''Forbidden Island'' was the third

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Martin Denny. The album was produced in March 1958 at the Liberty Studios in Hollywood, following the group's nine-month gig performing at

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's Bora Bora Lounge in Hawaii. ''Forbidden Island'' was Denny's first album to be recorded and released after vibraphonist Arthur Lyman left the group to pursue his own solo career. The album includes four original compositions by Denny: "Cobra", "Exotica", "Primitiva", and "Forbidden Island". Upon its release in May 1958, ''Billboard'' awarded the album four stars and wrote: "Interesting treatment of exotic original and standards . . . produced provocative sound. Good off-beat jockey wax." Richie Unterberger, in a review for AllMusic.com gave the album four stars and noted that it mixed "island sounds, easy listening, and Asian/world music accents." Australian critic John Masters wrote in December 1959 that high fidelity addicts may enjoy Denny's "conglomeration of weird and wonderful imitations of tropical rhythms" and opined that, although "most of the content . . . is sugar coated trash, the recorded sound is outstanding and for this reason the disc is commended, as a technical showpiece only, to stereophiles."

Track listing

Side A

1. "Cobra" (Martin Denny) – 3:01
2. "Port au Prince" ( Les Baxter) – 2:07
3. "Exotica" (Martin Denny) – 3:00
4. "Little China Doll" (Dave Snell) – 2:38
5. "

Bali Hai "Bali Ha'i", also spelled "Bali Hai", is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. The name refers to a mystical island, visible on the horizon but not reachable, and was originally inspired by the sight of Amba ...

" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein) – 2:55
6. "Narcissus Queen" (R. A. Anderson) – 2:25

Side B

1. "Sim Sim" (Les Baxter) – 3:03
2. "Goony Birds" (Julius Wechter) – 2:13
3. "Primitiva" (Martin Denny) – 2:30
4. "

March of the Siamese Children ''March of the Siamese Children'' is an album by jazz musician Frank Strozier, recorded in 1962 for Jazzland. Track listing #"March of the Siamese Children" (Rodgers, Hammerstein II)5:10 #"Extension 27" (Strozier)4:57 #"Something I Dreamed ...

" (Richard Rodgers) – 2:43
5. "Sukura" (Dai Keong Lee) – 2:41
6. "Forbidden Island" (Martin Denny) – 2:56

Personnel

Band members

* Martin Denny – piano,

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, arranger, composer *

Augie Colon August "Augie" Borero Colon (August 27, 1927 ‒ June 4, 2004) was an American musician known for his work as a percussionist in the exotica genre. He came to national fame as a member of Martin Denny's band in the 1950s and was the voice behind ...

– Latin instruments, special effects, bird calls, and bongos * Julius Wechter – vibes, marimba, xylophone, percussion * Harvey Ragsdale – string bass

Guest specialists

* Lew Paino – percussion * Will Brady – flute and

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* Bud Lee – guitar and Japanese

samisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usual ...

* Mike Garcia – conga drum

Other contributors

Si Waronker Simon Waronker (March 4, 1915 – June 7, 2005) was an American violinist and record producer from Los Angeles, California, best known for co-founding Liberty Records. Biography Graduating from high school at 13 years old, he won a scholarship ...

– producer * Garrett-Howard – cover design * Bob Lang and Ted Keep – engineers * Sandy Warner – cover model, "the Exotica girl" * Buck Buchwach – liner notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbidden Island 1958 albums Exotica albums Martin Denny albums Liberty Records albums Albums produced by Martin Denny Albums arranged by Martin Denny