Posts tagged as:

Exotica

Music Review: Ferrante and Teicher’s Soundproof

September 1, 2009
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I was first exposed to this 1956 recording only recently, and found it to be nothing like what I expected. Given the album’s name, cover art, and reputation, I anticipated some sort of exotica/space-pop extravaganza, and I have to say that my initial reaction was a sense of disappointment. I suppose I was anticipating something [...]

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Les Baxter’s Ritual of the Savage

August 21, 2009
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This is the album that started it all. In 1951, over six years before Martin Denny recorded his landmark album, Exotica, Les Baxter invented the genre. Ritual of the Savage represented a true breakthrough, a new musical statement that was ideally suited to the times. How is it then, that such a significant work has [...]

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Exotica, the Sound of Tiki

June 27, 2009
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It’s only natural to conjure up visions of Chuck Berry or the Platters when the subject of ’50s music comes up. It was, after-all, when rock-and-roll was born, and it’s easy to imagine the decade as something akin to the film, “American Graffiti”. (no, I’m not knocking the movie… I saw it 30+ times at [...]

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