Orienta (album)
Encyclopedia
Orienta is an album
by The Markko Polo Adventurers released in 1959. The album was produced by Simon Rady, arranged and conducted by Gerald Fried
and recorded in stereo
in Hollywood, California. The album is remembered both for its combination of sound effects and Asian-inspired music to tell humorous vignettes and for its suggestive cover art featuring a photograph by Murray Laden.
and easy listening
music. Producer Simon Rady (1909-1965) was coming off the huge success of The Music from Peter Gunn
, which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard
magazine's album chart, and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Album of the Year
in 1959. Associate producer Michael H. Goldsen was one of the industry leaders in popularizing Hawaiian music and was later inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. The album was arranged and conducted by Gerald Fried
, a Juilliard School
-trained oboist who later went on to fame as a composer of music for motion pictures and television, including the 1960s series Star Trek
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
, and Gilligan's Island
, and the 1970s miniseries Roots
.
Orienta was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of exotica
music in the late 1950s. The genre's popularity peaked in 1959 as Martin Denny
's 1957 album Exotica spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard
magazine's album chart. The album's liner notes stated that the music "resembles the dreams of an imaginative person who has fallen asleep during a 'Dr. Fu Manchu
' movie on television," with vignettes that "combine the sounds of the East with the wit of the West; the charm of the Orient with the humor of the Occident."
The album was recorded in stereo and was designed to appeal to the growing popularity of albums demonstrating the technological capabilities of the new technology. The liner notes indicate that the producers sought to offer "sounds and effects to gladden the tweeter
s and woofer
s of the most critical hi-fi
addict." While the album's producers noted that the album was "primarily a serious artistic effort," one later account noted that "Fried really intended the album to be something of a satire on the then-current craze for musical harem-haunting."
The album features a wide assortment of woodwind and rhythm instruments. The liner notes describe a recording studio filled with as many as 25 percussion instruments. Five of "the nation's top percussionists" were hired for the recording. The array of exotic instruments reportedly prompted one of the musicians to quip: "Why don't they hire that Oriental god with six or eight arms?"
and Leon Pober.
magazine gave it a three-star rating ("Good Potential – Will Sell") and noted: "Here's an interesting stereo sound experience for stereo and hi fi fans. A wide assortment of woodwind and rhythm instruments offers exotic interpretations of a variety of off-beat selections. ... Effective wax. Sexy cover."
In his nationally-syndicated column, "The Record Shop," Dick Kleiner
featured Orienta as one of "Dick's Picks" and wrote that "a group called the Markko Polo Adventures try new sounds on Oriental music in Orienta with interesting results."
In his "Record Roundup" column, UPI music critic William D. Laffler wrote: "FOR HI-FI FANS: Orienta by the Marco [sic] Polo Adventurers (RCA Victor LPM-1919) is a top platter for sound bugs. Exotic string instruments are used liberally. Sound engineering is tops." The album also received favorable mention by Norman Weiser in his nationally-syndicated column, "Recordially Yours."
Another reviewer wrote: "A percussion–happy group called the Markko Polo Adventurers, under arranger director Gerald Fried, make some interesting and frequently fascinating sounds in 12 instrumentals. It is atmospheric material, for the most part ... Hi-fi fans will like this one."
Not all of the reviews were positive. Hi Fi/Stereo Review
wrote: "Zounds what sounds! Once through was all we could take of this. Interesting if you want to know how far out in musical left field it is possible to go."
In February 1960, the album was played as WIBA
's "stereophonic concert."
and exotica
genres. The album's seventh track, "Scheherzade," was included on RCA's 1995 compilation, History of Space Age Pop, Vol. 1: Melodies and Mischief. Two additional tracks, "The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish" and "Rain in Rangoon," were included on RCA's follow-up, History of Space Age Pop, Vol. 2: Mallets in Wonderland.
In 1997, USA Today
columnist Sam Vincent Meddis wrote: "Strange old album covers don't fade away, they wind up on the Web. Like, who could forget that rousing Orienta by the so-called Markko Polo Adventurers?" In the 1999 book Exotiquarium, Jennifer McKnight-Tronz and Lenny Dee noted the use of sound effects in "Runaway Rickshaw" and other tracks "to tell stories of humor, romance, intrigue and life across the Orient."
In his 2003 encyclopedia of popular music of the world, John Shepherd wrote, "In Orienta, a 1959 record by the Markko Polo Adventurers, the musicians' main intent was to combine the 'charm of the Orient' with the 'wit of the Occident.' This was achieved through an array of sensual 'oriental' percussion sounds combined with a touch of 'pop 'n' jazz.'" Shepherd suggested, "To a certain extent, the Adventurers and other 'extollers' of the exotic East ... foreshadowed the 1960s sitar
fad triggered by Indian musician and composer Ravi Shankar
."
Orienta was reissued on CD
in 2004. Reviews of the CD have included comments and descriptions such as "a dreamy loungecore soundscape a la Les Baxter
," "a shining example of the kitsch of the era," and the following: "Orienta features witty arranging for an unusual ensemble of virtuoso studio musicians. Many of the tracks sound like dramatic radio place settings ... a Hollywoody send-up meant to amuse rather than soothe. Certainly not to enlighten. Orienta is to Asian music as Get Smart
was to the real business of espionage. ... Nothing's halfway here. It's way over-the-top cool. Recommended for those with a sense of humor."
In September 2010, the Adventurers' "Mountain High, Valley Low" was included on the Él Records
compilation Return to Paradise: A History of Exotica.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by The Markko Polo Adventurers released in 1959. The album was produced by Simon Rady, arranged and conducted by Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried is an American musician, well known for his compositions in film and television.Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, Fried attended Juilliard School of Music...
and recorded in stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
in Hollywood, California. The album is remembered both for its combination of sound effects and Asian-inspired music to tell humorous vignettes and for its suggestive cover art featuring a photograph by Murray Laden.
Overview
Orienta was the work of three music industry professionals with a long history of involvement in exoticaExotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
and easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music. Producer Simon Rady (1909-1965) was coming off the huge success of The Music from Peter Gunn
The Music from Peter Gunn
The Music from Peter Gunn is a 1959 album by Henry Mancini . It was the first album ever to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1959. It was followed by More Music from "Peter Gunn" . The main theme is notable for its combination of jazz orchestration with a straightforward, rock 'n roll...
, which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine's album chart, and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
in 1959. Associate producer Michael H. Goldsen was one of the industry leaders in popularizing Hawaiian music and was later inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. The album was arranged and conducted by Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried is an American musician, well known for his compositions in film and television.Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, Fried attended Juilliard School of Music...
, a Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
-trained oboist who later went on to fame as a composer of music for motion pictures and television, including the 1960s series Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
, and Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
, and the 1970s miniseries Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
.
Orienta was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
music in the late 1950s. The genre's popularity peaked in 1959 as Martin Denny
Martin Denny
Martin Denny was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing well into his 80s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and...
's 1957 album Exotica spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine's album chart. The album's liner notes stated that the music "resembles the dreams of an imaginative person who has fallen asleep during a 'Dr. Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
' movie on television," with vignettes that "combine the sounds of the East with the wit of the West; the charm of the Orient with the humor of the Occident."
The album was recorded in stereo and was designed to appeal to the growing popularity of albums demonstrating the technological capabilities of the new technology. The liner notes indicate that the producers sought to offer "sounds and effects to gladden the tweeter
Tweeter
A tweeter is a loudspeaker designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically from around 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz . Some tweeters can manage response up to 65 kHz...
s and woofer
Woofer
Woofer is the term commonly used for a loudspeaker driver designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from around 40 hertz up to about a kilohertz or higher. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's bark, "woof"...
s of the most critical hi-fi
High fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
addict." While the album's producers noted that the album was "primarily a serious artistic effort," one later account noted that "Fried really intended the album to be something of a satire on the then-current craze for musical harem-haunting."
The album features a wide assortment of woodwind and rhythm instruments. The liner notes describe a recording studio filled with as many as 25 percussion instruments. Five of "the nation's top percussionists" were hired for the recording. The array of exotic instruments reportedly prompted one of the musicians to quip: "Why don't they hire that Oriental god with six or eight arms?"
Track listing
The album contained 12 tracks, including original compositions and adaptations by Fried, Vernon DukeVernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
and Leon Pober.
- "Song of India – Beggars' Procession" (Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
) – based on the "Song of the Indian Guest" from Rimsky-Korsakov's opera SadkoSadko (opera)Sadko is an opera in seven scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by the composer, with assistance from Vladimir Belsky, Vladimir Stasov, and others. Rimsky-Korsakov was first inspired by the bylina of Sadko in 1867, when he completed a tone poem on the subject, his Op. 5...
featuring ethereal female vocals, pedestrians talking, and wind chimes; Tommy DorseyTommy DorseyThomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
recorded the jazz instrumental version in 1937. - "Yokohama Ferryboat" – a composition featuring banjo, flute, vibraphone, and oboe, depicting a journey aboard an old ferry boat bringing commuters to YokohamaYokohamais the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
with sound effects of sea gulls, boat horns and the murmur of passengers. - "Rain in Rangoon" (Vernon DukeVernon DukeVernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
) – composed for the album by Vernon DukeVernon DukeVernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
, the song depicts a scene in which the garden activities of a Burmese maiden are interrupted by a storm; "she seeks refuge indoors until a final clash of thunder marks the end of the storm." - "Madam Sloe Gin's" – a comical composition depicting an American sailor wandering into the Singapore bar where "he finds Oriental honky-tonk jazz, booze and girls. Getting his fill of the first two, he leaves with the latter to seek further adventures."
- "Girl Friend of the Whirling DervishGirl Friend of the Whirling Dervish"Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish" was written by Harry Warren, Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer, and first appeared in the 1938 film Garden of the Moon where it was performed by a turban-wearing big band, and a drag "girlfriend." The song was recorded in 1960 by lounge artist Martin Denny, used in...
" – a composition depicting the scene as the girlfriend of a whirling dervish (practitioner of SufismSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
who whirls as a form of remembrance of God) asks a touring jazz group to accompany her friend, "the poor Dervish has a rough time catching the beat. He finally gets 'hip,' however, and turns out to be a swinger." - "Mountain High, Valley LowLute Song (musical)Lute Song is a 1946 American musical with a book by Sidney Howard and Will Irwin, music by Raymond Scott, and lyrics by Bernard Hanighen. It is based on the 14th century Chinese play Pi-Pa-Ki by Kao-Tong-Kia and Mao-Tseo...
" (Raymond ScottRaymond ScottRaymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
) – the music frames the story of a Chinese princess who descends from her mountain sanctuary, addresses her subjects, and returns to the hills (voice of princess by Marni NixonMarni NixonMarni Nixon is an American soprano and playback singer for featured actresses in movie musicals. She has also spent much of her career performing in concerts with major symphony orchestras around the world and in operas and musicals throughout the United States.-Biography:Born Margaret Nixon...
). - "ScheherazadeScheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful...
" (Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
) – "The Arabian setting would not deceive the well-traveled American. BurlesqueBurlesqueBurlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
is burlesque . . . even in a Sultan's court." - "Limehouse BluesLimehouse BluesLimehouse Blues is a world famous jazz standard , as well as a 1934 crime film is set in London's Chinese district and starring George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the tune...
" – an Oriental version of "Frankie and Johnny" in which a girl shoots her cheating boyfriend and is arrested. - "Night of the Tiger" – a composition depicting a scene in which the roar of a tiger creates panic at an Indian festival "until the 'swish' of a hunting spear and the death cry of the big cat announce that the festival may continue in peace."
- "NagasakiNagasaki (song)"Nagasaki" is a jazz song from 1928 by Harry Warren and Mort Dixon that became a popular Tin Pan Alley hit. The silly, bawdy lyrics have only the vaguest relation to the Japanese port city of Nagasaki...
" (Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
/Mort DixonMort Dixon-Biography:Born in New York, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published effort, 1923's "That Old Gang of Mine". His chief composer collaborators were Ray Henderson, Harry Warren, Harry M...
) – in this arrangement of the Warren/Dixon jazz classic, the song begins in the style of a traditional Japanese orchestra, gradually changing to a "modern jazz and rock-'n'-roll" style. - "Train to Ranchipur" – a composition depicting a train ride through dense jungle and into a tunnel before arriving at Ranchipur; possibly inspired by the 1955 motion picture "The Rains of RanchipurThe Rains of RanchipurThe Rains of Ranchipur is a 1955 film drama made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Frank Ross from a screenplay by Merle Miller, based on the novel The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield. The music score was by Hugo Friedhofer and the cinematography by Milton R...
". The album's liner notes concede, "The odor of the packed coaches defies even hi-fi description." - "Runaway Rickshaw" (Leon Pober) – a composition by Leon Pober "depicting the plight of a rickshaw boy pulling an overweight tourist. The going is bad enough uphill, and the downhill ride is brought to a wild end amid flying merchandise from a peddler's cart."
Critical reception
When the album was released in the spring of 1959, BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine gave it a three-star rating ("Good Potential – Will Sell") and noted: "Here's an interesting stereo sound experience for stereo and hi fi fans. A wide assortment of woodwind and rhythm instruments offers exotic interpretations of a variety of off-beat selections. ... Effective wax. Sexy cover."
In his nationally-syndicated column, "The Record Shop," Dick Kleiner
Dick Kleiner
Richard Arthur "Dick" Kleiner was a Hollywood columnist whose breezy question-and-answer column, "Ask Dick Kleiner," about Hollywood celebrities appeared in hundreds of newspapers across the country...
featured Orienta as one of "Dick's Picks" and wrote that "a group called the Markko Polo Adventures try new sounds on Oriental music in Orienta with interesting results."
In his "Record Roundup" column, UPI music critic William D. Laffler wrote: "FOR HI-FI FANS: Orienta by the Marco [sic] Polo Adventurers (RCA Victor LPM-1919) is a top platter for sound bugs. Exotic string instruments are used liberally. Sound engineering is tops." The album also received favorable mention by Norman Weiser in his nationally-syndicated column, "Recordially Yours."
Another reviewer wrote: "A percussion–happy group called the Markko Polo Adventurers, under arranger director Gerald Fried, make some interesting and frequently fascinating sounds in 12 instrumentals. It is atmospheric material, for the most part ... Hi-fi fans will like this one."
Not all of the reviews were positive. Hi Fi/Stereo Review
Stereo Review
Stereo Review was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title HiFi and Music Review. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles...
wrote: "Zounds what sounds! Once through was all we could take of this. Interesting if you want to know how far out in musical left field it is possible to go."
In February 1960, the album was played as WIBA
WIBA (AM)
WIBA is a radio station serving Madison, Wisconsin. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station airs a news and talk format, and features local talk as well as syndicated programming...
's "stereophonic concert."
Revival of interest
The album experienced a revival in the 1990s and 2000s with increased interest in the ultra loungeUltra lounge
An ultra lounge is a style nightclub lounge, that came to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ultralounges tend to be small to mid-sized venues, featuring cocktails and an upscale atmosphere....
and exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
genres. The album's seventh track, "Scheherzade," was included on RCA's 1995 compilation, History of Space Age Pop, Vol. 1: Melodies and Mischief. Two additional tracks, "The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish" and "Rain in Rangoon," were included on RCA's follow-up, History of Space Age Pop, Vol. 2: Mallets in Wonderland.
In 1997, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
columnist Sam Vincent Meddis wrote: "Strange old album covers don't fade away, they wind up on the Web. Like, who could forget that rousing Orienta by the so-called Markko Polo Adventurers?" In the 1999 book Exotiquarium, Jennifer McKnight-Tronz and Lenny Dee noted the use of sound effects in "Runaway Rickshaw" and other tracks "to tell stories of humor, romance, intrigue and life across the Orient."
In his 2003 encyclopedia of popular music of the world, John Shepherd wrote, "In Orienta, a 1959 record by the Markko Polo Adventurers, the musicians' main intent was to combine the 'charm of the Orient' with the 'wit of the Occident.' This was achieved through an array of sensual 'oriental' percussion sounds combined with a touch of 'pop 'n' jazz.'" Shepherd suggested, "To a certain extent, the Adventurers and other 'extollers' of the exotic East ... foreshadowed the 1960s sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
fad triggered by Indian musician and composer Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
."
Orienta was reissued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in 2004. Reviews of the CD have included comments and descriptions such as "a dreamy loungecore soundscape a la Les Baxter
Les Baxter
Les Baxter was an American musician and composer.Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist, he turned to popular music as a singer...
," "a shining example of the kitsch of the era," and the following: "Orienta features witty arranging for an unusual ensemble of virtuoso studio musicians. Many of the tracks sound like dramatic radio place settings ... a Hollywoody send-up meant to amuse rather than soothe. Certainly not to enlighten. Orienta is to Asian music as Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
was to the real business of espionage. ... Nothing's halfway here. It's way over-the-top cool. Recommended for those with a sense of humor."
In September 2010, the Adventurers' "Mountain High, Valley Low" was included on the Él Records
El records
él Records is an independent record label from the UK founded by Mike Alway. Alway, who cut his teeth in the late seventies working with The Soft Boys and promoting clubs and concerts in Richmond, south-west London, joined Cherry Red Records in 1980 to work alongside the company's founder, Iain...
compilation Return to Paradise: A History of Exotica.