“Lurid”, “savage”, and yet “enticing”, “captivating”…exotica! I suppose “relaxing” fits as well, at least for certain tropicalian oceanside my-tai entries to this slice of musical life. What you get this time around is a grab bag of moods, all evoking far away, “little-known” locations where a gringo might just be swept away by the next wave or an over-zealous would-be tour guide. One thing I’ve not yet figured out is why, judging from the album covers, do the womenfolk walk around half naked?
Run list for Al compás del mundo – programa #151, 10-24-24, “Exotica”
01 Les Baxter - Go Chango (USA)
02 Martin Denny - Swamp Fire (USA)
03 Kava Kon
- Pacifica 66 (USA)
04 Esquivel
- Latin-Esque (Mexico)
05 Horst Wende and His Orchestra - Oriental Caravan (Germany)
06 Coral de
Ouro Preto - Zelão (Brazil)
07 Yma Sumac - Taki Rari (Peru)
08 Robert Drasnin – Voodoo (USA)
09 Roger Craig - Song of India (USA)
10 Les Baxter - Voodoo Dreams-Voodoo (USA)
11 Oratorio Society of Honolulu - Hawaiian War Chant
(Ta-Hu-Wa-Hu-Wai) (USA)
12 Tikiyaki Orchestra – Exotique (USA)
13 The Fieschers - Nomad Camp (USA)
14 Martin
Denny - China Nights (Shina No Yuro) (USA)
15 Esquivel
- Mucha Muchacha (Mexico)
16 Coco
Schumann – Exotique (Germany)
17 Les
Baxter – Jungalero (USA)
18 Martin Denny -
Exotique Bossa Nova (USA)
19 Zina Nahid -
Danse du Sud (France)
20 Walter Wonderley – Telefone (Brazil)
That most of these recordings come from the 1950-70 era are probably to blame – a time of unconscious consciousness when sex was used to sell most anything, music included. Lord knows we’ve grown past that childish obsession. No, boys? Of course, if we’re talking about fantasies, almost the entire line-up earns that rap with stereotypical versions of rhythms, instrumentation, and melodies from “outside” lands. An exception is Coral de Ouro Preto from Brazil, who unwittingly earned lounge music membership in today’s show. They perform a home-grown, softly swinging singalong in a style popular in parts of Latin America at the time. Exotica was big in the U.S. in that era and even cultivated players from Europe and elsewhere. Les Baxter and Martin Denny are probably the best-known protagonists of this easy-listening style, though that is not to say that there weren’t accomplished musicians in their orchestras. Baxter, particularly, carried a tenor sax that could play with most any serious jazz combo of the day (and maybe did…?) Many cuts, though, sound like the sort of inoffensive music Lawrence Welk might have featured on a day he was feeling frisky.
While mostly vintage recordings, there are contemporaries keeping the (tiki) torch lit: Kava Kon, the Tikiyaki Orchestra and The Feischers are relative newcomers to the genre who lead us off, along with the progenitors, to tropical jungles, South Sea islands, Middle Eastern, Chinese, and Indian ports untold. So, get out the cocktail shaker, turn on the h-fi, sit back in your Barcalounger, and give it a whirl. And was that one olive or two?
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