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40 years after its creation, the name Moog is still synonymous with “synthesizer” for many people. There were synthesizers before Robert Moog's creation, but his instrument was among the first to embody real-time performance characteristics. In the 1960s, Moog-driven songs like "Popcorn" were commercial hits and Walter Carlos's Switched-On Bach created a fire storm of critical acclaim and controversy. In the seventies, the Moog helped launch space music and the Mini-Moog became the instrument of choice for progressive rock and fusion keyboard players. Today the Moog is enjoying a revival with retro-space, ambient lounge and techno musicians. Robert Moog unplugged the final patchcord on August 21, 2005.

ECHOES OF ROBERT MOOG On Echoes Sunday September 4th     In this special edition of Echoes, we hear comments on Robert Moog and his invention from Wendy Carlos, Redshift's Mark Shreeve, Sun Ra, Klaus Schulze, Robert Margouleff from Tonto's Expanding Head Band, Jan Hammer and Jimmy Lavalle of The Album Leaf. Find a station near you Listen to the feature in RealAudio (requires the Real Player) Echoes On-Line Subscribers: Listen to interview features with Moog disciples Wendy Carlos, Tomita, Klaus Schulze, Tonto's Expanding Head Band and more.

A MOOG TOP TEN Here's a list of albums that will take you into the wonders of the Moog synthesizer. With a couple of exceptions, I've tried to limit them to recordings that are in print. ~John Diliberto

Mark Shreeve with Moog System 3

Wendy Carlos Switched-On Boxed Set There's something beautifully antique about Carlo's performances. Her renditions perfectly capture the wild polyphony of Bach's intersecting lines.	Air Moon Safari The French duo air tap into the exotic sound of the Moog on their debut album. Listen especially to the melodies on La Femme D'Argent" and the bassline of "Sexy Boy" for those fat Moog sounds.
Klaus Schulze Body Love Body Love, a soundtrack for a German porno flick, has just been re-issued on CD and it's Klaus at his most powerful with careening lead synthesizer lines over surging sequencer driven rhythms, many of them played on Moogs.	Tangerine Dream Phaedra Isn't my choice always Phaedra for classic Tangerine Dream? The Moog vies with the mellotron as the most dominant sound on an album whose hallucinogenic spacescapes are still timeless three decades later.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer The eponymous debut from the the progressive rock trio remains their most kinetic and unaffected. Keith Emerson's closing pitch-bending coda to "Lucky Man", reputedly just a spontaneous sound check test, remains one of the most recognizable Moog melodies.	The Mahavishnu Orchestra Birds of Fire It was the second Mahavishnu album where Jan Hammer really took the Mini-Moog to the forefront. His pitch-bending solos echoed John McLaughlin's guitar lines in exhilarating solos. After this CD, every fusion keyboardist had to get a Mini-Moog.
ARC Blaze I could have just as easily picked one of Mark Shreeve's albums with Redshift, but this collaboration between Shreeve and synthesist Ian Boddy is a furious electronic space excursion with Shreeve spinning out sounds like an wired alchemist from his Modular Moog System 3.	Tonto's Expanding Head Band Zero Time This space music epic from 1971 still sounds fresh today. The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO) was a futuristic looking conflagration of electronics, much of it Moog synthesizers. Zero Time was only released on vinyl and is out of print, as is a CD collection of Zero Time and their second album, combined as Tonto Rides Again. But if you find any of them, get 'em.
Coldcut Let Us Replay A remix album from the British techno duo, this features my favorite version of their track "Atomic Moog" released here as "Atomic Moog 2000." An album that will lift you off your seat and spin your head, usually at the same time.	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company Like a Duck to Water The second album from this live performance group who brought minimalism to the synthesizer. David Borden's intricate counterpoint compositions are brilliantly executed on six keyboards (3 musicians, 6 hands!).

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MORE ON MOOG Visit Moog Music MOOG: The Movie Writer-Director Hans Fjellestad's tribute to Robert Moog, with appearances by Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Bernie Worrell, and of course, Robert Moog. Books about Robert Moog and Moog synthesizers Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer by Frank Trocco, Trevor Pinch, Robert Moog A book that explores the invention of the synthesizer and its impact on popular culture. The authors take us back to the heady days of the 1960s and early 1970s, when the technology was analog, the synthesizer was an experimental instrument, and synthesizer concerts could and did turn into happenings. Interviews with the pioneers who determined what the synthesizer would be and how it would be used, from inventors Robert Moog and Don Buchla to musicians like Brian Eno, Pete Townshend, and Keith Emerson recapture their visions of the future of electronic music and a new world of sound. Electronic Music Pioneers by Ben Kettlewell Author Ben Kettlewell presents an exhaustive text on the illustrious history of electronic music, from its beginnings with Leon Theremin to interviews with Dr. Robert Moog and artist Klaus Shulze. From software synths to Kraftwerk, even gangster rap, the electronic music explosion has made an impact on almost every aspect of the music industry. This exciting new book tells the stories of the people and inventions that revolutionized the musical sound palette. "Electronic Music Pioneers" is filled with research and useful knowledge about the history and methods of electronic music with an extensive timeline of this music technology.

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