Moog: The Electric Eclectics of Dick Hyman by Dick Hyman (CD, Apr-1997, Varese Vintage)

My boy Charlie Galligan and I played this record to death in the spring and summer of 1969 in the small town in western Oregon, where we lived. I have not heard a note of it since then, but three or four of the songs still play in my memory. These days, it would sound a bit goofy and underwritten, but these songs had a big impact on me. The Moog was a legendary device that all budding musicians seemed fascinated with. It was a massive, bizarre contraption with dozens of patch cords, that was known for being unruly and unpredictable. To us, it was the next generation of musical instruments. Snatches of it appeared on records by The Monkees and The Beatles, but we wanted to know everything it could do and Dick Hyman gladly obliged us. I have no idea if this would sound good to me now, but it was as fresh and strange as The Dark Side Of The Moon would be four years later. A year and a half later, Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Lucky Man" was the first blatant use of the Moog on a hit single, but I was already immersed in the sounds of the Moog, thanks to Dick Hyman. I'm sure it would bring back a lot of memories of some great times, long forgotten. Hey, nostaligia was really fun way back when...

This record may be a joke upon hearing it 37 years later. But I doubt it. I wonder what my man Charlie Galligan would say about it.