Esquivel Latin-Esque / Exploring New Sounds In Hi-Fi CD

Digitally re-mastered two-fer containing a pair of albums by the Mexican band leader, arranger, and Lounge legend on one disc. Esquivel was the quintessential Space-Age pop musician; the embodiment of late-fifties, early 1960s modernity. LATIN-ESQUE and EXPLORING NEW SOUNDS IN HI-FI are supreme examples of Esquivel in all his thrilling pomp; the King of Stereo Action, the playful Svengali who invented the 'zu-zu-zu' vocal punctuation, the pioneer craftsman intent on scouring the sonic universe for every creative possibility. Unlike most recordings there is no attempt to cement the right and left speaker channels into a cohesive whole; for Esquivel, the space between speakers was an empty vessel through which normally immovable instruments roamed, sometimes hovering in the air or darting back and forth like hummingbirds. Crude as the sound magic is, the illusionism has parallels both with the kinetic painting and sculpture of Bridget Riley and Pol Bury or with the surreal imagistic dislocations of Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte.

1. La Raspa 2. Adios, Mariquita Linda 3. Jesusita en Chihuahua 4. Cachito (Pedacito) 5. Latin-Esque 6. La Paloma 7. Estrellita 8. (Oyeme) Cachita 9. Jungle Drums (Canto Karabali) 10. Mucha Muchacha 11. You Belong to My Heart (Solamente Une Vez) 12. Carioca 13. My Blue Heaven 14. Bella Mora 15. Boulevard of Broken Dreams 16. Lazy Bones 17. Spellbound 18. All of Me 19. Whatchamacallit 20. La Ronde 21. My Number One Love 22. The Third Man Theme