The Exciting Sounds of Martin Denny: Exotica Vols. 1 & 2

Two of the best-selling "lounge" music albums of all time, together on one CD! In fact, Exotica 1 went to #1 on the 1957 charts, thanks to the huge hit Quiet Village . Includes new remastering and liner notes from Mr. Denny himself and check out that original artwork! These early Denny creations cover his more wildly "exotic" career phase. The first album, presented in its original "Spectra-Sonic" mono, includes the hit title track in its entire eerie swamp-varmint splendor. Other standouts are the dreamy xylophone on "Lotus Land" and the absolutely wacky "Love Dance," which sounds more like an ornithologist's orgy. The second album, in stereo, gets more intricate and oddly romantic. The best is the opener, "Shoshu Night Serenade," with its ghostly textures and the persistent ringing of bells that suggest the carriage of a typewriter. The Denny arrangement of "Ebb Tide" is also a stunner. This double volume gives listeners a clear picture of how Denny was interested less in an "authentic" Hawaii and more intrigued by an imaginary and often surreal geography. --Joseph Lanza

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