Pushbutton Parfait

Raymond Scott Orchestrette | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 30, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Evolver
• ASIN: B00006AGCZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,160 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Diverting, August 16, 2002

By 

George Grella "Urbane citizen" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pushbutton Parfait (Audio CD)

This band has produced a pleasing recording of their own arrangements of Raymond Scott pieces. Most of the material is his well-known novelty music, while a few are based on his relatively obscure electronic music. This is a nice recording but not a vital one, unless one is a major Scott fan.

The band has a nice French cafe sound, effected by the accordion and zither, and the arrangements are jazzy and touch on a variety of styles, from cakewalk to early rock and roll to a John Barry/James Bond quality, and are all well done without being particularly exciting or adventurous. The mixing is a little dense, and the band is let down by a rather lugubrious drummer. My personal feeling is that Scott's work is crying out for a treatment a la what John Zorn did on the incredible 'The Big Gundown' for Ennio Morricone's movie themes. And while perfectly respectable, this is sadly not that type of work.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT vintage, but pretty cool anyway., August 2, 2002

By 

"jn11296" (Mt. Vernon, Baltimore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pushbutton Parfait (Audio CD)

Despite the confusing and misleading name of this new group, Scott himself is NOT present. Of course not - Raymond Scott was born in 1908 and died many years ago. And DON'T think this band is preserving the ORIGINAL Raymond Scott sound (like the Sun Ra or Glenn Miller bands that still tour). Instead, this "Orchestrette" (sic) performs modernized and altered arrangements that Raymond Scott probably would have hated. (Scott didn't like improvisation - especially when applied to HIS music.) But maybe some hard-core fans might dig these new takes on the old Scott classics? The players are impressive enough; they're not afraid to take chances, and I bet this group is fun to see in a live venue. But since there's plenty of original Raymond Scott recordings, I'd suggest a beginner start with the real thang, baby.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tickled mercilessly!, August 28, 2002

By 

Christopher Enzi (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pushbutton Parfait (Audio CD)

OH! I am EXHAUSTED! Let me just catch my breath and I'll play that again! Reminds me of the scene in "Roger Rabbit" where the toons get out of the box. Nothing holds still for an instant! Okay, so Raymond is rolling in his grave. He probably needed the excercise! If you want to hear the purest version- get Raymond himself: The biggest- get the Beau Hunks' Chesterfield Arrangements. This is not for musicological purists but, how to say...this music blew my skirts up! GREAT Fun!