Customer Reviews

Persuasive Percussion

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd heard about this album, as if in legend, for years. So when I finally heard it... WOW! It's even BETTER than I expected! Enoch Light, in his time, was a band leader, label owner and engineering pioneer-- often all at once. And this album is a prime example of what he was up to. Incredibly, PERSUASIVE PERCUSSION hit #1 on the charts for 13 weeks-- staying in the Top 40 for 105 weeks-- almost all from "retail exposure" and very little AM radio airplay! My faves include "I'm In The Mood For Love", "Aloha Oe", "Blue Is The Night", "Blue Tango", "Brazil" and especially, "Miserlou" (for fun, I like to play this version back-to-back with Dick Dale's!). Only the tiniest fraction of Light's output is currently available on CD (while old LPs are high-priced items on the market). Someone should definitely correct this situation!

Picture your typical lounge of the early '60s. Full-stocked bar, those weird-shaped chairs, a kidney-shaped coffee table, some abstract paintings on the wall maybe, a stack of Look magazines in the corner, maybe a pool table...and a hi-fi stereo system with this album playing on it. This, martinis and lounge lizards are unseparable. If you're into lounge, snap this one up right away. It's also quite an amazing technical achievement. Light experimented with the latest stereo techniques, sound sampling, and strange instruments light-years before anybody else. He truly is THE unrecognized king of Lounge. And this album is his finest hour. (it was at one time among the 25 best-selling albums of all time.)

In the 60's, Command Records had put out a lot of high quality instrumental music albums, the "Persuasive Percussion" series is one of them. I grew up with this kind of music, the original LP was the signature Hi-Fi Album of that era. Terry Snyder and the All Stars' (Command All Stars) performance is second to none and the producer Enoch Light had created a unique sound for this series. If you want music to reminisce the old days, this is the one to have. This CD incorporated the whole LP of Vol.1 and 3/4 of Vol.2 of the "Persuasive Percussion" as a single CD which make this a great bargain. Enoch Light who originated and produced this album also has another album which is equally great, titled "Far Away Places starring Enoch Light and His Orchestra", I hope that it will be available in the coming years. (Still haven't seen the release of the CD "Far Away Places" on 12 Apr 2007 when this review is updated)

One of the rare albums I never get tired of listening... always uplifting and refreshing. I love it!

This is a classic album of the late 50's, by today's standards it would be referred to as "lounge" music. I would secretly put this on the "hi - fi" when my parents were not around, it was, and still is "swingin'! The stereo version is totally a trip, with instruments "bounching" from one channel to another.

This is a must for any collector!

How lucky I was to get the CD of these wonderful recordings. This album was one of the early examples of "hi-fi" back in the late 50's and early 60's. How vivid is my memory of the bongos first playing from the left speaker...and then from the right one. And that wonderful sound! I could close my eyes now and relive a moment in time--playing the album as a teen in my parents' finished basement in Brooklyn. (In those days bongos were "cool" and my friends and I would sometimes play our bongos to the beat..or so we thought...what cacophony!) My original '33 record somehow disappeared over the years...but the memory lingered on. One day from out of the blue the thought hit me to order the CD. It wasn't immediately available and I waited for several months for it--but this is truly an album worth waiting for! Order it..you'll enjoy it, as well!!

The CD transfer of this classic early "stereo exploitation" album is absolutely wonderful! The Varese label used the original two track masters and did an expert job with the CD mastering. Enoch Light productions, such as this 1959 release, had very imaganitive arrangements performed by top notch musicians and made wide use of the, then new, stereo format. The CD also includes 6 bonus tracks culled from the lp Persuasive Percussion Vol. 2.

For the past few years, I've been digging into the lounge music scene (that ended before I was born). It's revival led me eventually to this album. This is definitely the best lounge album I have heard. Anyone who has heard me play it has enjoyed it immensely. The tunes are simultaneously relaxing and invigorating--light but perky. Great music to work to. It is a solid record. Now, they need to re-release more Enoch Light records! After you have this one, get the three-volume "Space Age Pop" compilation. Then pick out your favorite artists from that to extend beyond your newfound love for Enoch Light.

My parents had the original recording of Persuasive Percussion, Vol. 1 on vinyl and hearing it during my childhood was probably my introduction to instrumental music. I have been waiting literally years for this record to be released on CD! Both volumes 1 and 2 are included--1 is still my favorite, but that is probably due to long familiarity. Both volumes are packed with great instrumental versions of popular standards. If you like retro, lounge or exotica music this CD is essential listening!

Il servizio offerto da Amazon è preciso e puntuale: sono assolutamente soddisfatto, i prezzi sono ottimi! Il CD "Persuasive Percussion" che conoscevo dagli anni '60 in vinile, è semplicemente favoloso. E' stato ri-masterizzato perfettamente ed ha un sound stupendo. Acquisterei immediatamente anche i volumi successivi. E' disponibile anche "Provocative Percussion"?