The Mason Williams Phonograph Record (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  New Age  »  General/New Age
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: October 25, 1990
• Label: Warner Bros. Records
• UPC: 075992716925
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106709680
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• Tower.com Sales Rank: #17558 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #172 in New Age (See Top 100 New Age Bestsellers)
• #139 in General/New Age (See Top 100 General/New Age Bestsellers)

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Personnel: Mason Williams (vocals, guitar); David Bennett Cohen, Mike Deasy Sr. , James Burton, Al Casey (guitar); Gayle Levant (harp); Bobby Korda, Jack Gootkin, Jerome Reisler, James Getzoff, George Kast, Johnny Vidor Strings, Tibor Zelig, Jimmy Getsoff, David Burk, Emanuel Moss, Stanley Plummer, Sid Sharp, Robert Sushel, Sidney Sharp, Israel Baker, Ralph Schaeffer, Harry Bluestone, William Kurash (violin); Joseph Ditullio, Jerome Kessler, Armand Karpoff, Jesse Ehrlich (cello); Carl Fortina (accordion); Jim Horn, Tommy Scott (woodwinds); David Duke, William Hinshaw (French horn); Richard Leith, Richard Hyde, Hoyt Bohannon, Lew McCreary (trombone); Larry Knechtel (piano, electric bass); Michael Melvoin (piano); Lyle Ritz (upright bass, electric bass); Bob West (electric bass); Jim Gordon (drums); Gene Estes, Gary Coleman (percussion); Phil Kaye (sound effects).

Liner Note Author: Stan Cornyn.

Photographer: Jerry White.

Arrangers: Al Capps; Mike Post; Mason Williams.

Producer Mike Post and composer Mason Williams packed all sorts of experiments into this half-hour listening experience called The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, and though there are some interesting moments from the clever singer, it is the instrumental masterpiece "Classical Gas" that displays the highest level of creativity. The 45 rpm was a number one adult contemporary hit in the summer of 1968 while the award-winning artist was writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It became so successful that Williams has a separate website with everything one could want to know about the tune linked to his own http://www.masonwilliams-online.com. It won Grammys in 1968 for composition, performance, and Mike Post's arrangement, and maybe because of its huge popularity, it feels out of place in the context of this concept disc. The 27 seconds of folksy banter that make up "Life Song" or the "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" riff that is all 30 seconds of "Dylan Thomas" are disposable bridges between musical elements that matter, the closing instrumental "Sunflower" -- part of a film project where the songwriter "set up cameras in the desert" to capture "the largest flower ever done" -- a skywriting airplane drawing underneath the rising sun. Stan Cornyn's always difficult liner notes explain it, but not as well as the photo of the plane on the back cover. "Wanderlove" emulates Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" without the flamenco guitar -- the artist saved that for "Classical Gas" -- and it appears the folksinging duo was a major inspiration to him in the development of this project. Al Capps' arrangement of "Baroque-a-Nova" is noteworthy --- sounding like the Bob Crewe Generation on speed, and a candidate for a much better segue after the hit than the downer that is "Long Time Blues." A politically incorrect "The Prince's Panties" is another excessive track, showing that Warner Brothers Seven Arts allowed the team many indulgences. It paid off as there are a couple of gems and one diamond found when sifting through The Mason Williams Phonograph Record's rough. ~ Joe Viglione

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