Teasing the Korean

Ha ha!

Thanks. Back in the days of arguments about digital vs. analog, I didn't think I could really tell the difference all that much. It wasn't until I A/B'd a few Dick Baxter CDs with the original LPS that I learned how truly awful digital could sound. I guess functionally there was no difference. You just didn't know what label you would see spinning around when the record was finished.

Retouched cover to come. Be patient. I'm almost finished.

Thanks, I missed that detail the first time. Another on Roulette is "My Fair Lady." It is stereo. I'm guessing that it dates from 1963 or so, in anticipation of the film. Did he go back to Tico? I have a "Live in Puerto Rico" LP on Tico. It is stereo, and the style of the jacket would suggest early 60s. I guess if Roulette owned Tico, they could do what they wanted with him. "My Fair Lady" may have come out on Roulette for crossover appeal.

Yes, with those 2 killer vibes tracks at the end.

I used to occasionally guest host a long-running Latin/Latin jazz radio show. I was the only non-Latino ever invited to do so, and I would end up doing the show a couple of times a year. On one show, I went out on a limb and played Herb Alpert's gorgeous version of "Tangerine" from "Whipped Cream." I joked on air about never being invited back again. When I talked to the host a week or so later, I asked him if I was fired. He replied, "Are you kidding me? I LOVE Herb Alpert!" So drop your prejudices for 2:49 and listen to this:

It was a pretty ubiquitous sound throughout the 60s and even into the 70s. Love it hate it - I LOVE it - the sound was distinctive. I love that track you posted above. They were trying to expand their sound by then. I think that is the last album I have by them.

By the time I got that LP, I was finished with 60s pop. I was very sad; I was trying to imagine how it might have affected me when I was 16.

There was also a 12" LP with 12 tracks in the US. It must have dated from the 1950s or early 60s. It was mono with the black label with Little Nipper.

Respectfully, I think they are awful. There was an X factor in Herb Alpert's music that could not be imitated. The imitators latched onto the superficial elements, but not the true essence. IMO.

I have never understood the RCA, Tico, and Roulette chronology. It seems like there was overlap, or that he went back and forth.

I adore these two tracks. I think I first had them on the "Mambo on Broadway" LP. They remind me of when my wife and I first got together and would mix rum cocktails in the summer while blasting Latin Jazz and exotica.

"Mambo Buda" and "Elegua Chango" are exotica essentials. Love that version of "Cuban Fantasy" also.

Do you order Mexican takeout when you listen to the Tijuana Brass?

RIP.

Excellent cheezed-out synth and drum sounds! Right up my alley!

Have you tried the Garden of Eatin' taco sauce that I described?

Thank you. Wish they would reissue this one.

Plugged Nickel in this set?

Plugged Nickel?

Thank you!

They were affordable last time I checked. Hopefully the food supply chain will stay intact.

That is the first album on which they truly solidified their sound. "Mexican Shuffle" is a good example. And also "All My Loving," where they cleverly cop Sinatra's arrangement of "I Get a Kick Out of You" and modulate up a half step on the ii-V progression. You know the part I mean? Have you tried those Garden of Eatin taco shells with the 70s taco sauce? It is really hard to find taco ingredients these days that deliver that 70s Mexican flavor. You need to pick these up and eat several tacos while listening to the "South of the Border" album.

Thanks. In the US, a lot of those 1980s CDs of RCA 1950s albums were mastered by a guy named Dick Baxter. They have a very harsh, brittle, and artificial sound. I fear that a lot of his masterings were picked up for later reissues. Also, I am curious to know if the box sets include mastering credits, and if Dick Baxter's name surfaces anyplace in general.

Do the tracks from "Tambo" sound any better on the box than they do on the standalone CD reissue? The mastering is really bad on that one IMO.