The final Scamp reissue of Martin Denny's library features the record that was my introduction to the exotica master. "Quiet Village" came out in 1959 but I wouldn't hear it for another three and a half decades. I had a boss in the mid-90s, a very hip lady who was ahead of the lounge revival by about 24 months. She knew that, despite the hardcore badges on my flight jacket, that I loved what I'd been exposed to from 50s cocktail culture. So one night, as I was vacuuming the front quarter of the bookstore we both worked in, she handed me a C90 with "Quiet Village" on the A-side. On the drive home, I pushed that tape into the deck of my Pontiac Sunbird and was transported away from suburban Baltimore to...somewhere warm and sunny and lazy. I soon and happily spent full price on Capitol's The Exotic Sounds Of Martin Denny compilation that came out under their "Ultra-Lounge" series in '96. And that's why, 30 years on, I'm sharing this now.
Oh, yeah, and John Sturges wrote the original liner notes for "Quiet Village". John Sturges! The Great Escape! The Magnificent Seven! Bad Day at Black Rock! Marooned!
"The Enchanted Sea" takes up the backside of this reissue. I do not have any fun stories about "Enchanted Sea". I hadn't heard it until I picked up this CD a few years ago. I've also never seen a copy on vinyl in a thrift store bin. That's neither here nor there, but it does seem weird that I've yet to turn this up in the wild.
Nine records in three years, helping to create a new subgenre, supported by a record company that'd let him do whatever he felt like creating. Damn, Martin Denny was so cool.
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