Best of Moog

(Loud)
by Lex Marburger

Ladies and gentlemen, please make yourself ready to enter the Nation of Moog, a land of absolute synthesis. So button your shirt up to the very top button, sit bolt upright in a stiff-backed chair, and… here we go.

(Much thanks to Laurie Anderson for that.)

Seriously though, this album is Ted Kazinski’s nightmare. Nothing but that damn electronic keyboard, playing the “greatest” hits released between ’68 and ’70. Most you’ll recognize from either game shows, commercials, or pixie stix sugar rush fever dream terrors. Bet you’ve never heard T. Rex’s “Jeepster” like this before. No kidding, really… These tracks are so square, you’ll cut yourself on the corners. Moog’s are not known for their “dirty” sound, but rather tones that are smooth and saccharine. And straight. God, how straight. Dick Hyman (not kidding) does James Brown’s “Give it up or Turn in Loose,” and it makes Kraftwerk sound like a soul band. The producers of Best of Moog knew this, I think, because they stuck a Fatboy Slim remix of “E.V.A.” (since swiped by Mastercard for a commercial – Jeez Mr. Slim, give some other bands a chance to get royalties, huh?) at the end of the disc. Is it good? Yes. Good enough to buy the album? Sure, what the hell? You just might like it here in Moog Nation. Just remember, extra starch in the laundry.
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