Lots of MUP3's, Wanna Trade?

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
Thanks, Count!

Having heard more of the tracks now, I have to say I'm glad I didn't order their album expecting a polished sound. But that's not as bad a knock as it seems.

I mean, I appreciate their intent, and their enthusiasm. But I'd have preferred it if they'd done some additional real studio recordings, because it's pretty hard to gauge their actual talent in the more ragged-sounding live recordings.

Fun and infectious, yes. If I'd been there at the shows, I'd have had a great time.

But I wasn't, so some of the energy gets lost in translation. Too bad they stopped performing, it would have been cool to see them live.

Dearth
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
This may be off-topic, but I figured you guys are the really knowledgeable ones about Muppet songs and albums.

My parents recently boxed up all of their old vinyl albums. For Christmas, they gave my siblings and I each a nice new record/CD/cassette player, and a huge stack of our old vinyls to divvy up.

Two things of mine which I have since realized are missing: Thriller (the first album I ever bought with my own money) and...

The Muppet Alphabet Album.

(We may or may not have had the Sesame Street cast album, I'm not sure, but I definitely remember the chalkboard and pipe-cleaner features of the MAA.)

I have searched in three locations at their house now, to no avail. I was tempted last night to confiscate Music to Read James Bond By, but decided not to risk it after my mom refused to part with her Pointer Sisters Break Out album.

Even if I find the thing, I remember it being pretty banged-up and scratchy back in the day. Was it ever remastered onto disc?

Dearth
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,289
Reaction score
2,940
Hi Dearth. Actually, yes. The Muppet Alphabet Album was released on CD, twice, under its new title: Sing the Alphabet. The two versions are one from 1996, and a second with new cover art from Koch Records from 2008. Additionally, these releases include a new version of ABC-DEF-GHI sung by Elmo at the very beginning.
Hope this helps.
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
I've been wanting to do this for a while, and last night I finally got around to doing some crude audio mixes, and did a test burn.

You remember some of those VHS compilations of TMS where they took all the backstage business and various acts, and made a guest-star-less version of the show?

Basically, I wanted to make the album equivalent; combine as much of the 'record dialogue' as possible into one mega-mix, as if it were a single audio-only episode of the Muppet Show.

I didn't realize it would grow into a 75-minute CD, broken into three distinct episodes.

But sometimes, there was a cool introductory bit that was connected to a song that I didn't necessarily like, or would preclude using a similar song elsewhere.

So I chopped off all of the dialogue and started re-recording these little snippets in new combinations.

For instance, I took the opening theme from the first Muppet Show album, but at the point that Gonzo would blow his trumpet, I substituted the "honk toot/ate my trumpet" joke from the Fan Club record.

Next, Kermit welcomes you to the record, but instead of introducing Mississippi Mud, his dialogue leads straight into Lydia the Tattooed Lady. The music actually starts under his truncated speech, and flows surprisingly well.

I took Floyd's spoken introduction to "New York State of Mind" and overlaid it instead on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". (And it even works within the backstage plot, because I place this track right after Piggy karate-chops Kermit, so when he says "the frog is not around", it flows naturally.)

I shaved out some of the more repetitive parts of Gonzo eating a tire to the Flight of the Bumblebee, cutting to the end almost a minute earlier. The next track begins with Sam the Eagle's play-on music but switches to his dialogue from the Fan Club record, with Gonzo reentering to show him the glued-together chickens.

Piggy's SYFFITF speech now flows into "Mad About the Frog".

Due to the resequencing, I needed an extra closing theme, and I substituted Statler and Waldorf's "off the record" pun at the very end.

Kermit's "obscure song" introduction (originally to Pachalafaka) now throws it to Cheesecake by Dr. Teeth, ripped from my DVD. This flows into the next track, because Kermit also uses the word "obscure" when he introduces A.A. Milne's "Halfway Down the Stairs" sung by Robin. And that flows thematically into Rowlf singing Pooh bear's "Cottleston Pie".

I took Kermit and Piggy's "color of envy" dialogue and spliced in another Karate chop at the end, and then impishly had "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" follow it on the playlist... Kermit has just been assaulted for saying he was green. It puts a new subtext into the first line of the song.

One new three-minute Fozzie track was combined from six snippets: Kermit introducing "Wotcher"; Fozzie's familiar play-on theme; dialogue from the Fan Club record; the "ears wiggle" interstitial; the actual song from the "Wotcher" track; and then after Statler and Waldorf cheer the song in the fifth snippet, it blends straight into an exchange where they initially praise something as good but talk themselves into hating it.

I isolated some Piggy and Kermit dialogue about having dinner after the finale, and after Kermit tells her "just sing, Piggy", it cuts to his big introduction for her from one of the Music Hall album tracks, but the song I used is actually Pig Calypso.

I'm still tinkering with the final sequencing. I think I may shave it down to just two episodes at some point.

I wish I had better programs to use for this, because I'm doing it all very crudely and on-the-fly with a recording program that tends to make the stuff sound a bit rubbery, but it's been a lot of fun.

Dearth
 

JJandJanice

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Messages
2,218
Reaction score
153
I thought of one more that's a bit of an odd one, but I'm going to see if anyone can help.

Does anyone have Paul Williams singing Rainbow Connection on Yo Gabba Gabba. I've been looking for at the least a video of it on Youtube, but for one reason or another, it's one of the few videos they don't have, :smirk:.

Oh well, if anyone has this, much thanks, :sing:
 

Dearth

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
873
Reaction score
189
I found a site where someone had posted the entire Dark Crystal soundtrack for download. Is it okay to post the link of something like that on here?

Dearth
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,289
Reaction score
2,940
Well, I think the better thing to do is for you to download the soundtrack to your computer, then zip the file and upload to sendspace.com, then come back and post the sendspace.com link for us to download. That'd help avoid any unnecessary spam possibly attached to the site you're speaking of Dearth. It may well be a reputable site, but I think it's safer this way.

Hope this answered your question.
 

figmental

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
81
Reaction score
0
I've been looking everywhere for the Muppet Vision Instrumentals... I've only found Movin' Right Along. Anybody have these?
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,289
Reaction score
2,940
Hi Figmental. Your best bet on those is to contact Steve Swanson, known here on MC as stephenjlizard, the host of the MuppetCast.
Hope this helps.
 
Top