Queen Kong (2016)

Anyone remember the anthology horror film Screamtime? How about Dealers, Britain's would be answer to Wall Street? Or Gregory's Two Girls, the perversely downbeat and largely forgotten sequel to Gregory's Girl? How about Hawks, the black comedy Timothy Dalton made between his two outings as James Bond? Who can claim to have seen the godawful King Kong spoof Queen Kong with Robin Askwith? Who remembers the Indiana Jones wannabee Sky Bandits? How about the crime caper featuring three members of pop group All Saints?

In the '50s, pianist Martin Denny was playing a residency at an open-air nightclub in Hawaii when he and his band (including Arthur Lyman on vibraphone, Augie Colón on percussion, and John Kramer on bass) began incorporating the sounds of nature into their songs (Colón had a knack for emulating bird calls), as well as embracing melodies and arrangements influenced by the sounds of the Pacific and the Far East. Denny and his combo landed a record deal for their unique music, and the song "Quiet Village" became a major pop hit in 1958, kicking off a new style of music that was dubbed "exotica" for its use of unconventional sounds and moods. Denny was a common presence on the sales charts for the next several years, and this box set features eight albums by Denny on four CDs (two albums on each disc) chronicling his most popular and productive period. Eight Classic Albums includes the albums Exotica (1958), Exotica 2 (1958), Forbidden Island (1958), Primitiva (1958), Exotica 3 (1959), The Enchanted Sea (1960), Exotic Percussion (1960), and Romantica (1961).