It’s been more than three months since I announced my next great music collection, Palm Springs Lounge Lizard, and I’m pleased to report that, while there’s still a fair ways to go before it’s completed, good progress has been made. As mentioned in the announcement, everything starts with swingin’, up-tempo tracks from Frank Sinatra’s “Capital Years” and “Reprise Years” collections (like these) and the Ultra-Lounge series of hip groovin’ 1950s / 60s songs perfect for swingin’ back yard parties on the patio.

I haven’t even gotten to the Ultra-Lounge discs yet and already I’m totally stoked about the songs in this collection. Nelson Riddle’s “Theme From Route 66” led me to Nat King Cole’s classic. And how can you have Frank’s “Strangers In The Night” and not have Dean Martin’s “Everybody Loves Somebody”? And then you have these really groovin’ ’60s instrumentals like this and this – I mean, how cool can one cat get?

In addition to the above, I’ve found plenty of cuts by the Tiki Lounge Crew, the Martini Kings, and the Tikiyaki Orchestra (live versions of their “Bachelor No. 1” and “Bachelor No. 3” tracks from their Aloha Baby! release here).

From the samples above you know where this collection is going. Music perfect for martinis and high-balls on the patio in a “Pleasant Valley Sunday”-esque subdivision where life is easy and the music reflects a laid-back, optimistic (or escapist) world-view. I’m hoping for an official May 1 release – now that the pool is just degrees away from swimmable and the patio all cleaned and painted, all that’s left is to replace the Tiki bar’s roof and clean up that area and we’ll be ready for another summer in the Valley of the Sun! And with “Palm Springs Lounge Lizard” completed, you can bet the summer launch will be one groovin’ affair!