Keep Your Eye On Me

Forgive me, I guess I'm in a trumpet mood right now because I'm hitting you with yet another master of the instrument. This one's name is Herb Alpert, yes THAT Herb Alpert of Tijuana Brass fame. That Herb Alpert who was co-owner along with his business partner Jerry Moss of A&M Records where so many prominent careers got started (See The Carpenters, Janet Jackson, Cat Stevens, The Police). Herb Alpert and his label played a major role in popular music and back in 1987 Herb decided to branch out into the world of r&b. He did so with a fun, sexy, sensual album called "Keep Your Eye On Me" which was produced by the same team that played a vital role in shaping Janet Jackson's sound, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis the masterminds behind Flyte Tyme Productions. Now sure, I could have picked any number of songs from Herbs massive collection to blog about, songs that displayed his artistry, skill, and talent but none are as fun and playful as this one.

This song is just out and out quirky from the start with glass breaking, door knocking, dog barking, and an electric guitar bringing in the groove. The bassline and the percussion with that open snare takes over and Herb comes in light with a really simple melody. Backed by backup singers it sounds like Herb is just having some fun and then the break comes in and the song heads off into a different direction melodically only to come back to the original groove and thanks to Jimmy and Terry you get a sense of that the one time iconic r&b band The Time was in the studio, this song has that kind of feel. "Keep" also spawned the hits "Diamonds" with Janet Jackson on vocals and "Making Love in the Rain" with volcals by Lisa Keith and Janet Jackson (I recommend checking out "Making Love" and "Pillow", great songs).

This was Herb Alpert doing somethig different, breaking out of a box his critics and his fans had previously put him in. This was Herb Alpert taking his trumpet and smashing that box to nothing but splinters, and having a damn good time doing it. Enjoy.