(*But Were Afraid To Ask)
I always wanted to hear Ravel’s “Bolero” on the Moog. I’ve just been too afraid to ever ask anyone to play it. Luckily, my silent prayers were answered! This album features that piece, along with the “Habañera” and the “Introduction to Act I” (aka “Toreodor, don’t spit on the floor/use a cuspidor/that’s what it’s for”) from Carmen, Chabrier’s “España” and Lecuona’s “Malagueña” all performed by The Mighty Moog, “semi-conducted” by the frightfully witty Andrew Kazdin and Thomas Z. Shepard.
What could be more exciting than an album of Spanish music? (The consistency of our Spanish program, you will note, is marred only by the fact that Lecuona was not a French composer).
Hahaha! So witty! These droll gentlemen subject us to 14 minutes and 33 seconds of the Moog’s (”is there anybody still left who doesn’t know that “Moog” rhymes with “rogue?”) rendition of Ravel’s Bolero. For those of you not acquainted with Ravel’s oeuvre, “Bolero” had exactly one theme, which is repeated over and over on this album like an electronic mantra, leaving no brain cell undead. It’s Andrew Kazdin and Thomas Z. Shepard’s own “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,” taking up one whole side of the record.
Thanks to this record inherited from my dad’s eclectic collection, I will no longer be afraid to ask for anything on the Moog. Except for Ravel, which I still fear greatly.
8 Comments
Good Lord, it took me two days before I got the “semi-conducted” joke! Har har.
i have that album, stunji! i had it on 8-track too. nothing to be afraid of from anyone named maurice.
oh wow… do you have the 8-track player to go with?
i have it as part of my 2XL.
I am desperately looking for a copy of this album, in vinyl or on cd. Can anyone out there help??
In http://mexicovers.blogspot.com/
(The Mighty Moog) is the name for the “spanish speaking” public.
The Track List:
Side A:
01- Espana
02- Malaguena
03- Carmen
Side B:
04- Bolero
Ursula,
I have a CD copy of “Everything You Always Wanted to Hear On The Moog”, transcribed and cleaned-up from a pristine LP.
Contact me on dfnojunk at optusnet dot com dot au.
Daniel