Track Listing

1. Light My Fire - Zacharis
2. Sunshine Superman - Mel Torm�
3. Incense and Peppermints/A Beautiful Morning - Martin Denny
4. Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Henry Jerome
5. Green Tambourine
6. Tired of Waiting for You - Stu Phillips, Stu Phillips
7. Mellow Yellow/We Gotta Get Out of This Place - David McCallum
8. Gimme a Little Sign - Buddy Morrow
9. Hard Day's Night - Peggy Lee
10. Whiter Shade of Pale - Mariano Moreno
11. Heartbreak Hotel/Don't Be Cruel - The Hollyridge Strings
12. As Tears Go By - William Gutierrez
13. Evil Ways - Al DeLory
14. Get Back - Little Big Horns
15. Hello, I Love You/Touch Me - The Lettermen
16. Dizzy - Royal Blue
17. Theme from Shaft - The Hollyridge Strings
18. Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) - Julie London
19. Day in the Life/I Am the Walrus - John Tartaglia
20. Daydream Believer - Lord Sitar
21. Winchester Cathedral - Nelson Riddle
22. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Wayne Newton
23. Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17506 in Music
• Released on: 1997-04-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
These recordings date from 1964 to 1971. During this time period, there were two kinds of "pop" music. There was the kind for teenagers, which featured the likes of the Beatles, the Doors and the Strawberry Alarm Clock. And then there was pop music for the parents of teenagers, featuring the likes of Julie London, the Letterman and the Hollyridge Strings. This CD features teenage pop songs as performed by pop artists for the older folks. Boy, talk about a style clash! Can you imagine Mel Torme singing "Sunshine Superman", or Julie London singing "Mighty Quinn"? Well, you don't have to imagine it, you can get this CD and hear it for yourself. There are some strange renditions of songs that will be familiar to anyone who ever turned on an oldies radio station. Most of the songs are instumentals, although I wouldn't call it "elevator music", for the most part. I have to make special mention of the orchestral version of "Heartbreak Hotel", which is downright spooky! Fans of "kitsch" should dig this CD.

A New Level Of Kitsch
Mel Torme singing 'Sunshine Superman'? Julie London warbling 'Quinn, The Eskimo'? Exotica Supremo Martin Denny taking on 'Incense & Peppermints'? No, you haven't gone insane, you're just listening to the ultimate curveball CD from 'Ultra-Lounge' This may be one of the most mind-warping albums I have ever heard; extremly tasteless and misguided takes on your favorite 60's pop hits by desperate loungeurs trying to be 'relevant' to 'the kids'. They miss the boat entirely, but the result is this strange hybrid; not quite lounge music, not quite rock, not really muzak...but it is (in the words of The Firesign Theatre) 'weirdly cool' . On first listening I didn't know WHAT I was hearing, but this disc has become strangely addictive...

Particular faves are a kinda science-fictiony sounding 'Shaft', Lord Sitar(!) doing a faux Indian take on 'Daydream Believer', Zacharias & his spooky violin on 'Light My Fire', and what must be the strangest 'Heartbreak Hotel' since Dread Zeppelin's...plus the vocal numbers mentioned above. If you are an auditory adventurer, and you 'get' the whole 'lounge' vibe...bend your head around this one!

I'm really in the groove, now...
The British Invasion, it should be noted, contained Miss Peggy Lee. That's right, the Peggy Lee of "Fever". Peggy Lee, you see, was the 5th Beatle. This disc is evidence of that, as you hear Peggy belt out "A Hard Day's Night". Yeah, baby! Oh, and you also get a special version of "Light My Fire"--a version that I think Ed Sullivan would have approved. Come on baby, light my fire. Mel Torme, Wayne Newton--now THAT's counter-culture, man. So put on your fringe vest, those rose-colored Lennon specs, and take a step back in time to some real anit-Establishment venom!