Herb Alpert: Rise (Remastered + Expanded) CD Track Listing

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Herb Alpert Rise (Remastered + Expanded) (1979)
Rise (Remastered + Expanded)\n2007 Shout! Factory LLC\n\nOriginally Released September 1979\nCD Edition Released \nRemastered + Expanded CD Edition Released May 29, 2007 \n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: If the 12" single of Herb Alpert's "Rise" hadn't taken over the charts the way it did back in 1979, one wonders if anyone would have gotten around to checking out the Tijuana Brass, or if Alpert would have gone down in the books as the guy who had a number one with a Burt Bacharach tune ("This Guy's in Love with You"). Instead, the cut energized the entire dance club generation with DJs looking for new grooves and even ended up being used by Sean "Puffy" Combs on the Notorious B.I.G.'s Hypnotise, albeit in a drastically re-morphed form. The single began as a disc track composed by Alpert's nephew Randy and his pal Andy Armer. Alpert suggested they slow the groove way down and turn it into a slow mover. They issued it without an album to go with it, simply as a single on A&M. Club DJs picked up on it and began using duplicate copies either to let the percussion break go on a bit longer before trumpet kicked in, or playing one copy just behind another, creating a call and response melody with the trumpet and the rhythm section. After the single stormed the charts and stayed there all summer, eventually hitting the number one spot, Alpert, Armer and friends went about assembling an album to capitalize on it.\n\nThey did well: Rise hit number six on the Billboard pop chart. The rest of the tracks are a slew of originals and covers. The set opens with a small pomp and circumstance intro called "1980" that Alpert composed for the Olympics that year, assisted by the late Michel Colombier on keyboards. Alpert also composed the ballad-turned-Latin-dancefloor fire walker "Behind the Rain," (originally composed for Gato Barbieri's Caliente! album) that has its own appeal in the 21st century with chorus-like backing vocals. Other tracks include the Armer and Randy Alpert "Rotation." This cut, introduced by hand percussion, bells and shakers is another soulful groover with a killer, soft-spoken keyboard line that's lite funk and hypnotic. A looped synth line enters in place of a bassline. Handclaps, fingersnaps, and Alpert's trumpet from the distance play a melody not unlike the one on the "Lonely Bull." Effects, washes, reverb, and mild distortion create a futuristic backdrop to this otherwise beautifully melodic tune. Alpert plays his in the pocket soul-drenched melody lines over the top and one of the first "chillout" tunes was born. The 2007 version of the album includes an alternate version with digital delay on the trumpet as a bonus track. Speaking of bonus cuts, Alpert recorded an updated version of Rodrigo's "Aranjuez" introduced by a steel string playing the flamenco intro and backed by hand percussion and the popping bassline of Jerry Knight to full-on 1/2 disco tempo, creating another melodic classic for the floor complete with marimba played by Julius Wechter from (where else?) the Tijuana Brass! The handclap and vocal whoop-up in the middle adds to the celebratory nature of this version. By its end the tune is unrecognizable and has become a disco anthem with strings, with Steve Schaeffer beating the hell out his kit and keyboard loops layered on top of one another. It's still an amazing thing to hear nearly 30 years later. There is a brand new mix of the cut contained on the 2007 edition.\n\nAlpert, wanting to charge the disco scene, had re-recorded the Crusaders' "Street Life" with Joe Sample on piano amid the synthetic keyboards. The marimba adds to the vibe and the slowed downtempo, as the melody is ushered in by strings before Alpert starts blowing his tight, sharp little vamps. Sample's piano is a solid accompaniment to James Jamerson, Jr.'s bass playing, and the whole thing rivals the Crusaders' version because of the deep, soulful melody in Alpert's playing. And who would have ever thought the prog rocker Pete Sinfield and Procol Harum's Gary Brooker's tune "Angelina" (recorded for Brooker's first solo album) would end up here as a faux calypso tune with a pedal steel guitar in it? The studio was the lab and everything was possible then, though hearing it now it's amazing they could accomplish all this back then. What this leaves is "Love Is," penned by Bill Withers, and delivered here rather anemically by Alpert. But it isn't the vocal that sells this, it's the drop dead bassline by Louis Johnson and the woven-in keyboard lines. Alpert plays fills around and through his vocals and turns the song into an anthem of celebration. What it all adds up to is an extraordinary recording that stands the test of time as a bona fide classic of the late disco/pre hip-hop era. The pop charts would have none of it these days. But eating this up as folks did, pre-MTV, with simply the radio going nuts trying to introduce the next single from it, Alpert, his nephew, and Armer stumbled onto something that would reinvigorate Alpert's career as a recording artist and as a producer. [Rise was reissued with the bonus tracks mentioned above in 2007.] -- Thom Jurek\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"RISE" -- Remastered and Expanded!, June 3, 2007 \nBy David Kenner (Fort Worth, Texas United States)\n\nFinally, the Herb Alpert Signature Series continues. We didn't get CDs of TIJUANA BRASS VOLUME 2, WARM, or THE BRASS ARE COMIN' but they have been made available in digitally remastered form on Apple iTunes. Not counting compilations, the next 6 albums chronologically would be SUMMERTIME, YOU SMILE-THE SONG BEGINS, CONEY ISLAND, JUST YOU & ME, HERB ALPERT/HUGH MASEKELA, and THE MAIN EVENT/LIVE, all origially issued from 1970 to 1978. Instead, they've skipped ahead to 1979 and Herb's big comeback hit, RISE. \nThis CD is another high quality reissue in the Signature Series. As far as improved sound over the previous CD issue, there is no comparison. "Rise" and "Rotation" even sound remarkably better than they did on DEFINITIVE HITS which wasn't mastered all that many years ago. The drums and fanfare on "1980" come barrelling out of the speakers to let you know up front that there are some serious sonic improvements on this new edition of the album. On "Rise" the voices from the first bass break are much more audible, on "Rotation" the opening percussion has an echo that I've never been able to distinguish before. It gives the intro to the song a bounce that only improves upon what was already my favorite track on the album. Louis Johnson's bass on "Love Is" is much more pronounced -- it really restores the snap to Johnson's slap and the whole track sounds much fresher. There's too many things going on in "Aranjuez" to discuss, but they all sound better now due to a first rate remastering job. As the crazy-mad-one-star-reviewer pointed out earlier, Alpert did resequence the album, swapping "Street Life" with "Aranjuez". This keeps the orginal "Aranjuez" track from being too close to the bonus track remix though, and personally, I think the order of the songs works just fine. The new version of "Aranjuez" is listed as a 2007 dance mix but there really isn't a whole lot that's been changed on the track and I have to agree with Crazy-mad-one-star-reviewer once again when he says that the track doesn't seem all that modern dance-wise. But there are some noticeable differences -- the Spanish guitar intro has been cut and the drums have been remixed to the point where it doesn't scream "Disco!" as much as the '79 original. It's a good mix and I think I may like it as much, maybe even a little more, than the original version. The other bonus track is a new version of "Rotation". I originally thought they had included a '79/'80 era dance version of the song but this version sounds like it would be right at home on the WHIPPED CREAM RE-WHIPPED album along with "Lemon Tree" and "Ladyfingers". At any rate, it's a great version and I think fans of the original will like it. \nI always thought RISE was a great album and really deserved all of its success. With this reissue, I think it's become an even better album. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA New Direction, April 16, 2000 \nBy Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX)\nI remember Herb Alpert as the guy who inspired thousands of us kids to take up brass instruments with his jaunty Tijuana Brass. Millions of our parents also listened and it may be the closest they ever got to Latin-tinged jazz. After heading up the TJB for many years, Alpert became tired of that scene and tried to reinvent himself as a romantic singer. (Remember "This Guy's in Love"?) That didn't really work out so he didn't really find his footing again until the issue of "Rise". What an album! The first song "1980" presented itself as if leading into a new era, which for Alpert it was. Then there is the disco-flavored title cut which is sophisticated enough for the enjoyment even of those of us who despise disco as I do. "Behind the Rain" is a fine Alpert song which has been covered by Gato Barbieri. I like Alpert's version of Street Life almost as much as that of the Crusaders. The music continues enjoyably then finishes up in the whirl of "Aranjuez". That makes you want to start at the beginning and listen to the CD over again. This is just about the best of post-TJB Alpert with the exception of "Fandango", a long-time Latin American #1 album which doesn't seem to be available in CD. If you like the trademark sound of Herb Alpert, pick up "Rise". It's not the TJB, but its unmistakably Alpert. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\na major turning point in Herb's musical career, and a largely terrific album, 02/11/2005 \nBy Dave "missing person" (United States)\nLike many others have indicated, Herb's 1979 "Rise" album marks a major turning point in his musical career. On Alpert albums from earlier in the '70s such as "You Smile--The Song Begins", "Coney Island" (both with the T.J.B.), & Just You and Me" (his first official solo album), in general there were a lot of super-mellow, dreamy ballads, & the uptempo/ more rousing stuff was strongly Latin-flavored. With "Rise", Alpert clearly wanted to shift gears--perhaps it was because he was eager to sell a lot of records again, something he hadn't done for basically a decade. Indeed, he did sell a lot more records with "Rise", but the album is far from a sell-out--it's an ambitious effort and probably the most adventuresome album he'd ever made. As much credit as Herb deserves, he did get some major assistance. The title track was written by Randy Badazz (Herb's nephew) and Andy Armer, and although it was filed under disco, it feels more like funk (admittedly these two kind of go hand-in-hand)--unlike other disco tunes, it never gets boring over the course of its 7+ minute running time, thanks to its splendid tunefulness, and its lush, mellow, easy-riding groove--this terrific track was released as a 12" single in mid-1979 and hit #1 in the US and went gold. With the actual "Rise" album which came out a few months or so later, Herb came tantalizingly close to delivering a masterpiece. The album-opener "1980" was written by Herb himself for NBC Sports, and on one hand, it really does sound uncannily like the kind of thing you'd hear being played underneath a introductory spoken voiceover for a championship sports game, but don't get the wrong idea--it's a really neat tune with cool use of synthesizers, plus the opening fanfare portion is kind of obnoxious, but amusingly so. "Behind the Rain" is another Alpert solo composition, and it's fascinatingly creative and brilliant--it starts off with an appropriately 'misty'-sounding intro before suddenly transforming into a stomping, uptempo track with pulsing synth, dramatic orchestration, a rip-roaring electric guitar solo, and brilliant chord changes on what I suppose you could call the chorus; oh, and how could I forget to mention Herb's melodic trumpet/ flugelhorn parts, and his wordless vocals that basically double the main melody--smartly, the vocals aren't high up in the mix, and they are rather corny on their own, but they add a certain something to this incredble stew. "Rotation" is another Armer/ Badazz composition, and it has an ingeniously textured, looping groove, although the annoying "moaning" percussion sounds the crop on the last minute or so of the track do mar it a bit, which is too bad but it's otherwise another terrific track. Herb seems to have taken a liking to the Crusaders; not only does he have Joe Sample playing keyboards on the album, but he covers their "Street Life" which had come out earlier in 1979, & Herb ends up beating them at their own game--it has a mellow, seductive groove much like the title track. The next track is a cover of a Bill Withers track that had also come out in 1979, "Love Is"--Herb's version is a lot of fun, and it's the closest thing to a bonafide vocal track, but again, his vocals are pretty buried--he repeats the same four lines over and over--and it feels a bit like a lazy toss-off; it's a rare case of Herb doing a vocal number that doesn't demonstrate what a terrific vocal stylist he actually was; admittedly, when Herb did have a vocal spotlight, it was usually with a ballad, again making "Love Is" something of an oddity in the Alpert canon. Unfortunately, the album doesn't end so great... It seems Herb was really into keeping up with contemporary music at this time (not an insult whatsoever). "Angelina" is yet another cover of a then-recent track; it's from the 1979 debut solo album by Gary Brooker (of Procol Harum)--unfortunately, the reggae-fied version of it here, though quite harmless, is kinda lame and melodically limp. The album closer "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)" is extremely ambitious attempt at merging Latin, Eastern, and disco sounds, but it's quite awkward--he wasn't able to really pull it off. Still though, there's a bunch of timeless, must-have gems on this album, and it very much layed the groundwork for the first half of the '80s for Herb. If you love "Rise", you'll find a load more gems by exploring Herb's subsequent albums up through 1985's "Wild Romance", if you haven't done so already. "Rise" is a HIGHLY recommended album that marks the beginning of a new and great period for a masterful instrumental performer, Herb Alpert. \n\n(P.S. In addition to A&M's CD release of "Rise" from the late '80s or early '90s, the album was released on CD in Japan with great sound quality as part of their "Millennium Fusion Collection".) \n\n(P.P.S. Herb's wife Lani Hall, seemingly following her husband's lead, 'went disco' herself on about half of her 1979 album "Double or Nothing" including the 4 tracks produced by David Kershenbaum and Lani Hall. The rest of the tracks were produced by Herb and Lani. Although it's certainly not as high quality of an album as "Rise", it's still a pretty strong album in its own right (the title track is infectious) and it's worth checking out if you come across it at a good price.) \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFunky Herb, September 30, 1998 \nBy W. J. Bernardi (Austin, Tx USA)\nThis album broke Herb Alpert from the "easy listening" category that everyone tried to put him in when he led the Tijuana Brass. This is a great mix of pop/jazz/funk. "1980" opens the album. This song was to be the theme to the 1980 Olympics, but the boycott of the Olympics by the U.S. destroyed any real chance of airplay for this song. But "Rise" had no problems at all. This song was a perfect change from the disco sounds of the day. A perfect groove, and a very pretty melody. Listen to the interplay between the guitar, marimba, and keyboards. It's magical! "Behind The Rain" has a searing rock guitar solo, followed by a hot flugelhorn solo by Alpert. "Rotation" is a great mix of techno-turned-samba jazz. Another nice solo by Herb. But his best solo is saved for "Aranjuez". This classical piece is turned uptempo, sort of a disco-ish style with a Middle Eastern section in the middle of the song. And Alpert blazes away on one of his better recorded solos in a long time. Sometimes the thump-thump-thump gets in the way of the songs, but overall this is a terrific recording! \n\n\nHalf.com Details \nContributing artists: James Jamerson, Jr., Joe Sample, Michel Colombier, Tom Scott \nProducer: Herb Alpert, Randy Badazz \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel includes: Herb Alpert (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn); Abe Laboriel (acoustic guitar, bass); Tim May, Chris Pinnick, Carlos Rios, Jay Dee Maness (guitar); Tommy Tedesco (lute, balalaika); Pete Jolly (accordion); Tom Scott (lyricon); Bob Findley (trumpet); William Reichenbach (trombone); Andy Armer (piano, clavinet, synthesizer); Michel Columbier (piano, bass); Joe Sample (piano); Mike Lang (electric piano); James Jamerson Jr., Louis Johnson, Jerry Knight, Bob Magnusson (bass); Julius Wechter (marimba); Steve Schaeffer, Randy Badazz (drums, percussion); Harvey Mason (drums); Manolo, Emil Richards, John Bergamo (percussion).\n\nRecorded at A&M Recording Studio, Los Angeles, California.\n\nReissued, re-mastered, and re-sequenced for the 21st century, Herb Alpert's 1979 album RISE still has the big hair and polyester feel of the early '80s, though club remixes of two of the cuts, "Rotation" and "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)," update the producer/trumpeter's sound for a new audience, with the latter even adding trendy Arabic cadences. The title cut, with its laconic, laid-back feel and insistent bass riff, was also the backing track for the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1990s hit "Hypnotize." The album marked a triumphant comeback for Alpert, its sophisticated, upscale production blending his signature trumpet flourishes with contemporary touches such as massed synthesizers, disco beats, and orchestral backing.
This misc cd contains 10 tracks and runs 50min 59sec.
Freedb: 840bf10a
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