The Wozard of Iz

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The Wozard of Iz
Wozcover512.jpg
Studio album by
Released1968
StudioEmGee Electronic Studio
Genre Electronic music, spoken word, Psychedelic music
Length35:05
Label A&M
Producer Bernard Krause
Mort Garson chronology
The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds
(1967)
The Wozard of Iz
(1968)
Black Mass Lucifer
(1971)

The Wozard of Iz: An Electronic Odyssey is a 1968 album of electronic music composed and realized by Mort Garson and conceived and written by Jacques Wilson. It psychedelically parodies the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz , setting the characters in the 1960s with a hippie mindset. [1] Throughout the story the main character, Dorothy, seeks out "where it's at".

Contents

The album was released the year following another collaboration between Garson and Wilson, The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds , a concept album issued by Elektra Records.

Production

In a 1969 interview, Garson admitted that he hadn't used the Moog synthesizer in "a very sophisticated way" for his 1967 album, The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds. [1] However, by the time of The Wozard of Iz, he had learned most of the techniques for using the instrument. [1]

Cast of characters

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Prologue" - 3:05
  2. "Leave the Driving to Us" - 2:50
  3. "Upset Strip" - 2:25
  4. "Never Follow the Yellow-Green Road" - 2:40
  5. "Thing-a-Ling (Scared Crow)" - 2:21
  6. "In-man" - 1:28
  7. "Man With the Word (Lyin' Coward)" - 2:00
  8. "They're Off to Find the Wozard" - 1:40

Side two

  1. "Blue Poppy" - 6:27
  2. "I've Been Over the Rainbow" - 2:10
  3. "Big Sur" - 3:20
  4. "Killing of the Witch" - 3:35
  5. "Finale" - 1:04

Personnel

Legacy

Kim Cooper, in the 2005 book Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed, described The Wozard of Iz as "the pinnacle of the rather small genre of psychedelic Wizard of Oz-themed albums", also citing The Wizard of Oz and Other Trans Love Trips, by the West Coast Workshop, in this genre. [2] Garson's album was sampled by the Avalanches for their 2016 album Wildflower , and gave its name to one of the tracks on that album. [3]

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References

Notes

  1. Contrary to popular legend, Suzi(e) Jane Hokom is not a pseudonym for Nancy Sinatra.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Mclellan, Dennis (2008-01-11). "Composer was a synthesizer pioneer". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  2. Cooper, Kim (2005). Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN   0-415-96998-0.
  3. Ducker, Eric (2019-06-21). "Music For Plants Is Real (Even If The Science Isn't)". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-05-17.