The Wozard of Iz
March 25, 2011 1:24 PM   Subscribe

The Wozard of Iz "is a psycho-electronic re-working of "The Wizard of Oz" that sounds like the soundtrack to the greatest LSD/freak-out/moog/synth/electronic musical that never was. This oddity is a hysterical and typical leftist/hippie commentary on the socioeconomic human condition of the average American in 1968, and uses the analogy of Dorothy taking a "trip" from Kansas for a brighter and better world where one can really be "free." With music by electronic music/moog pioneer Mort Garson: Prologue - Leave the Driving to Us :: Upset Trip - Never Follow Yellow-Green Road :: Thing a Ling - In Man - Man with the Word :: They're Off to Find the Wozard - Blue Poppy :: I've Been Over the Rainbow :: High on Big Sur :: You can listen/download Mort's other moog masterpieces, including Black Mass/Lucifer, Music for Sensuous Lovers, and Plantasia here.
posted by puny human (13 comments total) 33 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Dark Side of Oz always does it for me.
posted by not_on_display at 1:50 PM on March 25, 2011


I'm melting... melting...
posted by functionequalsform at 1:56 PM on March 25, 2011


I just got Black Mass/Lucifer recently. It is groovy, spooky, and moogy, for sure.
I'll check the Oz thing out this weekend. Thanks!
posted by battleshipkropotkin at 2:00 PM on March 25, 2011


Needs more Woz.
posted by Madamina at 2:14 PM on March 25, 2011


It's so moogy! SO MOOOGY! And so good!

I went straight for the Black Mass/Lucifer album, and find it light and not really that menacing. For example, Witch Trial is the least threatening trial ever. But so good! Thanks!
posted by filthy light thief at 2:25 PM on March 25, 2011 [1 favorite]


Great find. I'll be doing chores this weekend and mooging out.
posted by benzenedream at 2:30 PM on March 25, 2011


Those who like such things may also really like Larry Fast's Synergy, the first couple of albums of which have followed me around since I bought the Cosmos soundtrack back in the early 80s. You can find his first album (and links to others) here.

Wow, thanks for that site...I remember Synergy, and I think Nektar, from Laserium at Griffith Park, but other musical memories don't entirely jibe with their music list.

All of this music is going to demand some old school, lying-with-headphones-on-the-rug listening. Also may need to pull out my Ommadawn and toss it on my Thorens1, perhaps flash back to some D&D playing, and...what decade is this? where am I? when am I?


1 My Thorens is a 3-speed, though...
posted by foonly at 3:03 PM on March 25, 2011


Also, one to look out for Visions of Dune by Zed.

it's not as whimsical as Synergy and Garson this but atmospheric and seriously fuggin cool.
posted by Liquidwolf at 3:06 PM on March 25, 2011 [1 favorite]


More fun with Mort: DJ Shadow sampled Garson, heard here on the Cancer LP from Mort Garson's Signs of the Zodiac project. Each sign has a similarly formatted LP, featuring 8 tracks about the specific sign. They're not exactly lively listening parties, but great for sampling, if you can find them.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:37 AM on March 26, 2011


In regards to the Amorphous Androgynous mixtape album (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind, Vol. 2: Pagan Love Vibrations) that hippybear mentioned upthread, eMusic is selling the first and second 2CD-sized mixes with both individual tracks and as complete mixes, each for $5.99! And they're high quality encodings (V0 MP3s, if you care about that kind of stuff).

I wouldn't hawk goods in the thread like this except ... it's really good stuff, and legit. Thanks hippybear, this is really good (along with the hours of mooginess I have queued up)!
posted by filthy light thief at 1:57 PM on March 26, 2011


hippybear - thanks for the bonus material!

Correction to my prior comment: I now realize that eMusic has the 2nd and 3rd volumes as unmixed tracks along with the complete mixes, not the 1st volume. Other online shops (including Rhapsody) have volume 1 mixed and not as MP3s.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:33 PM on March 26, 2011


I always say, if you must own just ONE psychedelic Wizard of Oz-themed record, this is it! Suzi Jane Hokum (Dorothy)'s voice is a rare, adenoidal elixer. (And no, she's not Nancy Sinatra under a fake name, though Suzi Jane also worked with Lee Hazlewood.)
posted by Scram at 11:34 PM on March 27, 2011


"I hope I didn't derail your post too much'

Dude, not at all. Thanks for the excellent links and discussion!

I noticed one of those compilations included Donovan's Three Kingfishers, which is a great song on its own, but becomes an amazing song if you have been herbalized :)

And yeah Scram, I couldn't agree more, Suzi Jane Hokum probably deserves an fpp all her own.
posted by puny human at 9:51 AM on March 28, 2011


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