Somewhere between the sappy schmaltz of Lawrence Welk and the space age swing of Esquivel you'll hear the softly-swaying sounds of David Carroll. A self described "one finger pianist and bad saxophonist," Carroll was head of artists and repertoire for Mercury Records. In addition to producing the hit parade of Patti Page, Sarah Vaughan, The Platters and many others, he recorded 22 of his own albums with the label.

In the mode of Jackie Gleason and Percy Faith, Carroll's lushly-arranged compositions are sweet, soothing, and seductive, almost to the point of being hypnotic. They subversively lull you into a 1950s dream-world of fluffy poodle skirts, eye-gouging Caddy fins and pastel atomic decor.

These two recently re-issued LPs on CD are prime examples of what became known as Easy Listening for Mid-century moms and dads, re-marketed to latter day hipsters as Lounge. This is music for Doris Day as she shops for vanilla ice cream in the local supermarket—but mixed in are also sexy splashes of mambo ("Adios"), Cha-Cha ("Cha-Cha Panecas"), even Exotica ("Swamp Fire"). There are also standout sax solos on tracks like "My Sin".

These particular albums were among those aimed at the burgeoning stereo market, so their wall-to-wall sound still resonates pleasingly even with 21st Century technology. All in all, this is perfect mood music for your next cocktail dance party—suit and tie preferred for the gents and ladies, please...no pants, unless they're matador style.

Will "The Thrill" Viharo is a freelance writer, host of the film series “Forbidden Thrills” at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, and creator of the long running cult movie cabaret “Thrillville.” He lives in Alameda, CA with his wife Monica “Tiki Goddess” Cortes and their two cats. His pulp novels “A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge,” "Chumpy Walnut," and "Down a Dark Alley" are now available at http://stores.lulu.com/willviharo For more please surf over to www.thrillville.net