Building a Music Collection

I am begining to build the ambient music selection for my tiki bar. I was wondering according to those here what the top 10 "must have" exotica albums would be. Any input would be great.

Lingam

Try this thread

Happy hunting!

I'll make some suggestions with the assumption that you're looking for CDs, particularly ones that are still in print (there's a lot of records I would add this list but not all of it is readily available on CD). These aren't in any particular order but I wouldn't dream of excluding any of them from my collection

Voodoo / Robert Drasnin--a bona fide classic, and the CD sounds great. Great mood music. Drasnin did this as a one-time only kind of thing but he nailed it right out of the gate. As most TCers know, he just wrapped up a sequel album that will be out in June.

Ultra Lounge Volume 1: Mondo Exotica--includes a lot of familiar Les Baxter and Martin Denny hits, plus some fantastic more obscure stuff.

The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny--This is the Ultra Lounge double CD "greatest hits" collection. I think you can still get it... I know the Les Baxter one is out of print and costs a fortune on ebay. I would actually rate the Les Baxter collection number 1 if you don't mind shelling out the dough to get a copy. MD is more subdued sounding than Les, it's a smaller cocktail lounge type of group.

Ritual of the Savage / Les Baxter

Tamboo! / Les Baxter--this one has been rereleased as a better-sounding CD, but to be honest I would suggest tracking down the CD that includes "Skins!"--another great Les Baxter record. If you're trying to do mood music the extra sound quality isn't going to matter.

Afro-Desia / Martin Denny--crazier arrangements than most Martin Denny. My favorite LP by Denny is Exotic Percussion but that is not available on CD.

Pagan Festival / Dominic Frontiere--this one flies under most people's radar, but it is excellent; it's one of my favorites and it can be had on CD with Love Eyes (which is a little more sleepy but still good)

Leis of Jazz / Arthur Lyman--I think this is his very best work, and it is a really nice balance of Lyman-esque laid back sound, yet it swings just a little harder.

Savage and Sensuous / Don Ralke--Nice CD rerelease of an obsure classic. Includes bonus tracks from "Bongo Madness" and great liner notes by Darrell Brogdon of "The Retro Cocktail Hour." Warning--quite a bit more energetic & uptempo than a lot of my other suggestions, throw this baby on when the party in your home bar gets shakin'!

Exotic Percussion / Stanley Black--Another overlooked classic. Lots of weird arrangements and creepy vocals--a little spooky, but also little too uptempo to scare anyone. Not one of my desert island favorites (actually my third-favorite record with the title "Exotic Percussion", but nice for a change of pace.

FYI If you are interested I would like to also suggest 10 of my favorite VINYL-ONLY Exotica albums:

Kapu / Milt Raskin (also known as Exotic Percussion)
The Versatile Henry Mancini (very easy to find)
Voodoo! / Richard Hayman (the best ten-cent record I ever found!)
Exotic Percussion / Martin Denny
The Primitive and the Passionate / Les Baxter
Tambó / Tito Puente
White Goddess / Frank Hunter
Tropical Fantasy / Michel Magne
Brass and Bamboo / Tak Shindo
Jewels of the Sea / Les Baxter (Very dreamy and sensuous. Some unfairly classify this as one of Les's throwaway "easy listening" records, but that's not the case. It's gorgeous exotica.)