js In the late 60s the old exotica composers of the 50s had one more shot at commercial success with the advent of the new fangled synthesizer and the resultant outpouring of kitschy novelty records featuring this new space age instrument. Although many of these records were no more than trendy fluff, Les Baxter’s “Moog Rock” stands above the pack with songs that deliver more than just exotic cuteness. It is ironic that the word rock would be used in the album title as the music on here is made up of late-romantic period classical melodies backed with a lounge Latin jazz percussion section or trap set. This record may not rock, but it does hit a nice groove at times.

One of the things that sets this record apart from the masses is Baxter’s attention to rhythm. It was typical for novelty synth records to barely have any rhythm section at all, usually just a bare beat mixed low as an almost afterthought. In contrast, many of the tunes on here feature a sophisticated Latin percussion section mixed loud and playing samba flavored beats that really help drive the melodies. Baxter’s choice of melodic material is also nice, focusing on late 19th century Russian and east European composers who wrote during a time when dramatic melody was king. These composers were masters of the long line melody that went through many interesting and bold harmonic developments before reaching the end of its phrase. Such lush melodies and constantly modulating harmonies are like gold for the creative exotic arranger. On tunes like “Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto” and “Chopin Prelude in E”, the dramatic melodies combine with the driving percussion to produce masterpieces of the exotic genre. Another top cut is a fast paced reading of “Claire de Lune” that doesn’t just play the main melody but instead plays much of Debussy’s entire arrangement with Baxter paying tribute to electronic music’s past by using a classic theramin type sound on the Moog.

js Is 101 strings one too many or one hundred too many? The answer to that question may come later, meanwhile, this album, ‘Que Mango’ (what mango?) brings together two giants of the easy listening music industry; 101 Strings and Les Baxter. To borrow a phrase from The Simpsons, this is like when white met bread. Along with scores of elevator albums, both of these artists are also known to dabble in that avant-garde world for the easy listening crowd known as Exotica. In fact, Baxter could be considered a leader in that field, but the Strings are not always lightweights either as they released one of the most notoriously psychedelic lounge albums of all-time, the infamous ‘Astro Sounds from Beyond the Year 2000‘. So the question for you the potential buyer is this, is this album generic easy listening or is it one of those cool bachelor pad exotica albums? The answer is that it is a little bit of both.

Some tunes on here are pure exotica such as ‘Tropicando’ with its modal flute melodies, latin percussion, harp swirls and electric guitar vamps. Other similar tunes such as ‘Affair in Arruba’ and ‘Soolamin’ use very subtle electric guitar and slightly more rhythmic riffs than your standard ez listening affair. Elsewhere on this album there is a flavor of Latin rhythm, but overall the orchestrations and approach are a little closer to the sort of elevator music that 101 Strings have cranked out about 1001 times before. That leads us back to the original question about the number of strings on here. I realize that having 101 strings is the main gimmick of this group, but as a longtime follower of interesting instrumental remakes of pop songs, I have always found that the 101 Strings’ sound is kind of heavy-handed and overly thick in texture, too much of a good thing can be too much.

This isn’t a bad album, its not one of those rush to production filler albums that both of these artists are known to release, but despite the enticing album cover, this isn’t one of those collectable exotica records either. This album would make a good purchase for the exotica completeist and Baxter fan who might want to get the handful of good exotica tunes that are on here.

js Those who think exotica records are just tiki silliness and kitsch should definitely give Les Baxter’s Tamboo a serious listen. Despite the cheezy and ignorantly semi-racist cover art work, there is some serious music going on here. Baxter was an extremely prolific composer and record producer who worked in the fields of easy listening and soundtracks, as well as different varieties of what has come to be called ‘exotica’. Over the years, as the exotica style became a gimmick, Les let his artistry slip, but this is one of Baxter’s early exotica attempts and on this one he is earnest and sincere about mixing different musical genres into a fascinating new style of his own.

The whole idea of melding musical styles to create a sort of fantasy world of sound begins with Les Baxter. Before there was Sun Ra, King Crimson, Herbie’s Sextet, Brian Eno or Bill Laswell there was Les Baxter mixing Afro-Cuban rhythms, Debussy’s orchestrations and modern studio trickery to create musical lands that didn’t really exist. Sun Ra himself stated his admiration for Baxter, an admiration I had always assumed after hearing Sun Ra’s very exotica flavored ‘Angels and Demons at Play’ LP.

Saying that there is something other-worldly or futuristic about this music may seem cliché since it is obvious that is what Baxter is going for, but when those wordless vocals quietly cascade over a syncopated Afro-Latin groove accompanied by first dew in the morning twinkly Debussy type orchestrations, you know you have arrived somewhere very different then the places you have known before, a place that is very moving and beautiful too.