Search - Various Artists :: Jungle Exotica

A Sleazy Safari of authentic primitive bump & grind

Tobin Fields | USA | 01/23/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Jungle Exotica is a rare look into an amazingly vital music. It, along with the Las Vegas Grind series (and Jungle Exotica vol. 2) contains tracks that combine a primitive garage sound with a jazzy sophistication. Tracks like "Watusi Zombie" by Jan Davis and "Native" by Bob Callaway will ignite the fire in your blood if there's any to ignite. And if you keep dancing like that, they'll put you in a cage! Of course, like any various artist comp, there are weak moments: mostly novelty songs in this case. And, like all great primitve rock & roll, it's definitely lo-fi. It's actually recordings made from collectors' 45's. But behind that veil of hiss there is a black velvet jungle oozing. If you know what real rock and roll is, you'll find much to love."

Unique, Crazy, Jungle-Lounge, Party music

WJohnson | California, USA | 05/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Note: this review is for Jungle Exotica Vol 1, but the track list looks identical to the "Jungle Exotica" (no volume) disk on Amazon. So it applies to both disks.
If you liked the whole "lounge" phenomenon in recent years, you will love this disk. I've owned it for almost 4 years(when I first started seeing it in stores) and have listed to it (and volume #2) over and over due to the sheer fun and goofy music in it. It's not strictly a "lounge" disk per se, but is apparently a compilation of old tunes that were actually played in strip clubs in the 50's and 60's. Goofy, rocking, catchy surf-a-billy, bongo and saxophone-filled song's like "monkey" and "dragon Walk" are sure to catch the ear of anyone at your cocktail party. Additionally, songs like "Cafe Bohemian" and "King Kong" are swanky enough to fit into your "lounge" mix. All of the songs do follow a loose "Jungle" theme, hence the title. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is that a few of the songs could be racially offensive to Asians, and Arabic people. My solution: remove those songs (only about 4 out of 32 songs)from the play list at parties. Considering the era that these songs come from, it's not totally unexpected. However, don't let 4 songs throw you off, the rest of the disk is fun! Forget the guy who reviewed this as the "worst thing he ever heard." If you don't have a sense of fun, you will not get the point of this disk. Try it and you'll enjoy it at your next party. Have fun!"

This CD swings and rocks

Cool Cat | Springfield, OR USA | 05/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Awesome! This CD is the ultimate in cheese 50's Exotica. A bunch of rock bands soaking the Exotica craze for all its worth. Gritty and goofy tropical rockers from one hit bands belongs in any collecter's of weird vintage music. It doesn't get better than this. Although most of the prices of the sellers are ridiculous and if you look hard in the internet you can find both for way cheaper. The high price of the CD is worth it. Trust me!"