Customer Reviews

Bachelor Pad Royale: Ultra Lounge 4

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Oh, this one really swings. Quite possibly the best in the series, this one never fails to please. From the tickling ivories opening the "Theme from Route 66" (a song that makes you feel like you've gone back in time) to the fading wails of "Melancholy Serenade" (Jackie Gleason's theme song), you're in for a fun, cool, sexy ride!

People say "Sexe" is a little too obvious. Well, yeah, it is, but the real fun comes during the sax solo, which has the power to ease you into a relaxing calm...but not too relaxed! On the other end of the spectrum is the rocking, rollicking "Night Train" which (along with the suspicious and menacing "A Shot in the Dark" and the superior "Street Scene '58") is the most blasting tune that disturbs the general ease and quiet of the disc. Although Sam Butera's double-shot of "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Fever" isn't so meek, either. "Boulevard" is Sam at his raspy best, and "Fever" is no less than hilarious (listen to those deep-voiced guys chanting "Feva!")

"Like Young" is nice, but totally ruined here if you've heard the beautiful version on Volume 8. Martin Denny turns in an excellent "Harlem Nocturne." "Topsy" takes it nice 'n easy here on an organ (sounds great), but is shown up by Cy Coleman's lovely "Playboy's Theme," from the Playboy show in the '60s. A bachelor's anthem accompanied by a soft touch on the ride cymbal and a gracefully jazzy piano, this tune is just as can be expected--smooth, silky, and sexy, leisurely floating along on gossamer strings. (For a fantastic Latin version of this song, check out Poncho Sanchez's 'Afro-Cuban Fantasy' CD.)

There are really two pieces on this volume that steal the thunder from every other track. Everyone who hears this CD raves for days about the John Buzon Trio's spectacular "Caravan." For all the thousands, possibly millions, of versions of this song, you will NEVER hear a better one than this. It pops and slinks and chugs along to a fiercely percolating Latin stripper beat, with the organ taking the bridge and going absolutely insane, much to the listener's delight. It really puts a smile on your face! By the time it's near the end, it's swinging harder than a Louis Prima jam, and you can't wait to hear it again. Fun, silly, sidesplitting, cheesy, and addictive! A must-hear--over and over! The other song that dominates the disc is the strong, seductive organ/piano masterpiece, "The Beast." Words can't properly describe this one, but organist Milt Buckner really outdoes himself on this lounge work of art. These two tracks alone are worth the price of admission. This CD will put anyone under its spell, and is a fine addition to any lounge lizard's library!

I recently discovered "Lounge" music, and have purchased many CDs of this type in the past year. Of these, the "Ultra-Lounge" series seems to be the most consistently enjoyable, and of the "Ultra-Lounge" series, this one is, I feel, the very best. You get saucy, perky, colorful versions of lounge classics such as "Harlem Nocturne," "Night Train," and "Fever." The most enjoyable track of all--especially if you are familiar with the Bettie Page striptease loops from the '50s--is a riveting and sexy version of the ubiquitous "Caravan." (I have about 15 different versions of this song, and the one on this CD is my favorite.) All in all, this is Lounge music at its brashest and brassiest. P.S.: You don't have to be a bachelor to enjoy it.

There was a period in time, well before mine, where the partially misplaced egocentric moralities of today were replaced with a good stiff drink and a beautiful woman. This cd represents one of Ultra Lounge's best compilations that if you happen upon a night of wanten low morality (as per today's confused standards) and find the mischievous woman of your dreams than you both can crank up the tunes, let down your guards and settle in for a night of pure unadulterated fun - swingin', swanky retro style! This cd oozes the lust (and testosterone) that runs through our veins so therefore, it's one of the best things to ever happen to womankind!

This collection is almost too cool for the average.
A collection so perfectly paced it leaks retro-cool.
From travelin' music of "Route 66 theme" to the cold rainy Sunday morning sounds of "Black Coffee" this is a must have for the Atomic Lounge cat.

I don't know either. "The Monster" is more rockin' and catchy than anything on MTV.
This is my very favorite of the Ultra-Lounge cd's. It's the sort of coctail album one can play at a party of mixed company, and whether they are punk, hiphop, classical or country fans, they will be snapping their fingers and tapping their toes without even knowing it. I know; it happened to me.
The tracks are enjoyable from the first to the last, so take good care of this one-it will be played a lot.

When one considers the low-hemline moral order of 50's middle America, 'Bachelor Pad Royale' remaps to somewhere short of the 'Basic Instinct' Director's Cut. Using mostly oblique references to the big nasty, (the biggest exception being Line Rinaud's indelicately titled 'Sexe') this compilation fuses the unbridled erotic energy that one would today attribute to Lords of Acid with the brazen, flirty, mascara'd, come-hither, cigarette-manhandling hussies of yesteryear. Combined with the next two volumes in the UL collection, 'Wild, Cool and Swingin' and 'Rhapsodesia', the UL masters have filled your three-disc carousel (on randomize, of course) for a night of unbridled passion.

I bought this for Alvino Rey's "Night Train" and have listened to it about nine times now, annoying my neighbors to no end I am sure. In addition to "Night Train" which sounds like something that would be played as the Rat Pack walked through your door there is the theme song from "Our Man Flint", "Black Coffee" and "Theme from Route 66". A lot of
people purchase these CDs for their kitsch value, but if
you listen beyond that you'll hear some damned good music.

Ultra-Lounge Bachelor Pad Royale gives us a great selection of steamy romantic hits from the late 1950s and early 1960s that still sound great today! The lush and creative musical arrangements hold your attention rather easily and the quality of the sound is excellent.

The CD track set kicks off with "The Theme From Route 66" performed by Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra. The sound is cool, savvy and the melody goes along at just the right pace. The strings and percussion enhance this classic number, too. Great! The next track has The John Buzon Trio performing "Caravan" using the organ as they so often did to embellish the beauty of the number. The percussion hits it all just right and "Caravan" boasts a romantic and relentlessly upbeat melody.

"Cool" by Lou Busch & His Orchestra gives us an awesome rendition of this song from West Side Story; and "The Beast" by Milt Buckner oozes class and a certain type of panache you rarely hear these days. Like John Buzon and his buddies; the arrangement for "The Beast" makes good use of the organ. The piano shines on this number, too.

Alvino Rey's rendition of "Night Train" slinks along with a steamy, naturally romantic style that will prove beyond doubt that this music still retains its high quality control to this very day. Martin Denny was doing a lot of exotica by the late 1950s, but his version of "Harlem Nocturne" is sublime! The chimes work well; and the piano together with the bass make this number an instant classic. Hooray!

Sam Butera and his buddies perform a medley of "The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams/Fever" that leaves you sweating from its hot, hot, hot delivery; and "Street Scene '58" makes great use of the sax to romanticize this tune.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The last two tracks on this CD are Julie London's "Black Coffee" and "Melancholy Serenade" by King Curtis. Julie sings "Black Coffee" without a single superfluous note; but you should know that although "Melancholy Serenade" gets the royal treatment from King Curtis, this is not the interpretation of this song that I have heard before. Instead of the dramatic and somewhat boisterous use of the horns; King Curtis's rendition places the organ squarely into the spotlight of the arrangement and the single horn tones down this angle drastically. Nevertheless, the arrangement works well.

The liner notes include an informative essay by R. J. Smith; and the song credits and recording dates are there for you, too. The artwork reflects good taste and there are even two drink recipes!

I highly recommend this CD for fans of "lounge music" and for people who want to remember a time when cool music for lovers actually was cool music for lovers.

Enjoy!

From the start of Nelson Riddle's "Theme from Route 66" this album jumps out @ the listener, with this being easily one of the BEST TV themes ever produced, very catchy & very hip, perfect to introduce this package. John Buzon's "Caravan" is another fun spin on what is one of the several out there of this great tune, this one being played a bit like a rhumba. I can't say enough about Lou Busch's jazzy "Cool", adapted from the already jazz-cool Bernstein musical "West Side Story". This is just another good rendition offered, although here instrumental and really pushing jazz solos. Love it! "Night Train" is already a driving tune, but in Alvino Rey's hands, it's even more entertaining. I love "Harlem Nocturne", to begin with, and have another cool version of it on one of the other Ultra Lounge(maybe "Rhapsodesia", not sure). The Martin Denny arrangement, though, is very mellow, with a bit of the exotica sound that he made famous. Jimmie Haskell's "A Shot in the Dark", adapted from the 2nd Clouseau 'Pink Panther' film, is dynamite and Spike Jones' 'stripper' interpretation of the 'serious' "Shangri-La" is possibly funny as an in-joke but also a very smart reworking. Basically, more than 2/3rds of this compilation make this CD an above average Ultra Lounge addition (one of the better ones, basically).

Hard to see how some of the tracks on this disc fit in with the whole late-night bachelor pad ethos as they are, quite simply, and in the words of the great Stan Freberg, "too loud, man". That said, this is a great CD. The music is fabulous and beautifully re-mastered (Cy Coleman's "Playboy's Theme" is the epitome of bachelor pad cool and, by itself, worth the price of the disc) while RJ Smith's liner notes are, as ever, entertaining, witty and evocative. In fact the whole package is life-affirming, high-quality fun.