Moondog's second self-titled album (the first one came out in 1956 on the independent jazz label Prestige) was the idiosyncratic composer's first release in 12 years, and it shows how much Moondog's already rich music had matured since 1957's The Story of Moondog. Where Moondog's '50s records were jazz-based, Moondog showcases the composer's orchestral side; producer James William Guercio assembled an orchestra of over 40 musicians from the classical and jazz worlds (including flutist Hubert Laws and bassist Ron Carter), and although the pieces are quite compact -- ranging from the expansive three-part ballet suite "Witch of Endor" to the eight-second spoken poem "Cuplet" -- Moondog uses the expanded range of tonal colors and dynamics impressively. For someone who spent most of his career performing solo on a street corner in Manhattan, Moondog's arrangements on pieces like the jazz-canon's "Stamping Ground" are not only admirably complex, but also richly melodic. Although Moondog is often thought of as a mere exotica novelty, thanks to the composer's eccentricities, it is, in fact, one of the finest third stream jazz albums of its era. The best-known track on this album, "Bird's Lament," was the uncredited basis for dance DJ Mr. Scruff's "Get a Move On," which was used in an extended series of minivan commercials in 2002.
:::Review by Stewart Mason:::
Moondog - Moondog (1969)
A1. Theme 2:35
A2. Stamping Ground 2:36
A3. Symphonique #3 (Ode To Venus) 5:51
A4. Symphonique #6 (Good For Goodie) 2:45
B1. Minsym #1 5:45
B2. Lament I, "Bird's Lament" 1:42
B3. Witch Of Endor 6:29
B4. Symphonique #1 (Portrait Of A Monarch) 2:36
Credits
Baritone Saxophone – Wally Kane
Bass – Alfred Brown, George Duvivier, Louis Hardin, Ron Carter
Bass Clarinet – Ernie Bright
Bassoon – Don Macourt, George Berg, Jack Knitzer, Joyce Kelly, Ryohei Nakagawa, Wally Kane
Cello – Charles McCracken, George Ricci
Cello [Contrabass] – Joe Tekula
Clarinet – George Silfies, Jimmy Abato, Phil Bodner
Composed By, Liner Notes – Louis Hardin
Design – Ron Coro
Engineer – Arthur Kendy, Fred Plaut
English Horn – Henry Shuman, Irving Horowitz
Flugelhorn – Joe Wilder
Flute – Andrew Lolya, Harold Bennett
French Horn – Brooks Tillotson, James Buffington, Ray Alonge, Richard Berg
Percussion – Bob Rosengarden, Dave Carey, Elayne Jones, Jack Jennings
Photography By [Cover] – Don Hunstein
Photography By [Inside] – Fred Lombardi
Piccolo Flute – Harold Jones, Hubert Laws
Producer – Alfred Brown, James William Guercio
Tenor Vocals – Eugene Becker, Raoul Poliakin
Trombone [Bass] – Paul Faulise
Trombone [Tenor] – Buddy Morrow, Charles Small, Tony Studd
Trumpet – Alan Dean, Joe Wilder, Mel Broiles, Teddy Weiss
Trumpet [Bass] – Danny Repole
Tuba – Bill Stanley, Don Butterfield
Tuba [Tenor] – Bill Elton, Bill Stanley, John Swallow, Phil Giardina
Viola – David Schwartz, Emanuel Vardi, Eugene Becker, Raoul Poliakin
Violin – Aaron Rosand, Paul Gershman
:::!@#$%^&*():::