| Jewels of the Sea | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover ofJewels of the Sea original vinyl release featuringDiane Webber. | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1961 | |||
| Genre | Exotica,lounge | |||
| Label | Capitol ST 1537 | |||
| Les Baxter chronology | ||||
| ||||
Jewels of the Sea is a 1961 orchestralexotica album by American composerLes Baxter. The album was inspired by fantasy ideas of theocean frompop culture, such asmermaids andsea nymphs, sunken ships, and legendary underwater cities such asAtlantis.[1][2][3] There was an overall erotic element to the album, whosetagline was "Titillating Orchestrations for Listening and Loving", and whose original cover featured actress and modelDiane Webber smiling glamorously underwater, apparently naked.[4][5] Although not explicitly shown wearing a mermaid tail, her makeup and jewellery are styled to be reminiscent of the performing mermaids atWeeki Wachee Springs.[5]
Musically,Jewels of the Sea is characteristic of Baxter's work, with its use of a traditional Europeanorchestra, primarilypercussion instruments andstrings, combined with more exotic instruments such aselectronic keyboard andelectric organ.[3][6][7] All tracks are original compositions with the exception of "The Enchanted Sea", an arrangement ofClaude Debussy'sLa mer.[8][9] The mood of the album ranges from upbeat to melancholy, with an overall relaxing effect.[10][11]
The album was generally well-received by critics.Electronics World called the oceanic theme "pure corn", but the music "first rate."[12] Frank Arganbright of theJournal & Courier called it "sparkling to say the least."[7] Merrill McCord ofThe Courier-Journal called it a "concert-like spectacular."[9] TheVirgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music rated it three stars out of four.[13]
Adapted from the liner notes of the CD reissue ofJewels of the Sea, track lengths fromiTunes.[14][15] All tracks composed, arranged, and conducted by Les Baxter unless noted.[1][8] The originalvinyl recording consisted of twelve tracks. When the album was reissued onaudio CD in 2012 byél, fifteen bonus tracks drawn from three other Baxter albums were added as bonus material.[14]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sunken City" | 3:00 |
| 2. | "Stars in the Sand" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Sea Nymph" | 2:06 |
| 4. | "Singing Sea Shells" | 2:17 |
| 5. | "Dolphin" | 2:00 |
| 6. | "Dawn Under the Sea" | 2:32 |
| 7. | "The Enchanted Sea" (Adapted fromLa mer byClaude Debussy[8]) | 3:33 |
| 8. | "The Girl from Nassau" | 2:26 |
| 9. | "The Ancient Galleon" | 3:18 |
| 10. | "Coral Castle" | 2:38 |
| 11. | "Dancing Diamonds" | 1:34 |
| 12. | "Jewels of the Sea" (Adapted from "Katia's Theme" byRoberto Nicolosi, from the motion pictureBlack Sunday[16]) | 3:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Procession of the Princes" | |
| 14. | "Fruit of Dreams" | |
| 15. | "Pool of Love" | |
| 16. | "Gardens of the Moon" | |
| 17. | "Pyramid of the Sun" | |
| 18. | "The High Priest of the Aztecs" | |
| 19. | "Acapulco" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 20. | "Tahiti: A Summer Night at Sea" | |
| 21. | "Hong Kong Cable Car" | |
| 22. | "Tramp Steamer to Singapore" | |
| 23. | "Monkey Dance of Bali" | |
| 24. | "City of Veils" |
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