Big Dog 92-7 Music Guide

Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 8: Cocktail Capers

RELEASE
1996
LABEL
Capitol
GENRES
Easy Listening, Cocktail, Exotica, Space Age Pop, Lounge, Comedy, Novelty, Alternative/Indie Rock

Album Review

If you've been following the Ultra-Lounge series this far, you know what to expect: a mixture of stars (Les Baxter, Nelson Riddle) and no-names from the Capitol vaults, playing space age pop/cocktail music of all hues in the 1950s and 1960s. Yet this has an edge over most of the previous titles in the series: there's more of a sense of swing, groove, even (dare we say) danger on much of this, albeit danger of a very safe sort. Hints of rock'n'roll and spy music even creep in from time to time, with James Bond-type reverb guitar decorating cuts like Al Caiola's "Underwater Chase," and top rock & roll session drummer Earl Palmer getting into the bongo/lounge vibe on "Binga Banga Bongo/Percolator." Another highlight is the highly sought-after theme song to Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film Lolita, performed as a tongue-in-cheek rock & roll satire by Nelson Riddle (with surfish twangy guitar, orchestration, and a chipper chorus of young girls adding wordless "ya-ya" vocals throughout).
Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Roller Coaster
  2. Hey, Bellboy!
  3. This Could Be the Start of Something
  4. The Pink Panther Theme
  5. Like Young
  6. Underwater Chase
  7. Binga Banga Bongo/Percolator
  8. Call Me
  9. Mountain Greenery
  10. Charade
  11. Shooting Star/Jungalero
  12. Honorable Hong Kong Rock
  13. Odd Job Man/I Wanna Be a James Bond Girl
  14. Heap Big Chief
  15. Blue Danube Rock
  16. Pussy Cat
  17. Teach Me Tiger
  18. Lolita Ya-Ya
  19. [Untitled Spoken Track]