[.ca] V4 Bachelor Pad Royale Ultra

The Only Thing Missing is the Lava Lamp:
If you are looking for the music that bachelors set to come out of the Hi-Fi, then look no further. This is the ultimate tribute to the bachelor pad, complete with leopard print throw pillows and some kitsch for good measure. The CD starts with the "Route 66" theme and then plunges right into "Caravan" and the sultry "Sexe" (which was probably extemely risque for its time). "Cool," an instrumental take on the West Side Story song, is a gem. You will find yourself slowly tapping your foot to "Night Train" and thinking about those old "gentlemen's clubs" featuring women in outrageous costumes slowly stripping their way to a one-piece swimsuit (Oh, the scandal!). The rest of the CD provides some great music of the era of bacehlor pads. Interestingly enough, if you ever wondered what a true bachelor pad was like, you can watch "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" to see Dick Shawn at his smarmiest as he and his girlfriend burn incense and do pseudo-yoga in his bachelor pad. This CD is perfect for cocktails or just to enjoy something very laid back. Just add a lava lamp and stir.

Ultra-Lounge Royale:
Need a little spice in your CD collection? Well, my friend, Ultra-Lounge's "Bachelor Pad Royale" is the disc for you. This collection of cool, swingin instrumentals makes use of organs, trumpets, saxophones, pianos, and even the occasional "ooo wah" for a wild mix of tunes suitable for the wolf on the prowl. Every song -- from Milt Buckner's organ-piano conversation, "The Beast," to Sam Butera's brassy "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" -- exudes classy, but brazen sex appeal. In addition, you'll get so much more than just music. Ultra-Lounge includes drink recipes in each CD's booklet, as well as measurement & glassware tips, and a few blurbs relating to the selection. This installment of the Ultra-Lounge series is a must-have mix of cocktail music for the hep bachelor or bachelorette. You'll find 18 melodies to make you feel like the whistling wolf in those steamy Tex Avery 'Red Hot Riding Hood' cartoons (or vice versa for us ladies). Sure, some of the tunes are more Spy-theme oriented, but on the whole this disc stays true to its title. Five stars for a series that never disappoints.

Read this review before buying ANY ultra lounge CD:
I can't believe none of the other reviews of the Ultra Lounge series state that these CD's contain almost all instrumental music, with very few songs that feature vocals. I expect a lounge music CD to have a mix of both vocal and instrumental tracks, and of the four Ultra Lounge CD's I purchased, I count only three songs with vocals on all four of them. While the instrumental songs do fit the genre of lounge music, they tend to blend into one another and become mundane after hearing several of them. The titles of the Ultra Lounge CD's (such as Bachelor Pad or Bossanova) mean very little, as each CD fails to distinguish itself from any other because of all of the instrumental tracks. The best lounge CD I have heard so far is from an unlikely source. I purchased it at Pottery Barn, and it has a great mix of vocal and instrumental songs. Keep this in mind when buying lounge music CD's so that you won't be disappointed the way I was with the Ultra Lounge series.

Great early addition to ultra lounge series:
As usual, sparking and nostalgic music for the mature set. Mp3 dude from NYC apparently doesn't understand the ultra lounge project. Yes there are lots of instrumentals, but in the 25 cd's (that's twenty five cd volumes "mp3 dude") in this set there are tons of vocals. In fact absolutely everything, including several Christmas volumes. Perhaps mp3 dude should stay out of the pottery barn and ultra lounge's home page to learn about Ultra Lounge before down-rating something he knows very little about.

Cool, Swingin' Sounds:
Where would the world be without the Ultra-Lounge series? Missing a lot of great collections of wonderful Lounge music and Bachelor Pad Royale is no exception. More great music - maybe a little less consistent than the rest, but a sure bet nonetheless!

• Theme from Route 66 - Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra
• Caravan - John Buzon Trio
• Sexe - Line Renaud
• Cool - Lou Busch & His Orchestra
• Beast - Milt Buckner
• Theme from Our Man Flint - Elliot Fisher
• Spring, Sprang, Sprung - Jack Fascinato
• Night Train - Alvino Rey
• Harlem Nocturne - Martin Denny
• Boulevard of Broken Dreams/Fever \o#\c - Sam Butera
• Topsy - Joe Bucci Trio
• Like Young - Dave Pell
• Street Scene '58 - Lou Busch & His Orchestra
• Playboy's Theme - Cy Coleman
• Shot in the Dark \o#\c - Jimmie Haskell
• Shangri-La - Spike Jones
• Black Coffee - Julie London
• Melancholy Serenade - King Curtis