Post #247951 by ikitnrev on Wed, Aug 9, 2006 6:53 PM

Yes, I agree that much of Ferrante and Teicher's 1950's 'prepared piano' work was quite avante-garde for the time, and still sounds quite exciting. But they really hit it big in the early 60's with a more symphonic and stringy 'Boston Pops' type sound, and I'm afraid that most people on Tiki Central probably haven't started to appreciate that genre of music. Perhaps we've been exposed to nearly 40 years of 'Boston Pops' type of music, and it thus isn't fresh and has the impact as it did in the early 60's.

'Pianos and Paradise' was released in 1962, right about when Ferrante and Teicher were experiencing their career highs on the charts. Over a one and a half year period, they had 3 top 10 singles (Theme from the Apartment (#10), Exodus (#2), and Tonight (#8)), and 4 LPs that appeared in the Top 30.

I'm not sure if 'Pianos in Paradise' ever sold 2 million - it doesn't appear in Joel Whitburn's Billboard books - but it is likely that 'Pianos in Paradise' did sell many copies, and was listened to many ... and is thus a good choice for those who truly want to replicate the sounds of what was really being played in home tiki rooms back then.

The songs 'Taboo' and 'African Echoes' are good representations of their earlier prepared piano work - very atmospheric and mood-enhancing. And are there any other exotica LPs that features the song 'Taboo' followed immediately by one titled 'Negligee'?

It is interesting that the next two Ferrante and Teicher LPs released by United Artists were 'Snowbound' - which has one of my favorite Christmas LP covers of all time (a couple in 'making out' position on a couch, while a blizzard rages outside)- and the wonderfully titled 'The Keys to Her Apartment.' In this context, the trio of 'Pianos in Paradise', 'Snowbound', and 'Keys to Her Apartment' are right at the level of Jackie Gleason covers for representing the bachelor pad hedonistic aesthetic.

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2006-08-09 18:56 ]