with a song like "Rise" or "Diamonds" when many other performers had vanished into a memory.
Hey..I"ll stop rambling here.

 

[Mike]

I think this note taken from inside the gatefold of “Herb Alpert & TJB Greatest Hits” [A&M Records/SP 4245] best sums up why his music is still good today. And by-the way, you wont find this text on the CD version, only the LP jacket has stuff like this.

“When the blahs and the turmoil’s of the 1960s eventually fade away (as they will, really they will) and only our best memories remain, it will turn out that the soundtrack for the very finest of those memories was provided by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
Amusing, sophisticated, optimistic, faintly exotic yet All-American, upbeat and enthusiastic, impudent and romantic – Herb’s TJB blend of two-beat and tortillas, of Dixieland and mariachi, trumpets and guitars, prove to have a freshness that won’t quit.”

I think the optimistic aspect of Herb's music keeps me listening... Mike

 

[alpertfan]

I remember that quote from the old vinyl copy my father still has somewhere and you're right-the CD does not have it! I agree with you. That quote pretty much sums it up. I think whoever wrote it had a hunch that Herb Alpert would remain a legend, partly because he's always updated himself so well with the times. The other reason is because he's one of those performers who just made timeless music without ever realizing it, I guess, which is why, when the TJB celebrates 50 years, a lot of the songs aren't even going to sound that old.

 

[Numero Cinco]

We're about forty years away from the early releases of the TJB. If you'd like some context for that, try this.

When Mr. Alpert was creating the sound and beat of the Brass, forty years back from then, these were the fresh new songs that people were singing:

It Had to Be You
California, Here I Come
If I Could Be with You
Toot, Toot, Tootsie! (Goodbye)
Yes, Sir! That's My Baby
'Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
Dinah (Is There Anyone Finer)
I'm Sitting on Top of the World
Ain't We Got Fun
Carolina in the Morning
I'll See You in My Dreams
Second Hand Rose

Think about it.

 

[Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar]

Other than that maybe HA is tired of music biz, trumpet playing, and he is close to 70, it would be cool if he would do one album a year with some "very limited" touring. I'm sure it would be first class travel. I know for a fact several of the original A&M musicians would love to do it.
Does anyone know if HA has been to this site? Later...........Jay

 

[Captaindave]

I dunno...but in regard to the title of this thread...

I may be getting OLDER, but I am definitely NOT getting OLD...

 

[Mike]

I don't feel all that old (born 1955), but I'm into older music -- like HA & TJB and most other recordings circa 1960's. The new stuff being put out as music today just dosn't compare. I guess every generation goes through this.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I have been in the theatre business 25 years today....March 14. Have been a TJB fan for 38 years, ever since buying the GOING PLACES LP for my mom for Mother's Day (but I got more mileage out of it than she ever did!)

Old? That music hasn't dated NEAR as much as most of the other music from that era. If you were to play some obscure TJB cut like "Slick" for someone who had never heard it, I doubt they could tell you with certainty what decade it was from.

Sergio Mendes' piano sound hasn't dated much, either, IMO. (Even the All-Music Guide agrees with me on this!)