You Smile, the Song Begins

RELEASE
LABEL
A&M
GENRES
Easy Listening, Instrumental Pop, Jazz-Pop

Album Review

His four-year sabbatical over, Herb Alpert returned to the studio creatively refreshed, his trumpet sounding more soulful and thoughtful, his ears attuned more than ever to jazz. The name of his studio group has been shortened to just the initials T.J.B., in whose ranks one hears the familiar mallets of Julius Wechter and the lazy trombone of Bob Edmondson, and the old Mexican flavors still come through now and then. But Alpert was definitely still in a pensive mood, and his evocative self-penned title track and choice of tunes like "Alone Again (Naturally)" and "Save the Sunlight" reinforce the LP's mellow, '70s contemporary pop atmosphere. Even the upbeat remake of the TJB's "Up Cherry Street" is filtered through a phase-shifted gauze, a wistful rose-colored vision of the past. Left over from a 1973 single is a terrific, subtle, Latin-jazz-tinged arrangement of "Last Tango In Paris," with a distinctive orchestral helping hand from Quincy Jones.
Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Fox Hunt
  2. Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor
  3. I Can't Go on Living, Baby, Without You
  4. I Might Frighten Her Away
  5. You Smile - The Song Begins
  6. Up Cherry Street
  7. Promises, Promises
  8. Save the Sunlight
  9. Di Da
  10. Alone Again (Naturally)
  11. Last Tango in Paris
  12. Song for Herb