Temptation (Blue)

Some of the most unique Italian jungle exotica mambo music you'll hear! You won't usually find those words together but because this record, released in the late 50s only on reel to reel tape, was twice produced layering cultural madness! This gem was originally designed to be a Francis Bay album of Italian music and Cuban Mambo, until the masters were sold to producer Kirby Allen who with the help of faux African tribesman, Chaino, added African style percussion and animal sounds up the wazoo! If the much-bandied-about word exotica stands for anything, it stands for disparate cultures playing well together with others, and Temptation: The Exotic Sounds of Chaino is a case study in international relations that could serve as a teacher's guide in how to set up a Model UN. If there's a more quintessential example of the African-Cuban-Italian-Spanish-Polynesian-American Songbook as recorded by a Belgian combo, this author is unaware of such an artifact. - Gaylord Fields (WFMU)