Moog Indigo

Album Review

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-pop and experimental tracks that mix avant-garde electronics with novelty pop. One of the big highlights in the lounge 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 novelty-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 novelty pop. Serious electronic music fans may find Moog Indigo's humor-oriented style too lightweight, but everything presented here is tight and catchy and there is no denying that Perrey has assembled his songs with amazing technical skill. In the end, Moog Indigo is a solid pick for lounge fans with a sense of humor. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, Rovi