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WILL THE THRILL’S
TOP TWENTY-FIVE FAVORITE LOUNGE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

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The best from my collection of Crime Jazz, Exotica, Vintage Vocalists and Smooth Sounds of Seduction.

Find the LPs if you can in your nearest bargain bin, though some have been released on CD too. In any format, these albums are timeless,
the Sounds of Thrillville:

  1. PETER GUNN (Original Soundtrack) Henry Mancini  PETER GUNN (Original Soundtrack)
    Henry Mancini –
    the ultimate cool private eye music

  2. LONELYVILLE: THE NERVOUS BEAT Creed Taylor Orchestra LONELYVILLE: THE NERVOUS BEAT
    Creed Taylor Orchestra
    – the greatest crime jazz album you’ve never heard

  3. POLYNESIAN PARADISE Phil Moore Orchestra POLYNESIAN PARADISE
    Phil Moore Orchestra
    – exotica favorites, exquisitely done

  4. JUNGLE JAZZ Les Baxter  JUNGLE JAZZ
    Les Baxter
    – sexy sax, intoxicating instrumentals

  5. FRANK SINATRA AND ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA AND ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM – the Latin lounge lizard’s soundtrack, Sinatra at his smoothest

  6. SLEEP WARM Dean Martin SLEEP WARM
    Dean Martin
    –lounge lullabies featuring Dino’s finest vocals over orchestra directed by The Chairman himself

  7. HYPNOTIQUE Martin Denny HYPNOTIQUE
    Martin Denny
    – sensuous, soothing and surreal

  8. ABOUT THE BLUES Julie London ABOUT THE BLUES
    Julie London
    – my favorite torch singer at her most sly, smoky and seductive

  9. THE WILDEST! Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Sam Butera and the THE WILDEST!
    Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Sam Butera and the Witnesses
    – premiere collection from Vegas’s coolest lounge act, the heppest cats and kitten ever, man

  10.  SPACE AGE BACHELOR PAD MUSIC (Compilation) Esquivel  SPACE AGE BACHELOR PAD MUSIC (Compilation)
    Esquivel –
    the album that launched the Lounge Revival of the 90s, still the Atomic Bomb of Sonic Swingdom

  11. THAT’S ALL Bobby Darin  THAT’S ALL
    Bobby Darin
    – one of the swingin’est LPs ever featuring two of Bobby’s biggest hits, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea”

  12.  VOODOO Robert Drasnin  VOODOO
    Robert Drasnin
    – moody moonlight melodies

  13. 4:35 EXOTICA Ted Auletta and his Orchestra  4:35 EXOTICA
    Ted Auletta and his Orchestra
    – Polynesian Pop at its purest

  14.  MMM…NICE Bob Thompson  MMM…NICE
    Bob Thompson
    – the best from a genius pioneer of Space Age Pop

  15.  LONESOME ECHO Jackie Gleason  LONESOME ECHO
    Jackie Gleason
    – romantic and rich, lush and lively make-out music

  16.  SAMMY DAVIS JR. AT THE COCOANUT GROVE (Live)  SAMMY DAVIS JR. AT THE COCOANUT GROVE (Live) – the most talented, versatile performer of our time captured at his peak

  17.  A TOUCH OF TABASCO Rosemary Clooney with Perez Prado  A TOUCH OF TABASCO
    Rosemary Clooney with Perez Prado
    – Cubano Cha-Cha Mambo Magnifico

  18.  INTRODUCING LINDA LAWSON, Linda Lawson  INTRODUCING LINDA LAWSON
    Linda Lawson
    – unsung cocktail classic by a sultry siren and good friend

  19.  MUSIC TO READ JAMES BOND BY, Various Artists  MUSIC TO READ JAMES BOND
    Various Artists
    – vibrant variations of 007’s theme music

  20. SHE’S A LADY Tom Jones  She's A LADY
    Tom Jones
    – Lounge's Largest Lungs cut loose, 70s style - caution: may cause spontaneous conception….

  21. WHIPPED CREAM & OTHER DELIGHTS WHIPPED CREAM & OTHER DELIGHTS
    Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
    - this is pretty much everyone's favorite lounge album, not only because of the content, including Herb's signature tune "A Taste of Honey," but most likely due to what is probably the sexiest album cover of all time

  22. THE LEGEND OF PELE  THE LEGEND OF PELE
    Arthur Lyman
    - volcano melodies and tropical goddess music from the master of the Mai Tai mood

  23. STACCATO STACCATO (Original Soundtrack)
    Elmer Bernstein
    - rivals Mancini's "Peter Gunn" as the definitive TV PI score, bold and brassy but smooth and suave, just like John Cassavettes in the title role as the beatnik musician gumshoe

  24. JUN'GALA JUN'GALA
    Marty Wilson and His Orchestra
    - exciting exotica, a sonic safari for the soul

  25. VOODOO! VOODOO!
    Richard Hayman and His Orchestra
    - not to be confused with Robert Drasnin's album of the same title, this is a sultry, steamy cauldron of zombie tunes that'll liven up any undead shindig...