Switched-On Bach - Influence

Influence

The album received a mixed reaction at the time of its release. Some critics reviled it for trivializing the work of one of the most revered classical composers of all time, but others were excited by the freshness of the sound and the virtuosity that went into its creation. Regardless of the negative reviews, the album caught the public attention and sold better than anyone had expected. Suddenly Moog's company found itself inundated with requests from record producers for Moog systems, and a rash of synthesizer albums were released to capitalise on the popularity of the new sound.

Some of these albums were similar to S-OB in being synthesized versions of classical pieces including:

  • The Moog Strikes Bach by Hans Wurman (RCA Records 1969)
  • Chopin À La Moog by Hans Wurman (RCA Records 1970)
  • Switched on Gershwin by Gershon Kingsley & Leonid Hambro (Avco Records 1970)
  • Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog* (*But were afraid to ask for) by Andrew Kazdin and Thomas Z. Shepard (CBS (Columbia Records) 1973)
  • The Unusual Classical Synthesizer (ABC 1972) by Mike Hankinson—unusual in that it was performed on an EMS VCS3 synthesizer rather than the more typical Moog modular synth.
  • Snowflakes Are Dancing (Clair De Lune) by Isao Tomita (RCA Red Seal Records 1974)
  • Jon Santo Plays Bach (Synthesized Electrons) MCA Inc. 1976)

Others capitalised on the Moog craze by creating "Switched-On" versions of contemporary artists and other genres:

  • Switched On Bacharach and More Switched On Bacharach by Christopher Scott. (Decca 1969)
  • Switched-On Rock by The Moog Machine. (Columbia Records 1969)
  • Music to Moog By by Gershon Kingsley (Audiofidelity 1969)
  • Moog Plays The Beatles Marty Gold (Avco Records 1970)
  • Switched on Country by Rick Powell (RCA Records 1970)
  • Country Moog - Switched on Nashville by Gil Trythall (Athena 1970)
  • Plugged-In Joplin by The Eden Electronic Ensemble (Pye 1975)
  • The Age of Electronicus by Dick Hyman (Command Records 1969)

Columbia Records even entered the competition by releasing an all-orchestral album with the same playlist as S-OB, with humorous liner notes:

  • Switched Off Bach by E. Power Biggs, Zoltán Rozsnyai, Pablo Casals & Glenn Gould (Columbia Records 1972)

Read more about this topic:  Switched-On Bach

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