Jean Jacques Perrey and Harry Breuer's

rrreHE HAPPY MOOG was recorded in 1969-70 by Jean Jacques Perrey and Harry Breuer, and was released on LP around 1971. It came out on the budget label, Pickwick Records, and to this day has never come out on CD. Back in the late '60s and early '70s, Pickwick was famous for putting out records that cashed in on popular artists of the day, sometimes culling early demo or flop records, that the artist was surely embarassed to see released. 

   THE HAPPY MOOG was different, in that it was created specifically for the Pickwick label. It was recorded at the Carroll Instrument Rental Company studios in New York City, and all the instruments on it were played soley by Perry (Moog, other keyboards) and Breuer (mostly percussion, xylophone, and a bit of keyboards.)

   The album is one of my favorites. Why? Because it features the Moog synthesizer in a playful and delightful way, and because the songs are wonderful, tasty originals -- all written by Perrey and Breuer. Many of the tunes are written in ragtime, and that combination of that "old" style of melody, and the "new" medium of radical electronic instruments is fantastic.

   Jean Jacques considers it "an electronic album for children," but in my opinion, its' appeal goes beyond that, and children of all ages can love this album.