Penguin Rock [Import]

Penguin Rock [Import]

Track Listings

1. Magic Fellow

2. Western Skies - Roddy Frame, , Lazyboy

3. Soft Little Sound

4. Don' Fret George - Cathy Battistessa, , Lazyboy

5. Nothing to Be Afraid Of

6. Lovebeat

7. Imperial

8. Police Dogs Bonfire

9. Fireworks

10. Penguin - Lazyboy,

11. Left Rev

12. Gully

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
2004 UK 12-track CD including the single 'Western Skies' featuring Roddy Frame along with other guest appearances by Cathy Battistessa, Estelle, Earl 16 & Lee 'Scratch' Perry. Sunday Best.

Tracks:

Air A Danser
Yodel 1
Telephone And Rubber Band
Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter
Pythagoras's Trousers
Numbers 1-4
Yodel 2
Salty Bean Fumble
Paul's Dance
The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas
Walk Don't Run
Flux
Simon's Dream
Harmonic Necklace
Steady State

Customer Reviews:

Penguins Pleasing.......2005-06-09

This album should please anyone who likes quirky chamber music, and many of the PBS crowd. "Air A Danser" shows that fiddles can be fun. "Yodel 1" has rhythmic acoustic guitar and drum with some piano runs overlaid, very active yet quiet. "Telephone And Rubber Band" has what sounds like a repeating telephone tone sample combined with some violin full of tonalities. "Cutting Branches" has peaceful vibraphone/bell runs. "The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas" has an upbeat rhythm suitable for dancing fleas or penguins or dancing anything, really quirky. "Flux" is a pulsating mood with plucking acoustic guitar strings and surging violin tones. Highly recommended, my favorite PCO album!

Skating on Smooth Ice.......2004-03-03

Upon first listen of this disk I was amazed how utterly unique yet palatable the music is. Yes, the approach is strange but this disk is so affectionately addicting in its dreamy presentation one cannot stop listening. So smooth, each track blends with one another yet the styles covered here range from classical ("Numbers 1-4"), to experimental ("Telephone and Rubber Band" - excellent I might add); from light jazz (The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas) to bluegrass (Yodel 2); and from Cajun-light (Salty Bean Fumble)to even a Penguin Cafe cover of the surf rock classic "Walk Don't Run"! Do not be fooled, ths is not your typical _New Age_ music. This is for those who are a bit adventurous and even admire a tad of humorous, elements in their listening experience.

soundtrack to my life... when I was 20.......2003-09-07

I heard Telephone and Rubber Band on Public Radio, and assiduously tracked down the album (on cassette, which I wore out.) There are still times when the music enters my mind again. Air a danser goes with a half-dozen extraordinarily lovely instrumental tunes: Last Song for Shelby Jean on Hillbilly Jazz is another. Highly recommended

Company Theme Song!.......2001-04-02

This is a must have CD! Experimental? Get out of town! This is as much fun as Talking Heads. These are the kinds of "experiments" that only the highly skilled and inspired can pull off. FUN! Great repeat listening. After many years I am buying my second copy. Why? I can't get "Telephone and rubber band" out of my head. Excellent tunes!!!

Soothing.......2000-07-16

Penguin Cafe Orchestra's self-titled album is lush, ambient music which sometimes recalls the quieter tracks on, say, Brian Eno's Another Green World. But PCO's ambience, at least on this album, is brighter (bright, as in mood, not intelligence) and more soothing than the sombre Eno melodies.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra is, if not a true orchestra, a rather large group; but rest assured they don't violate or abandon their minimalist aesthetic. The core of most of these songs are quite simple actually. Telephone and Rubber band, perhaps the most minimal of the songs here, begins with a spliced tape loop of, yes, a telephone ring. Soon a guitar, bass and other intstruments join in around the telephone signal and create an irresistably engaging song. Air A Danser, likewise, is lush yet simple, but when all of the harmonies and instruments are in full swing, swirling in and among one another like small-winged insects fluttering near a porch light, believe me, you'll swear that this music is quite complex.

My favorite, however, is Cutting Branches For a Temporary Shelter, one of the longer cuts that--and, gosh, forgive me for being so sentimental--actually reminds me of raindrops falling.

I strongly recommend this disc for anyone who appreciates beautiful, simple and intelligent instrumental music.

Penguin
Average customer rating:

k roll

NOT THE BEST MAC'S ALBUM BUT "BRIGHT FIRE" IS ON IT.

EXCELLENT

The red-haired stepchild of the Mac catalog

if you listen to it like its not fleetwood mac, but a different band alltogether, you will like it.

Penguin
Fleetwood Mac
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Heroes Are Hard to Find

Future Games

Bare Trees

Mystery to Me

Kiln House

ASIN: B000002KBY
Release Date: 1990-03-22

Tracks:

Remember Me
Bright Fire
Dissatisfied
(I'm A) Road Runner
The Derelict
Revelation
Did You Ever Love Me
Night Watch
Caught In The Rain

Customer Reviews:

k roll.......2007-06-01

I think most of the reviewers are looking for a stevie nicks song in this album and its not there. To me this may be the best of there early albums.
If you sit and listen to it all the way thru i think you too will see the
depth of the music and song writing.I for one bought the album in 1975 and
then the cd in 1990 i think its great!!!

NOT THE BEST MAC'S ALBUM BUT "BRIGHT FIRE" IS ON IT........2007-02-14

i basically bought that album because i'm a huge bob welch's fan, i think he was the best member that fleetwood mac ever had (except for peter green of course), and i thought that this one was not as good as "future games" or "bare trees" but still have maybe my all-time favorite mac's song ever "bright fire", typical from bob welch, very recognizable style, something californian about it cause it's very fresh and something about the 70's but most of all a beautiful melody that will live through the years and remain as magic as it's always been.

EXCELLENT.......2007-01-07

VERY UNIQUE ALBUM. THE BAND ADDING NEW PLAYERS. BOB WESTON IS GREAT ON GUITAR..AS HE WOULD PROVE TO BE ON MYSTERY TO ME. DAVE WALKER'S TRACK " THE DERILICT " IS THE SLEEPER TRACK ON THE CD. BOB WELCH'S TRACK " REVELATION" , AND "NIGHT WATCH" ARE INCREDIBLE". CHRISTINE MCCVIE'S TRACKS ARE PREETY GOOD TO.

The red-haired stepchild of the Mac catalog.......2006-03-07

For some reason, this transitional, mid-period album never seems to get the respect it deserves. It is certainly not groundbreaking or influential, but it is a solid listen for any fan of the Bob Welch-era version of Fleetwood Mac. Welch and McVie both contribute solid songs, and some interesting songs from other group members round out the Penguin experience nicely.

if you listen to it like its not fleetwood mac, but a different band alltogether, you will like it........2005-11-30

dont get me wrong, if you like fleetwood mac dont expect consistancy from this album in comparison to the others, it really sounds like a different band altogether, most people that are reviewing this seem to be big fleetwood mac fans. this album is quite good, it has a late 60's folk style vibe to it not unlike crosby stills nash and young, jim croce, or even a simon & garfunkle kind of vibe. theres a bit of blues as well. but if your looking for something along the lines of tango in the night (my favorite fleetwood mac album) or rumors... this is an entirely different band (it seems). it is a good cd, good mellow tunes, but if your expecting the typical fleetwood mac... you wont get it. its like comparing oingo boingo to what danny elfman is doing today in soundtracks. or gwen stefani doing hip hop now instead of the rock she did in the 90s with no doubt.

it is a good cd (i have it on vinal) just listen to it as if its a new band all together from that period, and not fleetwood mac

Average customer rating:

Man, you never can meet CD's this good so often
Great songs, when they're not so bizzare...
Only Penquin you need on a desert island
Something Rich and Strange

Music From the Penguin Cafe
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Manufacturer: Editions Eg Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Signs of Life
Broadcasting from Home
When in Rome
Preludes, Airs & Yodels

ASIN: B000003S2R
Release Date: 1990-08-31

Tracks:

Penguin Cafe Single
Zopf
From The Colonies
In A Sydney Motel
Surface Tension (Where The Trees Meet The Sky)
Milk
Coronation
Giles Farnaby's Dream
Pigtail
The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter
Hugebaby/Chartered Flight

Customer Reviews:

Man, you never can meet CD's this good so often.......2002-03-22

The first time I listened to this album was when I was a teen. Ever since, I have been addicted to Penguin Cafe Orchestra's work, but this first album is the best of all.

I owned an LP of this but recently bought a CD again, and listened to it more carefully with a better-sounding system. This made me to rediscover this gem. What a wonderful music they made! I don't think pieces in this album are so "weird". Actually, I found some of them are most relaxing music that I ever heard. But they could be a different kind of music, anyway.

The only and probably minor problem with this album is that, probably due to the inferior recording condition of their day, some pieces are suffering from distortion.

Great songs, when they're not so bizzare..........2001-08-28

This is a great CD. Simon Jeffes is a musical genius (heh, that's an understatement :). There are some wonderful songs on this album, such as "Zopf" and "Chartered Flight," however, many of the songs are quite abstract. They could really give a person a headache. And some songs on this CD, like "Penguin Cafe Single" are great, beautiful, and relaxing, but they become abstract somewhere in the middle. If you are planning to by more Penguin Cafe CDs, none of the others are quite as bizzare as this one. But I still highly recomend this CD, for its creativity, originality, and variety. Byeeeeee ^__^

Only Penquin you need on a desert island.......2001-04-18

Hilariously excellent music. People this talented are impossible to explain. I saw the documentary about them on PBS light years ago. Bought CD, lost CD. Could not live without CD so came back to Amazon and bought it again.

Something Rich and Strange.......2000-03-28

A unique and strange record, even by the standards of the pan-musical Penguin Café Orchesta, 'Music from the Penguin Café' was originally released on Brian Eno's 'Obscure' record label in the mid-seventies, by mail order only.

'MFTPC' is hard to describe, and very few retrospectives of the group's career (sadly, leader Simon Jeffes died in 1997) give this more than a passing mention, as it's almost beyond criticism - a totally self-contained universe of music, mixing primitive electronics, Brian Eno-style ambient, classical and folk to form a side-step into a timeless, alien environment. Surreal and dreamlike, it has a very distinctive 'live' sound, with birdsong faintly audible in the background of some of the tracks. Imagine Michael Nyman's wiggiest moments, as produced by Brian Eno's second assistant tape operator, and you're half-way there.

After this (and the similar follow-up, 'Penguin Café Orchestra') the PCO settled down and become much more conservative - their later work is tuneful, folky, and much less experimental.

Signs of Life
Average customer rating:

A sound that is all over the music map

For all Public Radio fans . . .

One of their best

Wonderful instrumentation across an impressionist landscape

Signs of Life
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Manufacturer: Editions Eg Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | New Age | Styles | Music
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Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Music From the Penguin Cafe

Broadcasting from Home

When in Rome

Preludes, Airs & Yodels

ASIN: B000003S38
Release Date: 1990-08-31

Tracks:

Bean Fields
Southern Jukebox Music
Horns Of The Bull
Oscar Tango
The Snake And The Lotus (The Pond)
Rosasolis
Dirt
Sketch
Perpetuum Mobile
Swing The Cat
Wildlife

Customer Reviews:

A sound that is all over the music map.......2002-08-16

I first became acquainted with the PCO through Perpetuum Mobile,a piece that has found its way into numerous tv commercials in the last 10-12 years.That catchy tune is not the only one on this album;there is also the appropriately titled 'Southern Jukebox Music','Beanfields' and the animal righters infuriating 'Swing the Cat'.The PCO's music is silly,fun and sometimes strangely beautiful(Perpetuum Mobile again).
Is the PCO light classical,pop or worldbeat?It may be an indefinable hodgepodge,but not in a dreary,pompous new age way.It is mostly airy,devil-may-care delight.I think the world could use a little more of that!

For all Public Radio fans . . ........2000-04-24

For anyone who is a public radio fan, you will recognize some of these compositions as the segways between stories on shows like All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, and especially Ira Glass's "This American Life." Track #9, "Perpetuum Mobile," is a notable standout.

One of their best.......2000-02-17

Finally, the Penguins manage to pull of a good, all-around eclectic mix of light, airy pieces that lift the mood and stimulate the mind. Of course, there are still some boring (?) solos by Jeffes, but the entire disc works wonderfully. You can't beat "Dirt" or "Rosasolis" for sheer Joyfulness and free spirit. This and "Concert Program" are the best Penguin albums in my opinion.

Wonderful instrumentation across an impressionist landscape.......1999-04-22

Who else but Penguin Cafe Orchestra can offer at once an aural treat of minimalist, acoustic, simple, eclectic, avant-garde, accessable, complex, curious, melodious, and beautiful instrumentals? Wonderfully and exuberantly played, this music is a must for anyone who enjoys Kronos Quartet, Glass, modern classical, world music, or even Talking Heads. Inventive composition, perfect arrangements, and beautiful instrumentation splashed across a modern, almost impressionist, landscape.

Average customer rating:

Just try it

History
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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A Brief History
Signs of Life
Music From the Penguin Cafe
Preludes, Airs & Yodels
Penguin Cafe Orchestra

ASIN: B00005QX6X
Release Date: 2001-12-03

Tracks:

Penguin Cafe Single
From The Colonies
Giles Farnaby's Dream
Pigtail
Hugebaby
Chartered Flight
Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter
Pythagoras' Trousers
Yodel 2
Salty Bean Fumble
The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas
Walk Don't Run
Meditation Rag
The Toy
Numbers 1-4 (Live in Tokyo, 10 June 1982)
Salty Bean Fumble (Live in Tokyo, 10 June 1982)
Yodel 2 (Live in Tokyo, 10 June 1982)

Tracks:

Prelude & Yodel
More Milk
Sheep Dip
In The Back Of A Taxi
Music By Numbers
Another One From The Colonies
Air
Isle Of View (Music For Helicopter Pilots)
Now Nothing
Beanfields
Southern Jukebox Music
Horns Of The Bull
Oscar Tango
Sketch
Giles Farnaby's Dream
Perpetuum Mobile
Surface Tension

Tracks:

Dirt (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Yodel (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
In The Back Of A Taxi
Southern Jukebox Music (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Numbers 1-4 (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Telephone And Rubber Band (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Air (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Paul's Dance (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Oscar Tango (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Music For A Found Harmonium (Live in London, 9 July 1987)
Isle Of View (Music For Helicopter Pilots) (Live in London, 9 July 1987)

Tracks:

Air A Danser
Beanfields
Music For A Found Harmonium
Lifeboat (Lovers Rock)
Steady State
Scherzo And Trio
Nothing Really Blue
Cage Dead
Vega
Another One From Porlock
Pythagoras On The Line
Kora Kora
Red Shorts
Passing Through

Album Description

UK compilation represents the most comprehensive collection of the unique rock act's material available to date. 60 digitally remastered tracks including two previously unreleased tracks, 'Yodel 2' & 'In The Back Of A Taxi'. The 4 discs are housed in a deluxe hardback book-style format (approx. 5.5 x 10 inches). Includes 48 pages of notes, color photographs & discography. 2001.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Definitive History of One of the Best Instrumental Exports from Great Britain. 60 Tracks, Two Previously Unreleased.cafe Music with a Twist and a Flair Unlike Any Other Band...that Touches the Spirit, Spurs Creativity Andis Simply Pleasureable to Listen To.

Customer Reviews:

Just try it.......2002-11-27

I grew up with this music - anyone out there who is bored of anything else ought probably to try this. It'll change your life, man...

Tracks:

Music For A Found Harmonium
Prelude And Yodel
More Milk
Sheep Dip
White Mischief
In The Back Of A Taxi
Music By Numbers
Another One From The Colonies
Air
Heartwind
Isle Of View (Music For Helicopter Pilots)
Now Nothing

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Non Catagorical Penguin Cafe.......2006-11-12

Music of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra combines calypso beat with musicianship of good calssical musicians to make beautiful music.

Judging By The Cover.......2005-01-25

Few bouts of salmonella would have spawned as protean a brew of music as that of Penguin Cafe Orchestra's progenitor, Simon Jeffes. Some time in the early 1980s I was leafing through the racks and stumbled on the beguiling avian art of Emily Young. She was to become a signature for the Orchestra's releases as Neon Park had served Little Feat in the 1970s. Her bizarre, Beckmanesque fantasies bespeak the romantic air of Jeffe's protean imagination. Penguin Cafe Orchestra possesses a folk sensibility translated through classical instrumentation, a sort of late 20thC Bartok. Don't go listening here for 'roots' music, or even poached hybridity. Jeffe's remarkably boyant ear achieves a cultural ambience of his own, a sprightly, muscular, lush and wistful geography peppered with attractive vistas and to be enjoyed at either a leisurely stroll or at waltzing pace. I prefer the earlier albums (especially over the 'Best Ofs') and probably this album is the most endearing. Though it's unfair to single out a member of the various ensembles that play under the PCO title, I must make mention of Helen Liebmann's cello, whose contribution to mood is never less than exemplary.

This gets boring quickly.......2004-08-21

This is the only album I have heard. The one song "Heartwind" was interesting to listen to but - most of their music is simple and repetitious. I kept wanting them to go someplace with the music. I consider them a curiosity.

File under... oh, whatever.......2004-04-12

Simon Jeffes always considered he didn't have enough musical training to be a classical musician and no intimacy with pop to be a popular musician. And although he lived in many countries and was crazy about music from many cultures he never wanted to do "world music".

A quiet man, he had one simple and rare talent: the ability to create sublime music.

And he had an even rarer talent among instrumental musicians: sense of humor.

The PCO is a small chamber group that plays instrumental music that draws from all these sources. It is music created by a music lover. Sometimes it sounds like a happy mantra from Bolivia, sometimes as a moving string quartet playing something that sounds medieval, sometimes he flirts with electronic gadgets like ring modulators (not on this CD though).

The PCO crossed boundaries like few other groups have. And nothing sounds forced, it all makes sense and seems organic as if this was the only way to play music.

The cruelest irony is that you will usually find this CD under "new age". Well, it is definitely not new age and I believe it ends up in the New Age aisle just because this genre is broad enough to fit any music that is not loud.

This is the perfect CD to give as a gift. Although very accessible and pleasant on the surface, it is so deep in its structure and has such unusual arrangements that even music scholars and nitpickers will be forced to pay attention and ask "how did he do that?".

Tunes from elsewhere.......2003-01-23

I first encountered Simon Jeffes and PCO back in the 1980s when "Prelude and Yodel" was one of those catchy little pieces of bumper music on "All Things Considered". It was several years before they announced the title on the air. When they did, I got hold of the CD and insisted on my friends listening to it several times every time they came over. I have a new set of friends now, but I still have the CD.

Tracks:

Air A Danser
Yodel 1
Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter
From The Colonies
Southern Jukebox Music
Number 1 To 4
Telephone And Rubber Band
Air
Beanfields
Paul's Dance
Oscar Tango
Music For A Found Harmonium
Isle Of View (Music For Helicopter Pilots)
Prelude And Yodel
Dirt
Giles Farnaby's Dream

Customer Reviews:

One of the Best CD's Ever.......2007-02-27

this music is so wonderful, it just makes me happy. The band is HOT!!!!

No other music like this.......2007-01-07

Penguin Cafe Orchestra is truly difficult music to define. It is as if Django Reinhardt, Brian Eno, JS Bach, and Flatt & Scruggs all got together to make a truly unique piece of music. The music is upbeat, humourous, melodic, and beautiful and I usually feel lifted up by what I hear. This album is especially interesting because the Penguin music, to me at least, was hard to imagine played live, and this concert, performed in what I believe is a usually very conservative concert hall (I saw St Matthew's Passion there 30 years ago) is really a joy. Somehow, the sober, polite response of the audience is even part of the fun because they respond like they are listening to a nice string quartet, and the Penguin Orchestra is a little like classical music, but not quite. The audience just makes it even more fun. Finally, these selections for the most part are my favourites, so this is nice introduction the this music.

Malcolm Film music.......2002-03-21

The film Malcolm with Colin Friels, I thought was very good. The Musical score from The Penguin Cafe I think, is Invigorating, and Lively,I never get tired of listening to it, even though made in 1986, the film still has magic, Very well put together, and funny, I rate this film and music at the top of my list.

Luscious.......2001-11-01

In 1987, I got a British album of Brian Eno's Music for Airports, with an inner sleeve full of cover photos of the Editions EG records available. The ones that really caught my eye were from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Being Peruvian and living in Peru, if it wasn't for Napster I probably would have never had a chance to listen that "band" that seemed so strangely appealing 14 years ago.

I'm starting to buy the whole catalog, but When in Rome is really a masterpiece. Not only the selection is great (although the absence of Chartered Flight is a shame) but the performance is marvelous. Music to inspire and probably to amazed and excite and seduce you. And incredibly powerful in these live versions, just a little different from the studio ones to demand hours comparing them, to arrive to the oblivious conclusion: you need both of them!

The only problem is how difficult is to describe them. This is an extraordinary experience that anyone with the faintest interest in good, non Top 40 popular music should listen too. An education to the ear and the heart.

Mr. Jeffes, wherever you are, thanks for the bright and brilliant sounds you brought to all of us.

Fantastic!!!.......1999-08-11

Recorded shortly before the death of Simon Jeffes, this is the culmination of all they worked for. The energy is tangible, the arrangement sublime - their finest hour. Goosies! If you only buy one Penguin Cafe Orchestra album, buy this one.

Average customer rating:

A joy to listen to

A Brief History
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

History
When in Rome
Signs of Life
Broadcasting from Home
Music From the Penguin Cafe

ASIN: B00005RTBF
Release Date: 2001-11-19

Tracks:

Beanfields
Telephone And Rubber Band
Music For A Found Harmonium
Perpetuum Mobile
From The Colonies
Giles Farnaby's Dream
Surface Tension
Air A Danser
Yodel 1
Numbers 1-4
Steady State
Paul's Dance
Prelude & Yodel
Heartwind
White Mischief
Dirt
Rosasolis
Organum
Lullaby

Customer Reviews:

A joy to listen to.......2004-05-20

'A Brief History' has 19 tracks from the 4-CD set 'History', so it's a 'best of the best of...' album. The first track, Bean Fields, is guaranteed to have you tapping your foot or even dancing around the room or car.

You could say the odd track or two is a bit repetitive - for example, Telephone and Rubber Band lasts almost three minutes - but there's always quiet music going on behind the scenes that you have to listen out for to appreciate the full tune. Any like this that you don't like are easily made up for by the others. Others are very tuneful, foot-stomping creations to delight the soul, body and mind. (I'm getting carried away now. Well, at least I should be.)

Tracks:

How Y'All Feel?
Steamroller!
Stay For The Freak
Groove Modulation
Mrs. Bitch
Gentlemen
Echoes Of Pumford
The Very Attractive Audio Engineer
The Cruise
E.P. In N.Y.C.
Smoove B
Isle Of Rock And Roll
Area White
Don't Slight The Penguin
RollerRinx
Moon Dub
Beats From The Bungalow
TramCon
Profound Revelations
Another Green Loop
Moon Beat
Theme From 'Moon Base'

Customer Reviews:

funky moog.......2002-08-14

I suppose this is what Stereolab would sound like if they didn't have the handicap of being English (and French).

Impress people! Play Stay for the Freak at a drunken party and women will dance on tables. I tried and it worked.

Closer to the Heart.......2002-05-03

As most people know, StIoI,Y is E.P.'s sensual account of their late `70s epic musical battle with Rush. What most people don't really understand is that this is also E.P.'s most intimate and personal album as it explores melodious fornications with space and time. It is a grand artistic nexus-between the political (Neil Peart's "aristocrat manque" vs. Lazlo Minimart's "enfant terrible") and the personal (Geddy Lee's Dandyism vs. Mel Stanke's bon vivant "beau ideal"). Years later, when Roger Troutman would record "Roger: The Saga Continues", he would go home between studio sessions and relax by listening to StIoI,Y which was initially released on color vinyl in 1983 (only 32 copies were pressed and the Troutman clan owned 31 of them; the Rev. Billy Graham owned the 32nd). Much later, E.P. would pay their deepest respects to the late Roger Troutman by dedicating to his memory their masterpiece recording--Mysterious Pony. And what of the outcome of that great and terrible war between Rush and E.P.? Well, I still walk the dog, do the mashed potato, and get down to "Smoove B" and the rest of StIoI,Y, but, God as my witness, I have never, never danced to "Red Barchetta."

Leaves you thirsting for more.......2000-04-23

Get this band some ink! It's nice to see the artist's commentary up there; I don't think I've seen any others who do. There is a genuine, often infectiously funky sound on this album. At very least, they deserve some notoriety, if by unfortunate precedent they cannot penetrate the rotten cotton candy curtain of pop. The bassline is always a driving force, complemented perfectly by synthy melodies and well-timed, clever lyrics that always catch you by surprise. My personal favorites are the instumentals, especially "Echoes of Pumford" and "Smoove B." Such tactful musicianship demands appreciation. Followers of Herbie Hancock (or other "organic"-sounding funky stuff), Mannheim Steamroller, Air (EP is often even SMOOTHER), and weirdos like Think Tree and MIRV owe it to themselves to expand their library to include the Penguin. Even electronica fans will get a kick out of it.

music has reached a new level . . ........1999-04-25

the emperor penguin gives the electronica music people a new standard to aim for. they use instruments like the sampler and the guitar to maximize commercial success. yes, it is those who want to lead the pack who will be embracing the new record and broadcasting it to an eager listening audience. the future of the new electronic age is set. Mr. Stanke, Mr. Minimart. we salute you.

A perfect condoption-analog synth, sampled beats, style........1999-04-19

WOW! What a great disc! I chanted with the children, "Steamroller", "Steamroller", "SteamRoller". I understood the "bleeps" that integrate. I remembered the fatness of the Korg bass section.

Tracks:

Music For A Found Harmonium
Perpetuum Mobile
Penguin Cafe Single
Air
Telephone And Rubber Band
Dirt
Zopf: Giles Farnaby's Dream
Oscar Tango
Rosasolis
Air A Danser
Music For A Found Harmonium
Yodel 3
White Mischief
Prelude And Yodel
Harmonic Necklace
Steady State
Nothing Really Blue
Pandaharmonium
Piano Music

Amazon.com

Simon Jeffes's gravity-defying ensemble serves up a compilation of 19 tracks dating back to 1976. A great primer for beginners, this includes marvels of wit and construction like "Telephone & Rubber Band" and "Music for a Found Harmonium" (which is also heard here in a version by Celtic group Patrick Street). --Jeff Bateman

Album Description

Comp of the best tracks from their six studioalbums plus Patrick Street's performance of 'Music For AFound Harmonium' and the exclusive Orb remix of it, entitled'Pandaharmonium'.

Customer Reviews:

Re-compilation, mostly.......2007-05-27

I bought this after hearing a live performance of one of my favorite PCO pieces, mistakenly thinking this was a live album.

It's not, it's merely a collection from all of their works with a couple of live tracks included. I prefer hearing the studio tracks on the original albums, each of which has a unique set of instrumentation and atmosphere.

This is a purist's view. If you are looking for an introduction to the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, this wouldn't be a bad way to start.

Haunting Ending to "The Princess And The Warrior".......2005-10-30

It only took me about an hour Googling around to find "Nothing Really Blue," by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra, the haunting solo piano piece that closes the film, "The Princess And The Warrior." It is NOT included on the soundtrack CD and it is NOT clearly referenced during the credit roll in the film. But this beautiful, stark and mysterious piano composition plays as the two main characters drive away from their troubles and towards their sanctuary on the desolate coast and as the camera slowly pulls back in a long helicopter shot.

A gift.......2003-07-20

I can't stand it, but my grandparents love it.

Mood Music for Happy Schizoids.......2000-08-17

God bless my ex. He couldn't carry a tune if you elmer glued it to his vocal chords but he turned me on to this wonderful group about a month after we first started dating. As an uptight college student, I used to put on the first two Penquin Cafe Orchestra albums (vinyl no less) to study. I figure if I were going to be tortured by masturbatory French semiotic theorists, the least I could do is have this wonderful music to keep me sane. I am a long way from tearing my hair out over Derridoo, I mean Derrida, but these wonderful Penquin Cafe Orchestra songs have traveled with me to four cities and countless apartments. I have always wanted to choreograph "Perpetuum Mobile" and "Steady Skate" for a pair of ice skaters (lord, what Torvil and Dean could do with those luscious long gliding cello lines), danced around my room to the extravagant silliness, driven uptight musicians crazy who won't admit that minimalism can be as mentally expansive as the pharmacological substances they imbibed in great quantities, marveled at how wonderful a spinet and ukelele could sound together (like an unexpectedly savory meal in a hole-in-the-wall restuarant)in "Giles Farnaby's Dream," consoled myself over bad times and celebrated the good ones with this wonderful music playing somewhere within earshot. I introduced my ex to hundreds of albums over the 8 years we were together before he died, but this is the ONLY music he ever introduced me to, and for that alone I am grateful to have met him. God bless you for that Mr T wherever you may be, and I hope you are happily humming along--offkey of course--to Air A Danser wherever ye may be.

Solid Gold Chartbusters.......2000-03-28

This is a collection of the Penguin Café Orchestra's music, from the first album ('Music from the Penguin Café') to their last ('Union Café'), with extracts from a couple of deleted EPs, and two remixes of 'Music for a Found Harmonium', one by ambient techno artists The Orb the end.

As an introduction to the band it serves its purpose, although there's rather too much of the later, dull stuff, for the simple reason that there's more of it than the earlier, weird stuff.

For a proper 'best of' go out and buy 'Music from the Penguin Café' and 'Penguin Café Orchestra'.

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