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A rare set of offbeat tunes from the creator of Alvin & The Chipmunks – in the style of some of the pre-chip sounds that Ross was doing for Liberty in the late 50s! Nice cover shot of Ross using a gold phone outside of his Rolls Royce!

A pair of late 60s albums from Martin Denny – back to back on a single CD! Exotic Love is an overlooked gem from Martin Denny – cut during a range of later sides for Liberty Records, but somehow a standout, thanks to some soulful undercurrents in the music! The arranger is billed as Harold Johnson – who may well be the same cat leading the groovy sextet over on Revue Records at the same time – and the record has this subtle groove that's mighty nice – definitely an ear for some of the more soul-based instrumental styles of the 60s, with a nice bounce on the bottom that might almost make some of these cuts just right for older-style steppers. Instrumentation has a few exotic touches, but more piano than anything else – and titles include "A Beautiful Morning", "Love Exotic Style", "I Say A Little Prayer", "This Guy's In Love With You", "Love Is All Around", and "Voodoo Love". Exotica Today is an album that signifies its style right from the first track – which echoes Martin Denny's classic "Quiet Village", but which then rolls into a set of sprightly arrangements from Julius Wechter – who almost brings an A&M Records vibe to the album! Tunes are mostly Denny remakes of 60s instrumental themes, plus a few originals co-penned with Wechter – and there's some nice percussion bits that lurk in the background next to Denny's piano – which mostly rings out in the lead. Titles include "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Lara's Theme", "Strangers In The Night", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "Patch Of Blue", "Promises", and "Snowflakes In Summer".

Denny's combo with Augie Colon and Julius Wechter groove their way through some nice numbers from films of the 40s, 60s, and early 60s – mostly in the vein of familiar tunes, but as always, redone in a groovy exotic way by Denny's unique approach to easy instrumentals! The vibes, piano, and conga sound great together – and there's even some nice celeste on the album in a few parts. Titles include "Carioca", "Sayonara", "Paradise", "We're Off The See The Wizard", and "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing".

Classic stuff from the man who brought the Exotica sound to the mainstream! We hardly need to tell you about these albums – as they're virtually the blueprint for countless exotica albums to come, a mixture of 50s easy listening, strange tropical rhythms, and odd little sound effects! Denny's playing with his original combo of Arthur Lyman, Augie Colon, and John Cramer – in a mixture of piano, percussion, vibes, and lots of bird calls! Tracks include "Stone God", "Island Of Dreams", "Escales", "When First I Love", "Bacoa", "Ebb Tide", "Rush Hour In Hong Kong", "Singing Bamboos", "Jungle Flower", "Busy Port", "Lotus Land", and his hit recording of "Quiet Village".

A great illustration of the way that Martin Denny expanded his groove in the 60s – on some sweetly inventive records like this! On Latin Village, Martin Denny changes the rhythms from tropical to Latin – but the overall groove is still highly in his best exotica mode, and nicely augmented by some additional instrumentation! There's some traces here of the shift in production for instrumental music from the time – a bit of electric bass echoing out at the bottom of some cuts, more echo than usual on the piano lines, and a floating quality that's almost even more sublime than the original Liberty sessions. But the core Denny elements are also still in place – tinkling piano, island percussion, and a playful approach to familiar rhythms that never fails to please. The Latin is more of a nod to harder Latin modes than anything else, but it does make for a nice, if subtle change – one that works especially well when Denny's piano is out front, but compressed a bit in the mix. Titles include "Flying Down To Rio", "Ho Ba La La", "Something Latin", "Girl From Ipanema", and "Latin Village". The Versatile Martin Denny definitely lives up to the versatile in the title – working through a whole host of different 50s and 60s easy tunes – played in ways that are much wider-ranging than usual! Some are percussive and slightly exotic, some have more strings and tinkling piano, and some get slightly playful instrumentation – in a very nice way. Titles include "Little Bird", "Theme From Mondo Cane", "Exotique Bossa Nova", "Quiet Village Bossa Nova", and "Strawberry Tree".

Back to back gems from Martin Denny – two albums on a single CD! Taste Of Honey is a great later moment from Martin Denny – a set that gave him a big 60s hit in a sweet version of "Taste of Honey"! Denny approaches the tune with all the great mellow moods that Bobby Scott intended – none of the too-fast styles of Hirt, and instead the slow-moving rhythms that work perfectly for the blue undercurrents on the piano. Other tunes follow in a similarly nice blend – still a bit exotic, but almost showing more of a vibes/piano/percussion mix that seems to be borrowed from George Shearing or Cal Tjader – one that we approve of highly! Titles include "Route 66", "Exodus", "I'm In A Dancing Mood", "Black Orchid", "Take Five", and "Taste Of Honey". The second albums is a sweet follow up to Martin Denny's Taste Of Honey album – one that's got a great blend of piano, vibes, and percussion – all used in a way that's almost more jazz-like than some of Denny's earlier work! The formula works great to transform a host of 50s and 60s tunes – and titles include "Volare", "Cool", "Bijou", "Harlem Nocturne", "Satin Doll", "Anniversary Song", "Like Young", "Blue Carousel", and "Theme From The Manchurian Candidate".

Some nice small combo groovers – with Ernie Freeman on organ! Titles include "Stone Rocker", "Gravy Waltz", "Jivin Around", "Gator Bite", and "Cool Play".

A fairly straight album of piano tracks for Liberty, but with a subtle Polynesian feel to it. The cover would imply more, though – since it's got a beautiful underwater shot of an exotic looking model hiding behind some coral! Titles include "Hana", "Black Coral", "Maui Chimes", "O Makalapuna", and "Ono Ono".

Lots of percussion – and loud! Slatkin's normally a bit sleepy, but this record's filled with drums and chimes and vibes and loads of exotic percussion instruments – and swings with a groove that's in the best of the Liberty easy styles from the late 50s. Titles include "Night Train", "Caravan", "Blue Tango", "Opus 1", and "The Happy Hobo". The tracks are less originals than they are oddly-worked (or worked-over) versions of more familiar tunes.

Si Zentner back to back – two nice ones from the 60s on a single CD! From Russia With Love is one of the grooviest Si Zentner albums of the 60s – thanks to a host of hip spy themes that keep things interesting throughout! The material really brings out the best in Si – as does the album's excellent arrangements from Ernie Freeman and Bill Holman – both talents who know how to find the right mix of groovy and jazz that works the best for the Zentner touch! Titles include "Mr Lucky", "Dragnet", "Burke's Law", "James Bond Theme", "Charade", "007", and "The Fugitive". Warning Shot is a great set, and feature some excellent crime and thriller jazz-based cuts composed by Jerry Goldsmith! The groove is more in the Quincy Jones mid 60s soundtrack mode than anything else – and there's plenty of breakaway solos on most of the tracks. Titles include "Warning Shot", "The Gasser", "Messed Up", "Back To The Seascape", "Miss Alice", "Mona Lisa", and "A Patch Of Blue".

One of Martin Denny's greatest albums – thanks to some extra special added elements! For the record, Denny's classic quartet is augmented by a wealth of odd added percussion – including gongs, cymbals, tuned logs, steel drums, chimes, and "chromatic bamboo"! All of these elements take Denny's exotica sound way further than ever before – and if that's not enough, the legendary Tak Shindo plays a bit of Koto on the record too! Titles include "M'Bira", "Burma Train", "Kalua", "M'Gambo Mambo", and "Mau Mau".

Two of the grooviest Si Zentner albums of the 60s – both of them great, but in very different ways! More is Si's attempt to follow up on the Italian soundtrack hit of the time – but the album also features loads of other great tracks from the time, done as very jazzy instrumentals by Zentner, with sharp horn passages that swing with plenty of brass upfront! The whole thing's mighty groovy – and titles include "Wildwood Days", "Hobo Flats", "Watermelon Man", "I Wonder", "The Good Life", "The Shampoo", and "More". Exotica Suite features all the great names in Exotica, packed together in one album – a set that features Martin Denny's piano, Les Baxter's compositions, and Bob Florence's arrangements – all served up with the orchestrations of Si Zentner! Si's music brings a really jazzy feel to the tunes – one you wouldn't expect from Denny on his own, and which even surpasses some of Les Baxter's grooviest moments too. The sound is very dynamic – originally recorded for Liberty's "Poly 120 Sound" series, with great recording quality that really makes the whole thing pop! Tracks include "Tiki", "Temple Pageant", "Bali Monkey Dance", and "Pagan Ritual".

Late 60s magic from Martin Denny – a pair of albums back to back on a single CD! On A Taste Of India, Martin Denny takes a tip from the sound of the East – adding some slight Indian flavors to his usual exotica groove – with the help of arranger George Tipton! Most of the music is still in the lush piano instrumental mode that Denny was using in these later Liberty years – but things are definitely groovy throughout, even if the Indian elements are sometimes used in ways that are more bossa than anything else. Maybe not the clearest picture you'll get of the sound of India in the 60s – but a sweet little record, with titles that include "Incense & Peppermints", "Live For Life", "Touch Of India", "Hypnotique", and "Indrani". Exotica Classica is pretty darn nice later work from Martin Denny – a great batch of sexy tracks with stunning backings, and a really nice late 60s mellow piano groove! The great Nick DeCaro handled the arrangements, and gives the record a feel that's almost like A&M Records at times – with these nice weird percussion bits amidst more polished larger arrangements – all punctuated by these sweet piano lines from Denny! The overall feel is less classical than Frenchy/sexy – but that's OK with us – and titles include "Exotic Night", "For Lovers", "The Terry Theme", "Stella By Starlight", and "I Will Wait For You".

The first-ever album from Henry Mancini – and a wonderfully spooky set! The style here is quite different than most of Hank's better-known film work and instrumental hits – as the record is very moody and laidback – cut with a slow-moving, dreamy sort of darkness that's really compelling! The instrumentation is very unusual – a mix of organ, accordion, and guitar by Laurindo Almeida – all stepped gently along with some spare electric bass bits by Bob Bain, who really knows how to preserve a sense of space in the set. There's a bit of wordless vocals from the lovely Lulu Jean Norman – almost in modes that would show up later in Italian soundtracks – and although there's a bit of an exotica feel to the record, it's very slight, given the lack of any percussion or drums – and instead comes off with a very spooky dream-like quality. Titles include "Bali Hai", "Poinciana", "The Whispering Sea", "Ebb Tide", and "The Naked Sea". CD features the full mono and stereo mixes of the album – plus bonus tracks that include "Young Love", "Free & Easy", and "Cha Cha Cha For Gia" – and "What's It Gonna Be", sung by the Four Freshmen.

Nice groovy instrumentals from one of the best little combos of the 60's. The record includes their big hit "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)", plus a number of other tracks that have a similar "TV commercial" feel – like "Chiquita Banana", "Pizza Parlor", "What's In the Bag, Goose", and the groovy "Sippin N Chippin".

2 exotica classics on one CD! Quiet Village is an undisputed classic in the exotica field, and the record that yielded Denny his biggest hit – the title reworking of "Quiet Village", written by Les Baxter a few years earlier. The rest of the record's pretty darn nice, too – with Denny's trademark piano/percussion style firmly in place – and we can't think of a better way to start off a collection of exotic 50s tunes. Titles include "Sake Rock", "Martinique", "Tune From Rangoon", and "Pagan Love Song". Enchanted Sea is another great classic by Denny – with a nice approach that has sort of a drifting South Seas feel! The record is one of his last good ones for Liberty, and has lots of nice tracks like "My Isle Of Golden Dreams", "Beyond The Reef", "Flotsam & Jetsam", and "Cross Current". Nice sexy cover, too!

A pair of overlooked gems from Si Zentner – both from the Liberty Records scene of the 60s! First up is Right Here Right Now – a mod swinger from bandleader Si Zentner – a talent who's always ready to groove with the times – which in this case means that he's got a sweet 60s style that's mighty darn nice! Si's band is a big one, but they've got a lean Liberty Records feel here – really moving nicely over a range of contemporary numbers that are somewhere between jazz and pop instrumentals – probably more of the former, given all the great horn arrangements on the set! Titles include "Sunny", "My Girl", "Double Whammy", "Goin Out Of My Head", "Soul Machine", "I'm On My Way", and "Skootchy". Rhythm Plus Blues has Si Zentner taking on some of the R&B modes of the late 50s generation – but in ways that really retune the style to the swinging big band mode of the Zentner group! Bob Florence handles the arrangements, and creates some great interplay in the horns – and surprisingly, there's a number of cool originals by Si nestled into the set, alongside his own instrumental readings of older R&B hits. Titles include "Simon Sez", "Walkin", "Doggin Around", "Caldonia", "What Am I Living For", "Puddle Jumpin", and "Honeydripper".

If anybody could take a great tune and make it better, it was The Ventures – as you'll hear on this album's killer version of "Hawaii Five O" – as well as a host of other groovy goodies too! The set's still got the core sound of the quartet – loads of fuzzy guitars riffing away over heavy drums – but there's also some fuller arrangements too, but handled by groovy guys Mike Melvoin and George Tipton – both of whom keep things swinging in a west coast 60s style that's very much like the best modes over at Capitol Records! In addition to "Hawaii Five O", other titles include "The Letter", "Don't Give In To Him", "A Summer Place", "Lovin Things", "Stormy", and "I Can Hear Music".

A great little album of percussion grooves – hidden under a package that looks like it's going to be a lot more rootsy, but which ends up sounding like some of the hipper conga-heavy sessions on labels like Liberty or GNP from the late 50s. Jackson plays much of the percussion, but there's other players on the set who kick in with some other percussion instruments – and some occasional piano and flute. Tracks include "Mambo Ricci", "Conga", "Jungla", "Road March", "Shango", and "Guaguanco".

A key album in Stanley Turrentine's catalog from the pre-CTI years – a set that has Turrentine mixing his soulful tenor with some larger orchestrations – but always in a wonderful way that's still filled with plenty of life, love, and a real jazz sensibility! The sound's a great precursor to the style that Turrentine would use most strongly during his years with Fantasy – and is a prime illustration of the way that "strings" can still mean "soul" when the record's in the hands of the right player. Titles are mostly familiar 60s pop numbers, but done in really hip arrangements – and tunes include "A Beautiful Friendship", "Emily", "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco", "MacArthur Park", "Blues For Stan", "The Look Of Love", and "Here There & Everywhere".