Happy birthday Bob!
Synth pioneer Bob Moog would have been 80 years old today. To mark the occasion, Sonic Reclamation Industries have revamped a very special compilation of Moog breakbeats first pieced together in 2005, shortly after Moog passed away, using the “ill-est drum breaks and the most head-nodding beatz” from a selection of “60s/70s Moog-sploitation vinyl”.
The updated Moog Breakbeats 2014 comprises 17 tracks of “rare, ripped from out-of-print vinyl, late ’60s-early ’70s funky fun”, with extra tracks and higher bit rate. Among the new inclusions is ‘Shank’ by Gershon Kingsley’s First Moog Quartet, a “pre-Kraftwerk live Moog band” whose song was inspired by Isaac Hayes’ Shaft theme. You can see how necessary this download is already, right?
Very little of the music has ever appeared on CD, so it’s a rare treat. Also featured are the Les Baxter song sampled by the Beastie Boys on ‘Intergalactic’, John Murtaugh’s ‘Slinky’ featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, and tracks by Enoch Light, Martin Denny, Herbie Mann, Hugo Montenegro and more. Head to Music For Maniacs to download the mix.
For more vintage synth mania, dive into FACT’s guide to the synthesisers that shaped modern music and accompany your reading with a tinker on Google’s virtual Moog.
Last month Moog unveiled a faithful recreation of the iconic Emerson Moog Modular unit 50, designed by Moog and British keyboardist Keith Emerson.
Tracklist:
00 Gershon Kingsley’s First Moog Quartet – Shank [pre-Kraftwerk live Moog band; song inspired by Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” theme]
01 Electronic Concept Orchestra – Grazin In The Grass
02 Walter Sear – Love Child
03 Enoch Light – Pass and I’ll Call You
04 Herbie Mann – Pick Up The Pieces
05 The Moog Machine – Jumpin Jack Flash
06 Jerry Styner and Larry Brown – Orbit III
07 John Murtaugh – Slinky [w/Herbie Hancock on piano]
08 Les Baxter – Rachmaninoff: Prelude in c# Minor [the song The Beastie Boys sampled for “Intergalactic”]
09 Robert Byrne – Donna
10 Zeet Band – Gimme 5 Cents Worth Of Love
11 Dick Hyman – Give It Up Or Turn It Loose [James Brown cover]
12 Claude Denjean – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
13 Enoch Light – Sittin On The Dock of the Bay
14 Hugo Montenegro – Yo Yo
15 Sounds Galactic – Spinning Wheel
16 The John Keating Space Experience – Solitaire
(dubious bonus track: a perhaps not-so-funky, utterly ridiculous bit of ‘tard-tronica)
