Archives - 1969
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Billboard
December 27, 1969
Moog Establishes Role As Musical Instrument
By Georges Knemeyer
CHICAGO- Can the Moog Synthesizer be a musical instrument? Can the machine that makes those funny noises actually contribute something lasting to music? Is it more than a toy for someone rich enough to buy one?
"The Moog is a musical instrument and not just a noise making gadget. Eventually the synthesizer will be a performance oriented instrument and not just for studio work. In 10 years the machine will become smaller and most of the switching done manually now will be done with buttons and levers". That's the opinion of Chuck Lishon, president of Sonart Productions, Inc., which has one Moog album out now entitled "The Moog Strikes Bach" by Hans Wurman on RCA.
People first realized the synthesizer's potential with the release of "Switched on Bach" by Walter Carlos and Benjamin Folkman on Columbia. As with "The Moog Strikes Bach," all sounds were produced on the Moog. The Carlos/ Folkman album captivated both the pop and classical audience and stayed on the Top LP's chart for nearly a year.
"This is a serious instrument, and people are just beginning to scratch the surface of what can be done with the Moog," Lishon said. "Anyone can plug in a patch cord and get funny sounds from the synthesizer. Sonart Productions is far beyond that stage."
A second album by Sonart is just about completed, but will not be in the classical vein. It will consist of easy listening music but will not be all Moog. Other instruments, such as a drums, bass, and organ will be employed.
"The first album was a classical offering that utilized only one musician. All voicings on the album are by the Moog," Lishon said. "This second album, being done by Keith Droste, is an integrated package of live and electronic instruments consisting of not only a live rhythm section but brass, reeds and a whole series of keyboard instruments. Several pop oriented recordings have used these other instruments but not to even a small degree possible. We (Sonart) aren't interested in doing things on the Moog just for the sake of doing it. We are also going to diversify even further in the future. Hans is doing classical music, but we will eventually get into pop, heavy rock, jazz, and even ballad oriented music. I don't know of anybody in the country who is as diversified as we are."
Lishon is very critical of most of the pop music Moog albums released. "To me they're just a bunch of cracks and pops put on record. They sound like the people just wanted to do a Moog album without learning what the instrument can actually do. Everything on the "Moog Strikes Bach" album was carefully plotted and not just a galvanized hodge podge," he pointed out. Part of the reason for a seeming lack of credibility in the first Moog albums is the fact the instrument is very difficult to play. "It is tremendously hard to keep the instrument in tune," Lishon said. "It takes a great deal of knowledge to operate the Moog properly. The instrument is still a number of years ahead of its time."
