Baja Marimba Band - Rides Again (1965)

The Baja Marimba Band was Julius Wechter´s other band. They were, in his words, "... like the Tijuana Brass' bad little brothers. Herb (Alpert) and his group would dress in tuxedos and put on a tight, professional presentation. And we'd flop on stage in big sombreros and old clothes with big pasted-on mustaches, smoking cigars and drinking beer." He joined Martin Denny´s band in Hawaii. Wechter played vibes and many unusual percussion instruments on Denny's recordings, starting with "Exotica" in 1958, through "In Person" in 1962. He was a school-mate of Herb Alpert and he also composed "The Spanish Flea", which became one of the most-recorded hits launched by the Tijuana Brass, covered by everyone from the Doodletown Pipers to Homer Simpson. Although never quite achieving the success of the Tijuana Brass, the Baja Marimba Band did very well on its own, recording nearly a dozen albums for A&M and spawning several copycat groups, including the Leo Addeo-led Living Marimbas on RCA and the Acapulco Marimbas on London. Julius Wechter died in 1999. Here he is with a tame album from 1965, which features the follow up song to their big hit "Comin´ in the Backdoor": "Goin´ out the Side Door"...