Cocktail Mix Vol. 2: Martini Madness by Various Artists (CD, Jan-1996, Rhino Records USA)

This CD recalls a bygone era, when one might jet off on a Pan Am 707 to Rio to while listening to Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. It was a time when the Bossa Nova craze was in full swing, and Middle American suburban white couples shimmied awkwardly to Latin rhythms in really bad suits and gaudy dresses. The sex symbols of the day were Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Cary Grant, and Audrey Hepburn. Booze flowed freely, the counter-culture consisted of self-consciously cool Beatniks, and America still believed in its government, Watergate and Vietnam not having become national tragedies yet. This is the music your parents danced to, and it's actually darn good stuff, showing that maybe the old folks knew a thing or two. Just hearing Connie Francis singing in Portugese is worth the price of admission. Put it on some night when you have friends over and treat them to something most of them have never heard. Or play it for your parents and watch them smile as their minds go back to those heady days when they too were young and in love.