Moog Indigo in Bloomington, MN

After establishing himself at the vanguard of
electronic
music as one half of
Perrey & Kingsley
,
Jean Jacques Perrey
continued to pursue his own uniquely space-age brand of humor-oriented
pop
throughout the 1970s. One of the best examples of his work during this time is
Moog Indigo
, an album built around
Perrey
's experiments with the Moog synthesizer. This album has been popular with the
electronica
crowd thanks to the presence of
"E.V.A.,"
a funky synth excursion that became popular with remixers (
Fatboy Slim
turned in a memorable remix of this tune on
Best of Moog
). The remainder of the album divides its time between funky
lounge
-
and
experimental
tracks that mix
avant-garde
electronics
with
novelty
. One of the big highlights in the
arena is
"Soul City,"
a funky instrumental where Moog synthesizers take the place of horns in a guitar-heavy slice of
R&B
. There is also a swinging take on
"Hello Dolly"
that sounds like
cocktail
jazz
from another planet. As for the strictly
-styled tunes, the most memorable is
"Gossipo Perpetuo,"
a clever tune that mixes tape loops designed to sound like chattering voices with a fast-paced synthesizer
samba
groove to create a genuinely smile-inducing slice of
. Serious
music fans may find
's humor-oriented style too lightweight, but everything presented here is tight and catchy and there is no denying that
has assembled his songs with amazing technical skill. In the end,
is a solid pick for
fans with a sense of humor. ~ Donald A. Guarisco