Les Baxter — The Fruit Of Dreams
This reissue brings together Ports of Pleasure from 1957, and The Sacred Idol from 1960- with twelve tracks from each album on offer here. Ports of Pleasure is unfortunately missing two tracks from it’s originally releases(I guess this must be down to space restraints), but The Sacred Idol is complete.
The eight page booklet features a single page write-up about Baxter’s career, reproductions of the original album cover artwork, and a three page reproduction of both albums original linear notes which describes each tracks sonic story.
Ports Of Pleasure was recorded in June 1957, and released that same year on Capitol records. The album found Baxter & his orchestra conjuring up a lush, melodic & often dramatic collection tracks that have a distinct eastern/ oriental feel to them. The tracks mix together swooning & swooping lush string work, heroic & mysterious horn work, and darting & snaking percussion- though this isn’t as heavy on xylophones or marimbas as some other exotica albums. I guess the key element with all the tracks here are the string work which summons up images of colourful/ dramatic oriental ports, expanse of eastern deserts, and mysterious & sensual belly dancers; but all of course fed through 1950’s musical Americana & easy listening filters.
The Sacred Idol was released in 1960, once again on Capitol records. The album was subtitled "strange and exotic music keyed to the mysterious legend of the feathered serpent of the Aztecs.". It was also used as the film soundtrack for seemingly rather dire 1964 movie called The Mighty Jungle- which told of a group of South American explorers in search of fortune thought to be hidden in an Lost Aztec city. This album featured a more familiar exotica sound taking in: moody banks in word-less of female & male vocals, layers of tribal/ jiving xylophones & marimbas percussion, and genreal more dramatic layered sound. All this of course is of course is mingled with dramatic orchestration, layers of tinkling ‘n’ shifting vibe work, and horn work that flits between mysterious/ moody & playful/ buoyant.
Both releases here are rewarding, but I’ll have to say I enjoyed The scared Idol more as it has that great cheesy yet mysterious exotica vibe in spades & the tracks seemed a little more playful/ adventurous. All told this is another very worthwhile reissues of these classic slices of exotica.