A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection

When Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss launched A&M Records back in 1962 they had no idea that within a decade it would blossom into the world's largest independent record label. Within just a few months the boys had a Top Ten single under their belt with Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass' debut single "The Lonely Bull". And the rest as they say is history. Now in 2012 A & M is celebrating with the release of the three disc anthology "A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection". If nothing else this is an eclectic collection featuring nearly two dozen genres of popular music recorded at A&M over the past five decades. Among the 60 tracks are dozens of hit singles from the 60's into the 90's and a sprinkling of interesting album cuts to boot. For this collector "A&M 50" was one of the most anticipated releases of 2012.So what's your pleasure? Rock, jazz, hard rock, new wave, funk, or pop? As you will discover in "A&M 50" just about every genre imaginable was recorded by the label in its 50 year history. I was especially pleased with the incredible variety offered in this collection. As a lifelong singles collector I will be getting many of these tunes on CD for the very first time. As the liner notes point out "At A&M Records, Alpert and Moss were able to build a haven for artistic development that rivals any record label in history." Just take a peek at the track listing. What an amazing variety! Enjoy once again Top Ten tunes from across the decades beginning with "You Were On My Mind" by the We Five from 1965 and The Carpenters debut single "(They Long To Be) Close To You" from 1970. Times were booming at A&M in the 1980's and "A&M 50" features big hits like "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League, Janet Jackson's #1 smash "When I Think of You" from 1986 and let's not forget Suzanne Vega's haunting "Luka" from 1987. And the hits just kept on coming into the 1990's. "A&M 50" also includes Sheryl Crow's Grammy award-winning single "All I Want To Do" from the summer of '94, Aaron Neville's memorable version of "Everybody Plays The Fool" and CeCe Peniston's R&B dance sensation "Finally". The list of big hits included in this anthology is rather lengthy and space will not permit me to list them all here.Now being an avid collector it is not the monster hits that make me so enthusiastic about this collection. Rather it is the inclusion of some of the great music made by some of the lesser known artists on the A&M roster. I would refer to such outstanding singles as Gino Vanelli's amazing "I Just Wanna Stop" from 1978, Pablo Cruise's bouncy 1977 Top Ten hit "Whatcha Gonna Do", UB40's entertaining reggae take on Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine", Supertramp's "The Logical Song" and most especially Sonny Charles and the Checkmates Ltd. moving 1969 single "Black Pearl". If you are not familiar with that one be sure to check it out! Meanwhile, I also enjoyed Barry White's 1994 #1 R&B hit "Practice What You Preach". Personally, I had no idea that Barry recorded for A&M in the 1990's. "A&M 50" also features a number of cuts from their jazz artists including Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Gato Barbieri and Antonio Carlos Jobin. Not being a much of a jazz buff I could take or leave most of these tracks. Having said that for me the most pleasant surprise in the collection was Herb Alpert's amazing collaboration with the noted South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela on "Skokiaan". It is an incredible recording.I have noted with interest another reviewer's disappointment with the sound quality of "A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection". Personally I was quite pleased with the re-mastering job. I am definitely not an audiophile so you might take my opinion on that aspect of this anthology with a grain of salt. I am simply not that fussy! But it sure sounds a lot better than my old 45's. Overall, I found "A&M 50" to be a solid four star offering. I might have bumped it up to a five stars had the package included a 48 or 64 page booklet featuring liner notes, photos, chart data etc. I like that sort of thing. Highly recommended!

This 3-CD compilation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of A&M Records is a mother-lode of music sure to stimulate the memories of those of us old enough to remember the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. It should also be required listening in music appreciation classes (if there still are such things).Divided into 3 categories (From AM To FM, A Mission To Rock, and Soul, Jazz And More), "The Anniversary Collection" is 60 classic tracks by a who's who of stars of the past half-century, many who still remain relevant in 2012. Starting with "The Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, A&M's first release (Mr. Alpert being the "A" in A&M) this anthology rolls through hit after hit after hit.The first CD, From AM To FM, features songs from such superstars as Carpenters, Captain & Tenille, Burt Bacharach, Joan Baez, Sheryl Crow and other top artists such as Amy Grant (during her Top 40 career), Joan Armatrading (still releasing CDs), Cat Stevens (now known by his religious name Yusuf Islam), UB40 who brought reggae to the Top 40 mainstream (racking up 3 Greatest Hits albums), Suzanne Vega (with a new CD due imminently) and lesser lights such as Pablo Cruise, The Human League, Gino Vanelli and others.CD2, A Mission To Rock, is stuffed with pop rock from around the world - England's The Police with their seminal punk pop classic "Roxanne" opens the disc which is book-ended by their lead singer Sting's smash "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free." Sandwiched in between are live cuts by Joe Cocker, Procol Harum and Peter Frampton, and other Classic Rock staples such as Free ("All Right Now"), Simple Minds ("Don't You Forget About Me" from the soundtrack to The Breakfast Club), Supertramp ("The Logical Song"), Humble Pie ("Thirty Days In The Hole") and the Country Rock crossover of The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Also present is the debut from Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun" a pioneering track sure to re-enter the spotlight as they set out on tour in 2012.Finally CD3, Soul, Jazz & More is exactly what it is name describes. Jazz from such luminaries as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chuck Mangione, Gato Barbieri, Paul Desmond and Stan Getz. Crossover Jazz from Mr. Alpert ("Skokiaan" with help from Hugh Masekela) and Quincy Jones ("Stuff Like That" featuring Ashford & Simpson and Chaka Khan) is also represented. There's straight ahead R&B from a revitalized Barry White ("Practice What You Preach"), LTD ("Back In Love Again) and from LTD's lead singer Jeffrey Osborne ("On The Wings Of Love"). Finally, "Finally" by CeCe Peniston and "When I Think Of You" by Janet Jackson represent the modern era of dance music with "Livin' It Up (Friday Night) by Bell & James, a gem from the disco years. Also here are the sweet soul of Aaron Neville ("Everybody Plays The Fool"), and the deep .funk of the Brothers Johnson ("Stomp").Obviously A&M records has been responsible for introducing the world to many major talents over the years in a wide variety of genres. This "50th Anniversary Collection" is a wonderful representation of what we as music lovers owe to Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss for their creating the label and allowing the world to discover so many of the artists that make up the soundtracks of our lives.With a massive library of hits to have chosen from, I am sure that there will be listeners complaining about some of the artists included (Nazareth) and some that missed the cut (Gerry Rafferty/Stealer's Wheel). There is also likely to be debate as to the tracks chosen to represent the artists on these CDs. But when push comes to shove this is a great collection that will either make you feel young again or downright ancient. Maybe if it sells enough copies/downloads we'll get a second addition.

●『A&M 50: The Anniversary Collection』[Disc 1 - From AM to FM]1. The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass2. Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '663. You Were On My Mind - We Five4. The More I See You - Chris Montez5. (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher - Rita Coolidge6. A House Is Not A Home - Burt Bacharach7. (They Long to Be) Close To You - Carpenters8. Wild World - Cat Stevens9. Don't You Want Me - The Human League10. Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain & Tennille11. Whatcha Gonna Do - Pablo Cruise12. Sun Down - Lani Hall13. Baby Baby - Amy Grant14. I Just Wanna Stop - Gino Vannelli15. Luka - Suzanne Vega16. The Lady in Red - Chris de Burgh17. Love and Affection - Joan Armatrading18. Red Red Wine - UB4019. Diamonds and Rust - Joan Baez20. Rise - Herb Alpert21. All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow[Disc 2 - A Mission to Rock]1. Roxanne - The Police2. The Letter - Joe Cocker3. All Right Now - Free4. Jackie Blue - The Ozark Mountain Daredevils5. 30 Days In the Hole - Humble Pie6. Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson7. Hot Burrito #1 - The Flying Burrito Brothers8. Conquistador (live) - Procol Harum9. Come Sail Away - Styx10. I Got You - Split Enz11. Tempted - Squeeze12. Show Me The Way - Peter Frampton13. Run To You - Bryan Adams14. Love Hurts - Nazareth15. The Logical Song - Supertramp16. Caught Up in You - 38 Special17. Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds18. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden19. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - Sting[Disc 3 - Soul Jazz And More]1. Back in Love Again - L.T.D.2. Black Pearl - Sonny Charles & The Checkmates Ltd.3. Europa - Gato Barbieri4. I'll Be Good to You - The Brothers Johnson5. Everybody Plays The Fool - Aaron Neville6. Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston7. Bridges - Milton Nascimento8. Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione9. Livin' It Up (Friday Night) - Bell & James10. Wave - Antonio Carlos Jobim11. On The Wings of Love - Jeffrey Osborne12. Summertime - Paul Desmond13. Stuff Like That - Quincy Jones feat. Ashford, Simpson & Khan14. Secret Lovers - Atlantic Starr15. Crazay - Jesse Johnson feat. Sly Stone16. Amorous Cat - Stan Getz17. Finally - CeCe Peniston18. Practice What You Preach - Barry White19. Skokiaan - Herb Alpert & Hugh Masekela20. When I Think of You - Janet Jackson

A&Mが手がけた様々な曲が入っています。CD1がポップス、CD2がロック、CD3がソウルやジャズとなっていますが、懐かしい名曲揃いでBGMに打って付けです。このコンピレーションアルバムを聴いて感じたのですが、A&Mは様々なジャンルで当時の最先端を行くアーティストを擁していて驚きました。中には恥ずかしながら初めて聴く曲もあり、結構楽しめました。

Ａ＆Ｍレコード・・・いわゆる（米メジャーではない）インディ系を代表するレコード会社でしたね・・・。このロゴマークを見たら知らない新人アーティストでも一度聴いてみようと思わわせる、音楽への信頼がゆるぎなく篤いレーベル/レコード会社でした。3枚のCDは、Disc1「From AM to FM」でいわゆるPOP系のヒット曲集、Disc2「A Mission to Rock」でA&M色のロック系集、Disc3「Soul Jazz And More」でSoulやJaz系等のコレクションとなっています。全期間を俯瞰しての代表曲やアーティストが惜しげもなく収録されています。とここまでは良いのですが、CDは基本的にディスクを収録しているだけで、一面に簡単なコメントがあるのみ、つまり楽曲ごとやレーベルの詳細など資料性のあるものは一切付いておりません。極端に言えば、昔見られた、レーベルのサンプル・アルバムみたいな位置付けのCDとも言えます。なので、もし文字による解説を期待する向きにはお勧めできませんが、そんなものは不要で良質な音楽さえあれば良いという方には、安いしとてもお買い得な盤だと思います。（資料がないので★4つです。楽曲は満足してます。）

バート・バカラック、ハーブ・アルパート、カーペンターズ、ザ・ポリス、ブライアン・アダムス、シェリル・クロウなどの作品を世に送り出してきたA&Mレコーズの50周年記念盤。ブックレットは付いていないのが残念ですが、ペーパースリーブ仕様で、各トラックに関する最小限の情報は載っています（写真）。収録アーティストに関する情報は、全部ではありませんが、 レコード・コレクターズ 2012年 09月号 [雑誌 ]を見れば大半を知ることができると思います。音については、例えば、キャプテン＆テニールのLove Will Keeps Us TogetherはiTunesで買った音源よりも、こちらに入っている音源の方がしっかりと音が出ており、私は満足できました。 レコード・コレクターズ 2012年 09月号 [雑誌

Nice compilation of AM:s catalouge in the last 50 years.