The resultant album was called Music Out Of The Moon, and it remains a masterpiece of musical futurism. The unlikely instrumentation (drums, bass, guitar, piano, choir, electric organ, and theramin) is truly other-worldly, and Les' arrangements are shimmery and gorgeous. (The theramin is, by the way, an instrument with a fascinating history, and the curious reader is urged to rent the documentary film Theramin for a wonderfully in-depth look at the instrument, its virtuoso Clara Rockmore, and its creator, the brilliant Dr Leon Theramin.) The record is notable on several levels. It was the first record Capitol issued in all three of its early formats -- 78 rpm album, 45 rpm album, and 10" 33 1/3. It was the first record cover to feature a full-color photograph. It was also an unlikely runaway hit. No less a musical futurist than jazz avant-garde space traveler Sun Ra was heavily influenced by it. And, of course, it launched Les Baxter as a force to be dealt with. The follow-up Revel/Baxter collaboration, Perfume Set To Music, was released on RCA/Victor, and included the hit "Jet". Again, it was marked by unusual instrumentation and a thematic concept tying the songs together, this time musical depictions of different perfumes. Again, it was a smash. |
 |
Capitol soon after came up with commercially phenomenal/artistically disastrous idea of pulling Nat "King" Cole from behind the piano and putting him in front of a huge string ensemble. Les was called in, and arranged and conducted "Too Young", as well as conducting Nelson Riddle's arrangement of "Mona Lisa". Cole, the genius pianist, was pretty much silenced by the success of these two hit records. Les was proud of himself. I never forgave him, personally. Soon after the successes with Revel and Cole, Capitol assigned Les another singer to work with. Her given name is a string of unpronounceable Peruvian syllables. Her stage name was Yma Sumac. Everything about Yma Sumac is subject to speculation, and this is putting it mildly. The one exception to this is her astounding range -- easily five octaves, probably more, no singer in any style ever showed up with such a range and such outrageous ways of putting it to work. She could imitate the growl of a pre-eruptive volcano, the chirp of an exotic bird, and literally everything in between. Her rhythmic playfulness, exotic mystique, and sheer pyrotechnical prowess marked her as a unique talent by any yardstick. It was up to Les to
shape her music together for her debut album, Voice Of The Xtabay. Most of the
compositions in it are attributed to "Vivanco" or "Vivanco/Baxter",
with one being credited solely to Baxter. Yma denies Les having had any real hands-on
involvement with the music in any way. I may have taken this claim a little more seriously
had I not stumbled onto an orchestral sketch of "Tumpa" in Les' own penmanship. |
Les took Yma's Incan melodies and arranged them with a very Ravel-influenced string section, underpinned brilliantly by Latin percussion. Xtabay is not only Yma's best record, it is her best-selling, and has been issued literally in every commercial format -- 78, 45, 33 1/3, open-reel tape, cassette, eight-track, and, finally, compact disc. What makes this record so special? The uniqueness of Yma's vocal talent is a strong answer, but the bottom line is really that everything about the record fits together so beautifully. Les had perfected an exotic style that drew on the lush harmony of French impressionist composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, the striking orchestration of Igor Stravinsky, and the Latin rhythms that had come to attention in the music of such Cuban bandleaders as Machito and Tito Puente. |
The success of literally everything touched by Les Baxter at that point led first to a series of singles that commenced in 1951 with "Because Of You", and would continue with such easy listening hits as "Unchained Melody", "Wake The Town And Tell The People", "Lonely Wine", "April In Portugal", "Blue Tango", and, most notably, the 1956 blockbuster "The Poor People Of Paris". Les never really took a whole lot of artistic pride in these records -- all of which he arranged, but none of which he composed, although he would always be very quick to point out his success as a hitmaker. |
 |
The most important part of this story at this time -- 1951 -- is that Capitol gave Les the go-ahead to make an all-original album. Given his druthers, Les Baxter would always opt for the exotic, and his inaugural album as composer/arranger is the first real show of firepower we have of him. |
||
The resultant LP, Le Sacre Du Sauvage, was issued as a 10" 33, and as albums of 78's and 45's. >From the first notes of the opening cut, "Busy Port", it is clear that this record is something different. It starts with a giant orchestral sweep a la Stravinsky (who Les idolized), then goes into a jerky, odd 6/8 rhythm, finally kicking into a Latin groove underneath mind-altering orchestration. Few records ever kicked off with such a striking entrance. The album also
featured cuts like "Jungle River Boat", "The Ritual", and, most
famously, "Quiet Village". |
 |
The title of Les' debut points right to Stravinsky -- whose Le Sacre Du Printemps (English title: "The Rite Of Spring") is a work Les claimed "changed the world". Le Sacre Du Sauvage is more often referred to by its English translation, Ritual Of The Savage. It does not tax
credibility one iota to say Ritual is the record wherein exotica is crystallized once and
for all as a genre with stylistic standards and practices. Certainly it marked a stylistic
jumping point for Les Baxter, who would turn again and again to music that certainly makes
its initial statement on this record. |
