Polynesian Paradise

POLYNESIAN PARADISE is more than the pulsating pleasure of a musical trip around palm trees, warm ocean currents, coral reefs, and grass-skirted loveliness. It's a kiss-covered call to dip deep in the charm and the sounds of Love from these floating islands and fairy-tale lands.

It takes merely a moment of unhurried time. The first bird-call settles you in the midst of a South Sea Island dream. The breeze carries whispers of Love gone native. You need no translation to understand the full meaning.

Phil Moore has captured alive the true sounds of jungle joy. You hear Paradise through Polynesian ears. You see wild valleys and crater-extinct volcanos through Hawaiian eyes. You roam in a continuous pattern of birds and color. You roll over dreams of hula-dancers, ride outrigger canoes to moonlit shores.

POLYNESIAN PARADISE, played by Phil Moore and His Orchestra, mixes the treasures of South Sea Island lilts, the echoes of rhythmical tones tip-toeing out of the wilderness and melodies on the move. It is full of enchantment. It has a feeling of reverence for the beauty of those contented islands. It is caught in the spell of the world of wishes.

POLYNESIAN PARADISE is more than music for escape. It is music for Love. And underneath it all is the rhythm, the beat, the excitement of open arms, warm welcome and the pleasures of romance.

Phil Moore has arranged and conducted this musical tour of these tingling islands. The melodic lines soar high. The rhythm is strong, steady, sensuous. Throughout the album here are exotic jungle sounds, sonorous acoustics. Even the names of some of the instruments have allure and fascination: elephant bells, beaded cabasas, gamelon, marimba, African talking drum, finger cymbals, ukulele, chromatic tunable drums, gongs, hula skirts, Chinese bell tree, tambourine, dried peas, sea shells, wind bells, sharkskin drum.

Phil Moore has conducted other star-studded excursions. He wrote musical production numbers for Kismet, scored for Lena Horne in Panama Hattie arranged for Dorothy Dandridge.

[Also he scored and conducted Leda Annest: Portrait of Leda.]

POLYNESIAN PARADISE includes:

Return To Paradise -- You may not understand each and every phrase the colorful birds sing. But there is no need to resist the invitation. From koa trees and palm-thatched huts the music says: Haka-le (Let the morrow take care of itself.)

The Far Mountain -- There are caves in the island mountains. They hold subtle secrets. Melodious phrases roll down with remarkable resonance. It is not the tribe that is lost.

Maiden Island -- A grass-skirt silhouetted in the moonlight has a sound and swish that is magic aroma. It is soft, shimmery.

Blue Hawaii -- Guitars, ukuleles, the voices of feathery-birds lift this familiar melody to the heights. The ocean waves roll on and on.

Pearls of Paradise -- A chorus voices the musical joy. The flora and fauna join in. Man-made jungle sounds keep the atmosphere in tempo.

Moon Of Manakoora -- Voices sing to the heavens, the night and the music. There is sound of Love sliding down the moon-rays.

Bali Hai -- Here is the mood of the South Pacific, familiar, fascinating. The chorus hums an invitation to legendary pleasure.

Fiji Fareluell -- Natives make music with bamboo sticks, sea shells, stones and a happy spirit. They regale the air with the style and motif of sun-drenched horizons and supernatural ceremony.

Flamingo -- The patter of the Pacific surrounds the chorus as they give voice to the lyrics of this familiar song. The musical setting is new, langorous.

The Turtle And The Rickshaw -- Turtles grow large, move slowly. The melody tells the story of a turtle and a rickshaw. It is no race. Tourist meets native. It is a curious sight.

Pagan Love Song -- The chorus sings again. The words and the music tell all about the timeless Tahiti.

TradeWinds -- All that is warm and personal and pleasurable is carried softly through the strange effect of these breeze-blown sounds. It is the proper finishing touch to a tour through Paradise.

Notes by MORT GOODE

Phil Moore and his Orchestra: Polynesian Paradise LP © Strand Records SLS-1004