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 | ||||
| Released | December 1962 | |||
| Recorded | Conway Recorders, Hollywood, CA | |||
| Genre | Jazz Easy listening Instrumental pop Mariachi | |||
| Length | 30:07 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Herb Alpert Jerry Moss | |||
| Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Lonely Bull | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
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
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro)" | Sol Lake | 2:29 |
| 2. | "El Lobo" (The Wolf)" | Harry Green, Sol Lake | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Tijuana Sauerkraut" | Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss | 2:44 |
| 4. | "Desafinado" | Antônio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonca | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Mexico" | Boudleaux Bryant | 2:36 |
| 6. | "Never On Sunday" | Manos Hadjidakis, Billy Towne | 2:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Struttin' With Maria" | Herb Alpert | 2:10 |
| 2. | "Let It Be Me" | Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, Pierre Delanoë | 2:55 |
| 3. | "Acapulco 1922" | Dave Alpert (as Eldon Allan) | 2:38 |
| 4. | "Limbo Rock" | Billy Strange | 2:05 |
| 5. | "Crawfish" | Sol Lake, Elsa Doran | 2:20 |
| 6. | "A Quiet Tear (Lágrima Quieta)" | Herb Alpert | 2:23 |
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
- Ginell, Richard S. The Lonely Bull at AllMusic