LES BAXTER: "Thinking Of You"

Original released on LP Capitol T 474

(US, 1954)

LES BAXTER: "Ports Of Pleasure"

Original released on LP Capitol T 868

(US, 1957)

LES BAXTER: "Tamboo!"

Original released on LP Capitol T655

(US, 1956)

LES BAXTER: "Caribbean Moonlight"

Original released on LP Capitol T733 (mono)

(US, 1956)

LES BAXTER & 101 STRINGS - "Que Mango!"

Original released on LP Alshire S 5204

(US, 1970)

Les Baxter's "Que Mango!" is considered one of the hallmark albums of the exotica genre, and also his last great release. The album's liner notes claim it to be the last of the first generation exotica albums - and that it was originally sold in grocery stores for $1.99! Baxter's popularity waned in the late '60s and an offer to record with the world's largest orchestra, the 101 Strings resulted in "Que Mango!". The album is an attempt to capture a South American vibe on what is often described as his "virtual tourist" albums. Baxter's Best may have a higher percentage of his better (and more accessible) songs, but it is the thematically unified albums that exotica fans will get more use out of. Recorded in January of 1970, "Que Mango!" is a fun, lush, orchestral album for creating a go-go, jet-set party atmosphere. This functional use side-steps the reality of the album and the exotica genre itself, which is that lounge instrumentals are not the easiest music to listen to without a cocktail in your hand or a barbecue going on. Standout tracks include "Tropicando," "Flight in the Andes," and "Jungle Montuno." Les Baxter's last non-soundtrack album is a pleasant, but hardly essential, purchase. (J.T. Griffith in AllMusic)

OST - "Goliath And The Barbarians"

Original released on LP American International AIR 1001

(US, 1959)

LES BAXTER - "Teen Drums"

Original released on LP Capitol T 1355 (mono)

(US, 1960)

A follow-up to the popular "Skins! Bongo Party" with Les Baxter LP of 1957, Les Baxter's "Teen Drums" returns the easy listening maestro to pure beat territory, and the results are as wholesome as the squeaky-clean youngsters grinning on the album cover. Producer/arranger/marimbist Baxter collected a group of session percussionists schooled in various foreign rhythms (Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian) and steered them through 11 improvised selections. Congas, bongos, tom toms, and timbales are employed, surrounded by the occasional saxophone, piano, or guitar to rein in any stray solo excursions. "Ting Ting Ting" and "Brazil Nuts" start the album off with appropriately busy rhythms, but the furor fades and "Teen Drums" delivers skeletal arrangements and tightly restrained beats without aggression or abstraction, fading easily into the background as Baxter probably intended. The jazzy "I Dig" swings the hardest, "Barbarian" shoots for (and misses) some Link Wray-style guitar rumble, and "Boombada" rewrites the "Peter Gunn Theme" for an imaginary film noir soundtrack. Les Baxter's "Teen Drums" is well-behaved exotica, a pleasant approximation of romantic rhythms for the average space-age bachelor's cocktail party. (Fred Beldin in AllMusic)

LES BAXTER - "Moog Rock"

Original released on LP Crescendo GNPS 2053 (Stereo)
(US, 1968)

A happily misleading title - these are (as ought to be obvious given the tracklisting) exotic electronic interpretations of well-known classical standards, and they have absolutely zero to do with rock music. The interesting thing is that they also have very little to do with Wendy Carlos or anyone else doing synthetic art music at the time; Baxter's pop sensibilities have never been keener and by isolating and reiterating the most iconic themes from these compositions he converts them into dancy hooks and insistent jingles. The percussion arrangements are nothing unusual for an exotica record but occasionally quite stunning paired with the Moog. You might call Baxter lazy or deceptive for playing the polyphonic bits on a transistor organ instead of overdubbing the synth but the effect is quite ethereal and pleasant. If anything could ever get me seriously interested in exploring romantic-era Western art music, this album is it! The sound is not excelent, 'cause it was ripped from an original vinyl copy, but is good enough for you to listen to this rare album. There's a copy in CD, but it's a very expensive one.