The Exotic Sounds Of Martin Denny - Hypnotique & Exotica Vol. III

We carry on with another pairing of Martin Denny classics. This time, I present 1959's "Hypnotique" and "Exotica Vol. III", as collected by the good folks at Scamp! SCAMP!: the exclamation point means it's quality!

While all of Denny's covers are great, "Hypnotique" is probably my favorite. The font used for "Hypnotique" is so distinct and evocative of the time. The cover layout is quite bizarre; an exception to his other releases with its clutter and lack of regional specificity. It references surrealism in a way that few other mood music records do; the exception coming to mind is Jackie Gleason's "Lonesome Echo", released four years prior and featuring a Dali painting.

Anywho...one more Denny two-fer to go, then it's on to more Scamp! catalog.

Discogs

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The Exotic Sounds Of Martin Denny - Forbidden Island & Primitiva

The third Scamp reissue of Martin Denny's Liberty output was this, a two-fer of his third and fourth 1958 releases, "Forbidden Island" and "Primitiva". Everything you might love about a Martin Denny record is present. Julius Wechter plays the vibes, Sandy Warner is on both covers, and the air is heavy with the "exotic".

Fun trivia for ya: "Primitiva" the song appears on "Forbidden Island", NOT "Primitiva" the album. What do I know about sequencing?

Discogs

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The Exciting Sounds Of Martin Denny - Exotica I & II

We're going to skip Scamp 9711 for now, choosing instead to focus on the next number in the catalog and the record I acquired minty and new when it came out in 1996. Martin Denny's first two LPs on Liberty, "Exotica" and "Exotica Volume II", came out in 1957, and it seems like every house with a hi-fi had a copy. There's a good reason for that: these are outstanding examples of mood music, foundational exotica records. I'd argue that, in spite of their nebulous origins, these are as crucial to a record collection as James Brown's "Live At The Apollo", Nina Simone's "Pastel Blues", and Fugazi's "In On The Kill Taker". When I listen to these, I get transported through both space and time to an idealised 1960 where I'm a few inches taller, a hundred pounds lighter, with a Lucky in one hand and a Zombie in the other. Martin Denny remains incredibly cool, nearly 70 years on. There aren't a ton of records that can claim that.

Discogs

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John Barry - The EMI Years Volume 3 (1962-1964)

We know why we're all here. And this third volume of Scamp's John Barry collection hands it to us right off the jump. It also bookends with Barry's collaboration with Duran Duran from 1985's "A View To A Kill". In between, it's a cavalcade of Barry's film score work, with a smattering of light music/pop/easy listening/however you care to label it. If you have the first two volumes, then what are you waiting for? You know what you want.

Discogs

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John Barry – The EMI Years Volume Two (1961)

In my less than expert opinion, this second volume of John Barry's EMI work is worth listening to for two reasons. The first is track #1 on this 28-song collection: the John Barry Seven's theme from "The Magnificent Seven." It's one of those pieces that evokes a setting and a time; in this case, the first time you watched John Sturges' adaptation of "The Seven Samurai". It was a pop hit in the UK, reaching No. 45 on the UK charts, and a really cool version of Elmer Bernstein's original score.

The second is that Volume Two presents Barry's first solo work, "Stringbeat", which proves why this fits well on the Scamp roster. It's killer mood music, edgier than most of the sonic wallpaper that fell under the broad category of "easy listening". If anything, to me, it's a precursor to Swinging London, something you can spin between Who and Desmond Dekker singles. It's outstanding cocktail music and if you don't dig it, I don't know what to do about you.

Discogs

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John Barry - The EMI Years Volume One (1957-1960)

It's pretty daunting to write about John Barry in light of his contributions to popular music, especially for a spud such as I. Far better writers have covered just about everything worth covering about the British composer/arranger, and all I can contribute is sharing this first volume of his pre-scoring work.

What appears here is Barry's rock 'n' roll and theme work, reflecting the earliest years of British rock. You can hear the last moments of light music in the first recordings of the John Barry Seven, how England first reacted to the likes of Duane Eddy in the JBS's cover of "Rebel Rouser", and Barry's first film theme work from "Beat Girl" and "Never Let Go", a pair of 1960 films featuring teen idol Adam Faith.

"Is it good, dude?" you might ask. Well, this isn't get the spins from me that the second and third volumes will. But there's parts contained herein that are definitely worth revisiting, which is exactly what I'd expect from a legendary composer like Barry.

Discogs

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various artists - The Sound Gallery Volume One

There's a dude over at Twilight Zone who's been posting KPM 1000 Series records the past few weeks, and they're all top notch. Thus it was serendipitous that this week's entry in the Scamp chronicles is their first compilation, "The Sound Gallery Volume One". It draws from KPM's gigantic library music collection, while being filled out with sounds from EMI's Studio Two imprint and United Artists. For the uninitiated, go immediately to the Alan Hawkshaw and Mandingo tracks.

These are quintessentially 70s sounds, and if they inspire you to dress like Serpico, well, I can't be held responsible.

Discogs

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Jackie Gleason – And Awaaay We Go!

I'm going to skip over SCP-9705 for now, due in great part to not knowing where the hell the actual CD is. Instead, let's proceed with a survey of Sheriff Buford T. Justice's character work. "And Awaaay We Go!" is an expanded edition of Jackie Gleason's 1954 10" release on Capitol. In addition to the eight tracks on that original release, the Scamp reissue adds theme music from both "The Jackie Gleason Show" and "The Honeymooners", a pair of recitations as Reginald Van Gleason III, and a few other incidental tracks. It adds up to an interesting artifact from the early days of television, as well as one of the few ways to experience Gleason's character work aurally. It is very, very cool.

Discogs

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Walter Wanderly - Samba Swing!

The Brazilian pianist/organist Walter Wanderley had already released something like 15 full-lengths by the time he moved to the United States and signed to Verve Records in 1965. Verve would release another six records by Wanderley between 1966 and 1968, including a co-headlining slot with Astrid Gilberto, a collaboration with guitarist Luiz Henrique, and a small group LP as the Walter Wanderley Trio. The other three records were produced by Creed Taylor, engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, and make up catalog number SCP 9704-2, third in the list of Scamp releases.

And it's fan-freakin'-tastic. I've always had a soft spot for any bossa nova, MPB, or samba music, all of which still turn up reliably in thrift store bins. But I've never come across any of these Wanderley Verve releases, so it's nice to have some of it compiled here. It's not quite on the level of "Getz/Gilberto", but its material deserves to be reissued more than once every 30 years. Bonus notes: this reissue was digitally mastered by Alan Douches, who's engineered an MFT of hardcore, metal, emo, and punk over the years.

Discogs

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The Exotic Sounds Of Martin Denny – Afro-Desia

Scamp's second release (catalog number, that is) in the fall of 1995 was a reissue of Martin Denny's 1959 exotica classic "Afro-Desia". It was his sixth record for Liberty Records, and his third of four releases in 1959. It was also the first time Denny had moved away from Polynesian/tiki sounds and into something more...primal?

Is this authentic African music? Hell no. Can you reconcile that this, in spite of a cultural insensitivity that really slaps you in the face in 2026, is an incredible record? Gee, I hope so. If you're unable to find a vinyl copy in your local thrift store, I recommend snagging a copy from Portland's Jackpot Records. They reissued this a few years back, and it comes on a lovely shade of orange wax.

Discogs

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Re-up: Robert Mitchum - Calypso - Is Like So...

Re-up, July 4, 2026: let's celebrate the 4th of July with a 320kbps re-upload of this Robert Mitchum classic. I found a huge tranche of my Scamp CDs in storage this past week, so guess what you're getting every weekend going forward?

I've been planning for months to start a new series, focused on the 90s reissue label Scamp. Scamp was an imprint of Caroline Records, focused on easy listening, lounge, bossa nova, middle-of-the-road, tiki, and other 50s and 60s curiosities from the greater EMI label family. Why, you might ask, would a blogger of punk and reggae be drawn to lounge music? Probably for the same reason why these reissues came into existence in the first place. You get older, and no matter how much you might love three chords and the truth, you just don't necessarily want to listen to it all the time. Not to mention it, but I, like most of you, have been stuck inside for most of the past ten months, and you gotta collect something, right?

I'll be sharing these passports to excitement weekly, according to catalog number, every Friday, just in time for you to pull out the liquor and mixers, put a new download on the speakers, and enjoy your own throwback happy hour. If nothing else, I've committed to 23 more blog posts. It's good to set goals.

First up is SCP 9701: the 1995 reissue of Robert Mitchum's 1958 debut, "Calypso - Is Like So...". Originally released by Capitol Records, the record was inspired by Mitchum's interactions with the calypso scene in Trinidad during the filming of "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison". As far as actors making records goes, it's in my top five all-time. Whereas this would sound like crass appropriation in someone else's hands, Mitchum obviously gives a shit, and sounds so smooth doing it. It's clearly a white guy singing a white version of calypso; there's little to no innuendo present, something that makes listening to the likes of Mighty Sparrow so much fun. But there's real passion present, and Mitchum's singing voice is so strong.

Say what you will about the music, but don't you dare front and act like Robert Mitchum doesn't look like the coolest motherfucker alive on that cover. I've had two drinks all year, and I'm ready to climb off the wagon and onto that stage to split a rum and get eyebanged by the star of "The Friends Of Eddie Coyle".

You'll still find this regularly in thrift store bins, although I've never seen a Capitol pressing that hasn't been beat to hell. The Europeans are much more hip to what a great record this is; if you're looking for a vinyl copy, I definitely recommend snagging the 2010 Bear Family pressing, who cut a DMM disc on 180g wax. It sounds hella good. Surprisingly, this Scamp release is the last American release to date of this underheard classic, and one of only a handful of CDs that have come out over the last 40 years. But that's the point of writing about it, right?

Discogs

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various artists - Music For TV Dinners

I wrote about the second "Music For TV Dinners" about a year ago. That one seemed to be pretty popular. And I came across a grip of 90s Esquivel! CDs at the local Half Price Books last weekend (owned 'em all already), which inspired me to revisit this first volume, which, oddly enough, I only snagged a copy of about two months ago.

But it was worth the wait, right? Allow me to apologize for not properly dating each track contained herein. You'll find some names in common between the two volumes; Laurie Johnson and Johnny Pearson are the two that I key on. This one surveys the KPM and APM library music catalogs, and, to me, it whets my appetite for space age, lounge, tiki, and other atomspherics that all faded away as synths, beats, and dissonance all filled the scoring space. It's the sound of the late 50s and early 60s, our themes for better living through technology!

It's a vibe, as the kids say. Beats the hell out of what's happening in the world right now.

Discogs

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various artists - Music For TV Dinners: The '60s

Back during COVID Year One, when I was just barely backing off the throttle of a post a day during the revival of this here blog, I made an ill-fated, poorly-executed decision to write about and share the entire Scamp Records catalog. Scamp was a Caroline imprint, executed in the mid to late 90s to reissue a bunch of EMI's easy listening catalog and exploit the lounge revival. I'd been coming across a few of them for super cheap, and thought "here's a fun topic to revisit."

(A brief explanation for my younger readers: somewhere in the early 90s, Gen X'ers rediscovered tiki bars, fruity drinks, and Esquivel in their quest to move on from R.E.M. and legitimize kitsch and camp. Some of it was thirsty as hell, but it opened the door to appreciate the fun parts of 50s and early 60s exotica culture. And there are definitely parts still worth appreciating.)

At any rate, even though I shit the bed following through (click the Scamp tag to see how well I did), I did continue acquiring Scamp titles, to the point where I'm just missing one release and one promo. I've almost done it, kind reader. I've bought a gaggle of CDs that have been out of print almost since I graduated high school. It's a high point in a low life. Some people share pictures of their kids; I'm stoked to share records that have been out of print for almost 30 years.

So here's "Music For TV Dinners: The '60s". It's library music from the incredibly deep Barry Music Co. catalog. The publishing was all held under EMI Music Publishing, hence it's available to be mined for this comp. Maybe you didn't know you needed a record of music that all sounds like it was the soundtrack to late 60s British television. Let me assure you, dear friend: you absolutely DO need this music.

Discogs

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various artists - The Sound Gallery Volume Two

Remember back when I said I was going to post all the Scamp reissues I owned? And then I did no such thing? And I became what is known affectionately the world around as "a liar"?

That was a good time.

Clearly, Rome was not built in a day, and lies cannot be rewound, only countered. Here's my piddling effort, a swing to make things right for your Monday. This is Volume Two of the two-volume Scamp series "The Sound Gallery". Why not Volume One first, you might ask? Well, Volume One lives on a hard drive that I cannot currently find. So Volume Two is what you get.

What you get here is a wealth of late 60s through mid 70s film scoring/library music/lounge music/songs for the swapping set. Were you born too young to throw your keys into a bowl at a party? Does the word "Eurosleaze" evoke clear images for you? Do you crash YouTube looking for four-episode ITV adventure series? Then this here is your soundtrack.

Discogs

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101 Strings - Astro Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000

Remember, like, a month ago, when I was all, like, "Hey, I have all the Scamp Records releases now. I think I'll do a write-up and post about each and every one!" Hey, good times, right? Whatever happened to that?

What happened is a combination of: A) my external hard drive, which holds the vast array of my MP3 collection (and, yeah, don't think I don't get a little douche shiver every time that phrase comes up), has disappeared in one of five different places in Mrs. Ape's and my apartment; B) the hard copies of each release are spread across any number of 14 X 14 X 14 boxes in one of my storage units (that's right, units, dude); and C) I cannot be arsed to tear either the apartment or my storage units apart to rectify the situation.

Did I write that run-on sentence to justify the use of the phrase "cannot be arsed"? Damned right, I did.

So I replaced my beater, 128kbps listening copy of SCP 9717-2, 101 Strings' "Astro Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000" with a physical CD the week before last, not only to honor my commitment to you, the kind reader, but also because it was a decent price, and the seller had a copy of that Mission To Burma comp that I posted a few days back. And now I have good cause to post one of my favorite space-age/Now Sound records of all time.

This exists as one of those grail records that would turn up in more thrift stores than record stores, because as any crate digger knows, hitting a vein of 101 Strings records means you're about to dig through a fat stack of budget mood music. When I've talked to buds about this in the past, and shown them the cover, they've all collectively slapped their heads. They've seen it, handled it, even, but few ever actually bought it. Those who did snag it immediately encountered truth in advertising, a record consisting of psychedelic instrumentals, swinging, modern sounds...the kind of stuff your grandparents got loaded and spouse swapped to.

I love this shit so much. It's so much cooler than most of the rest of 101 Strings' extensive catalog; hell, I'd put it up against the best of Esquivel are far as being "far out" and "outta sight". It presages everything from Isaac Hayes' "Hot Buttered Soul", to AIR's score for "The Virgin Suicides", to the various beats of Danger Mouse, all the way up to J.G. Thirwell's most current work. The good folks at Modern Harmonic did a nice reissue of this in 2017; it was the first American vinyl reissue in nearly 50 years. However, I copped this because the 1996 Scamp release, albeit not on vinyl, came with three extra cuts from 1970's "The Exotic Sound Of Love", which has yet to be reissued since its original release. One can only hope that day comes in the near future...or I just turn one up while mining one of those veins of otherwise garbage vinyl.

Discogs

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