Herb Alpert ‎- A Portrait In Music (1997)

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX SET WEEK (MARCH 8 - 14, 2020)*
*In which I've lost/misplaced/can't find/never had one or more CDs in a multi-disc set.

Disc 1 of a 2 CD limited edition career retrospective. No idea where disc 2 ran off to.

Yes, I'm going to voice my usual complaints about non-chronological sequencing in this post. You've been warned.

I wonder about the selections included here - based solely on chart data, this would appear to be a lackluster compilation, but it ain't that bad. Alpert had 46 Adult Contemporary Hits and 19 Top 40 Hits; so there's obviously a wealth of material to choose from but much of that stuff is overlooked for reasons unknown. These tracks skew toward the earlier Tijuana Brass recordings from the '60s (14 of the disc's 22 tracks) and, to me, that sound is entertaining for a bit, but not for an hour. Mostly due to reasons of nostalgia, I'm partial to the '70s and '80s material, but that should come as a surprise to absolutely no one.

I also can't figure out why 1997 seemed like a good time to put out a promo-only compilation and on the Rondor label (one of Alpert's publishing arms), not A&M. Admittedly, I don't know much about publishing rights; I always figured Alpert owned all his own stuff but a man's gotta eat. [shrug]

Alpert played loose with genres - samba, bossa, pop, swing, disco, latin, R&B, smooth jazz, covers, as well his own "Ameriachi" sound with the Tijuana Brass - but to sequence them like they did on this disc doesn't properly serve the material and disrespects the listener with sudden jolts of contrasting production and arranging styles. I love to shuffle tracks as much as the next guy (I still own no fewer than 3 iPod Shuffles - they're around here somewhere, possibly next to disc 2 of this set.), but when it comes to compilations, I've long believed that chronological sequencing is not only easiest, it's the right thing to do.

I'm doing a lot of bitching about this CD, but I'm doing it a disservice with all these negative comments. It's good, I'm just disappointed it isn't as good as it could have been. Coulda woulda shoulda.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Promotional release

Tracks:

Song	Year	Hot 100	AC
The Lonely Bull	1962	6	-
Tijuana Taxi	1965	38	9
Cantina Blue	1966	-	-
Beba	1997	-	-
Slick	1968	-	36
Behind The Rain	1979	-	-
Cinco De Mayo	1965	-	-
So What's New	1966	-	-
Route 101	1982	37	4
Can't Stop Thinking About You	1996	-	-
Rotation	1979	30	23
Bittersweet Samba	1965	-	-
Memories Of Madrid	1966	-	-
Our Song	1987	-	-
Salud, Amor Y Dinero	1964	-	-
Green Peppers	1966	-	-
It's All For You	1985	-	-
El Presidente	1964	-	-
Bo-Bo	1967	-	-
A Beautiful Friend	1968	-	-
Adios, Mi Corazon	1964	-	-
Rise	1979	1	1

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Passion Dance (1997)
Classics, Volume 1 (1987)
Beyond (1980)
Rise (1979)
What Now My Love (1966)