The Savage And The Sensuous

review by Jason Ankeny The Savage and the Sensuous remains one of the most evocative and colorful jungle exotica records ever made, and the title is a perfect summation, capturing the polar extremes of Don Ralke's potently physical music. Ralke's work on myriad Hollywood soundtracks clearly informs the music's vividly cinematic appeal: primal flurries of bongos and congas direct the listener through the unexpected twists and turns of the jungle path, while flutes and pianos flutter in and out of the arrangements like exotic birds in flight. It's a listening experience in the truest, most palpable sense of the phrase. The CD was reissued on a Collectables label two-fer CD alongside its predecessor But You've Never Heard Gershwin with Bongos.