Tell Me About Arthur Lyman - Tiki Music

T tikibars Tiki Socialite Aku Hall, Chicago Joined: Apr 11, 2002 Posts: 2034	T tikibars Posted posted on Fri, Jan 11, 2008 12:31 PM You know, this may be sacrilege, but I vastly prefer Lyman's records to Martin Denny's, and I even feel that in a lot of ways, Lyman had more to do with Martin Denny's success than Denny himself did. For me, the best Lyman albums have a super-smooth and very tranquil feeling that defines Hawaiian exotica. With a Lyman LP on the old Rec-o-cut turntable and a mai tai in hand, all of my troubles melt away. Arthur's records are like audio opium, some sort of lullaby that puts me completely at ease. In contrast, some of Denny's records often have a choppy, staccatto feeling that I occasionally find dissonant or grating. In addition, two other points: First, I may be setting myself up for a lynching here, but I am just going to say this. For all of Martin Denny's considerable an inarguable contributions to Exotica music, he was a rather mediocre pianist. I doubt that many people have ever listened to a Denny record and thought to themselves: "Man, that Martin Denny is a real whiz on the ivories!". He by no means sucked, but he was no virtuoso either. He was a master of style over substance, which of course is what all of Tiki and Exotica is about. But speaking purely musically, his chops were solidly on the good side of adequate, but nowhere near excellent. Lyman, on the other hand, is a phenominal vibraphonist, nearly equal in my estimation (nearly, I say) with Milt Jackson of Modern Jazz Quartet and the amazing Cal Tjader. Ca, by the way dabbled in Exotica with two LPs, available on one CD (a must have!): http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=cal%20tjader%2C%20jade&tag=tikiroadtrip-20&Go.x=0&index=blended&Go=Go&Go.y=0&link%5Fcode=qs Second, Lyman's records were produced, engineered, and mixed better than Denny's, and I prefer them sonically, hands down. Listen to some of the Denny albums and you'll hear things like a shaker (or something) front and center, drowning out the piano, vibes, and congas. This happens on many of Denny's tracks. These problems crop up much less frequently on Lyman's records which, have a better balance and smoother overall tonal characteristics. So, you asked, and I answered! This is the magic of Arthur Lyman!

You know, this may be sacrilege, but I vastly prefer Lyman's records to Martin Denny's, and I even feel that in a lot of ways, Lyman had more to do with Martin Denny's success than Denny himself did.

For me, the best Lyman albums have a super-smooth and very tranquil feeling that defines Hawaiian exotica. With a Lyman LP on the old Rec-o-cut turntable and a mai tai in hand, all of my troubles melt away. Arthur's records are like audio opium, some sort of lullaby that puts me completely at ease.
In contrast, some of Denny's records often have a choppy, staccatto feeling that I occasionally find dissonant or grating.

In addition, two other points:

First, I may be setting myself up for a lynching here, but I am just going to say this. For all of Martin Denny's considerable an inarguable contributions to Exotica music, he was a rather mediocre pianist. I doubt that many people have ever listened to a Denny record and thought to themselves: "Man, that Martin Denny is a real whiz on the ivories!". He by no means sucked, but he was no virtuoso either. He was a master of style over substance, which of course is what all of Tiki and Exotica is about. But speaking purely musically, his chops were solidly on the good side of adequate, but nowhere near excellent.
Lyman, on the other hand, is a phenominal vibraphonist, nearly equal in my estimation (nearly, I say) with Milt Jackson of Modern Jazz Quartet and the amazing Cal Tjader.
Ca, by the way dabbled in Exotica with two LPs, available on one CD (a must have!):
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=cal%20tjader%2C%20jade&tag=tikiroadtrip-20&Go.x=0&index=blended&Go=Go&Go.y=0&link%5Fcode=qs

Second, Lyman's records were produced, engineered, and mixed better than Denny's, and I prefer them sonically, hands down. Listen to some of the Denny albums and you'll hear things like a shaker (or something) front and center, drowning out the piano, vibes, and congas. This happens on many of Denny's tracks. These problems crop up much less frequently on Lyman's records which, have a better balance and smoother overall tonal characteristics.

So, you asked, and I answered!
This is the magic of Arthur Lyman!

Post #354322 by tikibars on Fri, Jan 11, 2008 12:31 PM