Baja Marimba Band - For Animals Only

A fun little record that is full of bad puns, familiar rhythms and entirely animal-centric. The cover tells us of the bands leader, "Baja Sr." and a bit of his history. According to the liner notes, "Baja was first inspired to do the LP one night while watching a tattered old 8 mm rental film. The picture was a travel adventure depicting the age old battle between the sloth and his natural enemy, the squid." So you see what we're dealing with here, folks, The cover art is a blend of the band the creatures found within the grooves.
The Baja Marimba band was the brainchild of Julius Wechter who played the marimba in Martin Denny's band along with other instruments. He was discovered by producer Herb Alpert, who encouraged him to form his own band and the BMB was born, using other artists to supplement Julius. Most, if not all, of the band's musicians were seasoned jazz musicians who performed with such artists as Stan Kenton, Don Ellis, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie.
The group would appear on stage dressed in sombreros and old clothes, with fake mustaches, smoking cigars, and drinking beer, all of which was stereotypical Mexican behavior. Although this brought criticism from Mexican-American advocacy groups, for most Americans it was acceptable "bad boy" behavior, which was part of their image.
Also, they appeared in goofy group photos on their album covers, adding a comedic allure (every one of their album covers had a man in the background appearing to be urinating). all the albums were filled with lighthearted fun, although the music itself was an eclectic blend of bossa nova, jazz standards and old school pop. This album is no different, including 'classics' like Puff, The Magic Dragon & How Much Is The Doggie In The Window, among others