Ferrante & Teicher - Soundblast (1956)

Endlich ebenfalls auf CD erschienen, zusammen mit dem fantastischen "Soundproof"-Album der beiden US-amerikanischen Marek & Vacek. Allen Freunden der Space-Age-Musik nur zu empfehlen...

Danny & Dena Guglielmi - Adventure in Sound (1957)

Well, it´s time to present some classic Space Age stuff on my "lame" blog. This is a legendary album, because it´s probably the only album those two musicians will remembered for. Danny recorded track by track and finally he got the effect of a big orchestra. He himself played the violin. His wife Dena provided the vocals on this great record. If you like Julie London, which I have seen on other blogs recently, and if you like violins, this one will surely suit you. Here you can get a strange track called "Mosquito Festival", the sound quality is not that good, because my copy is very old and almost worn out. But maybe you´ll give it a try...

John Keating - Space Experience (1972)

John Keating - Space Experience 2 (1975)

Well, another "Space Age Disco Album", the follow-up to Johnny´s "Space Experience" from the year 1972. The first one has been posted before somewhere, and it´s really not that hard to obtain. But this one, the second volume, this one features one of the best versions of "Solitaire" that I´ve ever heard, and you should listen to this little gem of Space-Disco too, even if you´re not into space-music. This unique record is truly contemporary. The songs are all from the 70's and are performed entirely on electronic keyboard instruments (with the exception of the rhythm section), some of which at the time of recording were prototypes. But you should hear this for yourself...

Jimmie Haskell - Count Down! (1957)

This is THE outer space album of that era. And to me it´s one of the best either. It features the theremin and some talking alien, and the style is close to surf-music. On the cover you can see Mr. Haskell himself playing his self-developed synthesizer. This one is a must-have, if you like space-age music.

And one more thing: On the picture above you can see the stereo-version. I found that picture on the web, when I prepared this post. My version is the mono-thing, which should be in better quality than the stereo-version, according to some reviewers. I can´t tell, because I haven´t heard the stereo-thing. My file includes pictures of the front and back cover as well.

Attilio Mineo - Man In Space With Sounds (1962)

This is the complete version with spoken word introductions. "Man in Space with Sounds" was composed by Arthur 'Attilio' Mineo in the early 50s and was played through the sound system in "The Bubbleator", an exhibit that was part of the 1962 Seattle Space Age World's Fair. "The Bubbleator" was a 150-passenger spherical clear plastic elevator that moved 2.5 million people through the "World of Tomorrow" displays that promised an easier life ahead and a glimpse of life in the future! To accompany their journey, the sound system piped in the evocative orchestral and electronic music of Man in Space with Sounds that helped to create a futurist experience for the passengers. The original LP was released in limited quantities on the World's Fair record label around 1962 in two versions: one with a short piece of spoken word introduction before each track and one without the introductions. As I said, this is the version with introductions. Neither LP was in stereo, but THIS is Space Age! Even in mono...

Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman & Les Baxter - Music Out of the Moon (1947)

I promised to get this back to you, didn´t I? A nice piece of music and, by the way, so completely different from the James Last works. Nonetheless I´m still searching for 80 albums from James Last, please see section above...

Now, here are the liner notes from this album, where our favorite podiatrist worked with Les Baxter:

The music in this album is in reality an exploration ... using exotic harmonies, timbre
and composition to play upon the more remote realm of human emotions.

It is music of a type that has been outstandingly successful as a mood-creating
background for motion pictures dealing with the macabre, the fantastic.

It is music that can affect the sensitive mind in a way that is sometimes frightening ...
always fascinating.

Harry Revel created the basic "idea" and themes, while Leslie Baxter, arranger and
conductor, has given them appropriately unique tone color, using the mass harmonies
or human voices as unusual instrumental effects with woodwinds, strings and brass;
some without rhythm, others with a dominant, demanding beat.

In many of the numbers you will hear the Theremin — a little known member of the
musical family that is played by the motions of the hands in the air over an electronic
field. The right hand gives pitch, the left volume, yet neither comes in direct contact
with the instrument. A throbbing, almost human tone is created that has an eerie,
vibrant beauty.

The artist who plays the Theremin is Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman, whose brilliant technique
was heard in the music of "Spellbound," "Lost Weekend," "Spiral Staircase" and "The
Red House."

A word about your first hearing of "Music Out of the Moon": You cannot get its full
significance from a casual playing in a record booth, where the appeal may well be
lost. But take it home — set the stage, in the evening when you are perhaps a little
weary of the work-a-day world; its hypnotic beauty assures a unique musical
adventure.

Ferrante & Teicher - Blast Off! (1958)

Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher were one of the best-selling easy listening acts of the '60s, offering light arrangements of easily recognizable classical pieces, movie soundtrack themes, show tunes, and similarly compatible fare. While they were enjoying success on the concert circuit, Ferrante & Teicher had been experimenting with treated pianos, influenced by the ideas of avant-garde composer John Cage. By adding paper, sticks, rubber, wood blocks, metal bars, chains, glass, mallets, and other found objects to the string beds (among other techniques), the duo was able to produce a variety of bizarre sound effects that sometimes resembled percussion instruments, and other times produced a spacy, almost electronic sound. In the latter half of the '50s, they recorded several albums in this vein for Westminster, including 1958's Blast Off!, which you can enjoy here...

Leonard Nimoy - Mr. Spock´s Music From Outer Space (1967)

Weird, weird stuff. I guess nobody would like to hear Mr. Spock sing. Nobody, but... YOU, right? Okay, here he is with an album from 1967. The reason it says "music" and not "songs", is because there are five instrumentals included, which are not performed by Nimoy. Unusual, but worth listening to. Please enjoy Mr. Spocks logical sound and listen to "Music To Watch Space Girls By"...

Esquivel - Other Worlds Other Sounds (1958)

Zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo-zooooo... Yes, dear guests, this is definitely a classic one. The pioneer of Space-Age-Music. An original, as usual on this site. I don´t do DJ´s work by doing own compilations, trying to be an artist. I preserve the original work, because I´m sure, at that time, long ago, long before market research and other crap, the artists put tracks on their albums on purpose. And it all fits together, ´cause THEY were the Artists, not me. I will not be that blasphemic to compile tracks in any other way than it was planned by the musician / conductor himself.
By the way: The same cover background was used incidentially on "Destination Moon" by the Ames Brothers in the same year. I don´t remember who was first, but I guess it doesn´t matter anyhow. But it shows how poular other planets were at that time. This was the first record that Esquivel recorded in the U.S.A. It does not contain explicit space-music, it´s more the kind of music when stereo was about to start. Now please enjoy THE "Space-Age"-record!

Russ Garcia - Fantastica (1959)

Russ Garcia´s "Fantastica" from the year 1959 is a bold and spectacular musical journey for serious armchair-adventurers. Garcia masterfully composed and conducted this musical suite depicting "fascinating, exciting sounds from other planets". His unique ensemble omits violins and includes woodwinds, trombones, a harp, percussion and "electronic devices and effects created by Ted Keep, Liberty's chief engineer".

As Ken Saari says it in his review on Jeff Central: "The flutes sometimes flutter furiously, as in "Nova (Exploding Star)," to great effect. Occasionally, there are electronic beep-like sounds as on the pieces "Lost Souls of Saturn" and "Water Creatures of Astra." "The Monsters of Jupiter" paints a vivid, bone-chilling picture that begins with a fast-clicking sound panning back and forth between the stereo channels, and then bold trombones create an aura of impending danger. Strange electronic sounds follow, including a high-low-high frequency sinusoidal sound, and then kettledrums indicate the approaching footsteps of these leviathan beasts. The cover of this amazing album features a great Spiro graph and an Earth-like globe in space, with the title "Fantastica" emblazoned in comet-like lettering at the top. Without a doubt, this is one of the very best outer space records ever made." Have fun on your trip through space...

Werner Müller - Percussion In The Sky (1962)

Another German musician, Werner Müller, has contributed several albums to the "London Phase 4"-series. He was the leader of the "RIAS-Tanzorchester" in Berlin and later became leader of the "WDR-Tanzorchester" in Cologne. Both were popular radio-stations at that time. Now, WDR still is a popular radio-station, especially "WDR 4", where sometimes you can listen to music like this. But they´re not connected to "Phase 4"...
Anyway, here´s one of his greatest works, "Percussion in the Sky" from the year 1962. On this record, he uses wordless vocals, sound effects, whistling, and other touches to lend an "other-world-feeling" to the numbers. Funny sound, especially "Don´t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes", which was made popular by Perry Como, I guess...

The Three Suns - Swingin´ On A Star (1959)

The Three Suns were the favorite band of whom? It was a president´s wife, but I don´t remember anymore. It was not Hillary Clinton, that´s for sure. If you can guess it, and if you guessed right, you can get this record as your price in three "sunny" steps. Have fun with the Suns! :o)

Les Baxter - Space Escapade (1958)

Und hier noch ein cooles Album aus dem Space-Age: Les Baxter entführt uns hier 1958 in den Weltraum, mit bunten Weltraumanzügen und qualmenden Martinis. Cocktailparty auf einem fremden Planeten, warum eigentlich nicht? Allein dieses abgefahrene alberne Cover ist es schon wert, sich dieser Scheibe zu widmen...

101 Strings - Astro-Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000 (1968)

Die Form von Musik, wie man sich im Jahre 1968 vorgestellt hat, wie sie im Jahre 2000 und später klingen wird. 101 Strings haben unglaublich viele Scheiben aufgenommen, es ist auch ebensoviel seichter Schrott dabei, aber dieses Album ist der Hammer! Hippie-psychodelische Klänge und fantastische 60er-Musik. In den Liner-Notes heißt es: "...the most astounding trip ever to be taped..." Dem kann man nur beipflichten. Wer´s laut hört, der braucht keine Drogen mehr...