Post #292032 by DJ Terence Gunn on Thu, Mar 15, 2007 7:41 AM

On 2007-03-13 16:57, I, Zombie wrote:
Magne's Tropical Fantasy may be one of the top Exotica lPs of all time. And I say this for the very reasons you don't care for it -- high pitched bird whistles, screeches, bells, xylophones, cartoon-quality tympanis, unharmonic and possibly even drunk females yelling -- yeah, it's "difficult listening-hour" aspects are what make it great! Think of the intensity of his version of Tabu. The percussion and xylophones really conjure up the bones of skeletons, almost marching skeletons, crossing a windswept, moonlight plain. The combo of the spooky voices and instruments really push the melody up your spine, and that weird juxtaposition between Haitian Zombie attack and middle-eastern harem-scarem is beautiful. The bongos seem to be the only thing holding the whole thing together. All the best exotica has a scary and/or madness side. Baxter definitely understood this. Magne really takes it up a frightening notch (on Tabu for sure, as well as Sahara, Bahia, Congo Biem, and to a lesser extent Tropical and Peanut Vendor).
~glen
[ Edited by: I, Zombie 2007-03-13 17:40 ]

Thank you for your input, Glen!

However, on this subject, I've met more folks who dislike Magne's album than do. And what most folks don't know is that Magne's 'Tropical Fantasy' (and 'Orienta') was meant to be farcical and a mockery, cashing in on the Exotica trend, like many of the other composers who wished to, or were commissioned to (which was largely the case in most of the one or two-off Exotica records), put out an album of Exotic Jazz or the like. The instrumental components and many Exotica cliches are present, but there's no heart and soul in it. This album sounds like a joke and it is a joke. Magne didn't understand the music he was tackling, nor did he probably care. He was paid to put out an Exotica album. And there are far, far better Exotica albums of the copy-cat nature, that do have some heart and soul in them. For example.....

'Exotica' by Ted Auletta -- full of the usual Martin Denny cliches but still a wonderful album and one of the best versions/arrangements of 'Quiet Village' I've heard.

'Exotic Island' by The Surfmen -- a piece of audio heaven in my top 5 Exotica album picks, up there with Frank Hunter's 'White Goddess' and Don Ralke's 'The Savage & The Sensuous Bongos'.

Now granted these two examples of Exotica are perhaps not as daring as Magne's 'Tropical Fantasy' (particularly Auletta's), but they are nevetheless soothing and exotic and atmospheric.

There's certainly a humouress and campy side to 'Tropical Fantasy', but it is far from mad and scary. And to say the best Exotica albums are mad and scary is simply your opinion, not a mood pre-requisite for guaging the quality and genuine-ness of an Exotica album; especially when a great deal of the original Exotica music by Baxter (or one could even say Maurice Ravel) is soothing, lush, romantic, mysterious, and...well, exotic. 'Tropical Fantasy' is closer in spirit to Carl Stalling and Spike Jones than it is to Les Baxter and Martin Denny; and if it deserves to belong in any musical category, 'Incredibly Strange Music' is the most appropriate category.

I haven't heard Magne's other album 'Orienta - An Exotic Adventure In Sound'. But should it be anything like 'Tropical Fantasy', I will avoid it like I would a disease-carrying tsetse fly.

In any case, Glen, do you not have a pick for most irritating Exotica album and/or song that you'd like to share with us?