"This being 1946, I've got to look all serious and stuff...."--Morton.
This near to Halloween, maybe I should be putting up Morton Ghoul, instead. Assuming there is a Morton Ghoul.
Eerie listening--Andre Ghostelanetz, Percy Cape, David Rose (From the Grave), Annunzio Hauntovani, The Ray Coffin Singers, 101 Screams....
But, this time around, we've got Morton Gould. These tracks were ripped from the 12" 78-rpm set Rendezvous. The record numbers say 1947, but the inside cover says 1946. 1946, it is:
This is what the labels look like:
Is it possible? Was elevator music actually issued by Columbia on its Masterworks label? Answer: yup, until around 1953, at which point light instrumental pop was transferred to the regular, ordinary Columbia popular ("CL") series. Hence, a bunch of early Columbia EZ exists in both "ML"- and "CL"-prefix form. Isn't that fascinating?
Oh. Yeah, that is rather dry. But so's a lot of elevator music! (Laugh track, fade)
And, in fact, the elevator music of old often sounds anything but dry--almost as if to spite its reputation for blandness and soporiferousness (love that word), classic EZ changes its mood every chorus and, typically, runs the gamut from soft to loud. Soothing but not boring. Not that I took to this sort of music at first--in fact, my ears rejected it flat out when I first encountered it on vinyl, years ago. I didn't mind "store music" (my childhood term for EZ), but I sure couldn't conceive of listening to an entire LP's worth of the stuff. Why was it released it on vinyl at all, I wondered? I thought it existed only on dusty discs stored away in the National Muzak Archives, or someplace like that.
The terrible truth, at last--at one time, your blogger couldn't stand this stuff. However, because I kept running into it, I decided I had to study it, that there was no choice. I did, and I grew to like it. I could not have predicted this.
Anyway, great stuff here--to my ears, Morton Gould was way ahead of his era. Consider the fact that this first arrangement was recycled in Living Stereo for the Gould LP of the same name (Beyond the Blue Horizon). A 1946 arrangement that sounded at home in 1961.
These sides boast crisp and clear fidelity--that's the good news. The bad news: moderate surface noise that regularly intrudes and which forced me to clip more of the upper end than I wanted to. I hate it when that happens:
Beyond the Blue Horizon (Whiting), Morton Gould and His Orchestra, 1946. From 78-rpm set Rendezvous.
Shadow Waltz (Warren).
Night and Day (Porter).
Time on My Hands (Youmans).
What Is This Thing Called Love? (Porter).
Tea for Two (Youmans).
Stardust (Carmichael).
Through Your Eyes to Your Heart (Gould).
This moderately scratchy Rendezvous has been brought to you by the friendly chap at MY(P)WHAE.
Lee
11 comments:
Hello Lee,
Was Elevator musak actually played in an elevator? Not long before your floor, a 78rpm wouldn't even finish playing yet! A funny moment in movie history is from the film 'Dawn of the Dead', what kills em? Elevator music ! I like all kinda music good or bad it's a ear ya have to tweak to fathom !
Byron
Gould had a foot in the classical division but this was the stuff that sold.
He had a particularly good album of idiosyncratic arrangements of Kurt Weill songs, half of them unfamiliar to one who had been seeking out Weill's work for five years. He was a pretty high brow cat, for all his popular success. I recall a few recordings of MG leading a studio orchestra in a few ballet scores and tone poems by Gould the composer. Even run across them? They're enjoying a fraction of the respect they once did, not justifiably, in my crummy opinion.
Byron,
I think it was, but don't quote me. I remember the days of canned music everywhere, but I don't remember if "everywhere" included elevators.
Which is to say, I have no idea why it was ever called "elevator music." Maybe because if LIFTED people's moods.
Terrible. Sorry.
Grayforester,
I had the RCA "Fall River Legend/Jekyll and Hyde Variations" LP long ago. At the time, I considered dissonant music to be pointless (unless it was Bartok or Ives). I have no idea why I felt that way; I just remember that I did.
So, I didn't hang on to the LP. I also had his "Symphony of Spirituals." It left my collection during the last big purge of easy listening and light Classical LPs. This was a couple years before I started my blog, so... classically bad timing.
Lee
Hi Lee, Funny comment indeed !
Music does lift you up, then there's the Blues !
Byron
That album cover looked like it was designed by Colorforms...
Evelyn,
What looks modern to one era looks comical to another!
Yes, subtle it is not....
Lee
No, Lee, I meant that seriously. It's the same typeface, and the same script and the same use of a yellow background and pink and blue hearts. Remember the old Colorform's Kitchen set? That's what the box looked like!
Like this:http://www.hometownfavorites.com/images/items/Large/HFGA059.jpg
Best I could do on a quick search, but I remember the original boxes vividly, circa 1962-63 or so.
Oddly enough, the Colorforms kitchen set doesn't come to mind....
Hm. The link is telling me I'm not authorized to view the page. How do they know what I'm authorized/unauthorized to do?
Now my feelings are hurt.
Lee
Lee,
Remember that Lorenz Hart lyric, "I want to recognize the tune"? Well, when the tune was put in hands as competant as Gould's, the sentiment is understandable. "Beyond the Blue Horizon" and the other songs on "Rendezvous" are glorious concert arrangements of a kind that heavily populate the 1930s and 40s. I found Gould very respectful of all of the songs. But, then again, Gould is an amazing man. I still think his records of Charles Ives with the Chicago Symphony are among the best and I love his music. Didn't he write a concerto each for tap dancer and harmonica? In any case, thanks for the reminders of good taste.
By the way, you finally got me to join the Merv Griffin fan club with the recording of "Deep in a Dream."
David,
Really? Glad to have you in the club! Yeah, that's a great Merv number.
Don't know about the Gould concertos (concerti?). Those sound like Gould compositions, though. Gould, to my ears, was the Juilliard edition of Gershwin.
Lee
I have this album collection! And some others artists would love to find someone that knows a little about them.
Post a Comment