Quieter Villages - Tiki Music

C ClayBouTiki Tiki Centralite Canada, Japan Joined: Jul 09, 2023 Posts: 28	C ClayBouTiki Posted posted on Sun, Aug 6, 2023 5:32 PM Not sure if this topic is suitable, but I thought I'd give it a try. If it isn't please let me know and I'll delete it. My gateway drug into exotica music was probably the same as many people, Martin Denny's original Exotica album. The song "Quiet Village" really got into my head ... one of those songs that you hear for the first time and know you are going to be playing it again and again. Over a while I heard a lot of versions of this song, but in general they tended to follow the Martin Denny pattern of instrumentation and animal sounds and it's easy to think that the instrumentation and animal songs were what made the song "Quiet Village" so great in the first place. I came across a couple of covers that challenged that. The first one was the harpsichord cover by Jonathan Knight from his 1967 exotica album "Lonely Harpsichord: Rainy Night in Shangri-La". There are other notable exotica standards on it like "Yellow Bird" "Flamingo" and "Bali Ha'i" on it as well. There's some light percussion and animal/weather sounds that follow the music, but in general it's played straight. The harpsichord makes it sound like chamber music which pulls it more into the classical territory than usual jazz, with the sound effects keeping it exotica. It's definitely different and it's on Apple Music and Bandcamp ( https://jonathanknight.bandcamp.com/album/lonely-harpsichord-rainy-night-in-shangri-la ) if you haven't heard it before. The second cover that I just love is the slack key version of Quiet Village by Pancho Graham from his 2010 CD "Pine Tree Slack Key". I'm sure everyone has their favorite version of Quiet Village but this one is done on a single guitar and really shows that the song itself is really a wonderfully composed melody at its base. This version is also for me where the song meets Hawaiian slack key, and really illustrates the versatility of the song. The song is also on iTunes/Apple Music, but I was able to purchase a copy of the CD from his website at http://www.panchograham.com/ . Mr. Graham still plays live on the islands, and I will be sure to hear him the next time I visit. Hearing these two versions was really eye opening to me, and helped me realize that "Quiet Village" is more than the bird calls and percussive instrumentation but at its heart a compositional masterpiece by Les Baxter. Could you please share any versions of this song that are notable?

Not sure if this topic is suitable, but I thought I'd give it a try. If it isn't please let me know and I'll delete it.

My gateway drug into exotica music was probably the same as many people, Martin Denny's original Exotica album. The song "Quiet Village" really got into my head ... one of those songs that you hear for the first time and know you are going to be playing it again and again. Over a while I heard a lot of versions of this song, but in general they tended to follow the Martin Denny pattern of instrumentation and animal sounds and it's easy to think that the instrumentation and animal songs were what made the song "Quiet Village" so great in the first place.

I came across a couple of covers that challenged that. The first one was the harpsichord cover by Jonathan Knight from his 1967 exotica album "Lonely Harpsichord: Rainy Night in Shangri-La". There are other notable exotica standards on it like "Yellow Bird" "Flamingo" and "Bali Ha'i" on it as well. There's some light percussion and animal/weather sounds that follow the music, but in general it's played straight. The harpsichord makes it sound like chamber music which pulls it more into the classical territory than usual jazz, with the sound effects keeping it exotica. It's definitely different and it's on Apple Music and Bandcamp ( https://jonathanknight.bandcamp.com/album/lonely-harpsichord-rainy-night-in-shangri-la ) if you haven't heard it before.

The second cover that I just love is the slack key version of Quiet Village by Pancho Graham from his 2010 CD "Pine Tree Slack Key". I'm sure everyone has their favorite version of Quiet Village but this one is done on a single guitar and really shows that the song itself is really a wonderfully composed melody at its base. This version is also for me where the song meets Hawaiian slack key, and really illustrates the versatility of the song. The song is also on iTunes/Apple Music, but I was able to purchase a copy of the CD from his website at http://www.panchograham.com/ . Mr. Graham still plays live on the islands, and I will be sure to hear him the next time I visit.

Hearing these two versions was really eye opening to me, and helped me realize that "Quiet Village" is more than the bird calls and percussive instrumentation but at its heart a compositional masterpiece by Les Baxter. Could you please share any versions of this song that are notable?

Post #810220 by ClayBouTiki on Sun, Aug 6, 2023 5:32 PM