Lounge Psychédélique: The Best of Lounge & Exotica 1954-2022

Overview

U.K. reissue specialists Two-Piers offer up their third volume in an ongoing series with Lounge Psychedelique: The Best of Lounge & Exotica 1954-2022. Following their nods to vintage French pop and garage-psych, the Brighton-based label brings together a bright bouquet of lushly arranged, whimsical, and often quite campy selections from mid-century pioneers like Martin Denny, Yma Sumac, and Les Baxter. Rather than focus solely on the genre's 1950s and '60s heyday, the collection is notable for its inclusion of present-day purveyors like London cumbia quartet Los Bitchos and Nasser Bouzida, who kicks out sprightly retro grooves as the Bongolian. Endearingly outlandish and purposefully carefree, lounge music and its accompanying kitschy aesthetic have an enduring appeal that has inspired revivals in unlikely places. From '90s Shibuya-kei linchpins Pizzicato Five ("ç??ç¬?っã?") to 2010s Swedish exotica hipsters Ixtahuele ("Mareld 2021"), it remains a popular global phenomenon that defies taste, drawing in new generations of listeners with its unlikely mix of jazzy sophistication and ham-fisted theatricality. As a compilation, Lounge Psychedelique eschews the deep cuts and instead paints with a broad brush, offering a wide survey of swinging space age grooves, tropical island cocktail schmalz, and plenty of faux-jungle noises to tickle the senses. ~ Timothy Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/28/2023
Label:	Two Piers Records / Universal
UPC:	5053760103622
Rank:	35286

Tracks

1. Music to Watch Space Girls By  - Leonard Nimoy
2. The Enchanted Isle  - Martin Denny
3. Gopher  - Yma Sumac
4. B-Boy Toga Party  -  Bongolian
5. The Link is About to Die  -  Los Bitchos
6. The Lonely Bull [El Solo Toro]  -  Alpert
7. Sidereal Day: 3  - Michael Giacchino
8. Sunshine Superman  - Mel Torme
9. Mais Que Nada  -  Mendes
10. Lalo's Bossa Nova  - Lalo Schifrin
11. Black Orpheus (Manha De Carnaval)  - Quincy Jones
12. Tropicando  -  101 Strings  -  101 Strings Orchestra  - Les Baxter
13. ¿¿¿¿  -  Pizzicato Five
14. La Grande Co-Existence  - Alain Goraguer
15. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly  -  Montenegro
16. Geisha Girl  - Mort Garson
17. Quiet Village  - Arthur Lyman
18. Voodoo Dreams/Voodoo  - Les Baxter
19. The Enchanted Sea  - Martin Denny
20. Mareld 2021  -  Ixtahuele
21. Morning Broadway  - Keith Mansfield
22. Comin' Home Baby  - Mel Torme
23. Sweet Tater Pie  - Dave Pike
24. Underlay No. 3  - Jack Trombey
25. Beat Me Till I'm Blue  - Keith Mansfield
26. Bang Bang  -  Sheila

Album Credits

Performance Credits

101 Strings Orchestra   Primary Artist
Yma Sumac   Primary Artist
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66   Primary Artist
Los Bitchos   Primary Artist
Ixtahuele   Primary Artist
Jack Trombey   Primary Artist
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass   Primary Artist
Michael Giacchino   Primary Artist
Pizzicato Five   Primary Artist
Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Don Sebesky   Primary Artist
Lalo Schifrin   Primary Artist
The Bongolian   Primary Artist
Keith Mansfield   Primary Artist
101 Strings   Primary Artist
Leonard Nimoy   Primary Artist
Cal Tjader   Primary Artist
Brian Bennett   Primary Artist
Alain Goraguer   Primary Artist
Arthur Lyman   Primary Artist
Mort Garson   Primary Artist
Dave Pike   Primary Artist
Quincy Jones   Primary Artist
Mel Torme   Primary Artist
Sheila   Primary Artist
Martin Denny   Primary Artist
Les Baxter   Primary Artist
Nouvelle Modernica Orchestra   Primary Artist
Mort Garson & the Lords of Percussion   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Lewis Hopkins   Mastering
Del Jae   Design,Art Direction