Episode 169

Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 2. Works Recommended from my book, Electronic and Experimental Music

Welcome to the Archive of Electronic Music. This is Thom Holmes.

This podcast is produced as a companion to my book, Electronic and Experimental Music, published by Routledge. Each of these episodes corresponds to a chapter in the text and an associated list of recommended works, also called Listen in the text. They provide listening examples of vintage electronic works featured in the text.

The works themselves can be enjoyed without the book and I hope that they stand as a chronological survey of important works in the history of electronic music. Be sure to tune-in to other episodes of the podcast where we explore a wide range of electronic music in many styles and genres, all drawn from my archive of vintage recordings.

There is a complete playlist for this episode on the website for the podcast.

Let’s get started with the listening guide to Chapter 28, Moog Analog Synthesizers, Part 2 from my book Electronic and Experimental music.

Playlist: CLASSIC SYNTHESIZER ROCK— FROM TAPE COMPOSITION TO SYNTHESIZERS

Time

Track Time

Start

Introduction –Thom Holmes

01:34

00:00

1. The Beatles, “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966). Tape loops and Lennon’s voice fed through the rotating Leslie speaker of a Hammond organ.

02:57

01:42

2. Spooky Tooth and Pierre Henry, “Have Mercy” (1969). Featured tape composition by the French composer of musique concrète as part of a collaborative rock opera.

07:55

04:40

3. Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, “Lucky Man” (1971). Featured the Moog Modular played by Keith Emerson; one of the first rock hits in which a Moog was the featured solo instrument.

04:39

12:34

4. Yes, “Roundabout” (1971). Featured the Minimoog, Mellotron, Hammond Organ and other electronic keyboards played by Rick Wakeman.

08:33

17:10

5. Elton John, “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” (1973). Featured the ARP 2600 played by Dave Henschel.

11:10

25:42

6. David Bowie, “Speed of Light” (1977). Produced by Brian Eno. Used an EMS AKS synthesizer and Eventide H910 harmonizer for the electronic effects and sounds.

02:47

36:46

7. Gary Wright, “Touch and Gone” (1977). Used Polymoog, Clavinet, Oberheim, and Fender-Rhodes electronic keyboards.

03:58

39:32

8. Gary Numan, “Cars” (1979). Early synth-rock success using electronic keyboards without guitar. Multiple Polymoog synthesizers.

03:52

43:28

9. The Art of Noise, “(Who’s Afraid Of?) The Art of Noise” (1984). Art rock devised by Anne Dudley and Trevor Horn exploring the sampling capabilities of the Fairlight CMI.

04:23

47:20

10. Grace Jones, “Slave to the Rhythm” (1985). Featured the Synclavier programmed and played by Trevor Horn.

09:39

51:43

Additional opening, closing, and other incidental music by Thom Holmes.

My Books/eBooks: Electronic and Experimental Music, sixth edition, Routledge 2020. Also, Sound Art: Concepts and Practices, first edition, Routledge 2022.

See my companion blog that I write for the Bob Moog Foundation.

For a transcript, please see my blog, Noise and Notations.

Original music by Thom Holmes can be found on iTunes and Bandcamp.