'' is a musical album by
Walter Carlos on
CBS Records , released in 1968. It was the first record to popularise music performed on electronic synthesizers, and resulted in a huge increase in interest in them, particularly
Moog Synthesizer s. The album was the first classical album to go
Platinum . It went quickly to the Top 10 in
Billboard 's pop Top 200 and stayed on the chart for more than a year. In the 1970
Grammy awards, the album took three prizes: Best Classical Album, Best Classical Music Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (With or Without Orchestra) and Best Classical Engineered Recording.
The album consists of a selection of pieces by
Johann Sebastian Bach , performed on a Moog
Modular Synthesizer system, one of which can be seen at the back of the room on the album cover. ''Switched-On Bach'', or S-OB as Carlos referred to it, was recorded on an 8 track
Ampex tape recorder using numerous takes and overdubs. This was long before the days of
MIDI Sequencers and recording the album was a tedious and time-consuming process.
Carlos followed the release of this album with a number of other classical Moog albums:
While ''Switched-On Bach'' is the best known of these albums, it is not necessarily the most interesting for modern listeners. The later albums featured more developed usage of the Moog and wider varieties of sounds.
The album was given a mixed reaction at the time of its release. Some critics reviled it for trivialising 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 the record companies for Moog systems, and a rash of synthesizer albums were released to capitalise on the popularity of the new sound. Howver, many who tried to create music with the Moog were disappointed how hard it was. Carlos's album was the result of careful work and similar results were not possible to achieve without a great effot. The most famous of other Moog albums was
Isao Tomita 's ''Footprints in Snow'' that was released in 1973 and featured compositions of
Claude Debussy .
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 1969)
- ''Switched on Gershwin'' by Gershon Kingsley ( Avco 1970)
- ''Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog--- (---but were afraid to ask)'' by Andrew Kazdin and Thomas Z. Shepard ( CBS 1973)
- ''The Unusual Classical Synthesizer'' (ABC 1972) by Mike Hankinson
- ''Footprints in the Snow'' by Isao Tomita (1973)
Others capitalised on the Moog craze by creating synthesized versions of contemporary artists and other genres:
- ''Switched On Bacharach'' by Christopher Scott. ( Decca 1969)
- ''Music to Moog By'' by Gershon Kingsley (Audiofidelity 1969)
- ''Moog Plays The Beatles'' Marty Gold ( Avco 1970)
- ''Country Moog - Switched on Nashville'' by Gil Trythall (Athena 1970)
- ''Plugged-In Joplin'' by The Eden Electronic Ensemble ( Pye 1975)
# Sinfonia to
Cantata No. 29
# Air on a G String (from orchestral suite no. 3)
# Two-Part Invention in F Major
# Two-Part Invention in B Flat Major
# Two-Part Invention in D Minor
#
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring (from
Cantata No. 147 )
# Prelude and Fugue No. 7 in E Flat Major (from
Well-Tempered Clavier )
# Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor (from
Well-Tempered Clavier )
# Chorale Prelude "Wachet Auf"
#
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 In G Major - Allegro
#
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 In G Major - Adagio
#
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 In G Major - Allegro
- Note: the second part of third Brandenburg Concerto is Carlos's own composition since the original piece is meant to be improvised
- Walter Carlos - Keyboards, programming
- Rachel Elkind - Producer
Carlos released ''Switched-On Bach 2000'' in 1992 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original album's release. It is essentially a remake of the original LP--not a rerelease--using state-of-the-art (as of 1992) digital synthesizers and computer-assisted recording. Although the CD contains the same track listing as the original (with the additional inclusion of Bach's
Toccata And Fugue In D Minor and a brief original composition) the new digital synth sounds are radically different in feeling, prompting some criticism from fans.
In 1999, Carlos released the ''Switched-On Boxedset'', a lavishly produced 4-CD boxset comprising the following albums in their original form:
- ''Switched-On Bach''
- ''The Well-Tempered Synthesizer''
- ''Switched-On Bach II''
The remaining disc differs from its original vinyl LP format by including only the remaining Brandenburg Concertos not heard on the previous three discs:
- ''Switched-On Brandenburgs''
The albums have been remastered by Carlos and include some bonus tracks. The boxset also includes a 150 page booklet with photos, production notes, etc.
- http://www.wendycarlos.com/+sob.html
