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Exotic Moods of Les Baxter

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Les Baxter was one of the greatest American composers, although most wouldn't know it. He was also one of the world's greatest musical minds; chances are you didn't know that, either. Arguably the most under-appreciated great composer of our time, possibly ever, Les Baxter was once a very popular artist who sold albums by the thousands. He arranged and conducted arrangements for popular singers, including lounge diva Yma Sumac's 'Voice of the Xtabay' album; he conducted Nat King Cole's "Mona Lisa" and "Nature Boy" (but not arranged, like most think), composed the "Lassie" theme (yeah, THAT Lassie!), AND the classic "Unchained Melody," scored over a hundred films, and won hits in the 1950s with "April in Portugal," "Ruby," and "The Poor People of Paris," which was, by the way, the highest-selling single of the decade. He fathered the long-forgotten branch of lounge music known as Exotica and turned heads with his records, including the one that started it all, 'Ritual of the Savage,' which gave birth to the Exotica theme, "Quiet Village." Then, suddenly, he was eclipsed by Martin Denny (who became famous with a cover of "Village!"), shunned by Capitol Records, the company he'd helped make famous, and generally forgotten by almost everyone. He died in 1996, terribly affected by Alzheimer's disease; he'd even forget who he was at times, but could sit at a piano and play any of his compositions--flawlessly--from memory. He never got the recognition he deserved.

Not so long ago, when the Lounge Lifestyle made its return through hip youngsters with an eye to the past, Baxter's music was rediscovered. And when Capitol (of all companies) released its monolithic Ultra-Lounge series, they created this special 2-CD set, complete with stunning cover art and beautifully arranged, well-informed liner notes, to re-introduce the magic of Baxter's music to the world. The only problem with it is, after you devour this set, there's no more like it on CD, and vinyl is hard to find.

'The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter' is a long-overdue tribute to the man who brought us Exotica, and is filled to the brim with his greatest gems of the genre. Kicked off with his theme, the melodic "Quiet Village," Disc 1 takes you all over the world on a flight of musical whimsy. Standouts include a jazz flute on "Jungalero," the Oriental majesty of "Hong Kong Cable Car," the lovely strains of "Jungle Flower" (from 'Ritual'), the cheerful "Acapulco" (you can almost see the coast!), and the lush, romantic "Tahiti: A Summer Night at Sea," which can literally make you forget where you really are.

Disc 2 hits the spot with "Pool of Love," the Indiana Jones-ish "Spice Islands Sea Birds," and three numbers from 'Ritual.' "Busy Port," the first song on 'Ritual,' blares with the excitement of a new voyage, "Jungle River Boat" trembles with the promise of adventure, and the wacky and infectious "Love Dance" limbos about. ("Love Dance" was used recently under a bank commercial.)

The shining spots of this album, however, belong to the cuts from Baxter's 'African Jazz' and 'Jungle Jazz' albums, both of which heavily featured highly underrated tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson. Perhaps it was because Baxter once played tenor himself (he also sang backup with Mel Torme's The Mel-Tones), but Johnson always got the spotlight on these recordings and stole the show song after song. He did his best work when with Baxter, and it is scattered generously throughout this set. His be-bopping solos on "Papagayo" and the jamming "Safari" (dig that beat!) are great. He's even better on the chugging "Congo Train," and the birdsong that pours from his sax on the gorgeous "Amazon Falls" is pure gold. "Voodoo Dreams" is one of Baxter's best recordings, the epitome of Polynesian Exotica, with Johnson doing a smoky, sexy turn. (This song sounds even better when packaged with Baxter's "Voodoo" on the Ultra-Lounge Fuzzy Sampler and Volume 1.) Three songs in the set are not really Exotica at all, but pure jazz. "Mombasa After Midnight" is slow and sizzling, with excellent trumpet and piano work. "Go Chango" reminds me very much of something Duke Ellington would have done, especially after Johnson's playful solo, when it descends into a crashing Ellingtonian swing session. "Blue Jungle" I saved for last because it is my personal favorite. Led by Johnson's tenor at its sensual best, it starts out like the underscore from the opening narration of an old detective movie, then very quickly becomes a catchy, jazzy swing number. Johnson, as well as Baxter, never fails to disappoint.

No lounge of Exotica aficionado's collection is complete without this set of Baxter's best straight from the master himself, and anyone looking to immerse themselves in the fascinating depths of either of these genres can get there very well via this set. Les Baxter was, in a word, brilliant. Find out just how brilliant--buy this set.

Les Baxter is one of, if not THE, most underrecognized composers of the 20th century. The only negative thing that I can say about this 2-disc set is that it doesn't contain everything from this period in Les Baxter's career. The production of the original music was superb, and it is magnificently reproduced on CD. This music might as well have come from inside the Ark of the Covenant.... it is so marvelous that only the hands of God could have created it. If you have an interest in the resurgent "lounge" or "exotica" worlds of music, do yourself a favor and start with the best... this is the absolute high-water mark. I am a long-time collector of exotica LPs, so I've practically heard them all... Baxter's music is among the few that will remain timeless. I'm a devout fan for life. Be prepared to be transferred to a wonderful mysterious world...

Inside my brain, that is. I have listened to this double-CD more than any other over the last few years. This is music that evokes in the listener images of the exotic and the erotic, and is great music for incense burning and lovemaking. If you can, try playing a rain shower or ocean waves CD along with this beautiful music for a truly intoxicating experience. I especially agree with the reviewer that mentioned Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming movies. I believe "Tahiti: A Summer Night at Sea" comes to mind and for me is worth the price alone. This is my single favorite CD, the one I would choose if I could only have one CD to take along, just before I was forced to spend the rest of my life alone with Mary Ann on a deserted island. And although it's a double CD, I'd fight to take them both with me. Both CD's, that is.

I became introduced to Les Baxter's work through Capitol's Ultra Lounge series, and found myself clamoring for albums of just his work. This 2 CD set more than fills the need. Baxter was an extremely gifted arranger, and the songs on this album are a testament to his talents. Nearly four dozen songs transport the listener around the world that many of us grew up fantasizing about: forbidden jungle temples; Oriental dens of magic; lost cities steeped in mystery and ripe with priceless treasures. Les Baxter manages to capture the essence, if not the actual facts, of the world's most exotic locales. I'm willing to bet more than one Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1960's was inspired to visit Africa or Asia with the rhythms of a Les Baxter soundtrack reverberating in his brain. Martin Denny may have become more famous as a purveyor of Exotica, but Les Baxter pioneered this form of music and planted his Tiki-covered flag at the summit!

After hearing several Les Baxter pieces on my boss' Christmas party album (she'd recorded them from an old album), I fell, madly, completely, in love with his work. You can imagine, then, how delighted I was to stumble upon this 2 CD set some years later - a huge collection of just the sort of kooky, campy, craziness I was craving. Indeed, this stuff has a seriously wacky edge to it, but let me say this - there's real artistic substance just under the surface, as well.

Les Baxter's work covers a huge range of applications - it was featured in film, television and popular music; very prominent in the late 50s', 60's and 70's. Sometimes I think he had his hands in everything - he was a great composer in his time. And here's where he seems to have had the most fun. This music is completely unhemmed by convention - it takes wild tangents and just runs with them, all the while remaining completely listenable. In fact, you're a bit fixated on it, not willing to miss a beat. In the course of a song or two, your imagination is whisked through jungle forests, fire-illuminated lagoons, bamboo rafts, spice markets...you name it, if it's got any sort of exotic bent to it, it's in this CD set. Campy but tightly composed, this collection is just plain fun.

So, do you need another reason to purchase? Well, if nothing else, I can promise this: you probably haven't heard anything quite like it. And if you haven't, it's time you did. Buy it - you won't regret it.

Les Baxter's "Exotic Moods" CD is without a doubt, the ultimate lounge music compilation set and is worth hunting down in used record stores or eBay. Although the tracks may seem overblown or even cartoonish on the surface, it is Baxter's talent for unusual arrangements and keen ear for melody that makes this CD a classic. There is a wide range of material represented here: peppy melodies with pitter-patter percussion, and deeply dark and mysterious musical passages that make your mind wander into primitive cultures and landscapes.The music is extremely evocative of a tiki-flavored world, full of exotic promise which took mid-century America by storm by the late 50's.

Although, "Quiet Village" and a couple of other songs on this CD were covered by Martin Denny in later years, Baxter's original renditions show a more complex side to the arrangements and instrumentation. His shameless use of obligatory swooning background vocals may seem a bit over-the-top, but somehow it manages to set the mood for many of the pieces represented in this collection.

Bottom line, this is a "must have" CD for anyone interested in the lounge music genre and solidly places Baxter as the ultimate musical icon of Exotica (sorry, Martin Denny).

I came across this album quite by accident, and after sampling the sound bytes, I realized there had been an empty spot in my heart, a nostalgia, for these exotic sounds. I asked for this album along with the companion Martin Denny album for my birthday, and have been in Exotica Heaven ever since. This Les Baxter album's music is reminiscent of Dorothy Lamour movies, set on lush tropical Isles, with some really good bongos, jazz flute riffs and of course the distant but dreamy 'native' chorus vocalizing harmonies in the background. Some is vaguely oriental while other bits sound like the music wafting from the Harems of Bhagdad. It really transports you to distant locales in a lighthearted almost innocent way. A real vacation!

This double disc set is a fantastic collection of tunes from the greatest and most talented individual in Exotica: Les Baxter. This is a great introduction, but Capitol has played it on the safe side and not allowed many of Baxter's more far out or experimental compositions to appear here. Hopefully, someday Capitol will get its act together and release things like THE PASSIONS, PORTS OF PLEASURE, BARBARIAN, THE SACRED IDOL, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, MASTER OF THE WORLD and other fantastic Baxter compositions and soundtracks. This man was truly the first "World Musician" and still in many ways has never been equaled.

Les Baxter also wrote some of the most exciting film soundtracks (very experiment and exciting, utilizing virtually every known compositional technique) ever, and eventually, some an inspired company (come on Capitol, you owe Baxter) will release some of this material to an astonished world and reap the kudos and profits.

I was skeptical at first, I thought he was joking: In the very excellent biography of the American jazz genius composer Le Sony'r Ra (aka Sun Ra), John Szwed relates how Sonny admired Les Baxter as one of the most original, adventurous and enlightened composers of the post-war era.

Les who? Never heard of him, so I hit the file-shares for a sampler and wow, he was all over the network; this guy is obviously Big Stuff with the Internet Demographic. I found a few obvious standards, Cole Porter's "I Love Paris" and the like, and thought, "1952 ... this guy must have invented 'easy listening'!"

Only it wasn't Easy Listening. It wasn't easy at all. It was insipid, subversive, outwardly ordinary but weirdly twisted with an expert hand. This guy was inside the lines, but using a pallette like no one before him, full of hooks sure, but just as full of compositional depth worthy of a 20th century composer. This was no Paul Mauriat, no James Last.

And there was an obvious connection to the swing-band dances and even the solemn space chants of the Sun Ra Arkestra! There is a definate influence here, you can see where Les Baxter maybe lacked the cohesive and earnest message of the Arkestra, but you can also see where Les Baxter likely gave Sonny the courage to be boldly unconventional.

To be fair, I haven't liked every tune, some of it seems almost like the Contractual Obligations stuff you get from almost every signed act, but when it cooks, it COOKS ... in a weird sly sort of way. Ultra-lounge? I'd say Nelson Riddle is "ultra lounge"; Les Baxter is beyond lounge, more like the stuff I expect to hear in the penthouse bar atop the first Hilton Hotel placed in Earth orbit.

Or in an elevator on Mars.

This CD is great!
However the used prices are sky-high.
Amazon should have an option, to add people to a list of those who whant this item, when it is re-released.

Don