With this album,
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
settle into their hitmaking groove, the once strikingly eclectic elements of Dixieland, pop, rock, and mariachi becoming more smoothly integrated within
Alpert
's infectious "Ameriachi" blend. They sound more like a band; along with
's now-indelibly stamped trumpet sound, you can recognize jazzman
John Pisano
's distinctive rhythm guitar,
Lou Pagani
's piano, the droll
Bob Edmondson
's dulcet trombone, etc.
Pisano
, who debuted as a composer on
Going Places
, comes up with a memorably whistleable song, "So What's New," and the rest of
's songwriting brigade (
Ervan Coleman
,
Julius Wechter
, and
Sol Lake
) chime in with some lively, catchy tunes. There is also an assortment of pop, film, and Broadway standards of the day, all impeccably arranged by
, whose production instincts grew sharper and surer with every release. The result is another highly entertaining hit LP, one that stayed at number one longer than any other
Tijuana Brass
album (nine weeks). ~ Richard S. Ginell