THE SOUND OF TIKI  -  VARIOUS ARTISTS

YEAR:  2010
LABEL:  Bear Family Records
TRACK LISTING:  Taboo Tu - Arthur Lyman,  Aku Aku - Martin Denny,  Bali Ha'i - Gloria Lynne,  Bird of Paradise - Les Baxter,  Castaway - Paul Page,  Tiki - Martin Denny & Si Zentner,  House of Bamboo - Andy Williams,  Kon-Tiki - The Shadows,  I-Ha-She - Marais & Miranda,  Hawaiian Eye - Buddy Morrow,  Hilo Boy - The Mary Kaye Trio,  Ulili-E - The Surfers,  Pieces of Eight - Paul Page,  Full Moon - Eden Ahbez,  Bamboo - The Surfmen,  Hawaii Five-O/Quiet Village Medley - Don Ho
BONUS TRACKS:  Luau Is Calling You - Radio Jingle
IMPRESSIONS:  Long after the big lounge music/exotica boom in the mid-90's, Bear Family Records came out with this handsome cd package compiled by "THE BOOK OF TIKI" author Sven A. Kirsten.  While this in no way can compare to the near-perfect ULTRA LOUNGE VOLUME 1:  MONDO EXOTICA (discussed elsewhere on this blog), any new tiki/exotica lounge music album is cause for celebration.  It's hardly surprising the author of the rather nice "BOOK OF TIKI" provides us with a lavishly-illustrated booklet for the cd describing the history of the lounge music phenomenon mid-20th century as well as brief bios of the artists and their songs.  The "big three" of exotica music -- Les Baxter, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman -- are all represented here but it's also an unexpected, pleasant surprise to see TWO tracks by the dippy Paul Page (whose album I also have previously discussed on this blog ... see the link on the right hand side there) as well as one of my favourite songs of all-time:  Eden Ahbez's "Full Moon" (and yes, Eden Ahbez's album has ALSO been previously discussed on this blog ... follow the links).  Andy Williams is not one of my favourite people but his version of "House of Bamboo" is pretty good; although the definitive version still remains Earl Grant's.  The inclusion of the obscure Surfmen (I should post on one of their albums one of these days) is welcome as is the track by that incredibly odd pair of "musical anthropologist" folk singers Marais & Miranda (I really should also do a post on one of THEIR albums one of these days as well).  The Shadows' "Kon-Tiki" is a good track but I don't really think it belongs here as it musically belongs to the "surf guitar" genre.  Buddy Morrow (of "POE FOR MODERNS" fame) does a fun and silly version of the Hawaiian Eye theme song too.  While not as musically strong as other "Ultra Lounge" compilations, this is a worthy addition to the pile of tiki tunes.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Taboo Tu - Arthur Lyman,  Aku Aku - Martin Denny,  Bird of Paradise - Les Baxter,  Castaway - Paul Page,  Tiki - Martin Denny & Si Zentner,  Kon-Tiki - The Shadows,  I-Ha-She - Marais & Miranda,  Hilo Boy - The Mary Kaye Trio,  Pieces of Eight - Paul Page,  Full Moon - Eden Ahbez,  Bamboo - The Surfmen,  Luau Is Calling You - Radio Jingle
FACT SHEET:  THE SOUND OF TIKI is a compilation album of exotica music focusing on the tiki/exotica fad of the mid-20th century and which has been celebrated in the RE/SEARCH: INCREDIBLY STRANGE MUSIC books leading to a retro-boom in the mid-1990s.  Phew!  The collection is produced and compiled by Sven A. Kirsten:  author of "THE BOOK OF TIKI" who also appeared in a recent episode of "STORAGE WARS" as a "tiki expert".  "Taboo Tu" is from Arthur Lyman's "TABOO VOL. 2" album.  "Aku Aku" appears on Martin Denny's "AFRO DESIA" album.  "Bird of Paradise" is taken from Les Baxter's "THE PRIMITIVE AND THE PASSIONATE" album.  "Castaway" and "Pieces of Eight" are taken from Paul Page's "PIECES OF EIGHT" album.  "I-Ha-She" is from Mirais & Miranda's "GO NATIVE" album.  "Full Moon" is from Eden Ahbez's "EDEN'S ISLAND" album.  "Bamboo" is taken from the Surfmen's "THE SOUNDS OF EXOTIC ISLAND" album.

SPACE ESCAPADE - Les Baxter

YEAR: 1958

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTING: Shooting Star, Moonscape, Mr. Robot, The City, A Distant Star, The Commuter, Winds of Sirius, The Other Side of the Moon, Somewhere In Space, Earth Light, The Lady Is Blue, Saturday Night On Saturn

BONUS TRACKS: (On the El/Cherry Red cd reissue): Cornflakes, Toy Tiger, Havana, The Trouble With Harry, Sinner Man, The Left Arm of Buddha, The Clown on the Eiffel Tower, Melodia Loca (The Chilean Drive-You-Crazy Song), Venezuela, Cherchez La Femme, Rush Hour Romance, Designing Woman, Blue Echo, Ricordate Marcellino (Remember Marcellino), La Panse (The Little Flower), The Lonely Whistler, Love Song from "Houseboat", Please Mr. Sun

IMPRESSIONS: "Even today, in an era of science and satellites, the mystery of the universe has lost none of its magical appeal. We can close our eyes and dream of the future, wondering whether a starlit planet might soon replace a tropical island, the Riviera, or a distant mountain lodge as an ideal spot for a romantic holiday. Or, with the aid of the music in this album, we can drift into the future's lovemist with Les Baxter and make a spaceliner escapade by earthlight, tongue safely fastened in cheek." The cover of this album is probably one of the most famous in the lounge canon. But the music in the album isn't quite what one would expect from the album cover. Rather than weirdly spacey music, Baxter instead is working more on the lighter, easy listening side of his repertoire with music which sounds more like what I heard in my doctor's office when I was 5 years old. This is not a bad thing if you're in the mood for lighter Liberace lounge -- which I sometimes am -- but the promise of the wacky cover is not quite realized in the music itself. That having been said, this is still an enjoyable Les Baxter loungefest with its sugary strings and scintillating piano arpeggios. "The City" is actually one of Baxter's favourite compositions and late in life, when his memory was failing him, he still would often play "The City" for friends and family at his piano. While SPACE ESCAPADES is a nice, solid space age bachelor pad album, I think Les Baxter is better served with his more exotica-flavoured albums benevolently overseen by the Tiki gods.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Shooting Star, The City, Winds of Sirius, The Other Side of the Moon, Somewhere In Space, Earth Light, The Lady Is Blue, Saturday Night On Saturn, Cornflakes, Havana, The Left Arm of Buddha, Melodia Loca (The Chilean Drive-You-Crazy Song), Venezuela, Blue Echo, Love Song from "Houseboat", Please Mr. Sun

FACT SHEET: SPACE ESCAPADES is Les Baxter's 19th album; it's a little hard to come up with a proper number due to his frequent collaborations.

ULTRA-LOUNGE VOLUME ONE: MONDO EXOTICA - Various Artists

YEAR: 1996

LABEL: Capitol

TRACK LISTING: Swamp Fire - Martin Denny, Moon Mist - The Out-Islanders, Caravan - 80 Drums Around the World, Hypnotique - Martin Denny, Atlantis - Les Baxter, Alika - Webley Edwards, Misirlou - Martin Denny, Lust - Bas Sheva & Les Baxter, Hana Maui - Chick Floyd & His Orchestra, Voodoo Dreams/Voodoo - Les Baxter, Jungle Madness - Martin Denny, Babalu - Yma Sumac, Simba - Les Baxter, The Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish - Martin Denny, Bali Ha'i - Tak Shindo, Pyramid of the Sun - Les Baxter, Quiet Village - Martin Denny, Wimoweh - Yma Sumac

IMPRESSIONS: Something happened in the mid-90's. A huge interest in so-called "Lounge" music or "Mondo Exotica" or "Space Age Bachelor Pad" music swept the nation. Suddenly that long dismissed and discarded music from the 50's and early 60's became vastly popular. Old LPs went for top dollar and forgotten albums suddenly appeared on compact disc. One of the strongest sparks for this renewed interest was probably the two volumes of books entitled "Re/Search: Incredibly Strange Music"; two of my musical bibles. Capitol Records scanned its vaults to come up with a new series of cds entitled "Ultra-Lounge" which featured various artists per cd featuring a different theme. The first cd in the series was "Mondo Exotica" featuring one of my favourite "genres" of lounge music: the tiki tropical exotica sound. This is one of the best "samplers" I can think of to introduce anyone to this particular style of music and one of my all-time favourite albums. The vibraphones, the screeching parrots, the bongos, and all the other "exotic" instruments bring the smell of tiki torches and the taste of tropical cocktails vividly to life via this delightful naive music. Sure, the cd is a little heavy on Les Baxter and Martin Denny but two more proficient practitioners of the genre cannot be found. This is only an introductory sampler, after all, which hopefully will open up the vast exotica landscape for a curious listener. Mix yourself a cocktail with plenty of fruit and umbrellas, recline in the bath and listen to this ultimate brain soother.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Hypnotique - Martin Denny, Alika - Webley Edwards, Babalu - Yma Sumac, Simba - Les Baxter, Bali Ha'i - Tak Shindo, Pyramid of the Sun - Les Baxter, Quiet Village - Martin Denny, Wimoweh - Yma Sumac

FACT SHEET: The "exotica" phenomenon originated mainly from returning G.I.'s in World War II who had gained a taste for all things South Pacific. The statehood of Hawaii also spurred a huge interest in everything tropical and exotic; backyard luaus with wooden tiki idols and tiki torches were all the rage. A mania for exotic cocktails spread across the nation's bars sparked by the innovative creativity of Don the Beachcomber. Also the new technology of "high fidelity" and "stereophonic sound" found a perfect medium with the multi-instrumental tiki lounge music testing ones speakers like nobody's business. The Grammy-winning Ultra-Lounge cd series is still going albeit only in online download format. All the tracks naturally are culled from Capitol Records' library of master tapes. "Swamp Fire" is from Martin Denny's c. 1958 LP "Afro-Desia". "Moon Mist" is from the Out-Islanders' 1961 LP "Polynesian Fantasy"; the song (written by Johnny Mercer and Duke Ellington) features vocalisations by Loulie Jean Norman (Vampira on the 1959 "Spike Jones In Stereo" LP) and Charlie Barnet on saxophone. Duke Ellington's perennial "Caravan" is a previously unreleased track from 1961 by 80 Drums Around the World. Martin Denny's superb "Hypnotique" is from his c. 1967 album "A Taste of India". "Atlantis" is from Les Baxter's 1953 LP "Kaleidoscope". "Alika" is from Webley Edwards' 1960 LP "Hawaii Calls: Exotic Instrumentals". "Misirlou" and "Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish" are from Martin Denny's c. 1960 LP "Exotic Percussion". "Lust" is from the Les Baxter/Bas Sheva LP "The Passions" from 1953. "Hana Maui" is from Chick Floyd's 1959 "Little Grass Shack" album. "Voodoo Dreams/Voodoo" is actually a medley of two Les Baxter tracks edited together: the former from Les Baxter's 1959 "Jungle Jazz" album and the latter song an unreleased track from 1958. "Jungle Madness" is from Martin Denny's 1959 "Hypnotique" album. "Babalu" is an Yma Sumac single from 1952. "Simba" is from Les Baxter's 1955 LP "Tamboo!". "Bali Ha'i" is from Tak Shindo's superb 1959 "Brass and Bamboo" album and is my favourite version of the song. The exquisite "Pyramid of the Sun" is from Les Baxter's 1959 "The Sacred Idol" album. The exotica classic "Quiet Village" was originally written and recorded by Les Baxter but it's Martin Denny's 1958 version from his "Exotica" album which was the smash hit and remains the classic version. Yma Sumac's "Wimoweh" is another Capitol single from 1952. The Ultra-Lounge cds also featured recipes for two tropical cocktails in each cd booklet; the Mondo Exotica cd thoughtfully includes recipes for a "Blue Hawaii" and a "Zombie". Yum!