Tokyo's Coolest Combo"20 Coolest Hits By Request"
(Apollon Japan 5280)
One needs no other proof that lounge has no geographic boundaries than Tokyo's Coolest Combo. Smooth cocktail jazz to start your evening, this combo is rumored to be one of Japan's biggest pop groups in disguise. It certainly isn't a musical charade, as TCC swings its way through "The Look Of Love", "More", "the James Bond Theme" and 17 other swank standards. Cocktail jazz from an exotic land as Japan's new generation takes up where Denny, Lyman, and Mancini left off.
More - Me Japanese Boy - The James Bond Theme - Treize en France - Can We Still Be Friends - Light My Fire - Peppermint Rainbow - Comment Te Dire Adieu - The Look Of Love - Samidare - Barbarella - Umi No Soko De Ytau Uta - Chotto Matte Kudasai - Friends Again - The Apartment - See You In September - Stormy - Witchita Lineman - Circle Game - Tokyo's Coolest Party
Pizzacato Five
"On Her Majesty's Request"
(Sony Japan 5279)
Vik brings a slightly re-formed P5 to the stage for Wednesday's second set. The funky kitsch of earlier recordings gives way to hipster polyester pop with a decided late '60s edge. Working the spectrum from spy jazz to lounge pop to a Beach Boys inspired song (!!), the vocal talents of the lovely Miss P5 have been replaced by Mr. P5 himself, ... This performance would appear to be a blend of James Bond's "On Her Majesty's Service" and the Rolling Stones "Their Satanic Majesty's Request". If this confuses you, the swank pop of this new P5 will certainly clear your mind like a shot of saki on a hot Tokyo night.
Holiday For Audrey H. - introduction "J.B. et Vietnam" - Belissima 90 - T.V.A.G. - Lip Service - excerpt from the music for the film ³Erotica Operation²: a.the African Queen, b.SPY vs. SPY, c. Swedish Girl, d. I confess, e.Feint Operation - Top Secrets - Bananas - Homesick Blues - Satelite Hour - Youıll Never Get To Heaven - God Save The Queen - Letıs Spend The Night Together - Her Majesty au Go-Go
Dimitri From Paris"Sacrebleu"
(Yellow 011A)
Not nearly snotty nor French enough for Henri's Festival Francais, Vik decided to bring Parisian DJ Dimitri on board for the closing set of Wednesday's International Lounge. Take equal parts acid jazz and EZ swank, blend lightly with a European charm and pour immediately onto the dancefloor. Vik has to admit not being tremendously impressed on first listen, but gradually the nouveau EZ of Monsieur Dimitri has taken hold. If the suave polyester popsters of the late '60s and early '70s were reborn with keyboards and modern technology, they surely would put together a sound like this. Spanning the spectrum from sultry vocals to funky reggae, Dimitri pastes together tiny bits of classic swank with original music to produce a fusion begging for the "Guess-that-sample" game. Vik's fave is the sax from "The Theme From The Girl From U.N.C.L.E." dropped into a smooth bossa nova collage. Dimitri From Paris will surely keep the crowd at Vik's dancing well into the Late Late Wednesday night.
Prologue - Sacre Francais - Monsieur Dimitri Joue Du Stylophone - Nothing To Lose (featuring the voice of Mademoiselle Atlantique) - Un Termede - Reveries - Attente Musicale - Dirty Larry - Free Ton Style - Un Terlude - Une Very Stylish Fille - Un Woman's Paradis - Le Rythme Et Le Cadence - Le Moogy Reggae - Encore Un Terlude - Un World Mysteriouse - Par Un Chemin Different - Nothing To Lose (featuring Messieurs Roger and Frederic Poulet on grand piano and flugelhorn) - Epilogue