Other Worlds Other Sounds / Four Corners of the World
The cover ofOther Worlds, Other Soundssays it all--like the woman in red dancing on a moonscape, this 1958 long-player was all about fantasy. And Esquivel, the legendary Mexican conductor-arranger and forefather to the entire lounge and exotica renaissance of the mid '90s, wasn't afraid to fantasize about his instrumentation nor the newfangled invention known as "stereophonic sound." Essentially, this is an entire album of standards played in a beguine tempo with a percussive orchestra and a humming chorus, but--under Esquivel's knob-twiddling fingers--the disc turns into magic. Voices ring back and forth between speakers, horns explode out of nowhere, and piano sounds cascade out of the stereo. This is what hi-fi was all about, and--though it was merely a precursor to the composer's even stranger sonic experiments--it's also one of his most cohesive albums.Four Corners of the World, a relatively straightforward piano-based lounge LP featuring Esquivel tickling the ivories, is also included here. For an even better overview of Esquivel's wild sonics, check out the compilationCabaret Mañana.--Jason Verlinde