Ritual of the Savage is an album by American composer Les Baxter, released in 1951 often cited as one of the most important exotica albums.[2] The album featured lush orchestral arrangements along with tribal rhythms and offered such classics as "Quiet Village", "Jungle River Boat", "Love Dance", and "Stone God."[3]
Baxter described the album as a "tone poem of the sound and the struggle of the jungle."[4] The album's liner notes requested the listener to imagine themselves transported to a tropical land. "Do the mysteries of native rituals intrigue you…does the haunting beat of savage drums fascinate you? Are you captivated by the forbidden ceremonies of primitive peoples in far-off Africa or deep in the interior of the Belgian Congo?"[5]
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