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Introduced in the middle 1960s, Dr. Robert A. Moog’s invention \u2013 the Moog Modular synthesizer \u2013 changed the musical landscape. Groundbreaking releases like Switched on Bach<\/i> made it plain that the formidable instrument was more than a cold mass of technology, more than a gimmick. But that didn’t stop a rush of artists charging into the breach to exploit the Moog’s more gimmicky possibilities.<\/p>\n
A whole cottage industry sprang up in the wake of Walter (later Wendy) Carlos’ recording using the Moog. Some of it was indeed serious. Some artists sought ways to incorporate the new instrument into their existing musical arsenal; others developed wholly new approaches to music using the Moog.<\/p>\n
The Beatles made intelligent use of the Moog on Abbey Road<\/i>, and George Harrison released a solo album (of some dubious provenance, it must be said), Zapple Records’ Electronic Sound<\/i>s. Others incorporated it into a decidedly pop context; Dan Lacksman’s series of early ’70s albums are an exemplar of that style, and his \u201cSkylab\u201d track is a clear antecedent to the work of later artists such as the French duo Air.<\/p>\n
By the time the Moog debuted, Martin Denny had long since established a musical approach of his own, often called exotica. Making ambitious use of the then-new stereo spectrum, Denny’s albums included not only stereo panning but ersatz bird calls, unusual-to-Western-ears percussion and other innovative sounds. There was, to be sure, an element of kitsch to his work, but albums like 1959’s Quiet Village<\/i> \u2013 released amid a flurry of activity that brought forth no less than 11 albums in a space of less than four years \u2013 retains its charms to this day.<\/p>\n
So when the Moog came out, Denny (dubbed the \u201cfather of exotica\u201d) seemed a natural fit. In fact he was. Recorded in 1969 near the end of his prolific run of releases (though there’d still be scattered others to come), Exotic Moog<\/i> applies Denny’s ostensibly organic musical worldview to a very electronic instrument.<\/p>\n
As was often his approach, Denny wouldn’t compose new material for Exotic Moog<\/i>. Instead, he bends the works of others to his own goals. That means that listeners are treated to Moog-tastic readings of \u201cA Taste of Honey,\u201d Vince Guaraldi’s \u201cCast Your Fate to the Wind\u201d and Denny’s own mega-hit, \u201cQuiet Village.\u201d Using the capabilities afforded by an 8-channel multi-track studio, Denny overdubs the various instrumental parts himself, using different textures and timbres of the Moog.<\/p>\n
Despite its electronic nature, Exotic Moog<\/i> is very much a piece with Denny’s earlier exotica. A consummate musician, his playing on the album demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the nuances of which the Moog is capable. And while the album fits in well with some of the kitschier exponents of the Moog craze, in his hands, the Moog is expressive and never silly.<\/p>\n
Well, almost<\/i> never. With its high-pitched, trilling synth runs, \u201cDelilah\u201d got my little dog quite upset. And I wasn’t a huge fan of its faux-Western clip-clop rhythms, either. But that track stands out among the 11 others, all of which fall somewhere between amusing and fascinating \u2026 and consistently entertaining. You may think that disco didn’t come around until the mid 1970s, but here’s Martin Denny’s spirited 1969 reading of \u201cLove Me Tonight (All Fine Della Strada)\u201d to call that belief into question.<\/p>\n
Exotic Moog<\/i> isn’t a completely synthesizer-based recording. Lerner and Lowe’s \u201cI Talk to the Trees\u201d is re-imagined as something halfway between easy listening and bachelor pad exotica (which, I’ll admit, aren’t worlds apart). And, like many of the album’s cuts, it features a standard rock band \u2013 bass, guitar, drums \u2013 providing support. But even then, Denny’s not content to lay down a single melodic line. There’s lots going on, with the instrument evoking thoughts of Theremin, blowing wind, chirping birds and all manner of otherworldly sounds. \u201cYellow Bird\u201d rocks, and \u201cThe Enchanted Sea\u201d \u2026 well, it enchants.<\/p>\n
The whole album’s like that. Which begs the question: Why was Exotic Moog<\/i> so hard to find for so many years? It’s been out of print for ages. Thanks, then, to the folks at Jackpot Records, who have seen fit to reissue this gem (on freaky salmon-orange vinyl, no less) for the 21st<\/sup> century. Fans of Moog-mania, exotica or just well-crafted instrumental pop are encouraged to lay hands on this delightful disc.<\/p>\n Postscript:<\/strong> On discogs.com I found the following comment. Make of it what you will. “In 1997, in an interview with Dana Countryman, Martin Denny confessed he never played a note on the Exotic Moog<\/em> album. Clark Gassman [credited as the LP’s arranger<\/em> — bk] played the Moog in a certain Denny style here. And still a sought-after piece it is.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Introduced in the middle 1960s, Dr. Robert A. Moog’s invention \u2013 the Moog Modular synthesizer \u2013 changed the musical landscape. Groundbreaking releases like Switched on Bach made it plain that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,28,40,51,64,65,73],"tags":[361,4276,1513],"class_list":["post-19294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electronica","category-exotica","category-instrumental","category-pop","category-reissue","category-review","category-vinyl","tag-bob-moog","tag-martin-denny","tag-moog","cat-26-id","cat-28-id","cat-40-id","cat-51-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","cat-73-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19294"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19966,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19294\/revisions\/19966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}