Search - Raymond Scott :: Microphone Music

FANTASTIC STUFF!

Barry P. Saranchuk | Moosic, PA United States | 08/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here are two discs of this eccentric genius' music that sometimes will be more familiar than you'd expect! A bunch of his compositions were used in Warner Bros. cartoons!(ren & Stimpy,etc...also!) So,you see we were all pleasantly introduced to Raymond Scott at an early age!
His compositions are as lively as the cartoons we all remember so well,although not all of his music was used for that purpose.His music conjures up strange and wonderful mental pictures with the use of all sorts of zippy instrumental patter between the players.(His drummer was totally amazing!)
Not only that ,but there are pieces here that no one had heard in years because they were recorded and put "in the can" so to speak! So,now all of us luck listeners are gifted with this beauty of a set! A joy to behold and hear!
Please also look into his electronic recordings too!(Through the "Manhatten Research..."CD.) Raymond was an "unknown influence" on a young man named MOOG too! It's just that Mr.Scott liked to keep his innovations slightly out of public eye-shot.
Meet this amazing man and his music and you'll slaver for more and more! INCREDIBLE!"

A reckless night aboard musician-ship!

Barry P. Saranchuk | 02/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Once again, Basta Records presents the Raymond Scott Quintette...in another collection of their ultra-modern musical specialties, many presented for the first time anywhere!" Thank you, Mr. Announcer...and now just a word to say why no Raymond Scott fan anywhere should be without this, the definitive, the supreme, nay, dare I say the canonical representation on record of this sublime supergroup. That's right, folks...no re-creations or reinterpretations here, just Ray's own reference recordings of the original Quintette, made at his own expense in the late 1930s and presented here in extra-crisp period fidelity. A good number of these tracks first appeared on "The Raymond Scott Project" (Stash Records, 1991), but that's been hard to get for years now, and what's more, there's still other great stuff that hasn't previously seen the light of day. If your tail twitches at titles like "Turkish Mish Mush," "Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies," or "Yesterday's Ice Cubes (are water today)"...well, this CD two-fer is the set for you.If, on the other hand, you're still wondering what the big hairy deal is with five prehistoric radio studio musicians and one lovable tyrant of a pianist-composer-kook...I say, listen and be amazed! These cats could play music as challenging as stapling Jell-O to a greased pig and still stay tighter than Pee Wee Herman's bow tie. Johnny Williams's infectious proto-swing drumming was key to the Quintette's super-charged machine-age ricky-ticky. Pete Pumiglio made the impossible sound easy on the clumsy old Albert System clarinet. And the stuff Dave Harris could kick out on an ordinary tenor saxophone will have your head spinning on your shoulders. Then, of course, there's ample opportunity to hear the madness of Raymond Scott himself as he literally composes "on" his musicians (including some work-in-progress recordings of tunes that never quite gelled). Much more than zing-boom animaniac music is afoot here. Ray's "out" harmonic sense was almost unequaled in those pre-bop days, as is evident on numbers like "Suicide Cliff," "Bumpy Weather Over Newark," and a radical recasting of the old war horse "Bugle Call Rag" (about the only standard this group ever played!).To Basta, I say, "È NON BASTA!" Take us back to Aquackanack, where the sky is green and Raymond Scott and his quazy quintette forever mystify, enthrall, and groove hard."

One of the best RS albums out there!

Barry P. Saranchuk | 06/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is truely a fantastic addition to any Raymond Scott or cartoon fan's collection. This was the first Raymond Scott CD that I purchased, after learning that his melodies were used in many Carl Stalling scores that were in Looney Tunes and Merrie Mellodies cartoons. The songs are very catchy, and I'm sure anyone who's seen a Looney Tune cartoon in their life can recognize the jazzy tune "Powerhouse". A great collection."