Back in the late ‘50s, when “Long Playing” vinyl albums were still a novelty, labels such as RCA and Columbia released music made for 20-30 something bachelors. They were directed for either the “stereo nut” that was obsessed with hearing the ultimate in sound quality, or for the guy who wanted some background music for wooing the chicks. Mexican band leader/pianist Juan Garcia Esquivel became a pop icon during this time, releasing albums that were a mix of lounge sounds, jazz and Latin, eventually garnering the label “The Busby Berkeley of Cocktail Music.”
This reissue of the 1958 vinyl album, is a perfect sample of the genre and era. First of all, the sound is absolutely stupendous with the famous “Living Stereo” showing off your speakers to perfection. The material is wondrously kitschy and melodramatic mixes of large scale orchestra and voices, with his uptown piano musings teaming with extroverted percussion and horns on pieces like “Granada” and “Begin the Beguine.” The speakers get a workout with bright brass and over the top vocals on “Poinciana” and the orchestra gets Kentonesque on “Magic Is The Moonlight” before the album closes up on “It Had To Be You,” and your date gets up to have her martini glass refilled. Tons of fun, especially if you’re watching Mad Men