If you blur your eyes, these albums are pretty much identical. If you put down the drink and sober up, you’ll see that they are actually quite different. To the left is the groundbreaking but compellingly dated moog record by French electropop pioneers Perrey and Kingsley.
The record is an instrumental collection of bleeps and blops that sounds like it should be the backtracking for Q*Bert. Quite to the point, the song “Electronic Can Can” would be adapted as the theme to the children’s television show Wonderama in the 70s. But try to hear it through the ears of its first listeners. As the first fully electronic mainstream record, it was a landmark recording.
Identifying itself as “Electronic Pop music of the Future,” it is perhaps what French people in 1966 thought the world would sound like in 1996. In reality, the “In Sound From Way Out” is a far different creature 30 years later. The LP shown on the right here above is a set of all instrumental cuts from New York hip hop trio, the Beastie Boys. The cover and title tribute are well-chosen.
This is a record that delivers on the promise of Perry-Kingsley, providing a perfect chill-room soundtrack of groovers and shakers.