Customer Reviews

Mambo Fever: Ultra Lounge 2

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Between Capitol's fine "Ultra Lounge" series and RCA's wacky "History of Space Age Pop" series, I am a happy, swingin' cat these days!

The reason I chose this particular CD to write a review one is twofold. First off, it's just such fun to hear music that is all about a good time as opposed to angst. Secondly, the song "Manana (Is Soon Enough For Me) by Jackie Davis". I love the Hammond Organ as well as the TV show "Seinfeld". A few years back, there was an episode on where Kramer and Newman were making sausages in Jerry's apartment with this as their theme song. I don't know why, but I just found it all so hilarious. I then became obsessed with finding the song. After I had all but given up, I was record shopping one day and found a record called "Hammond Gone Cha-Cha" by Jackie Davis. I recognized the name and some of the songs from the Ultra Lounge "Organs in Orbit" CD. (I initially bought the CD hoping this song would be on it!) I figured for $5 it was worth a shot. I get it home and throw it on the turntable. The songs were great, but I the one I wanted wasn't on there...or so I thought. As the needle hit the groove on the last song, I was overcome. After 2 years, I had found it! Since then, I have kept an eye out for more copies of it, but, in 5 years, have yet to run across another copy. But it matter no more because it's here with a lot of other great music! May many more Kramer fans and music lovers alike enjoy these swingin', sausage grindin' tunes! Giddy Up!!!

Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 2: Mambo Fever is a solid installment in this CD series of lounge music mostly from the 1950s and 1960s. The quality of the recordings is excellent; they've been polished up nicely. The artwork is wonderful; and don't forget to look for those drink recipes in the liner notes!

Don Swan & His Orchestra start things off with their cha cha version of "Hooray For Hollywood (Cha-Cha)." This really sounds great and it's still perfect for dancing with your sweetheart late at night in the privacy of your living room all alone. The melody gets a lot of strength from the drums and percussion, too. Jackie Davis and his musicians perform a lively rendition of Peggy Lee and David Barbour's "Mañana (Is Soon Enough For Me)." "Mañana (Is Soon Enough For Me)" sounds very strong with the organ leading the musical arrangement and it's a fun tune to hear even when there are no vocals.

Luis Oliveria & His Bandodalau Boys perform a rousing version of "Chihuahua;" this sounds so good you'll be dancing for sure! There's also The John Buzon Trio, one of my very favorite groups from this era of lounge music, doing a great job on "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me." The group's trademark use of the organ works wonders for this tune and the percussion also adds a lot to the melody. I love it!

"Mambo Jambo (Que Rico El Mambo)" by Dave Barbour and his buddies sounds very much like Mexican music from that era; it's also great for dancing. "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans Mambo" by Van Alexander & His Orchestra has a fresh and new flavor to it and again I think you'll want to jump up and dance practically wherever you are--it's all THAT good.

Billy May's Rico Mambo Orchestra weighs in with their rendition of "Hernando's Hideaway;" they never miss a beat and it all works very well. "Hernando's Hideaway" is easily one of the highlights of this album. "Malambo #1" features the vocals if Yma Sumac--she was never really my favorite but you just might like this very much as she was popular back in the day.

Jack Costanzo & His Orchestra perform a wonderful tune called "Can-Can Overture;" they really do this one up right! The album also closes nicely with Terry Snyder and his buddies performing "Oye Negra." This strong tune makes the perfect ending for this CD!

If you like lounge music from the 50's and 60s, you're going to love this album. The Spanish influence upon these classic tunes enhances their beauty quite a bit; and I recommend this for people who enjoy classic Spanish music as well.

MAMBO FEVER is one of my favorites in the ULTRA-LOUNGE series. Most of these tunes are hot, hot, hot. You get 2 songs by Yma Sumac which alone are (almost) worth the CD's price. You get a lot of good organ instrumentation, too. I am not in any sense a big fan of Mambo--I just happened to buy this CD on a whim, and was very pleasantly surprised. P.S.: When Yma cuts loose with her other-worldly high notes, keep the dogs out of the room!

This is a masterpiece! A masterpiece of kistch, but a masterpiece all the same.

Truly, there is not one track on this CD that is bad although there are some highlites: "Chihuahua"..perfect for when you suddenly feel like you should start a congo line. "Oink-Oink Cha-Cha"..you'd think it would be bad with a title like that, but it ain't. Both songs by Yma Sumac are awe inspiring. You will wonder..how does she get that vocal range and more importantly, why?

I have saved the best for last though my jet-setting, supersonic friends and that is "Glow Worm Cha-Cha"...seriously, need I go further? I think the title says it all.

No greater CD exists for creating a swank party anywhere...even if it's only you.

After purchasing Volume 1 in this series, "Mondo Exotica", I was expecting more of the same. Wrong! This CD will make your body move - if it doesn't, you must be dead! Much more of a crowd pleaser than "Mondo Exotica", "Mambo Fever" works equally well as background music AND something you actually listen to. An example of the great tunes to be found here is a Mambo version of "Hooray for Hollywood" - awesome! My goal is to eventually collect all the CD's in the series - if all the rest are as good as these first two volumes, it will be money well spent.

This is one of the strongest discs in the ultra lounge collection.(I have 7 of them, so far) Every track makes you want to sway and stamp your feet. There are also many instumentals, and i've used several of the tracks as background music when I make home videos...this music adds fun wherever you play it. A great purchase.

This is a solid volume. A lot of fun, a little cheesy, and all-around danceable, it's perfect for when your friends are over and you're all feeling a little goofy. And it covers all the bases, too: Hammond organ (Jackie Davis and the John Buzon Trio), Lounge staples (Yma Sumac, Billy May, and Jack Costanzo), popular Hollywood tunes redone Latin-style ("Hooray for Hollywood," "Peter Gunn Mambo"), a Desi Arnaz tune ("El Cumbanchero"), and even some stuff that doesn't really fit ("Chihuahua," "Oink-Oink Mambo," "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans," and "Can-Can Overture").

Everything here is just plain fun. The drunken slurs of "Tico Tico Samba," the rip-roaring, fiery "Peter Gunn Mambo" (one of the best), the cute and appropriately cheesy "Glow Worm Cha-Cha-Cha," and the funny tinkling piano duet "Cumana" demonstrate this best. Then there's Billy May's vamping "Hernando's Hideaway" (the song is originally the classic tango tune, here hardly recognizable as a sort of cha-cha) and Yma Sumac's mind-blowing Latin jam, "Taki Rari," which must be heard to be believed.

This one's a keeper!

A friend turned me onto Ultra Lounge and this is by far the best. It just puts you in a really good mood. You can dance to it, use it as background music, anything. It is a good one to have on hand. If you are feeling down-simply put it on and see if you do not cheer up. I love to put it on when my little Chihuahua is running around playing. Such fun tracks-enjoy!

It's sounds weird, but this CD is so corny that it's great! Not quite the elevator music that Bossa Novaville is, this is more up-tempo and has more singing - a different genre, but not that that's a bad thing. My favorite songs are "Chihuahua" and "Diga Diga Doo"

The Ultra-Lounge series is overall is GREAT. I bought a couple of these CD's at first to try out, and also because I wanted to have some nice background music for a dinner party. I immediately purchased 3 more after that, and I'm really pleased. The songs are cool and set a really nice atmosphere if you're having guests over.