Manhattan Research, Inc. [IMPORT]

Raymond Scott (Composer, Performer), Jim Henson (Performer), Dorothy Collins (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Raymond Scott, Jim Henson, Dorothy Collins
• Composer: Raymond Scott
• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Basta Records
• ASIN: B00004SYD6
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,943 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #28 in	Music > Pop > Easy Listening > Retro Space Age
  #34 in	Music > Classical > Instruments > Electronic

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The goofy chamber jazz of bandleader Raymond Scott lent itself perfectly to cartoon soundtracks ("Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals," anyone?), but, at heart, Scott was a serious composer. His electronic-music forays have been previously documented (the three volumes of Soothing Sounds for Baby), but nothing captures his diverse sound creations as well as Manhattan Research Inc. This previously unreleased two-CD collection features Scott's handmade electronics, top-secret creations he'd use to create ambient-sounding commercial jingles, as well as the odd soundtrack with budding filmmaker/Muppeter Jim Henson. Scott was impossibly ahead of his time: a snippet for "Baltimore Gas & Electric Co." could have been written by Terry Riley; "Limbo: The Organized Mind" is a hint at musique concrete; and 1960's "In the Hall of the Mountain Queen" could easily fit on an Aphex Twin disc. Gorgeous packaging, previously unreleased photos, and liner notes by Irwin Chusid, Robert Moog, and others make this a must for fans of electronic music. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Retro-Futurism at its Dreamiest!, May 26, 2000

By	tashcrash (South Shore, MA) - See all my reviews

From listening to his massive output, Raymond Scott possessed a closetful of musical split personalities. This collection lovingly (not strong enough a word, but anyway...) compiles countless examples of Scott's electronic, experimental compositions and advertising pieces, all of which I can objectively say is mind-blowing. There's not a flabby moment on the set's two-plus hour's-worth of the man's (an infamously reclusive mad scientist of the modern age) largely unreleased work. The packaging alone is worth the already too-reasonable price. The only previous comparable release is the PET SOUNDS SESSIONS box set of a couple years back. Scott singlehandedly managed to make electronic avant garde experimentalism both joyously entertaining and psychologically penetrating. It's listenability is endless. God bless Basta Audi-Visuals for their devotion to an almost-forgotten genius!

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars some quotes, November 25, 2000

By A Customer

. . . . .

"The pieces of music on Raymond Scott's MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC., recorded in the 1950s and 60s, sound like nothing so much as the future."

-Peter Buck, R.E.M.

. . . . .

"MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is a brilliant collection of Raymond Scott's difficult to find electronic work. I love the packaging, and the interviews are incredibly interesting and informative."

-Adrian Utley, PORTISHEAD

. . . . .

''Listening to MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. brought childhood flashbacks. As much as the Beatles, Brubeck, or Hendrix, TV and radio formed my musical mind. Raymond Scott wows me!''

-Pat Mastelotto, KING CRIMSON

. . . . .

''I think MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is one of my favorite releases ever! And that's saying something, as I'm a complete music junkie.''

-Richard D. James, aka APHEX TWIN

. . . . .

"Whaaaaat?? This is from the fifties and sixties? I'm trying to achieve something like this now! Raymond Scott belongs to the phalanx of unique people like Les Paul, Oscar Sala, and Leon Theremin, to whom we owe so much in developing our own musical identity today. MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is one of the best CD presentations I have ever had my hands on."

-Holger Czukay, CAN

. . . . .

"MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is truly an inspiring album. Very well compiled and presented, it gives you a good look at Raymond Scott's great work which has left many repercussions in various fields relating to sound. Scientific, futuristic, novel, as well as humorous and dreamlike. Mad, but the kind of mad I aspire to be. Raymond Scott truly was ahead of his time."

-CORNELIUS

. . . . .

"The MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. package is perfect, and the music is too perfect!"

-Konishi, PIZZICATO FIVE

. . . . .

"Tireless dedication and uncompromising perfectionism of producers Gert-Jan Blom and Jeff Winner is evident in every detail of this wonderful collection. From the astonishing sounds to the beautiful packaging, MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is an essential release of pioneer electronica, adding yet another page to the ever-growing legacy of American maverick Raymond Scott."

-JOHN ZORN

. . . . .

"I rate Raymond Scott as one of the greatest music technology innovators the 20th century. Many musicians on the charts today are using his ideas fairly directly. His vision was so wide, that today it is impossible to turn on a piece of equipment in your studio without automatically issuing a benediction to the spirit of Raymond Scott."

-Matt Black, COLDCUT & DJfood

. . . . .

"The phenomenon of Raymond Scott is one of those freaky cosmic concurrences of impossibilities that result in true originality. Combine the musical stewpot of his disdain for fellow musicians, a type-A ego, and financial recklessness, and the world received electronic musical expressions that broke all the rules."

-Simeon, SILVER APPLES

. . . . .

"Fabulous! MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is one of the most amazing CD packages I've ever seen. I've been listening constantly, and I've read the whole book several times. It's SO inspiring. Scott's electronic instruments have an incredibly organic sound to them."

-Eric Harris, OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL

. . . . .

"Raymond Scott was a true genius, deserving to be classified among the great pioneers of electronic music. He recorded with his own instruments, and did his own composing. I am amazed by the versatility of his talent, creativity, originality, and imagination. MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is a work of art. BRAVO!"

-JEAN JACQUES PERREY

. . . . .

"MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. is a monsterpiece. Wow wow WOW. It is certainly stunning. I'm still trying to digest it!"

-Jim Thirlwell, aka FOETUS

. . . . .

"Raymond Scott was the first! He foresaw the use of sequencers, and the use of electronic oscillators, to make sounds. These were the watershed uses of electronic circuitry. The recordings on MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. don't sound as weird anymore -- they sound similar to what artists are doing today."

-BOB MOOG

. . . . .

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Musical Pioneer still sounds fresh after 1/2 Century!, July 29, 2000

By A Customer

Too widely known for his contributions to cartoons, this disc set lovingly adds the missing dimension of Scott as inventor, engineer and musical visionary. We find a great archive of early experiments and jingles, some composed and generated from self-created instruments, predating midi capabilities by at least 2 decades. An additional star should also be tacked on for Basta's extensive packaging! The liner-notes are presented in a very neat, 50's-text book form - complete with synopsis, interviews, memo's and photo's of Scott in his lab. If you are a music geek or just fan of predated electronica, you will not be disappointed.