"Beyond" by Herb Alpert

Song#:  0233
Date:  06/28/1980
Debut:  85
Peak:  50
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary, Instrumental



Pop Bits:  Alpert and his Tijuana Brass had a hugely successful run from 1962-1969. Their peak was 1966 where their albums outsold the Beatles that year and they had five albums listed in the Top 20 of the album chart - a record that has yet to be broken (plus at one point, four of the albums were in the Top 10). While their albums were highly successful, only three of their singles reached the Top 10 including the #1 "This Guy's in Love with You" in 1968 (a rare song he actually sang). Alpert disbanded the Tijuana Brass in 1969 but continued to record with a few members of the group (known as T.J.B. then) and solo. Of course his biggest solo hit was the title track to his 1979 album "Rise." The song reach #1 and won a Grammy. Alpert's follow-up album, "Beyond," generated the title-track single but it couldn't really "Rise" to the same heights (sorry...).

ReduxReview:  I had not heard this song and when it first started playing, my first thought was "hey, I know the Alan Parsons Project catalog back and front and I don't remember this one!" But the comparison kind of stopped once Alpert's horn started. I think it is titled appropriately. It is kind of futuristic or sci-fi sounding. Yeah, it is not as catchy as his freak single "Rise," but I kind of like it.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Alpert's two #1's, "This Guy's in Love with You" and "Rise" represent the first and only time that an artist has hit #1 with a song he sang ("This Guy's") and an instrumental ("Rise"). 

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