The Lonely Bull (album)

The Lonely Bull, released in 1962, is the debut album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.

The Lonely Bull
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1962
RecordedConway Recorders, Hollywood, CA
GenreJazz
Easy listening
Instrumental pop
Mariachi
Length30:07
LabelA&M
ProducerHerb Alpert
Jerry Moss
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass chronology
The Lonely Bull
(1962)
Volume 2
(1963)
Singles from The Lonely Bull
  1. "The Lonely Bull"
    Released: August 1962
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Most of the tracks on the album were geared toward the TJB's Mariachi sound. There were also a few cover versions of popular songs, a trend which would grow in their next two albums, Volume 2 and South of the Border.

"Limbo Rock" covered a novelty dance song that had been a calypso-style hit by Chubby Checker. "Struttin' With Maria" was later used as the theme for a TV game show called Personality, hosted by Larry Blyden. The tune "Acapulco 1922" uses the old song "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" (by Seymour Brown and Nat D. Ayer, 1911) as a starting point, with a mariachi spin.

Track listing

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro)"Sol Lake2:29
2."El Lobo" (The Wolf)"Harry Green, Sol Lake3:00
3."Tijuana Sauerkraut"Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss2:44
4."Desafinado"Antônio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonca3:42
5."Mexico"Boudleaux Bryant2:36
6."Never On Sunday"Manos Hadjidakis, Billy Towne2:38
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Struttin' With Maria"Herb Alpert2:10
2."Let It Be Me"Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, Pierre Delanoë2:55
3."Acapulco 1922"Dave Alpert (as Eldon Allan)2:38
4."Limbo Rock"Billy Strange2:05
5."Crawfish"Sol Lake, Elsa Doran2:20
6."A Quiet Tear (Lágrima Quieta)"Herb Alpert2:23

Reception

The album was originally issued in both mono and stereo versions, though the stereo version essentially had the mono version on the right channel with a separate solo trumpet track on the left. Because of this, critics have noted that when listened to on headphones, the stereo album sounds excessively "heavy" on one side. This led many later fans to prefer the mono version.

The original stereo version of the album has since been reissued on the Shout! Factory music label.

The mono version of the title track, "The Lonely Bull," can be found on the Herb Alpert compilation Definitive Hits.

References

  1. Ginell, Richard S. The Lonely Bull at AllMusic
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