Customer Reviews

Best Of Moog: Electronic Pop Hits From The 60's & 70's

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although this compilation of vintage electronic music starts out as a fun and highly enjoyable listening experience, it begins to drag and becomes somewhat annoying towards the end. Perhaps it would have been better as a shorter album, omitting inferior tracks such as "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" by Gil Trythall (one too many electronic hoedowns), and both of Electrik Cokernut's unintelligent covers of pop songs ("Jeepster" & "Back Off Boogaloo"). The good songs are very good, e.g. "E.V.A." by Jean Jacques Perrey, which sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday, and "Bond St." by Enoch Light and the Light Brigade which, although it barely features any synthesizers, is a highly entertaining version of the Burt Bacharach tune. But many of the inferior tracks become a chore to sit through, especially when you begin to feel, "Haven't I heard this before?". Despite its flaws, I would still recommend this to anyone interested in the origins of modern electronic music, anyone who wants the song "Popcorn", or anyone who loves Disneyland ("Baroque Hoedown" is the theme song to.....now with an electronically enhanced voice...."Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade!").

I suppose if you've never ever heard of a moog record this would be a decent place to start. My feeling from listening to the album is that it was compiled by an MTV VJ or turned about by the fad machine associated with MTV...
The person who stated that it was essentially a Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley copilation was absolutely correct. Thats what makes this record so bad...Perry and Kingsley were pioneers, but they made the bulk of their electronic music before the moog(on things like the Ondes-Martenot that you never hear of anymore)and a good portion of their music is more important because of their innovative use of tape-loops in pop music...not their use of the moog. Check out perrey and kingsley's "The In Sound from Way Out" to see what I mean.
Martin Denny is on here, god knows why...he made about one moog album, and it was alot of his most boring stuff. His records are still all over thrift stores, go dig if you're interested. Hugo Montenegro was great, and I believe his moog album is still in print, if not, its on ebay for not alot. Command Records has two of the best "greatest of" albums for this genre: Electronic Eclections with Dick Hyman(whom I consider to be tops for all around cheesiness) and Richard Hayward and Walter Sears who did a version of Girl From Ipanema that gives me chills every time. As far as contemporaries, check out the Moog Cookbook-Ye Olde Spaceband, and AIR-Moon Safari...from the 90s, and still a great example of moog related music.
In closing, if you're interested in this genre, more power too you, but this is a novelty collection for rich kids who'll go on to whatever gets fashionable next week. I'm not an expert but i've got a collection of a couple hundred records, you can find alot more interesting, higher quality examples of Moog Records.
email me if you'd like some title

If you have any love for the moog genre, or even just synth-rock in general, you simply have to hear this. Whether chuckling at Gil Tryhall's "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and Armando Trovaidli's "I Apologize Mr Rossini," or grooving out to Fat Boy Slim's remix of "E.V.A." (or the original version, for that matter). This whole record feels like retro music from the future... all the whistles and squeaks, while having enough retro kitsch to elicit a smile. Also works well as a cutesy Y2K New Year's party album.

Though I'd certainly describe this as a good, fun CD, it lacks extremely necessary artists in the Moog (rhymes with Pogue, like the band the Pogues) era. As described by Disinformation Records representative Richard Metzger in the CD's liner notes, those who know their Moog will be severely disappointed in this collection of classics. You do get a good number of out-of-print hits from artists whose records would cost extreme amounts on auction sites and collector conventions, but there's no diversity and some of the best artists are completely absent. There is no Bruce Haack, (though he is briefly mentioned in the liners (where his name is misspelled!!)), no Wendy Carlos (or Walter Carlos!!), not even any Raymond Scott, the original creator of the prototype Moog later popularlized. Many of the tracks included are covers of Hollywood tunes and classical arrangements, and the last track is a completely worthless Fatboy Slim remix of E.V.R. Why is it included on a 60's and 70's hits CD? Who knows, maybe he's a shareholder...

Anyways, here's a list of all the performers as they appear on the CD:
1)Hot Butter
2)Perrey-Kingsley
3)Jean Jacques Perrey
4)Richard Hayman
5)Martin Denny
6)Perrey-Kingsley
7)Gil Trythall
8)Enoch Light and the Light Brigade
9)Perrey Kingsley
10)Armando Travaioli
11)Perrey-Kingsley
12)Elektrik Cokernut
13)Armando Travaioli
14)Elektrik Cokernut
15)First Moog Quartet
16)Hugo Montenegro and his Orchestra
17)Dick Hyman
18)First Moog Quartet
19)Jean Jacques Perrey (remixed)

It's also helpful to note that many of these groups were actually organized by Perrey and/or Kingsley. In effect, this is nearly a best of Perrey and Kingsley CD! The label rep goes to all the trouble of claiming he wants to reissue OOP and expensive classic tunes, but he only has like 3 artists on here, not to mention the lame Fatboy Slim remix.

Despite all the huge flaws in this release, it's still a fun listen. There are only one or two tracks on here that aren't worth the time, and even the covers are fun. I'd recommend it to those of you who aren't huge Moog fans, but not to the hardcore followers (though you guys probably know not to buy it already). For those who are still learning ot beauty of the Moog synth, I suppose I'd recommend this. The actual records are far too expensive now, so go ahead and pick up the cheap comp and see what you think before shelling out major cash...

If you think you know all about electronic music, you have to hear this. Some way funky sounds made with the world's first electronic snythesizer. Familiar tracks (Popcorn, the Savers) are well spiced by some truly nutty covers of such unlikely songs as Midnite Cowboy and Jeepster. You'll probably figure out just where that sample you heard last week came from too - lots of funky hooks and beats familiar from hip hop records are revealed here. A must buy on several counts.

I'm really enjoying this record. This one is worth noticing because, unlike other moog or analog synth based albums I've heard, this one never seems silly and annoying. You can even dance to it. It is bizarre, has a sense of humor, and gets dancey in a psychotic-Austin-Powers sorta way. High points include a Fat Boy Slim remix of Jean Jacques Perrey's "E.V.A." and a cover of James Brown's "Give it Up or Turn it Loose." By the immortal Dick Hyman.

The moog has always been one of my favorite instruments. If you like moog music you will like this CD.

This is a wonderful set of music that may not live up to the extremely lofty title, Best of Moog. Though I can quibble about some of the records selected, I must give this collection five stars for getting this material onto CD. (A lot of people don't have record players these days.) Martin Denny's version of the theme from Midnight Cowboy may be as good as the original and Stan Free's take on Popcorn is a classic. I'd mention who sampled E.V.A., but I don't want to violate. If you can find the full albums these songs are from in any format or if you feel like searching for obscure Hanatarashi CDs I suppose you could pass, otherwise this is a must-have disc.

One minor thing, I did not get the snarky quip about Morris Jennings in the liner notes. His playing on Moog Groove is incredible.

Just a note to the previous reviewer... *all* appreciation is in the mind, not 'in the sound'. The sound is heard in the mind. That said, some will appreciate this stuff and some will not. In my opinion, the music isn't even important... the Moog (and the artists who created and played these sounds) are the stars of the show. Listening to this music is like watching a (pretty bad) movie starring a great actor... In my opinion, the unique and magical sound of the Moog (when played by people who know what they're doing) can redeem the worst, cheesiest song and make it into a masterpiece.

If you like that unique analog Moog sound, you'll probably like this -- it's that simple. But please, don't buy it mainly for the music -- likely you'll be disappointed. If you buy it because you love the sound of the Moog, you're sure to be rewarded.

Disinformation is so strikingly different and somewhat psychedelic, it's hard to do anything but laugh when you first listen. Takes awhile to get used to, but then the electronic sounds carry you away...