The Sound of Leroy Anderson - Stradivari Strings and Ping Pong Percussion

We admit it: sometimes we judge a book by its cover. Or at least, a Spin-O-Rama album cover.  While stocking up for background music at the Lounge, we stumbled across this gem, "The Sound of Leroy Anderson", which boasts not one but two lead artists: The Stradivari Strings and Ping Pong Percussion. The music is a strange combination of...well, percussion and strings.  But we sure do love that cover art best of all, the strange combination of iconic graphics.  Who knew ping pong balls could be colored like salt and pepper?

Your <-----Spin-O-Stereo-----> download is here

Twilight Moods - The Three Suns

Originally the Starlite Lounge was meant to be the Twilight Lounge, until we realized that name is now more closely associated with glittery teenage vampires.  Well, we're reclaiming twilight for the spirited lounge set, and what better to banish a vampire than the sun? Three Suns, as a matter of fact, so don't even try it, Bella's boy.  

Truth be told, tonight's recording is a little scratchy, proving that while vampires can be eternal, vinyl isn't.  We did the best we could with what we had, though, and The Three Suns have harpist Marga Hanson with them to help round out their sound.  It's more Welk than Esquivel, but is this a bad thing?  We don't think so.  Wonder if Marga Hanson was a champagne lady?

Your twilight download is here.

Exotic Love - Martin Denny

Exotica is a word that always gets our attention here at the Starlite Lounge. Les Baxter is a name we should know, but as a wise green puppet once said: "There is another": Martin Denny.  Baxter may have written "Quiet Village", but it was Martin Denny who crafted the genre known as "exotica", which became known for its use of sound stylings and percussion to create simulated frogs, water sounds, and birds.  Tonight's feature at the Lounge, "Exotic Love", came to be in 1968, many years after Denny's initial splash, and there are some weird and wonderful cover versions of songs like "This Guy's In Love With You" and "I Say A Little Prayer".  Just watch the rush on the bar when we get to Denny's rendition of "MacArthur Park".  Exotic bliss!  The bartender has Mai Tais at the ready, so dive on in! Blub blub blub.... (bird call)

Your exotic download experience awaits you here.

Batman - The Bat Boys

Spinning at the Lounge tonight is a favorite curiosity, this strangely anonymous instrumental record "Batman", credited only to The Bat Boys.  We think it's a pseudonym for a band that never was, since there's more than a little pilfering going on here.  Their frantic rendition of the "Batman" theme is what was clearly intended to convince the average record-buyer to part with their dollar, but this ain't Neil Hefti.  The cover is another cleverly designed piece, not quite the Batman logo, so no trademarks have been violated.  I wonder if anybody ever paid attention to the other tracks on the album? With titles like "Cheatin' Charlie" and "The Villain Strikes", could they have been trying to convince us this is an entire "Batman" collection? Trust us, it's not, but their lowbrow title selection is a gas all the same.  Charlie isn't the only one cheatin' here--several of the songs are simply tunes stolen from other songs, such as "Mars Visitor", which is simply a jazzy rearrangement of "Music To Be Murdered By".  We're pretty sure The Bat Boys were thinking of "Think I'm Going Out of My Head" when they penned "Fight Flight", too.  We're not sure though, the bartender has been serving up a shot called the Alien Brain Hemorrhage and we're going out of our heads over it. Glub glub glub....

Your Stereo download begins here

Moving Percussion In Pops - The Hollywood Allstars

Tonight's featured cocktail is a real lively mixture from the Hollywood Allstars.  It's equal parts vibes, assorted exotic percussion, horns, jazzy snares, and snappy tunes, with a pinch of trains, roller coaster chains, and a cuckoo clock thrown in to give it a little kick.  The folks at Dyna Disc really knew how to cut the wax, let us tell you--visually this record was a mess, with tons of scratches and marks on it, and we expected the worst before we dropped the needle on it.  Turns out it didn't sound bad at all, much to our shock and delight.  It didn't require much before the sound was sparkling once again.  Enjoy!

Your Dyna-Download is here

This Thing Called Love - Simon Rady (1962)

Smiles, everyone....smiles.  This is a special night at the Starlite Lounge, because right here in this most swank of nightspots we learned of a followup to our beloved "Voices in Motion".  Well, we had to run right down to our local record store and pick it up, and here it is! Only Simon Rady can create the Voices the way we like them.  On this release, he's billing himself as Sy Rady, but just one listen and you'll realize that Simon by any other name is just the same--fabulous!  Pour yourself some of your favorite spirits and prepare to be elevated into the realm of the Voices.

Your stereo "360 sound" download is here

*we did our best to enhance the audio on these tracks, as some of them were slightly flawed due to damaged vinyl

Where Is Love? - Jack Jones (1969)

If the Lounge seems particularly crowded tonight, it's because this evening we've got the legendary Jack Jones. The very definition of smooth, Mr. Jones has done it all--theater, television, films. But the bedrock of his lengthy career has been his swanky-as-Dewar's pop vocals. Think you've never heard Jack sing before?  Think again: that's him crooning the theme from "Love Boat", and unless you were just recently hatched, we KNOW you've heard that.  We give Mr. Jones the floor tonight, accompanied by Doug Talbert on piano (at least, that's what it says on the jacket).  Drop your light-weight tone arm on this.  Bottoms up!

Your swanktastic evening is here

Dream Dream Dream - Cesana

Back before it was the "in" thing to do, we were a little intimidated by artists who are identified professionally by only one name.  Following in the mononymous tradition of Mantovani was tonight's artist, Cesana.  Or perhaps it's the other way around.  In any case, we love Cesana at the Lounge!  Not quite jazz, not quite classical, Cesana was part of that movement that seemed to waver back and forth between the two, forming that glorious genre some call "Easy Listening".  Stratospheric strings are a hallmark of this triple-titled release "Dream Dream Dream".  Cesana relocated to that great white nightclub in the sky in 1980, same year as Mantovani.  Come to think of it, did you ever see the two of them in the same place at the same time?

Your Audio Fidelity download is here

The Starlit Hour - Bill Snyder

The twinkling of the stars is what we're all about here at The Starlite Lounge. So naturally we're going to get excited by this release, "The Starlit Hour", by Bill Snyder.  We've had some organ music here the last few days, how about some tickling of the ivories instead?  Be sure to read the back jacket write-up about Bill, which makes prominent mention of his $25,000 custom piano.  Is that what was used to create this particular 10 inch release?  Who knows.  It sounds like a million bucks to us, perfect as the soundtrack for a late-night dinner, complete with a strong martini.  Better yet, make it two.

This "Music For Your Mood" download can be found here