For his third album, 1964's South of the Border, Herb Alpert continued to mine the vein of his easy going Tijuana music, but this time out he began to evolve his sound for a pop audience. That is evident on the opening title track where the drums are mixed up and Alpert’s horn blares out over the swinging groove. From this point forward, Alpert and his hired session men known as The Tijuana Brass sound like they are gelling as a unit.

The other sign that Alpert was moving toward a more pop sound is his inclusion of covers of three then-current hits from 1964. The first two are perhaps dubious choices—“The Girl from Ipanema,” a Top 10 hit for Stan Getz, and “Hello Dolly,” which Louis Armstrong took to #1. Since Alpert chose two songs made popular by jazzmen, it looks like a plea to be considered as a jazz artist himself, I think. However, the former’s verse is taken at a march, robbing it of the bossa nova swing that helped make it such a smash for Getz. And on the latter number, Alpert added a Spanish-accented chorus to sing the verse. That is not going to make anyone forget Armstrong’s vocal performance.

The one cover that works, surprisingly, is his take on The Beatles' “All My Loving.” Perhaps it is because of its brevity--verse-verse-chorus-verse in under two minutes—or maybe Herb was more hip to pop music than he is sometimes given credit for. In any case the song does not feel out of place on an album that contains the sunny "Up Cherry Street" and Alpert's own peppy "Mexican Shuffle."

Other tracks have sort of a bachelor pad feel about them. “Salud, Amor y Dinero” and “Numero Cinco” display a sharp, cocktail lounge sound from the Tijuana Brass. On the other end, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” is given a stately reading with Alpert’s horn sounding fuller than it has thus far in his career.

Listening to it for the first time in years, I found myself enjoying South of the Border. The gimmicks are kept to a minimum (only one track features a cheering crowd, “El Presidente,” which is a lounge-less re-recording of “Winds of Barcelona” from his second album) and the music is rather fun, as easy listening instrumental albums go. So, a mild recommendation from me.


Recommended: Yes