Moore, Sam – “MOOHIEEE! ” – [Em Records]

So my sketchy theory of Em Records’ secret plot to vindicate
the genre of New Age gets minorly reinforced here by offering
the original composer/performer for a later rehashed Enya
“classic” namely, “I Dream I Dwelt in Marble Halls.” Instead
of giving it an airbrushed wedding catalog vibe. Moore gives
it a Hawaiian wistfulness, flowers floating on a very Pacific
ocean. Moore’s hit “Laughing Rag” is on here (twice) as well
as many tracks that’ll trigger your ontological inner grandpa
to start tapping your toes and making you want to play some
spoons! Just as Robert E. Lee’s grandson spooned along with
Sam back in the early 1900′s. That grandson, Horace Davis is
on the majority of this reish. This is just a graceful time
capsule of music almost as old as the original speed (78 rpm)
it was played at. For all KFJC’s love of power electronics,
a poignant melody will always fit in as well, especially if
it captured by a singing saw. That sound resonates like
extraterrestrials crying for their home galaxy. Pick one of
the saw-struck numbers on here like “Old Black Joe” (#13 w/o
vox) or either of the two “Mother Machree” and start giving
your own elegy, as if looking down on your own wake. All the
angels gave up their harps the day Sam Moore died in 1959!
Take this saw-way to heaven!

-Thurston Hunger