By popular demand (as a follow-up to the critically acclaimed, mega-selling Space Age Bachelor Pad Music) Bar/None Records has culled a second collection of Juan Garcia Esquivel's other-worldly orchestral pop. Music From A Sparkling Planet amply demonstrates why Esquivel is the undisputed King of finger-snapping, martini-gone musicality. Fans of the first Bar/None release will appreciate Sparkling Planet's disjointed guitars, whistling, explosive brass, ping-pong percussion, "zu-zu-zu" choruses, and unpredictable sonic surprises.

Since Bachelor Pad Music's release, a "lounge" revival has hit full tilt, with young bands like Combustible Edison and Black Velvet Flag providing the soundtrack for a new generation of sophisticated swingers. Esquivel was there first‹before they were born. Now 77 and living in retirement south of the border, the Mexican maestro has expressed great delight at the renewed enthusiasm for his recordings. He may have more fans now than he did back in his heyday!

Because Esquivel's original 1950s and 60s albums didn't chart, he was overlooked at the time by the Top 40 mainstream. He was not, however, neglected by musicians and taste makers. In a recent letter to (UK) magazine The Wire, Dave Dudswell wrote: "Interviewed at the time of the release of Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker attributed their use of marimba, vibes and percussion to the influence of Esquivel's records." It's also likely that Esquivel's Spike Jones-Meets-Dali arrangements and Wagnerian magnificence made lasting impressions on Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. Esquivel's records were making waves on Southern California hi-fis from 1958 to 1963, formative years for the young wall-of-sound visionaries.

In the Music From A Sparkling Planet CD booklet, producer Irwin Chusid accords Juan Garcia Esquivel and the people who worked with him a chance to convey their recollections. Anecdotal comments are included by original RCA producer Neely Plumb, dancer/singer/percussionist Yvonne DeBourbon, vocal group leader Randy Van Horne, and Herman Diaz, Jr., the RCA executive who discovered Esquivel and brought him to America in 1957. The full-color booklet also features rare photos of the snazzy bandleader and his glamorous entourage.

Music From A Sparkling Planet includes four tracks from Esquivel's 1962 landmark Stereo Action showcase, Latin-Esque; the bouncy Vegas-rocker "Question Mark"; the spooky "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"; a roller-coaster rendition of "Third Man Theme," and seven other masterpieces from Space Age Pop's master alchemist.