Ritual of the Savage

Ritual of the Savage
Studio album by
Released1951 (1951)
RecordedMay 17, 1951
StudioCapitol (Hollywood)
GenreExotica
Length32:31[1]
LabelCapitol Records
Les Baxter chronology
Arthur Murray Favorites: Tangos
(1951)
Ritual of the Savage
(1951)
Festival of the Gnomes
(1953)

Ritual of the Savage is an album by American composer Les Baxter, released in 1951 often cited as one of the most important exotica albums.[2] The album featured lush orchestral arrangements along with tribal rhythms and offered such classics as "Quiet Village", "Jungle River Boat", "Love Dance", and "Stone God."[3]

Baxter described the album as a "tone poem of the sound and the struggle of the jungle."[4] The album's liner notes requested the listener to imagine themselves transported to a tropical land. "Do the mysteries of native rituals intrigue you…does the haunting beat of savage drums fascinate you? Are you captivated by the forbidden ceremonies of primitive peoples in far-off Africa or deep in the interior of the Belgian Congo?"[5]

  1. ^ "Ritual of the Savage". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  2. ^ "Skip Heller on LES BAXTER". ultramodern.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
  3. ^ Ford, Phil (2008-07-16). "Taboo: Time and Belief in Exotica" (PDF). Representations. 103 (103): 107–135. doi:10.1525/rep.2008.103.1.107. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  4. ^ Lanza, J. (2004). Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong; Revised and Expanded Edition. University of Michigan Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-472-08942-0. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  5. ^ Meyers, D.; Walker, E.M.; Chenault, J.; Motz, D. (2014). Kahiki Supper Club: A Polynesian Paradise in Columbus. American Palate. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-62585-133-8. Retrieved 2018-12-15.