The scope of outsider music has broadened since the Wiggin sisters plugged in their amps and cut loose. The outsider tag can now be applied to things as diverse as Fifties easy listening music, children’s records, quickie cover songs, spoken word albums, and home recordings. In thrift shops and yard sales, and in larger used record stores, outsider treasures still lurk, waiting to be found.
Long-play easy listening
In the Fifties, the 33 1/3 rpm album was still cutting-edge technology. Stereo recording was even more of a novelty. Some record companies combined the two and issued instrumental albums loaded with gimmicks. Strings were isolated on the left channel; woodwinds on the right. Drums bounced between speakers. The desired effect was one of exotic mystery. One of these curiosities, "Quiet Village" -- a mix of strings and vibraphones over a cha-cha beat, with sound effects of birds and jungle critters squawking -- became a hit in 1957 for its creator, arranger and conductor Martin Denny.
Of the practitioners of this art, Martin Denny and Esquivel -- born Juan Garcia Esquivel -- became kings of what’s now called "space-age bachelor pad music." Back then, no single guy’s living room was complete without a phonograph, the "Quiet Village" album, and one or two Esquivel discs for setting a romantic mood, even if it had a fireplace.
Children’s records
Any children’s album in playable condition is worth a try, with the childlike, by definition, aspect of outsider music in mind. As the nature of children’s music evolved, from Bozo to virtual space flights, Sesame Street, the Smurfs, and the Hamster Dance, innocence and lack of concern for the adult world remain constant. And, if you haven’t heard the Smurfs sing "Twelve Days Of Christmas," well then, what are you waiting for?