{"id":12397,"date":"2017-03-06T05:45:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T10:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=12397"},"modified":"2026-07-30T10:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:50:13","slug":"album-review-attilo-mineo-man-in-space-with-sounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/06\/album-review-attilo-mineo-man-in-space-with-sounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Attilio Mineo — Man in Space with Sounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A breathlessly earnest announcer welcomes the listener to the record as a wonderfully evocative orchestra creates an instrumental backdrop meant to evoke outer space. With the help of some gee-whiz electronic studio effects \u2013 heaps of reverb, percussion that suggests a much more accessible Edgard Varese<\/strong> \u2013 the listener is transported to a sonic world of interstellar mystery and more than a little danger.<\/p>\n

That’s pretty much what you get for this half-hour record, created in connection with Seattle, Washington-hosted 1962 World’s Fair (officially the event had a much more space-age, forward-looking title, the Century 21 Exposition).<\/p>\n

Conductor Attilio \u201cArt\u201d Mineo<\/strong> leads his orchestra through a dozen passages, each of which paints a sonic picture. Sometimes the electronic elements are subtle; other times they all but hit the listener over the head. The feedback midway through the oddly titled \u201cGayway to Heaven\u201d (what<\/i>?) effectively evokes the feeling \u2013 accurate or not \u2013 of traveling weightless through space.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoaring Science\u201d is, our announcer helpfully explains, a \u201crealistic recreation of rocket flight.\u201d The sounds of an actual rocket launch are followed by eerie string passages and subtle yet keening electronic squawks. Taken in the right (or wrong) frame of mind, this could be scary stuff indeed.<\/p>\n

Back on Earth, \u201cMile-a-Minute Monorail\u201d is built around instrumentation and melody that sound like a cross between a distorted harpsichord and a whirring band saw. Not the most enticing aural backdrop for a ride on the new and novel 60mph monorail serving the World’s Fair, but clever and fascinating.<\/p>\n

A sunny, we’re-all-in-this-together mindset is at the core of \u201cCentury 21.\u201d But once again the sounds \u2013 courtesy of primitive oscillators and synthesizers, one suspects \u2013 are equal parts thrilling and unsettling. Little stabs of organ and plinking tuned percussion alternately darken and lighten the mood.<\/p>\n

If British producer Joe Meek<\/strong><\/a> had a decent budget and more musical talent, he might have created something like Man in Space with Sounds<\/i> (He did give us \u201cTelstar,\u201d after all). While liner notes author Bj\u00f6rn Werkmann<\/strong> doesn’t mention Meek in his essay that accompanies the CD, he takes such a straight-faced approach to the music that it’s near impossible to tell if he’s serious or putting us on. And that’s half the fun of his essay, which includes helpful cautions such as this one: \u201cBut make no mistake: Man in Space with Sounds<\/i> is not for the faint of Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The monaural recording is superbly sharp and clear; other than the production aesthetic, there’s little about the record that suggests it wasn’t recorded with 21st century equipment. The lack of a stereo mix isn’t a detriment, so full is the aural landscape on the album.<\/p>\n

Like another recent reissue from Modern Harmonics \u2013 the thematically similar Space Songs<\/i><\/a>, reviewed separately \u2013 Man in Space with Sounds<\/i> is most assuredly a curio. But it’s one that holds up on repeated listenings. Very much of its time \u2013 and valuable in large part for that very reason \u2013 Man in Space with Sounds<\/i> is a fun trip not only through space, but back in time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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