Exotica vintage LP poll

I just remembered another "Exotica album more people should hear" that I don't believe has been mentioned in this thread yet:

Tommy Morgan - Tropicale

An exotica record with harmonica as the featured instrument. Whoa, crazy man.

reader

speaking purely as a hawaiian music lover...by this i mean i am a lover of ALL music from all eras...i like singers...the human voice is a fantastic thing indeed...flasetto is particularly interesting to me...

i DO NOT do 45s period...waste of your life if you want me to speak frankly

my take on exotica is this...it's ALL good and funny and noisey and effects on drums...GREAT...BEAT...STRANGE and original compositions from local settings RULE...but SOMETIMES someone somewhere feels the need to sing a song that is more than happy or sad...MAD...BLUES... or is it sad? classic vocal stylings in hawaii exploded with blues in the 20-30s

R&B is good...rock is great ...funk is great and purely an eastern american marching thing to me...hawaii peaked in the 20s LATEand 30s EARLY with it's mind busting high pitched and lonesome crooners and SLOW stringed stylings...this is not an essay on hip hop...it is merely THIS ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST'S ear's hypothesis...

i am not sorry because it's what i personally LIKE about hawaii's sound...Kalama's Quartet is AS good as ANY classical recording from any era ... my heart breaks for them!

guitar wizardry invented recording...and guitar stylings were refined on the islands in hawaii first...that signature sound IS the big guitar sound from way out west that called the white man wagontraining over everyone in his way to find out from whence the unforgetable sounds echoed...i am not alone in my love of hawaiian music no matter it's era...

[ Edited by: kooche on 2004-03-14 23:19 ]

On 2004-03-14 22:20, kooche wrote:
reader

speaking purely as a hawaiian music lover...by this i mean i am a lover of ALL music from all eras...i like singers...the human voice is a fantastic thing indeed...flasetto is particularly interesting to me...

i DO NOT do 45s period...waste of your life if you want me to speak frankly

Hey, if you want ME to speak frankly...I think NOT "doing" 45s is a waste of your life. Particularly if one is a self-proclaimed "lover of all music from all eras," then FORMAT is irrelevant. But excuse me for making sense.

Almost all the great, innovative reggae/dub music of the early 1970's was 45 only. I never collected 45s until I listened to this material and decided that I had to have it.

mau mau

leave it to a music lover to get emotional and sarcastic over another stating an OPINION...(sigh)you "do" your 45's...that i don't collect only can mean MORE FOR YOU!!!

by teh way format is not the issue...it's time and money...i'd rather buy a comp and not have to search the smelly corners of the globe in the name of the a single side...i have too many books that need to be bought in other smelly corners of the swapmeet world...

45s sounds as good as 33s and almost as good as 78s...the format where truely hawaiian tunes were recorded first...dub and reggae are great on a case specific basis...there is WAY more shitty reggae dub and dancehall than there is good stuff...i collect that too...ernest ranglin much???

is there no recognition of the Kalama Quartet's name? you don't know what you are missing???

if you are motivated by this post to try and make me look like a smacked ass with an angry retort i urge you to turn the the other cheek and turn the record over...re-organize your library of recordings again if you can't make a suggestion or comparison...talking about art is like dancing about architecture...unless you are a musical talent...let's face it ...as individuals spread out over the world it's nicer to share findings than it is to repeatedly claim knowledge more vast than Kon TIki him/herself...just an opinion!

Miles... I agree, there's a lot of awful dub and dancehall stuff out there. I stick to the early 70s dub material when it was fresh and innovative. Bow down to King Tubby!

i am a fan of anything SPECIFIC...any idea that has an original spin trick or gimmick is AOK with me... a lot of killer FX noisees and sampling tricks were born from dub...i love it...i like the kind of reggare that you can dance to while you shove chips into your mouth covered in salsa and salt water...great downbeat numbers and AWESOME dance tracks...

SAM CARTY has only 2 tracks that i have ever heard...

"life is flower" and "i don't know"

they are BOTH so cool...electro boing boing sweet!!!

thank baby jesus for trojan reissues and comps!

If I'm going to have a luau I prefer to use Exotica in the 8 track tape format since you never have to turn it over unlike LPs. Also you can find a lot of funky players with space age styling like the Weltorn space helmet that go so well in a tropical setting and are very photogenic.

The Waikikian Tiki Garden Tour http://members.tripod.com/gregg-n/waikikian_tiki_gardens.htm

those 8 traks are cool....papersticker days!!! i like the one with the boat on it...miami vice lighting!

http://www.bobbrozman.com/

this and the Hanaola record link is almost everything i need to know abotu Hawaiian tradiotion in sound...i wish that this site had more audio clips for the kids to appreciate...the sounds on these records are haunting and chillingly sweet!

This is a great cover and great music. Its not exotica in the sense of Denny or Baxter, it is Tahitian and very cool!! Also theres nothing like a little hint of nipple to make a cover eye catching!

[ Edited by: mriddle on 2004-03-16 19:06 ]

[ Edited by: mriddle on 2004-03-16 19:25 ]

Hmmmm...looks like more than a "hint" of a nipple there. Surprised to see something this risque on a major label like Capitol.

only hellfire could make such a curvacious and soft sloping form as the woman embodies...i love the ladies! thank you baby jesus for the women...grant them more strength in numbers!

some pics from the vault o vinyl:

THE KING OF VIBES< Arthur Lyman:

Mr. Martin Denny:

Mr. Les Baxter:

Oddball Exotica Highlights:

some more highlights, including the one-and-only TAK SHINDO:

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2004-03-21 19:50 ]

Fine eye candy, Brian. I am thinking to use that "ALOHA AMIGO!" title for my book about Spanish Tiki Bars.

If you like Les Baxter's "Jungle Jazz", you should also seek out "African Jazz"... I believe both feature Plas Johnson on tenor sax.

yknow, i used to have "african jazz" with that cool orange cover. I sold it like a dolt, when i was "dealing" i should recoup that loss..

oh yeah for the record, one of my fave exotica LP's is that green Phase Four "Exotic Percussion" in the second to last pic

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2004-03-22 18:19 ]

On 2004-03-22 17:11, fatuhiva wrote:
yknow, i used to have "african jazz" with that cool orange cover. I sold it like a dolt, when i was "dealing" i should recoup that loss..

oh yeah for the record, one of my fave exotica LP's is that green Phase Four "Exotic Percussion" in the last pic

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2004-03-22 17:14 ]

I whole heartedly concur! Mines buried in storage, but as I recall, theres a superb cover of Miserlou on it.

I want to do a tape of every version of Miserlou Ii own, and back it with all the versions of Caravan I own...

Sick sick sick

tg

Finally after about 3 years worth of snatching up anything in the record bins that looks remotely Hawaiian or exotic, I finally hit the jackpot! I've finally found an exotica LP not by the top 3...I was freaking out when I dropped the needle on track 12 that the previous owner had circled on the cover in pen, "Bird of Paradise." Bird calls, vibes, it had it all! I've seen references to "Lotus Land" before and "Rain in the Tropics" but not this one, has anyone heard it before?

A couple mentions of the two LPs by the Surfmen, so I put up mp3s of the whole stereo album Exotic Island, here on the web. Just for a few weeks, and then I'll probably take it down. Maybe replace it with another album next time if anyone's interested.

Also interesting to note that the exact same song-for-song album also appears on the same Somerset label as "Tradewinds Romance from Hawaii to Tahiti" and it says "recorded in Honolulu by The South Seas Serenaders."

Both say recorded under direction of D.L. Miller as Sven said. But the Surfmen one lists a bunch of "west coast" musicians, including Paul Horn, Alvino Rey, Jack Sperling, etc. It also adds, "... at United Recording Studios, Hollywood, California." So there goes the whole name and recorded-in-Honolulu bit on the cover of the other one.

-Randy

Thanks for the download Randy, and keeping this thread alive. Also, I haven't seen that Gene Rains LP before. I'm always glad there's more to find. My most recent score was "Byrd Of Paradise - Jerry Byrd plays Exotic Steel Guitar". I do believe this dude plays on some of the Paul Page LPs. It's a nice blending of Hawaiian and Exotica.

Lopaka, out!

smoking selection randy ...MAHALO!

thanks for adding this MP3 selection to my playlist...

johntiki...no chance of you encoding that lovely Gene Rains record on Decca for those of us that are less fortunate than you? come on dude....i'd do it for you!

kidding of course...but seriously

fatuhiva, don't you have Denny's "Quiet Village"? I don't see it there.

I will gladly trade CDR's of this album for other non-Denny, Lyman or Baxter exotica! Exotica or anything remotely exotic is a rarity in this area...so please, help a brother out!

Fatuhiva! Man what a great collection. I particularly love the Oddball Exotica titles. I'm curious about the "Tiki Serenaders" & the Maya Angelou "Miss Calypso" That is a definate rarity!! Impressive!!!!!!!!

Johntiki, WOW!! I've been looking for that Gene Rains forever! I've got all the other ones. Glad to know that its worth the effort to keep looking!!!

oh yeah i have quiet village around here somewhere. In fact at one time I had like 8 copies.. I just couldnt leave sandy warner in the thrift bin over 25 cents.. know what I mean?

I also collect space-age covers, moog stuff, oddball 50's/60's era stuff- jazz lps with wierd covers, blaxploitation etc etc

I havent heard that gene rains LP.. looks cool!

On 2004-03-24 23:38, fatuhiva wrote:
oh yeah i have quiet village around here somewhere. In fact at one time I had like 8 copies.. I just couldnt leave sandy warner in the thrift bin over 25 cents.. know what I mean?

I was going to say I'd send you a copy because I have a few lying around too.

I have 3 Gene Rains LPs, can anyone shed light on this guy? I mean, you can't get much from the liner notes. Heck, there isn't even a copyright year on any of the LPs. I did see where a guy named Conrad was hispiano player. Is this the same Paul Conrad who did the "Exotic Paradise" LP?

On 2004-03-15 11:19, kooche wrote:

thank baby jesus for...

"Thank Jesus."

http://www.samgambino.com

[ Edited by: Sam Gambino on 2004-04-05 10:51 ]

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da24b3127ccebbab82a02e9c0000001610

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da24b3127ccebbab83366e920000001610
I got all of these (minus the Aruthur Lyman Live) in one stop at the local Goodwill store. Don't laugh I know it's a small collection! :) Thanks to everyone here for helping with what to get etc... I will update as it grows. (I hope I posted these right)

Mahalo

Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks - Lin Yutang

[ Edited by: Dimethios on 2004-04-05 10:01 ]

[ Edited by: Dimethios on 2004-04-05 10:01 ]

The "Percussion Exotique" record is a nice find for a Goodwill Shop. That record is also known as "Voodoo" by Robert Drasnin, a popular and rare exotica LP.

I bought my first Martin Denny at a thrift store in central Florida in 1993, with the explicit intention of replicating the model's hair and make-up. What 16 year old girl in Winter Park, Fl didn't want to look like she just stepped off the cover of a Martin Denny LP? (Hint: I was the only one). Thank you Martin Denny for helping me to master my signature "look." :wink:

Pantsenfuego, we have a longstanding tradition here on Tiki Central that newbies must post a picture of themselves posing as their first tiki find. That means you need to break out the grapes and take a picture posed like the "Exotic Love" album cover.

The honor of that tradition did get a little tarnished though when "Tubby Tiki" found that issue of Pagan magazine and we had him pose like this: :lol:

Hahaha okay Mike, but sadly I wasn't able to find any grapes this morning. I think this picture will do though. You can see the Martin Dennyt album in the background. This was taken the night I was crowned Little Miss Tiki Cannibal Queen! I beat out a lot of competition, but I've had a deep bloodlust since my stint living in Detroit. FWIW, Topanga Canyon-ers are the best tasting (mostly grass fed), but stay away from the Beverly Hills/Porn Valley crowds (too much botox. blech).

:lol: I see the resemblence between you and the Denny Martin girl.

Hahaha thanks MadDogMike! But only a Martin Denny girl can be a Martin Denny girl ;) I'll settle for Cannibal Girl!

Favorite LP: (tie) "Eden's Island" by eden ahbez, "Latitude 20" by Arthur Lyman
Favorite cover: Les Baxter's "Tamboo" by a country mile.
Favorite artist: (tie) eden ahbez, Arthur Lyman
LP that more people should hear: "Chant of the Jungle" by Augie Colon, "The Music of Lecuona" by Stanley Black (which, incidentally, I'd tie the entire exotica genre to roots in Lecuona and Stravinsky).
Rarest LP in your collection: (tie) "Afrodesia" by Bob Romeo, "Polynesia" by Buddy Collette and "Eden's Island" by eden ahbez.

Oh, you have Buddy Colette's "Polynesia"! One of my all time faves...

I got a copy of that album and Herb Jeffries' "Singing Prophet" a few months before leaving L.A. My luck finally changed right at the end! :)