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exotica-digest        Saturday, March 28 1998        Volume 02 : Number 079



In This Digest:

(exotica) French Persons
Re: Re: (exotica) Ultra Lounge and other compilations
(exotica) Mantovani
(exotica) Re: Ata Tak and Exotica
(exotica) Re: Man or Astroman/Attilio Mineo
Re: (exotica) Deteriorata
Re: (exotica) Grind and Frolic in the raw
(exotica) recommended: "themes like old times"
Re: (exotica) Accordions, harps, bagpipes....what's next?
(exotica) Switched On Sonics!
Re: (exotica) Grind and Frolic in the raw
(exotica) Florida Excursion, part one
(exotica) Florida Excursion, part two
(exotica) Florida Excursion, part 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 19:46:15 -0800 (PST)
From: Anthony Jackson <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) French Persons

I'm a little late on this thread, but there are two items well worth
checking out, one old one new.

The Poppys

This sixties/seventies group featured a boys chorus fronting some
fantastic back-up musicians. Although their music sometimes sinks to
the saccharine silliness typical of such kiddie groups (a la Osmonds,
the DiFranco Family, etc...), they have recorded some truly impressive
numbers. My favourite is a French version of "Let The Sunsine In",
which includes a surprisingly soulful performance by the young lead
singer as well as some very tight bass and guitar grooves. One of
their biggest hits in France was "Non rien n'a change", an infectious
number with some interesting choral arrangements. I recommend the 1971
release "Poppys" on Barclay Records, which includes both of these plus
a couple of other notable songs.

Les Elles

This band has been around for a few years and has a small but loyal
following in France. I saw them perform in Paris at the Bateau Six
Huite (a barge converted to a bar that sits on the Seine just below
Notre Dame church - a great venue).

Les Elles are four women who play an unusual style of chanson that
blends the grand tradition of French songmanship with a cocky naive
theatricality that is a pleasure to listen to and fun to watch (even
if you don't catch all the words). Piano and viola provide the
foundations of the music, but they also add a wonderful assortment of
accents (whistles, noisemakers, even rattling bird cages) that gives
them a unique sound. Despite the endearing absurdities of their style,
these girls are talented musicians who know a thing or two about
pushing boundaries. And for those who can appreciate the lyrics,
you're in for a treat.

As far as I know, they have only one eponymous release, from 1996 I
believe. You can find out more here:

http://www.netbeat.com/artists/a18.htm

Salut,

Aj

_________________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: 28 Mar 1998 06:06:07 GMT
From: [e-mail] (cheryl shinfield)
Subject: Re: Re: (exotica) Ultra Lounge and other compilations

NATHAN MINER,[e-mail],Internet writes:


While this stuff on the Strip label is fun, you're not going be
giving these discs heavy rotation once the novelty of the
tunes wears off.  For the most part these are very boring
arrangements, a lot of them bordering on tedious (esp. the
"Jungle" stuff).


Both Jungle Exotica CDs tend to be among those frequently playing around
here! And I haven't gotten tired of them yet (especally Ganiman & His
Orientals' "Come Wth Me To The Casbah") .  And while I prefer Las Vegas Grind
Part 3, the first two are pretty good as well.  (although I can live without
Frolic Diner).  Perhaps they're not to everyone's taste, but they're all a
lot of fun to listen to....

cheryl



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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 15:17:07 +0000
From: Hugh Petfield <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Mantovani

A bit more about the man:

He was born Annunzio Paolo Mantovani on Nov. 15, 1905 Venice, Italy,
and died almost exactly 18 years ago on March 30, 1980, in  Tunbridge
Wells, Eng.

While Mantovani achieved his greatest fame in the USA, he was basically an
album artist who was known throughout the world, and may have been one of
the most successful bandleaders of all times, selling more albums than any
other musician. Between 1955 and 1966, he had 28 albums in the USA Top 30.
His lush
string arrangements were referred to, in the US, as 'Smooth Listening' or
'Easy Listening' style.

Looking at Mantovani's repertoire over the period he was most famous, 1950
to 1970 (ie from when
he was 45 through to when he was 65) he very much blurred the boundaries
between light music
and opera, light classics and even some sacred music.  He also did well
with albums of music from
or heading into another genre, cinema music.  There is evidence from his
later albums that he was
simply doing cover versions of hits of the day in his own style.  There's
nothing wrong with that per
se, I hasten to add.  I just wonder if the changes to popular music of the
70's where there was an
emphasis on beat almost more than melody, meant that he'd run out of
sources of inspiration, and
in his late 60's, probably was simply burned out.  Certainly during the
70's he would have found that
taking an orchestra of 40 people on the road would be prohibitively
expensive compared to the 50's.

Hugh


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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 17:12:22 +0100
From: "Arjan Plug" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Re: Ata Tak and Exotica

Moritz:

>Andreas DORAU had a charts hit in France recently with "Girls in Love",
>his first one after 17 years and got a silver record for - I think it
>was - 150.000 sold. Didn't work out in Belgium and Holland as well

Agreed, just picked it up from a salesbin for 4 guilders this morning...
Really like it though, the chorus is so infuriating catchy. Will have to
check out the CD then. Also dug up some Ata Tak stuff in the wake of this
this afternoon. The albums of Der Plan I have, Normalette Surprise and Geri
Regi still sound positively weird, the Doraus and Marinas LP still fresh as
ever.

On another note, been enjoying the new CD of Elakeleiset  "Humppa till we
die 2000" over the last few days. More coverversions (in Finnish) of these
madcap pensioners. Songs given the Humppa treatment this time around are
amongst others: London Calling, Buddy Holly, Every Breath You Take, a number
of hardrocksongs, Zappa's Bobby Brown and a wacky version of Ghostbusters.

Arjan



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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 16:48:01 +0100
From: "Arjan Plug" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Re: Man or Astroman/Attilio Mineo

>Speaking of Man or Astroman, the graphic "artist" that did the cover art
>for their 1st LP lives in Seattle, WA . Most likely thinking that NO ONE
>would ever reissue such an insanely obscure record, he stole the cover
> art from "Attilio Mineo Conducts Man In Space With Sounds"
>http://www.jackdiamond.com/attilio.htm
>and changed it just a tad and made it their very 1st album cover.

>When I 1st saw that record in a store there were 6 sealed copies.  I was
>looking un "M" in this used/new record store, I JUST ABOUT HAD A
>HEART ATTACK and then I realized sadly that something was very
>very wrong and said to myself, WHAT THE F*** IS THIS ?????????!

This is "Project Infinity" on Estrus Records (1995), still my favorite album
(actually a compilation of various singles and EP's)  of this brilliant
liveband. Incidentally I posted about the Mineo-reissue on the Man or
Astroman?-mailinglist  when it came out. Complete silence!

Arjan



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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 11:21:13 -0500
From: Mark Benton Reed <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (exotica) Deteriorata

Not sure about CD, but the track originally appeared on the National Lampoon
Radio Dinner album, which I own on vinyl.

Hugh Petfield wrote:

> Anyone know if the great 'Deteriorata' - a spoof on the tune
> 'Desiderata', and possibly by National Lampoon - is available
> on CD please?





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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 09:29:09 -0800
From: "Larson/Thomas" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (exotica) Grind and Frolic in the raw

> "Jungle Exotica Pt.2" is not nearly as good as the first CD in
> my humble opinion.
>
> (A huge fan of that primitive RAW sound )

Agreed.  Same goes for Las Vegas Grind; vol. 1 is better than vol. 2.
However, fans of the raw sound might also like Frolic Diner CDs, where IMHO
vol. 2 is actually the best.

Which leads to the question, where does this music come from?  Some time
back there was a posting that these recordings were inserts in "men's
magazines."  Anyone know different?

Jerry


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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 20:12:28 +0100
From: Johan Dada Vis <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) recommended: "themes like old times"

"themes like old times, 90 genuine original program openings from the most
famous radio shows" by Radio Yesteryear (aka Radiola; address: Box c, Sandy
Hook, CT 06482, USA). don't know if they sstill exist, i stumbled upon this
cd that i've had for several years. themes from

the mysterious traveller
the falcon
x minus one
house of mystery
tom corbett space cadet
tarzan
nick carter
superman
gunsmoke
green hornet
richard diamond

and many many more, none of which i've ever heard the radio show off,
waaaaaaay before my time and in the wrong part of the world ;-)

        Johan

        [e-mail]   +   [e-mail]

        ---






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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 18:50:00 -0500
From: Larry House <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (exotica) Accordions, harps, bagpipes....what's next?

Hope it's not too late to weigh in with comments on unusual instruments.

Though the clarinet by itself doesn't fall into this category, what Bill
Page does with one on "Sounds of the Sonic Sixties" (Tower ST 5084) is
certainly unusual.  Page (along with his electrified "all ampliphonic"
orchestra) uses phasing and wah-wah effects to distort the sound of the
instrument with mixed results.  "Somethin' Stupid" is the most extreme
example, with squeaks and growls that go totally over the top.  Exotica
standard "Nature Boy" gets a relatively subdued treatment - the melody
is well suited to the clarinet - and the restrained phasing gives it a
spooky, ethereal sound.  Most of the record is pretty tame (according to
the liner notes, Page played with Lawrence Welk, and it shows) but "It
Ain't Necessarily So" really nails the 60's disco-au-go-go sound with
droning roller-rink organ, precisely syncopated flute and guitar
carrying the melody, and honking saxophone flourishes.  Nice looking
"oscilloscope" cover, bonus points for covering "We Ain't Got Nothing
Yet" (with feedback!), and the added feature of listing the title three
different ways on the front cover, spine and back cover, and record
label...well, it was the 60's...

Larry H.


- ------------------------------------------
PS.
Front cover - "Sounds of the Sonic Sixties"
Spine & Back Cover - "Sonic Sounds of the Sixties"
Label - "Sounds of the Sonic 60's"



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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 16:18:08 -0800
From: Jack <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Switched On Sonics!

At 06:50 PM 3/28/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>Hope it's not too late to weigh in with comments on unusual instruments.
>
>Though the clarinet by itself doesn't fall into this category, what Bill
>Page does with one on "Sounds of the Sonic Sixties" (Tower ST 5084) is
>certainly unusual.  Page (along with his electrified "all ampliphonic"
>orchestra) uses phasing and wah-wah effects to distort the sound of the
>instrument with mixed results.  "Somethin' Stupid" is the most extreme
>example, with squeaks and growls that go totally over the top.  Exotica
>standard "Nature Boy" gets a relatively subdued treatment

That's a great record.  My buddy Magnus in Sweden turned me onto it and
then I searched the web and found it:-)
I LOVE that version of "Nature Boy"

Another "Sonic-Switched On" type of same thing is
Dick Jacobs: Electro-sonic Orchestra

Weird and screwed up "easy listening".  Certainly has a few high points though

Jack



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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 16:19:55 -0800
From: Jack <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (exotica) Grind and Frolic in the raw

Agreed.  Same goes for Las Vegas Grind; vol. 1 is better than vol. 2.
However, fans of the raw sound might also like Frolic Diner CDs, where IMHO
vol. 2 is actually the best.

Which leads to the question, where does this music come from?  Some time
back there was a posting that these recordings were inserts in "men's
magazines."  Anyone know different?

Jerry

A lot of them if not all were "1 hit wonders" as in a 45
Jack




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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 01:27:36 -0500
From: Jessica Cameron <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Florida Excursion, part one

Finally I have some time to sit down and tell you all about the records I
got over spring break....this year's list isn't as star-studded as last
year's, but I'm sure not complaining! ^_^ (a handful of Pennsylvania records
are mixed in, BTW). Enjoy!

Afro-Cuban influence:

Perez Prado: Concierto Para Bongo--This is a fantastic album, one of those
sort of hard-to-find United Artists LPs Prado released before he went back
to Mexico. Side one is lots of farfisa organ-fueled go-go tunes. Side two is
a loooong suite with lots of bongos, horns, and gruntin' courtesey of el Rey
del Mambo himself. Just as good as the Voodoo Suite! ^_^

Latin Fire by Candido: ABC Paramount LP of my favorite congo player,
CANDIDO! Manny Albam did the arrangements, which are unique: lots of male
"doo doo ba" vocals in with the fantastic congo-ing. I know that sounds
sappy, but it's good, trust me. My favorite cut is "It Don't Mean a Thing if
It Ain't Got that Swing"--the chorus starts that famous riff-- doo doo do do
do--and Candido finishes it off! ba dummt ba dummt ba dummt....you know the
rest (that's what I get for transcribing instrumentals >_<).

The Best of Cugat: One of those "Perfect Prescence Stereo" LPs, full of
Cugie-style numbers, including exotic faves like Taboo, Sway, El
Cumbanchero, Misirlou, and Tequila. Abbe Lane is on the cover, but she
doesn't sing. :(  I always liked Cugie's Mercury material the best, and this
album is great!

Cha-cha, Merengue, and Mambo by Belmonte and His Orchestra: I bought this
mainly for "In the Hall of the Cha-Cha King." I don't care what anyone else
says, this is the most bizarre cha-cha tune of all time! Grieg goes latin?
^_- I wonder what Fritz Lang and Peter Lorre thought of this (film nerd joke).

Rhythms of the South by Edmundo Ros: The label says this is a live album,
but it doesn't sound live to me. I have trouble finding Ros records, so I'm
happy to have this one. And it has another classical cha-cha--of the Waltz
of the Blue Danube.

THE FIESTA FILE: great records on the Fiesta label

Having a Ball with Randy Carlos: Don't you love when this happens? I saw a
picture of this record on the back cover of another Fiesta album and thought
it looked cool. Two days later I found it (about 20 miles down the road).
What are the odds? The cover is great--wild multi-colored lettering and a
green photograph of a nude gal groovin' out next to a palm frond. Hey, it's
art! The music is good too, esp. a sorta spooky track called "Whistling Mambo."

Tropic Holiday: Instrumental Stylings by Don Enrico: I love "instrumental
stylings," don't you? ^_- So classy sounding. Senor Enrico plays a good
organ, and I like his version of "Poinciana." BTW, there's a retirement
complex called "Poinciana Gardens" or something like that down the road from
my Grandparents' place.  All the retirement complexes have exotic sounding
names...I guess that's Les Baxter's legacy. >_<

Instrumental Cha Cha Cha Mambo Mergengue by Jose Curbelo: Can we get some
commas in that title please??
Nice Latin with piano, a little sedate, but has "Stormy Weather" and
"Laura," so I'll probably keep it.

Organ-Ized by Walter Wanderly: Has the original Brazilian recording of
"Summer Samba" and other good bossa nova/samba stuff. The liner notes are
nutty (the writer keeps getting distracted by the album while he tries to
write the notes) and the cover is strange (Claudine type model poses in
front of filing cabinets, some sprouting tropical plants, one sprouting a
tiny pipe organ).

Marimba Mambo Y Cha Cha Cha: Since this is on Audio Fidelity, I'd like to
think that the marimba is played by none other than Harry Breuer, but it
doesn't say for sure, so I can only dream. :(  This record is much better
than it sounds, there's lots of echo on the marimbas (and there are only
marimbas--no guitars, no strings, nothing else!), so this is a eerie
sounding record.

Spectacular Percussion Goes Latin by Roger King Mozian: A pretty boring
general percussion cha cha album until side two, where things get weird with
"What's New at the Zoo"--lots of strange animal noises and stuff. There's a
good "Cumana" too, but that particular tune is hard to screw up. ^_^

KOSHER SECTION

The Barry Sisters In Israel: Great big band/Yiddish tunes by my favorite
sister act. The back cover is better than the front: lots of great photos of
Merna and Claire on the go, singing, dancing, trying to choke down terrible
army food....

Shalom by the Barry Sisters: They do a great "Never on Sunday" in Yiddish.

The Barry Sisters Sing Fiddler on the Roof: Much much better than it sounds,
with some decent exotic/space age flourishes. There's a wicked bongo riff on
"Far From the Home I Love." Unlike most Fiddler on the Roof tie-in records,
this one won't make you puke. ^_-

Hear O, Israel: A Concert Service in Jazz (with Herbie Hancock on piano!?):
Unlike most religious albums, this is cool. Almost makes me wanna convert.

EASTERN FLAIR

Oriental Delight by the Hank Mardigan Sextet: Good, authentic sounding
Middle Eastern music, heavy on the oud.

Magic Fingers Play Cleopatra's Favorites by Buddy Sarkissian and Fred Ellis:
Great original tunes, heavy on percussion. This is a beautiful album with
evocative titles like "Sirens of the Nile," "Pyramids in the Moonlight." And
my cat reacted to it (that is to say she rolled around on the floor like a
spastic belly dancer), which never happens. So it must be good. ^_- The only
bad thing about this record is the really tacky cartoon cover--I didn't know
they had pasties in Ancient Egypt. >_<

AN EVENING IN THE TROPICS....

Legends of Hawaii by Kamokila: Wow, a spoken word Hawaiian album! Kamokila
reads 3 Hawaiian legends to musical backing. The music is more classical
sounding than exotic (a soprano singer is used, but she's more operatic than
exotic), but it's interesting to hear the stories of the place that inspired
so many of our favorite artists. The Pele track follows the liner notes to
"The Legend of Pele" almost word for word...

The Legend of Pele by Arthur Lyman: For some reason this cost a dollar,
while the same store's copy of "Taboo" was ten bucks. Go figure! One of
Art's finest moments. Great tunes, wild cover.

Love for Sale by Arthur Lyman: 80s reissue  with a strange cover of an
Oriental woman peering through mini-blinds. Looks like a new-wave 12 inch
dance single! >_< But this is a good album--all but one track has "love" in
the title, so I guess it's a concept album. BTW, does anyone have Lyman's
"Aloha, Amigo"? I'd love to hear about it.

Shango! Night in a Quiet Village by Kip Anderson and the Tides: I had high
hopes for this one--after all, it's on the same label that gave us "White
Goddess." But it was sort of disappointing. It's mostly organ with some
percussion in the background. It's not bad, but it's not fantastic either.
It sure doesn't live up to the come-on "Listen closely. We guarantee that
your geraniums will turn into jasmine and your lamp into a full moon." Heck,
my cat didn't even roll around, let alone turn into a panther! ^_-

The Sound of Hawaii: Percussive Pineapples by Lani Royal with the Diamond
Head Band: A good pseudo-hawaiian album that sounds very Command-esque (even
though it's on Medallion, Kapp's hi-fi subsidiary). Anything with tuned
bongos can't be that bad!

Polynesian Sunset by the Bonaires: Vocal Hawaiian group--it's all good
stuff, but the best parts are the two bossa nova songs--"Holo Waapa Bossa
Nova" and "Mai Tai Bossa Nova." Very catchy! ^_^

Hits with a Hawaiian Punch by the Coral Reef: This record is bizarre, but
boy do I love it! Songs that you would never in a thousand years associate
with Hawaiian music are jazzed up with polynesian drums, steel guitar, and
sappy semi-wordless vocals. "Somewhere My Love", "See You in September", and
"Guantanamera" are among the tunes chosen for this musical luau. File this
one under "what were they thinking??"

CALYPSONIANS

Bama Hit Parade from the Exotic "Islands in the Sun" by King Eric and His
Knights: Good calypso, but I'm mainly mentioning this for the cocktail
crowd...the back cover has cute drawings of the specialties at the "Islands
in the Sun" cocktail lounge. Let's see, you could order a Ba Ma in a
pineapple, a Loco Coco in a coconut shell, or a Conktale in a conch shell
(isn't that unsanitary???). There's also a Bamboozer and something called
Pink Ink. The liner notes were written by the owners, so they talk more
about the menu than the music. Poor King Eric. :(  I also got number two in
this series, and it has some wild looking pictures of other records on the
back cover! "Bacchanal at the Confidential" and "Sweet Richard's Limbo
Party" have crazy pictures of women and men jumpin' around, dancin', and
doin' the limbo. Anyone have these? Do they sound like they look?

The Talbot Brothers of Bermuda, volumes 1-3: If Harry Belafonte makes your
skin crawl, try picking up one of the Talbots' records and hear what real
calypso sounds like. They take on Elvis and his ilk on volume 3 with "Too
Much of the Rock and Roll" and lament the troubles of having a tatooed lady
from a freak show as a girlfriend in "She Sits Down on Me" on vol. 1.

Thanks for the space, stay tuned for part two, Jessica ^_^



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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 01:27:55 -0500
From: Jessica Cameron <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Florida Excursion, part two

More of the same....

JAZZ....FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT JAZZ (that's me!)

Let's Get Acquainted With Jazz...For People Who Hate Jazz! by the Jimmy
Rowles sextet: I bought this for the cover, although musically it's not bad.
The cover is insane, showing a baby-doll pajama-ed teacher learnin' the
blues to the jazz-hater, a dunce with his tongue sticking out and one pant
leg rolled up higher than the other! For some reason there's a boquet of
flowers on the floor. Is this supposed to symbolize something?

Jazz for Relaxation by Marty Paich: Depressed-looking nude gal reclines on
chaise lounge in front of mod painting.

So in Love with the Sound of Andrew Hill: The red-head on the cover must be
blissed out by the one fantastic, exotic jazz track, "Chiconga."

THE UNCLASSIFIABLES (stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else)

The Self Image Concept of Weight Control: Jim Pilgrim, a 70s-style fitness
guru with a shirt unbuttoned far enough to show off his puka shell necklace
and hairy chest  (yikes) will teach the powerful effect of visualization on
the body. Think yourself thin! This came with a little booklet full of
trippy op-art illustrations.

The One and Only by Wes Harrison (in STUPEFYING STEREO): Comedy record by
"Mr. Sound Effects." He put out this record himself. It was apparently only
available through mail order, and it's autographed. There's also a big
sticker on the front cover of "Wes and his Dodge Sportsman Wagon."

Streetsong (Gassenhauer): An Instrumental Ensemble Under the Direction of
Carl Orff: Lots of strange little percussion pieces, with lots of
improvizations. With titles like "Xylophone Inventions" and "Canonic
Capriccio," I had to get this.

Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans: Space Songs from Ballads for the Age of
Science--Kids' record that actually came with a libretto. One in a series of
educational albums--I think another one in the series was reviewed on the
list not long ago....anyway, this one has cute little songs like "Beep Beep,
Here Comes the Satellite" and "Zoom a little Zoom (Rocket Ship)." Tony
Mottola conducts the orchestra.

America the Beautiful: the Heart of America in Poetry by Vincent Price: Not
as cool as his spooky records, but what are you gonna do? Listening to
Vincent ham it up on "O Captian! My Captain" and "The New Colossus" is good
for patriotic laffs.

Take Time: A Fitness program for people over 50. When you're in Florida, a
lot of times you'll walk into a store and see 20, 30 copies of the same
record, all still sealed. I guess if you can afford to make your own record
you can afford to retire and move to Florida. This is one of those flop
records. Musically it's just so-so (just a trio playing Lawrence Welk-style
numbers), but the funny cover (senior citizens in baby blue warm-up suits)
and inclosed booklet make it worth keeping. I'm already kicking myself for
not buying a yoga album from the 50s I saw down there.....:(

Divine: HEY YOU! Divine isn't exotic? ^_-

Music to Grow Plants Presented by Dr. George Milstein: What a doozie of a
record. Instead of the usual classical music to make your plants grow, you
get two side-long medleys of easy listening, pseudo-Tijuana Brass sounds,
and some cool jazz. The weird part is throughout the record there's this
shrill buzzing noise--it's on there constantly, even thought the liner notes
say "every effort was made to camouflage the sound which acts upon plant
growth patterns." So this record is like listening to muzak while you have
an earache. >_< I'd probably make a tape of it if it weren't for that @#%&
buzzing noise! Oh, and the former owner was kind enough to tuck an envelope
of seeds into the sleeve. Wonder if they're still good? I don't have much of
a green thumb....

Sound Effects volume 6: Most sound effects albums have sounds like planes
talking off, or tires squealing, or other action-packed noises. But this
record gives us such thrilling effects as "brushing teeth", "shower
sequence" and "spray deodorant." My assumption is that it was made for home
movies, but what kind of home movies?? "oh, here's me, taking a shower, and
here's my husband flossing...." >_<

MUSIC TO GET ARRESTED BY

The Private Life of a Private Eye by Enoch Light--Good arrangements by Lew
Davies. My favorite cut is "Mess in Morocco."

Lonelyville, the Nervous Beat by Kenyon Hopkins--I was sort of disappointed
by this record. A lot of it is just middle of the road rock/jazz
instrumentals. It's not bad, it just didn't live up to my expectations. :(

HARPING ABOUT HARPS

Spectacular is the Sound for It!--While this is a compilation of all the
"Spectacular Whatever" albums on MGM, the highlight (for me) is the two
Robert Maxwell cuts, "Caravan" and "Hong Kong Holiday." The Spectacular
Accordions are good too--they do a killer "Jungle Fantasy."

A Song for All Seasons by Robert Maxwell--Much cooler than it looks.
"September in the Rain" in particular has a go-go beat and great raindrop
sound effects that remind me of Dean Elliot's stuff.

Let's Get Away from it All by Robert Maxwell--Even cooler than "A Song for
all Seasons." This one has a lot going for it: Lois Winter on wordless
vocals (isn't she the voice on Marty Mannings' Twilight Zone LP?), and
another great version of  "Song of the Nairobi Trio." Another highlight is
the title track, which might have been used by Tipsy, I'm not sure. It's a
great tune that goes through all these stereotypical snippets of song (a
marimba band for Mexico, a mandolin for Greece, etc) with harp riffs between
each musical "stop." ^_^

PERCUSSION ITCHY AND SCRATCHY

Percussion Playful and Pretty by Rosengarden and Kraus: I read somewhere
that this was recorded as a Stereo Action LP and then shelved until someone
decided to release as a Readers' Digest record club selection. Good thinking
on their part, 'cause this is a greaaaat album with lots of seldom covered
tunes like "Satan takes a Holiday," "Mr. Ghost Goes to Town," and "Goofus."
Cute cover with the same percussion instruments you see on every RCA cover.
But who let the dang trombone and saxophone in on the photo shoot??? ^_-

Music/Sound Spectacular: This isn't really a percussion album, it's more of
a stereo show-off album. But it has tracks from two good percussion LPs,
"Repercussion" by David Carroll and "Max's Variations" from "Max Roach with
the Boston Percussion Ensemble." The cover is great--it's a gold foil deal
with a cut up photo of Mr. and Mrs. Hi-Fidelity listening to records. ^_^

Melodic Percussion, a Sound-in-the-Round Spectacular by Frank Barber--I
didn't even know this record existed! I love Barber's "Deep Percussion" LP,
and this one is good too. There's lots of original tunes like "Peace Pipe"
and "Las Vegas," and covers of  "Spanish Flea" and "Cumana."

America's Most Popular Stereo Orchestra Plays Terry Snyder's World of Sound:
Yet another major-label attempt to cash in on the percussion craze by
signing on Terry Snyder. Amazingly, the liner notes make no mention of
"Persuasive Percussion" (unlike his United Artists albums). Good stuff, some
bossa nova, some light exotica, esp. on "Gaza Strip."

Percussive Jazz: This is a wonderful, wonderful album with bizarre
arrangements of "The Man with the Golden Arm," "Peter Gunn," "Dragnet,"
etc...but this copy has really had it. I didn't notice til I got out to the
parking lot. :(  Feel my pain.

thanks for the space and stay tuned for part 3, Jessica ^_^







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Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 01:28:14 -0500
From: Jessica Cameron <[e-mail]>
Subject: (exotica) Florida Excursion, part 3

here we go again.....

KIDDIN' ON THE KEYS

Organ-ized by Chris Waxman at the Hammond organ: Great cover with mini-go-go
dancers rocking out on a giant organ. Late 60s stuff, with "Mas Que Nada
(great!)", "Up, Up, and Away," and a Klaus Wunderlich tune, "Highway Speed."

The Many Moods of the Candyman: A Tasy Selection of Organ Specialities and
Classics by Bill "Candyman" Kehr--I like this record for many reasons: first
of all, it sounds like the organ demos that I used to hear at the piano
store at the mall when I was a kid. Second of all, the Candyman's selection
of tracks is nothing less than schizophrenic. He takes on polka (In Heaven
there is no beer), classical (waltz medley), latin (the peanut vendor and
guantanamera), and country (Your Cheatin' Heart). And last but not least,
the Candyman is really really scary. With his paper hat and apron he looks
like an evil clown, or a serial killer or something. For some reason or
anothe he resisted the temptation to do "The Candyman." Oh, and there's some
synthesizers mixed in there with the organ.

The Many Moods of Ethel Smith: You'll never hear me call Ethel "the female
Lenny Dee" 'cause she was foot-pedaling the organ while Lenny was still
strumming his banjo! Lenny Dee is the male Ethel Smith! --excuse me, I had
to get that off my chest....anyway, this is Ethel's greatest hits album, so
it has her latin stuff like "Tico Tico." It also has a funny big band
parody, "Ethel Meets the Count"--and the band was conducted by Don Sebesky,
the guy who did "The Distant Galaxy!" I had a copy of this record I ruined
trying to get out a warp with a blowdryer, and was pleased as punch to find
another copy in Florida. ^_^

Mr. Fantastic: John LaDuca at the Wurlitzer Organ--Normally when I see the
word "wurlitzer" I run away screaming, but John here is pretty cool. I
already had a self-pressed thing he did, and was surprised to see he did
some big-label stuff as well (this is on Mercury). He gets a lot of weird
effects out the old wurlitzer--mandolins and drums and stuff. Love the train
noises on "St. Louis Blues."

A Sound Explosion by the Gentlemen Three--Black lounge trio of organ,
saxophone, and drums. The drummer, Cortez Love, autographed the album, which
is kind of nice. Am I the only person who likes having autographed albums?
Someone asked about the effect of autographs on the price on the record
collecting newsgroup and some turkey wrote back that generally, autographs
are considered flaws to the cover. >:P That is _jive!_ I think that to know
that the recording artist held the actual record in their hand at one point
is pretty cool. Anyway, the Gentlemen Three are pretty good, esp. on the big
percussion showcase, "Runaway Slave." This little record traveled to Florida
all the way from Detroit.

Great Organ Hits by Eddie Layton: Eddie Layton is great, and Eddie Layton
with a rocket ship on the cover is even better! ^_^ He does his own nutty
versions of "Patricia," "Tico Tico," "The Happy Organ," and "Mr. Lucky." He
played at a place called "The Mermaid Room." Sounds neat, doesn't it?

Heavenly Sounds in Hi-Fi by Ferrante and Teicher--FINALLY, some prepared
piano in stereo! Seems like every F+T I have is in mono. :(  Beautiful,
beautiful stuff.

OTHER SPACE AGE STUFF

Swingin' Fling with the Music of Alvino Rey--Big band slide guitar with
arrangements and some original tunes by Warren Barker (while he was still
in). "Sonically speaking, beyond compare." This one has "Rock Gently" from
that Rhino CD "A Bachelor's Guide to the Galaxy."

We Dig Mancini by the Anita Kerr Quartet--Anita and Co. harmonize on tunes
by America's favorite soundtrack composer. Arthur Godfrey wrote the liner
notes, which is kind of weird.

Stereo Action Goes Hollywood by Marty Gold--Nothing much to say about this
one. It has the Third Man theme. Maybe someday I'll learn to love this
album, but for now, it's just so-so.

David Rose and His Orchestra in 21 Channel Sound--That's right, a David Rose
album that isn't completly snoozy (not that I don't like snoozy records). He
actually does great covers of "Caravan," "The Man with the Golden Arm," and
"Shangri-La."

EASY LISTENING

Musical Horoscope by Hal Mooney--What can I say, I love horoscope albums!

The Velvet Beat by David Rose--Sloooow versions of rock tunes like
"Satisfaction" and "Downtown." "What's New Pussycat?" is fittingly covered,
'cause there's a velvet kitty on the cover. The liner notes are completely
pompous. ^_- A must read!

Soft Lights and Sweet Music by "Living Series"--Another living stuff special
edition with a wacky cover (the movie one has a mermaid on it). This one
(with a Bacharach & David theme) shows a blissed out woman in a nightgown in
the background. In the foreground is a bald guy in a smoking jacket holding
a glass of wine and sitting on a bunch of pillows. The look on his face is
_so_ suggestive. I crack up everytime I look at this one!

The Sound Heard Around the World by Muzak--Awrite! One whole side of muzak
originals like "Environs" and "Muzak on the Move." Side two gives us
profound muzak hits like "American Pie" and "Theme from the Godfather." Boy
do I love muzak. ^_^

The Original Hit Quentin's Theme by the Charles Randolph Grean Sounde--The
45 of "Quentin's Theme/No. 1 at the Blue Whale" is a thrift store mainstay
(it's great, though), but I've never seen the entire album until now. It's a
strange one, with lots of echo and strange arrangements. Much better than it
looks. Hey, this is the guy who was involved with the Mindexpanders'
"What's Happening?" isn't it?

MOVIE LAND

The World of Suzie Wong by George Duning--Terrific crime jazz/exotica mix.
Groove for Suzie!

MUSIC TO SELL STUFF BY

Music from Building a Better Way: the 1974 Chevrolet Annoucement Film--The
title is self-explanatory, but the music is classic 70s stuff, heavy on
moog, fuzztone guitar, and ba-ba-ba vocals. There are a few cruddy country
style tracks, but most of it is great.

The "In" Sound for the Commercial Industry: Compilation for the Charles H.
Stern ad agency with a roster that reads like a space age/exotica hall of
fame: Mel Henke, Dean Elliot, Jack Fascinato, Les Baxter, and Nelson Riddle!
Henke's theme for the Chevrolet Jet Smooth ride is an instrumental version
of "Woman in Space"! And as a bonus we get a few seconds of "Zounds! What
sounds!" afte Elliot's jingle (which is great). Baxter's is less
interesting. it's more of a folk thing. Riddle does a great jingle for
Shasta cola (it hasta be shasta). What a record! ^_^

VOCALIZING ABOUT VOCALISTS

Smoke Dreams by Ronnie Deauville--Crazy cover...blissed out reclining
brunette smokes out the title and conjures up Ronnie in a cloud of smoke
(cough cough).

French Postcards set to Music by Ruth Wallis--Ruth marries a gay guy in
"Queer Things" and ends up at the headshrinkers in "Psycho Mambo." She has a
much better voice than Rusty Warren--I'm gonna try to find more of her
albums now, esp. "Saucy Calypso."

Julie at Home by Julie London--Beautiful copy of one of my favorite London
albums. She does "Lonesome Road" and "Sentimental Journey." The liners claim
the album was really recorded at her house, and initially I figured "yeah
right" >_< but after reading _Intimate Nights_ I'm ready to believe! It said
that poor Julie got microphone fright so bad that many albums were recorded
in her house, or she had to get slightly drunk before recording. :(  I guess
that explains her tipsy "Mickey Mouse theme."

Priscilla Loves Billy by Priscilla Paris--Can white girls sing the blues? I
won't answer that question, but Priscilla does "I Love you Porgy" and I
always liked that song, so for 25 cents I couldn't lose. ^_^

man, am I tired! and those are just the highlights!

excuse any typos and thanks for the space, Jessica ^_^



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End of exotica-digest V2 #79
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