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eBay: Rare Exotica Lp's Fetching Top Dollar

Pages: 1 30 replies

I know we all "ooh" and "aah" at the prices rare mugs are drawing nowadays. I thought it was time for the rare exotica lps to have their thread too.

Here's one that I was hoping I could sneak in and get for a good price. No such luck:
THE LOST CONTINENT

Here's a review of the same lp from one of my favorite websites:
Show-And-Tell-Music

Sabu

V

Wow, great art cover. Thanks for the link as well...never heard of that album before.

Also, A sealed copy of "Quiet Village by Martin Denny - Very Nice indeed!
$63 Quiet Village

A German Exotica Lp I've never heard of:
$102.50 Kagel Exotica

And a jaw-dropping $496 for a mint copy of the "Exotic Sounds of Tiki Gardens"
$496 Tiki Gardens
(I'm honored to own a cd copy of this lp that was shared on TC several years ago)

Sabu

Hey Sabu!

I saw that Tiki Gardens LP skyrocket on eBay and was floored. What the heck is on that album that is so cool that someone would pay almost $500 bucks for it? Or do ya think it's just braggin' rights to own the vinyl? Man, it's gettin' so you have to be a friggin' Doctor or Lawyer to be able to own the good stuff anymore!

I missed the CD and have never seen or heard of one being available since. Is it any good? Or is it just a curiosity in a historical sense?

Later!

On 2006-02-28 12:33, Tiki Lee's wrote:
Hey Sabu!

I saw that Tiki Gardens LP skyrocket on eBay and was floored. What the heck is on that album that is so cool that someone would pay almost $500 bucks for it? Or do ya think it's just braggin' rights to own the vinyl? Man, it's gettin' so you have to be a friggin' Doctor or Lawyer to be able to own the good stuff anymore!

I missed the CD and have never seen or heard of one being available since. Is it any good? Or is it just a curiosity in a historical sense?

Later!

Hi Lee! Good to hear from you again.

The lp was disappointing to many who expected a full-blown exotica album. As a momento Florida roadside kitsch from the 1960s though, it's top-notch. The first side of the album is kind of like a narrated tour of Tiki Gardens with stops at the Mynah-Bird cage, the monkeys, the parrots, the waterfall, etc. There is a torch-lighting ceremony where Ernie Shreeve plays Hawaiian standards on the Wurlitzer organ. Through it all, Trader Frank narrates with his folksy, southern, very un-exotic twang. Kitschy stuff.

The highlight for me, is on side two. Organist Ernie Shreeve has composed an original Exotica theme, entitled "Tiki Gardens Polynesian Fantasy". It's really very good. It melds well with other Exotica standards, yet has it's own unique, haunting melody that sticks in your head. Several variations are played on Wurlitzer and piano, with various sound-effects on each version - Raucous Peacocks, Monkeys & other birds, Waves & Seagulls, Waterfalls, and Volcanoes & Bubbling Lava. Maybe not the highly-polished studio version of an exotica song you might hear on a Martin Denny album, but great nonetheless.

I think the people paying so much on eBay are buying the lp for it's rarity factor and the bragging rights on owning the vinyl. Even in 2002, someone paid $335 for a copy on eBay. Really, I don't think that many people have actually heard the album.

I cringe a bit to dredge up this old thread, but it proves that we Tiki Centralites occasionally have our battles with each other. We did in 2002 and we probably will again.

Here is the divisive thread that introduced us all to the Tiki Gardens lp:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1015&forum=5

Which spawned this generous-spirited thread that eventually got a CD-version of the lp into the hands of everyone on TC who wanted a copy at the time:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=1267&forum=5

Sabu

K
Kono posted on Tue, Feb 28, 2006 5:59 PM

I've got a rip of that Lost Continent OST that I picked up somewhere on the blogosphere. Sorry to say I can't remember who did the rip (BasicHip?).

Anyone want a copy of the rip (128kbps)? Would it be OK to post here?

Sabu,
This is a great chance to test out the exotica-bizzaro newsgroup and post that album!

P.S. I love that Show and Tell website too. That thing is a laugh a minute.

Kono - I would LOVE a copy of that Lost Continent album if you're willing to post the mp3s. I've been wanting to hear it for a while.

Pappy - I'll post the Tiki Gardens cd to that exotica usenet group and one of the more common groups. Right now I'm converting the .wma files to .mp3's and I thought I'd try to enhance them a bit, now that the technology's improved in the last three and a half years. I'll let you all know when I'm ready to post it.

Sabu

K
Kono posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 2:13 AM

Here it is:

http://rapidshare.de/files/14394580/Francesco_Lavagnino.rar.html

Thanks to whoever originally did the rip and sorry that I can't remember who you are.

Got it! thanks very much

J
Jawa posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 10:21 AM

Alas, I have been trying to hide in the dark places while buying LP's on ebay. I have managed to get a lot of stuff at good prices, but lately I have noticed prices going way up on some really standard stuff... like Webley Edwards' Hawaii Calls LP's. Mainly I just like to have them for the covers, so that when I am rich one day and open a bar I will have some stuff to hang up :wink:

I managed to win a copy of Edwards' Exotic LP and Baxter's Primitive and Passionate for like $2-3 each, but the seller never sent and appears to have disappeared...my only ebay burn so far (knocking on wood).

Thanks for the posting Kono, greatly appreciated! :drink:

V

god, I can't read the .rar with my mac...I don't know how to unzip the file.

J
Jawa posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 11:29 AM

virani, I can unrar it when I get home and load it on my site for you to download if you would like?

Man, I love Tiki Central!

Yesterday I mention the fact that I can't seem to afford this rare Exotica lp I've been hunting for months. Within 24 hours I'm listening to it on my computer at work. The TC'ers are a fantastic group of people! Thanks, Kono, I owe you big-time.

The reviewer on showandtellmusic.com was right - that third track, "Temple" is amazing. Give it a chance, as it doesn't get downright creepy until about halfway through the track. After that, it's one of the scariest pieces of tiki-room music I've ever heard. The whole album is great exotic background music with that 1950s feel. I'm going to see if I can sharpen it up and remove some of the fuzz when I get home tonight.

Thanks again, Kono!

Sabu

V

Jawa, I would love that...I'm really looking to hear it

J
Jawa posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 12:51 PM

No problem, I will let you know when I get it up!

Sabu...you are completely right, I love this forum :D

J
Jawa posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 4:50 PM
K
Kono posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 5:01 PM

How about some nice rum to sip on while listening to your new $496 Tiki Gardens LP?

J Wray and Nephew Finest Old Jamaica Rum

K
Kono posted on Wed, Mar 1, 2006 5:18 PM

Hey Sabu, if you're going to edit/enhance the music you may want to merge tracks 3 and 4 (Temple/Volcano) into one file. It sounds as if on the LP track 3 segued seamlessly into 4 without the abrupt interruption we get with the files as they are now.

Hey Guys,

How can I make .mp3's outta my LP's? What program would you recommend? I've got a TON of vintage exotica that I'd love to digitize. And I've got a lot of albums that have just one or two tracks that are any good that I'd like to make into "compilation" CD's and then sell the vinyl.

Anyway, whatta you guys like to use?

Lee

K
Kono posted on Thu, Mar 2, 2006 4:08 PM

On 2006-03-02 12:25, Tiki Lee's wrote:
Hey Guys,

How can I make .mp3's outta my LP's? What program would you recommend? I've got a TON of vintage exotica that I'd love to digitize. And I've got a lot of albums that have just one or two tracks that are any good that I'd like to make into "compilation" CD's and then sell the vinyl.

Anyway, whatta you guys like to use?

Lee

I use an older version of Diamond Cut. I'm about ready to update though. Either to a newer Diamond Cut or something else. I'm probably the only one around here that uses DC.

http://www.diamondcut.com/

What I really need is a new turntable. I had my sights set on one that a co-worker was selling but someone else had dibs on it first and came through with the cash. :x

L

What I really need is a new turntable.


How can I make .mp3's outta my LP's?

Imic peripheral interface, or the turntable connect cable
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/
Or:
http://www.hammacher.com/publish/71860.asp

Someone told me about this USB turntable at Urban Outfitters

I'm not sure about the quality, but it can be run on PC or Mac systems.

L

Oh. now that is cool. and i just saw it on amazon 140.00 and free ship, looks like.
ok and here we go:
circuit city; 135.00

and heres a basic retro turntable...
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11109398

That's all great, you guys. Thanks!

My turntable has been sitting next to my computer for years in hopes of actually getting it jacked-in someday. Hopefully soon...

Hey, who's for setting up our own T.C. .mp3 file-share site? I bet there's a few more people like us who have lots o' great vinyl to share! I'd set up a site if I had any clue how to make one.

Anyway, whattaya think?

Lee

D

Anyone inerested in reposting the Tiki Gardens CD? I would love to hear it.

Digitiki - I'm definitely working on it. I'll post a thread in "Music" when it's ready to go.

Sabu

Hi Folks,

Sorry I'm taking so long to post the Tiki Gardens tracks as mp3s so that we can share them again. I'll try to get it done soon.

Another Tiki Gardens lp just sold on eBay for $241.06. Only half the price of the last one, but this one is graded VG as opposed to MINT, which is a fairly big difference to record collectors:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Exotic-Sounds-of-Tiki-Gardens-Exotica-LP_W0QQitemZ170000521736QQihZ007QQcategoryZ306QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

An Eden Ahbez for $79.00? Are they really worth that nowadays? Wow.
http://cgi.ebay.com/EDEN-AHBEZ-EDENS-ISLAND-EXOTICA-LP_W0QQitemZ100506346926QQihZ003QQcategoryZ306QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And a sealed Gene Rains exotica album. Very nice.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gene-Rains-Group-Sealed-Lounge-Exotica-LP_W0QQitemZ100503453502QQihZ003QQcategoryZ306QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Even though some Exotica is still selling for top dollar, I'm glad that eBay has made most of the supposedly "Rare" Exotica lps accessible to the general collector. I remember in the days before eBay, going to a record store and seeing Martin Denny's "Exotica" lp in the window for $50. After eBay started up, we discovered that those lps weren't quite as rare as we thought they were, (with a few exceptions of course). Now when I look at the exotica available on eBay, it's exciting to see all these affordable albums that I had only seen before in books and magazines.
http://search-completed.ebay.com/exotica_Records_W0QQcatrefZC12QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfisZ2QQfromZR32QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ3QQsacatZ306QQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQsbrsrtZd

Sabu

Another copy of "The Lost Continent" just sold for $146.50 on eBay:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150377194261&category=306

Jawa's links at the top of this page are still good, so if you haven't downloaded this lp yet I'd highly recommend it. The "Temple" track is still one of my favorites. More info on the album on the first page of this thread.

A sealed copy of "The Exotic Sounds of Tiki Gardens" sold recently for $264, which I think keeps it the highest priced exotica album out there:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXOTIC-SOUNDS-OF-TIKI-GARDENS-South-Sea-Island-Florida-1967-RARE-Exotica-SEALED-/151135744043?ViewItem=&category=176985&item=151135744043

R

SABU,
Great to see you back!!

Pages: 1 30 replies