The Basement Rug

This is a great wake-up album. The jammed-out version of Ipanema is one of the best I have ever heard. Many thanks to my pal Stefen for this fun gem from 1966! I was about to rip Stef’s original LP when I found this rip over at the Loronix blog. Paul Smith was Ella Fritzgerald’s conductor and pianist, and an active studio musician with a brilliant technique. Paul Smith also worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Anita O’Day, Buddy DeFranco, Louie Bellson, Steve Allen, Stan Kenton, Mel Torme and many others.

Track Listing:

1) One Note Samba
2) Lullaby of Birdland
3) Meditation
4) The Lamp is Low
5) Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars
6) Brazilian Detour
7) The Girl from Ipanema
8) Discover
9) How Insensitive
10) So Nice
11) More
12) The Gnat

I keep telling myself I won’t get sucked further into the surrealistic world of exotic albums, but well, they’re just so damned addictive! Like many collectors, one of the things I like best about the era of Space Age Pop albums is the artwork. Not just the jacket designs, but the fact that they used expensive coating methods to preserve the covers. Despite being more than 50 years old, this little 1957 gem from the Audio Fidelity label is in near mint condition. The artwork holds up because of the coating, and the vinyl is a deep-groove pressing on heavy vinyl, which not only wears better, but has better tracking and a wider dynamic range. Mallet Magic, by Harry Breuer and his Quintet is one of the first stereo records ever produced. Rather than create an MP3 rip from my LP, I am re-posting a download from the SAP Music blog.

Track Listing:

1) Mosquitos’ Parade March
2) Flapperette
3) Bumble Bee Bolero
4) Chinese Doll
5) Chiapanecas
6) Maxixe Mambo
7) Samba Macabre
8) Maple Leaf Jump
9) Tulip Polka
10) Buffoon
11) Glockenspiel Gavotte
12) La Rosita

Did you think the lounge was restricted? Oi vei! I picked up this nice 320-kbps download of More Bagels and Bongos by the Irving Fields Trio over at the Vinyl Lounge Hut a few weeks ago. I have the original Bagels and Bongos somewhere and will post it here if I can find it. I love listening to stuff like this when I am whipping up stuff in the kitchen for evening festivities.

Track Listing:

1) Mama’s Mambo
2) I’ll always be yours
3) Hora Merengue
4) Say You Love Me, One More Time
5) Wedding Merengue
6) What Use To Be, Use To Be
7) I Want To Play
8) Spark of Jewish Pride
9) The Green Cousin - Merengue
10) Paripossen
11) My Hometown Girl
12) Bublitchki

If you have been downloading from various posts in my exotica/lounge category, you know that I am a bit partial to recordings that would be considered silly by most people and downright uncool by others. So when I came upon this LP today while sorting through some records (I am selling my Sinatra and ‘rat-pack’ LP’s to another collector), I decided I had to offer up a couple of rips for the last of your summer parties.

Sinatra was called “The Voice”, but I’d hardly consider him some sort of vocal benchmark, which is what the title implies. Even Sinatra said that “Tony Bennett is the greatest singer in the world.”

Sinatra on the other hand is a phenomenon unto himself. He is the real deal and the parody, both at the same time. He was to lounge singing what William Shatner is to acting, but I doubt he meant to be. He certainly didn’t start out that way. At least with Shatner, you know he gets it - he is laughing with everyone as they laugh at him.

I have never understood the draw to mega-stars like Sinatra, so perhaps it is somehow fitting that the Sinatra I enjoy most is the Sinatra who was considered washed up (at the time) by many critics, including serious fans. I am not a Sinatra expert, but I’ve been told by other record collectors that serious fans stopped following his music once he left Capitol records and started his Reprise label in 1960.

Sinatra of course had the last laugh. He was stubborn and independent and could care less what the critics had to say. He wanted to move in new directions, and his Reprise label was going to be the vehicle for getting there.

One of the founding principles of Reprise under Sinatra’s leadership was that each artist would have full creative freedom, and at some point complete ownership of their work; including publishing rights.

Along with several of his Reprise label mates, Sinatra played a role in ending desegregation of hotels and casinos by refusing to patronize ones that wouldn’t allow black singers to play live or wouldn’t allow black patrons entry. Sinatra often spoke about desegregation during his performances and also played several benefits for Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sinatra’s leadership and artistic freedom (and bad karma?) at Reprise brought him his greatest commercial success in 1966, with his his number one Billboard hit, Strangers in the Night. Ironically, this time Frank did recognize his own parody, calling it “a piece of shit” and “the worst song I ever fucking heard“.

‘Strangers’ would go on to become the international anthem for lounge parody. Right now in a Japanese sushi bar, someone is waiting for a karaoke machine to queue it up.

Before the stink on ‘Strangers’ had time to clear the air, old blue-eyes was back in the studio working on “That’s Life” (also 1966). In my opinion, this album highlights Sinatra at his hippest moment - when he was at his zenith of uncool. He just didn’t know it. Maybe it was better that way. If he had known, he may have never released the recordings below. Winchester Cathedral? Dude! WTF were you thinking?

These two tracks feature the swinging grooves of Ronnie Barron on the organ. Barron became a well-established session player, recording with Sonny and Cher, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Canned Heat, Ry Cooder, Eric Burdon & The Animals, and Delaney & Bonnie and Friends.

Downloads:

• That’s Life
• Sand and Sea

This self-titled 1959 LP (CALP 1001) is the first of several releases by Santo and Johnny Farina on the long defunct Canadian American Records label. Canadian American (based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and New York City) released only 18 LP’s during its run, making it perhaps one of the most obscure record labels in North America, even while it was pressing records. It’s success was due largely to the giant 1950s hit of “Sleepwalk” which is included here. It is one of the most recognizable instrumental tunes ever recorded and has been covered by countless artists, most recently by Modest Mouse.

Santo began playing steel guitar during World War II, after his father heard one in Europe and wrote home to his wife stating he would like Santo to learn how to play one. When his brother Johnny was old enough, he began playing electric guitar, and the two formed a duo, playing local events. The later formed a trio, with their unlce on drums, at which time they composed “Sleepwalk”, which was later recorded as a single for Canadian-American, and the rest as they say is history. Sleepwalk was the number 1 instrumental hit of the 1950s.

The song “Istanbul”, included in the player below comes from one of their later albums that they recorded with Hugo Montenegro and his orchestra.

Track Listing:

1) Caravan
2) Summertime
3) All Night Diner
4) Blue Moon
5) School Day
6) Sleepwalk
7) Tenderly
8) Slave Girl
9) Dream
10) Canadian Sunset
11) Harbor Lights
12) Raunchy

Yma Sumac has been called the Queen Diva of Exotica. With her five-octave voice and the incredible talents of Les Baxter (who arranged and produced her work for Capitol records) you have one incredible combination. The Sumac/Baxter combo produced an operatic form of exotica that is truly out of this world!

I have a copy of “The Voice of the Xtabay” that I was hoping to upload, but the amount of surface noise may be too much for many of you download fiends, so I decided to go looking for an online copy on another blog. I did manage to find a 128kbps download. I also found some info on Yma at SpageAgePop.com:

Yma Sumac was born Zoila Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo sometime between 1921 and 1928 in Inchocan, Peru.

The five-octave queen of exotica. Sumac began performing on radio in Peru in her early teens. Bandleader and composer Moises Vivianco discovered her and began promoting her throughout South America. In 1947, Vivianco and Sumac married and moved to New York City. She performed with Vivianco’s combo, Conjunto Folklorica Peruano, until she was contracted by Capitol Records in 1950.

Sumac made a series of records on the Capitol Records label mostly singing exotic Hollywood versions of Incan and South American folk songs. The combination of Sumac’s extraordinary voice, her exotic, mysterious looks, and her stage personality made her a great hit for American audiences. During the height of her popularity, she appeared in the films Secret of the Incas and Omar Khayam.

Sumac has remained mostly out of the limelight since the late 1950s, performing intermittently. She did record a complete album, “Miracles,” a Rock “tour de force” in 1971, as well as one cut on Hal Wilner’s tribute to Disney music, “Stay Awake,” in 1991.

Here’s some more info on the Xtabay legend from wikipedia.org:

Xtabay literally means ‘Female Ensnarer’ and can refer either to a Mesoamerican demon who seduces and kills or a female deity of the hunt, along with the male Ah Tabay. A legend of Xtabay (the female demon) tells of two women who lived in a village in the Yucatán Peninsula. One was named Xtabay, but people called her Xkeban (which means “prostitute”, “bad woman” or “one who practices illicit love”); the other was Utz-Colel (a good, decent woman).

People said Xkeban was sick with lust and gave her favors to every man who asked her. Utz-Colel was virtuous and honest. Xkeban had a good heart and kindly helped the poor, sick and homeless, and also the animals abandoned for being considered useless, by giving up the jewellery and fine clothes she got from her lovers. She was not a haughty woman, nor did she insult other villagers. Xtabay humbly received the humiliations from the people of her village. On the other hand, Utz-Colel was cold, full of pride, harsh of heart and easily disgusted by the poor.

One day, Xtabay was not seen anymore. Days passed and a fine delicate perfume was smelled all over the village. People found it came from Xtabay’s house, who had died there, alone.

Utz-Colel argued it wasn’t possible, that the perfume couldn’t be that of such a vile and corrupt body; nothing but decay and stench could come out of her. She argued that had to be bad spirits or demons still trying to tempt men. “If that is the odour of a dead prostitute, mine shall be incredible when I die”, she said.

A few people buried Xtabay, feeling pity for her. The next day, her grave was covered with beautiful flowers of a delicate perfume.

When Utz-Colel died, the entire village attended her funeral; they remembered her virtue and honesty. To the amazement of the crowd, an intolerable stench came out from her grave.

The flowers growing on Xtabay’s grave were named Xtabentún.

Track List:

1) Taita Inty (Virgin Of The Sun God) [3:08]
2) Ataypura (High Andes) [3:03]
3) Accla Taqui (Chant Of The Chosen Maidens) [2:44]
4) Tumba (Earthquake) [3:21]
5) Choladas (Dance Of The Moon Festival) [2:35]
6) Wayra (Dance Of The Winds) [3:02]
7) Monos (Monkeys) [2:40]
8) Xtabay (Lure Of The Unknown Love) [3:19]
9) K’arawi (Planting Song) [3:20]
10) Cumbe-Maita (Calls Of The Andes) [3:09]
11) Wak’al (Cry) [2:32]
12) Incacho (Royal Anthem) [3:11]
13) Cuncho (The Forest Creatures) [3:41]
14) Lulla Mak’ta (Andean Don Juan) [2:28]
15) Malaya! (My Destiny) [3:29]
16) Ripui (Farewell) [3:00]

Track List:

1) Bo Mambo [3:20]
2) Taki Rari [1:51]
3) Gopher [2:17]
4) Chicken Talk [3:04]
5) Goomba Boomba [4:13]
6) Malambo No. 1 [2:56]
7) Five Bottles Of Mambo [2:48]
8) Indian Carnival [2:06]
9) Cha Cha Gitano [3:52]
10) Jungla [2:23]
11) Carnavalito Boliviano [2:06]

MP3 Downloads (96kbps) from yma-sumac.com:

• Gopher mambo 
• Magenta Mountain 
• Tumpa (Earthquake)
• Chuncho (The Forest Creature)
• Mambo Confusion 
• Taki Rari 
• Babalu 
• Kuyaway (Inca love song)
• Taita Inty (Virgin Of The Sun God)

I was trolling around the blogosphere looking for something completely unrelated when I bumped into this collection of 40, count ‘em, FORTY Henry Mancini albums at the merkezburasi blog:

Darlinglili | Lovestory | Country | Theme | Bigscreen | Salutes | Henryanddoc | Vision | Symphonicsoul | Returnpinkpanther | Mancini 67 | Hawai | Wardady | Encode part1 | Encode Part2 | Gunn | Tworoad | Biglatin | Party | Warmshade | Sixhours | Hollywood | Pink Panter | Uniquely | Dear Hearth | Concertsound Part1 | Concertsound Part2 | Academyaward Part1 | Academyaward Part2 | Greatrace | Latinsound | Christmas | Arabesque | Mrlucky | Petergun Part1 | Petergun Part2 | Combo | Hightime | The Blues | Breakfast | MrluckyLatin | Terror | Hatari