v/a- TECHNICOLOR PARADISE: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights 3LP

Deluxe triple vinyl in a side-loading box, with 48 page book stuffed with artist photos, label scans, and shots from the legendary team of Garrett-Howard, packaged in Numero's world famous box set brick.
Highly recommended.

It was a musical cocktail born in a marketing meeting: Two parts easy listening, one part jazz, a healthy dollop of conga drums, a sprinkling of bird calls, and a pinch of textless choir. Serve garnished with an alluring female on the album jacket for best results. Exotica! The soundtrack for a mythical air conditioned Eden, packaged for mid-century, tiki torch-wielding armchair safariers. Be it mosquito-bitten torch singers, landlocked surf quartets, fad-chasing jazz combos, mad genius band leaders, D-list actors, or a middle aged loner programming bird calls into a Hammond, Exotica was always more concerned with what geography might sound like over who was conducting. Captured across three albums are 48 (54 on the CD) curious examples of the short-lived genre’s reach, each summoning their own sonic visions of Shangri La, bringing their versions of the Pacific, Africa, and the Orient to the hinterlands of America.

Tracklisting:

LP1 - Daiquiri Dirges
Side A
1. Chuck “Big Guitar” Ernest with the Satellite Band - Blue Oasis
2. The Sound Breakers - Marooned
3. The Wailers - Driftwood
4. Lenny & the Thundertones - The Moon of Manakoora
5. Biscaynes with Co-Encidentals - Midnight In Montevideo
6. Red Harrison & His Zodiacs - Chant of the Jungle
7. The Palatons - Jungle Guitar
8. Chayns - Live With the Moon
Side B
1. Bailey’s Nervous Kats ft. James Mills - Cobra
2. The Blaze rs - Sound of Mecca
3. The Gems - Slave Girl
4. Jerry & the Catalinas - The Arabian Knight
5. The Jaguars - Night Walker
6. The Shelltones - Blue Castaway
7. The Blue Bells - Atlantis
8. Bill & Jean Bradway - Paradise Isle

LP2 - Rhum Rhapsodies
Side A
1. The Melody Mates - Enchantment
2. Don Ree d featuring the Voice of Love - Nature Boy
3. The Baton of Andre Brummer - Tumba
4. Darla Hood - Silent Island
5. Martha Raye with Phil Moore Orchestra - Lotus Land
6. Baha’i Victory Chorus - Nightingale of Paradise
7. Carmen - Isle of Love
8. The Monzas - Forever Walks A Drifter
Side B
1. Akim - Voodoo Drums
2. Don Sargent & his Buddies - Voodoo Kiss
3. Joan Joyce Trio - Captured
4. Pony Sherrell - Tobago
5. Jerry Warren & the Valids - Enchantress
6. The Centuries - Polynesian Paradise
7. The Potted Palm - My House of Grass
8. The Castiles - Enchantment

LP3 - Mai Tai Mambos
Side A
1. Five Glow Tones - Quiet Village
2. Modesto Duran & Orchestra - Silent Island
3. Ross Anderson Chorus & Orchestra - Tambu Theme
4. Bobb y Christian - Caravan
5. Bruce Norman Quintet - Arabian Rhythm
6. The Slaves - Hari’s Harem
7. Arnie Derksen & Chisé - Similou
8. Three Bars featuring Nicky Roberts - Caribbean Cruise
Side B
1. Robert Drasnin - Chant of the Moon
2. Blue Jeans - Moon Mist
3. Artie Barsamian - The Enchanting Melody
4. Eddie Kochak & Hakki Obidia - Jazz In Port Said
5. Gene Sikora & the Irrationals - Tanganyika
6. Bobb y Paris - Dark Continent
7. Chico Jose - Locura [Madness]
8. Clyde Derby - Lost Island