Microphone Music

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!

Anyone growing up c1940s-1960s will love this-Raymond sold his publishing to Warner Brothers, and Carl Stalling took many pieces of this music to orchestrate the "Looney Tunes & Merry Melodies" cartoons. Especially wonderful is "Powerhouse." You may not recognize the title, but the music will trigger a lot of memories,

Obviously, Zappa took lot's of notes (no pun intended).. this is pure genius. You will also recognize his music that was used extensively in cartoons of the 50's.

We absolutely love this music. It's fun and upbeat and you can't go wrong with a song called Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies.

Microphone Music includes many recordings originally made for radio airplay ("transcription recordings", as they were known back when this practice was a thing), as well as rehearsal recordings. About 20 or so of these same recordings were earlier released on the 1992 Stash Records "Raymond Scott Project Vol. One - Powerhouse" CD. Despite an Amazon reviewer who claims that release has "poor audio quality", it's actually a livelier sounding transfer of these source recordings than "Microphone Music". The difference is that the mastering engineer for Microphone Music decided to roll off the higher frequencies and put a little boost in the mid-range frequencies in an attempt to make the music sound more "modern" (in terms of frequency distribution). What that does is dull the presentation of instruments like cymbals and clarinet, and also make the lower range of the piano and tenor sax sound a bit "wolfy" and over-emphasized. "Noise reduction" is easy to overdo on old recordings, and here, unfortunately, it's been a bit overdone.Microphone Music, being a 2-disc set, obviously includes a lot of music not available on the 1-disc "Raymond Scott Project" CD, and so for serious Raymond Scott collectors, you'll want both.For listeners new to Raymond Scott, I'd disagree that Microphone Music is "the definitive collection of Raymond Scott Quintette recordings", as another Amazon reviewer states. The 1999 edition of "Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights" remains the place to start, the one essential Raymond Scott CD to own (leaving aside the electronic music of his later years, which is a whole 'nother kettle of fish). [The 1992 edition of "Reckless Nights" is virtually identical to the 1999, and is just a good place to start.]

This definitive RSQ collection does two jobs: exposing the quality of Scott and his Quintette, AND putting a spot on the quality of The Beau Hunks reconstructions (on their CD's "A Celebration on the Planet Mars" and "Manhattan Minuet", also BASTA releases). Beautifully laid out too, this must-have...

Raymond Scott's late 1930s whiplash-jazz was more than just over-the-cliff soundtrack fodder for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. As Scott's adherents often point out, Scott (many of whose compositions were adapted by Carl Stalling in classic WB 'toonery) never wrote a note for a cartoon in his life. His stuff just screams ANIMATION. With titles like "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals" and "Square Dance for Eight Egyptian Mummies," who could resist thinking Scott (1908-1994) had cartoons on his mind when he wrote these? But he didn't -- he was advancing the frontiers of pop music in his own visionary way.This 2-CD, 42-track set is the definitive collection of Raymond Scott Quintette recordings. It is more comprehensive than 1992's Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights (on Columbia Legacy). Any Microphone Music tunes that also appeared on Reckless Nights are different versions, sometimes drastically so. Microphone Music contains unreleased titles, radio performances, first-rate rehearsals, and forgotten gems by Scott's idiosyncratic Quintette. The audio quality is exceptional, and the 32-page accompanying booklet features excellent liner notes by Scott authority Irwin Chusid (who produced the package), as well as photos, interviews, and reproductions of vintage magazine articles about the Quintette.Besides the usual controlled chaos and ingenious rhythmic twists, these recordings feature tasteful solos by Scott's virtuoso sidemen; the savvy (and largely under-appreciated) percussive snap of the great drummer Johnny Williams; and even some less-animated works (e.g., "Girl With the Light Blue Hair," "Suicide Cliff") that display a more restrained (but never bland) side of the RSQ. The album title refers to Scott's penchant for considering the microphone a "seventh member" of his six-man "quintet." His pioneering studio and technical explorations reached greater fruition later in his career when Scott invented and recorded with electronic instruments. Learn more at RaymondScott.com.

Raymond Scott's music is lively and listenable. After we heard this being played in our favourite (family run) coffee-and-book shop, we just had to get our own copy. And there are two discs!