http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1083&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rssLes Baxter was an innovator of two forms of easy listening lounge music: exotica and space age pop. A fair jazz pianist, Baxter's real strengths were as an arranger. In the late 1940s, he started bringing exotic, percussion-heavy instrumentation together with lush, melodic strings and elements of big band swing. During this post-World War Two period, Baxter's island-mad exotic themes worked as aural vacations for newly transplanted suburbanites and his music also became a staple in Polynesian-themed Tiki bars. With song titles such as "Taboo," "City of Veils," and "Harem Silks from Bombay," it's easy to see how Baxter's music (like the Tiki lounges the music was played in) was built around hopeful eroticism as much as dreamy exoticism. In 1958, Baxter shot his steamy sounds up to the heavens with <I>Space Escapade</I>, which imaged islands in the sky full of booze and willing women who came in every color of the rainbow. After this, Baxter kept updating his signature sound for the changing times but by the late 1960s his music started to sound old fashioned. Ironically, this was an era when America's youth started acting like the very same wild, lascivious natives who were portrayed as fantasy objects in Baxter's songs. Thankfully, there's been a revived interest in Baxter's "movies for the ears" music. Long considered "cheesy," much of Baxter's work is highly imaginative and often exploratory in nature (for instance, an exotic theme in an unusual tempo will suddenly kick into a hot jazz number in 4/4 time before spinning off into an entirely new direction). But Les Baxter was never pretentious about being musically inventive and the sheer entertainment value found in his work is the main reason his old records are once again in print. - Nick DedinaVintage Loungeen720Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:03:35 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1083&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Les Baxter was an innovator of two forms of easy listening lounge music: exotica and space age pop. A fair jazz pianist, Baxter's real strengths were as an arranger. In the late 1940s, he started bringing exotic, percussion-heavy instrumentation together with lush, melodic strings and elements of big band swing. During this post-World War Two period, Baxter's island-mad exotic themes worked as aural vacations for newly transplanted suburbanites and his music also became a staple in Polynesian-themed Tiki bars. With song titles such as "Taboo," "City of Veils," and "Harem Silks from Bombay," it's easy to see how Baxter's music (like the Tiki lounges the music was played in) was built around hopeful eroticism as much as dreamy exoticism. In 1958, Baxter shot his steamy sounds up to the heavens with <I>Space Escapade</I>, which imaged islands in the sky full of booze and willing women who came in every color of the rainbow. After this, Baxter kept updating his signature sound for the changing times but by the late 1960s his music started to sound old fashioned. Ironically, this was an era when America's youth started acting like the very same wild, lascivious natives who were portrayed as fantasy objects in Baxter's songs. Thankfully, there's been a revived interest in Baxter's "movies for the ears" music. Long considered "cheesy," much of Baxter's work is highly imaginative and often exploratory in nature (for instance, an exotic theme in an unusual tempo will suddenly kick into a hot jazz number in 4/4 time before spinning off into an entirely new direction). But Les Baxter was never pretentious about being musically inventive and the sheer entertainment value found in his work is the main reason his old records are once again in print. - Nick Dedina http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27100416&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.27100416 alb.27100416 Les Baxter art.1083 9.99 The Exotic Moods Of Les Baxter alb.27100416 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/0/9/8/8/1618890_170x170.jpg 2009-02-02 00:00:00.0 2009-02-02 00:00:00.0 true false main-release http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27100416&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27100416&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.19381636&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Tue, 4 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.19381636 alb.19381636 Les Baxter art.1083 6.99 Tamboo! alb.19381636 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/5/0/3/4/1204305_170x170.jpg 2008-03-04 00:00:00.0 null true false single http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.19381636&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.19381636&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.7357884&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Sun, 1 Sep 1974 00:00:00 -0700 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.7357884 alb.7357884 Les Baxter art.1083 7.99 Moog Rock alb.7357884 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/5/9/1/7/717195_170x170.jpg 1974-09-01 00:00:00.0 2005-05-24 00:00:00.0 true false main-release http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.7357884&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.7357884&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.29821916&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Fri, 6 Dec 1996 00:00:00 -0800 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.29821916 alb.29821916 Les Baxter art.1083 8.99 By Popular Request alb.29821916 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/4/1/6/5/1785614_170x170.jpg 1996-12-06 00:00:00.0 1996-12-06 00:00:00.0 true false single http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.29821916&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.29821916&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.313333&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Tue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.313333 alb.313333 Les Baxter art.1083 9.99 Baxter's Best alb.313333 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/4/4/7/0/1210744_170x170.jpg 2008-04-01 00:00:00.0 1996-06-25 00:00:00.0 true false main-release http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.313333&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.313333&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.29821915&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Fri, 8 Sep 1995 00:00:00 -0700 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.29821915 alb.29821915 Les Baxter art.1083 5.99 The Lost Episode alb.29821915 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/2/1/6/5/1785612_170x170.jpg 1995-09-08 00:00:00.0 1995-09-08 00:00:00.0 true false single http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.29821915&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.29821915&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.253225&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss Vintage Lounge Tue, 22 Oct 1991 00:00:00 -0700 Les Baxter Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.253225 alb.253225 Les Baxter art.1083 7.99 Colors Of Brazil / African Blue alb.253225 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/7/7/8/7/397877_170x170.jpg 1991-10-22 00:00:00.0 1991-10-22 00:00:00.0 true false main-release http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.253225&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss http://mp3.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.253225&variant=data&rws=%2Fles-baxter%2Fdiscography.rss