In the late '60s, pianist Dick Hyman, famous for "Moritat, Theme from Threepenny Opera," experimented with various keyboard instruments, including Baldwin and Lowrey organs. This release was his first with what was then a completely newfangled machine, the Moog synthesizer. Hyman took the Moog by the horns and milked it for all it was worth on nine originals, including the monster hit single "The Minotaur" (which inspired Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's "Lucky Man").
The first few tracks are in a pop-song mold, but they are pop songs composed as only a jazz musician with two decades of experience under his belt could. Hyman then hits the listener with a few spacier, improvised numbers that come off as very accessible avant-garde music. Following "The Minotaur" are two improvised pieces. Moog: The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman ends with "Evening Thoughts," an impressionistic track reminiscent of "Ebb Tide" by Earl Grant, on which the sounds of the seashore are conjured up on various keyboard instruments. Hyman writes about his intentions for each track in the liner notes.
Though this album could easily be tossed into the novelty or "period piece" category, it was not originally intended as that. Hyman recorded a showcase of what this new instrument could do, and in the process made an enjoyable album. [AllMusic]
Tracklist:
01 The Topless Dancers of Corfu
02 The Legend of Johnny Pot
03 The Moog and Me
04 Tap Dance in the Memory Banks
05 Four Duets in Odd Meter
06 The Minotaur
07 Total Bells and Tony
08 Improvisation in Fourths
09 Evening Thoughts
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