Havana in Hi-Fi

Richard Hayman and his Orchestra - "Havana in Hi-Fi" (1957) - Mercury Records

Hello Friends,

This record was a great thrift store find and we're enjoying the hell out of it while we suck down some mojitos and wait for the summer sun to set.

We were first introduced to bespectacled bandleader Richard Hayman on his record, Voodoo (1959).  (Review here.)  This LP, like that one, has a very soundtracky quality to it.  The heavily orchestrated arrangements are at times classical, at times jazzy, with hints of exotica and a healthy dose of spaghetti western.  (As Tiki T. points out the opening number, "Rhapsodero" would not sound out of place in a Quentin Tarantino movie!)     

The liner notes on the back of the record describe in great detail the recording process and instruments used!  In the 50's, the term "High Fidelity" was used by record labels to help market their products by promising a fuller, more authentic sound.  (Eventually, the term "Hi Fi" became pretty generic and was mostly used to replace "phonograph" or "record player.")  So if you care you can read about the "authentic"-sounding oboe on "Caminito", what kind of RCA microphones were used on the violas, or how the track "Love and the World Loves With You" is a real "treat for tweeter fans", you can! 

Plus, we love the cover!  We're always suckers for a bongos and a brunette with nice gams!

RATING: 4 Tropical Merengues out of 5

Voodoo Child

Richard Hayman and His Orchestra - "Voodoo!" (1959) - Mercury Records

Hello Friends,

The natives are restless on Vinyl in the Valley tonight!   I'm busy playing records and mixing up some cocktails while Tiki T. is busy poking needles into some voodoo doll she made!  Man, I hope these chest pains are just indigestion!  

Aptly titled, "Voodoo", this album is weird and scary like a good tiki album should be.  The rhythms are tribal and spell-binding.  The moods are exotic and dense.  This reaks of atmosphere! Perfect for your next Halloween party!

As the liner notes state: "Here is the fearsome fire and the brewing pot.  Here are the frightening shadows... You're not alone any longer.  The room is shaken with the frantic dances of the hungans-- so-called priests of voodoo... the cauldron boils and froths.  The walls echo to the cries and wails of the believers.  That's voodoo!"

There's a very soundtrack-y feel to this record.  Its almost as if Hayman was scoring a 1950's travel documentary about Haitian sugar plantations after dark!  One "song"-- "Incantation"-- with its exaggerated shaman incantations, actually makes you feel like some of the bodies buried in the backyard have started stirring!  

Great Googly Moogly!  

RATING: 4.5 so-called priests of voodoo out of 5