The Wozard of Iz

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For the song from The Avalanches, see Wildflower (The Avalanches album).
The Wozard of Iz
Wozcover512.jpg
Studio album by
Mort Garson
Released1968
StudioEmGee Electronic Studio
GenreElectronic music, spoken word
Length35:05
LabelA&M
ProducerBernard Krause

The Wozard of Iz: An Electronic Odyssey is a 1968 album of electronic music composed and realized by Mort Garson and conceived and written by . It parodies the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, setting the characters in the 1960s with a hippie mindset.[1] Throughout the story the main character, Dorothy, seeks out "where it's at".

The album was released the year following another collaboration between Garson and Wilson, The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds, a concept album issued by Elektra Records.

Production[]

In a 1969 interview, Garson admitted that he hadn't used the Moog synthesizer in "a very sophisticated way" for his 1967 album, The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds.[1] However, by the time of The Wozard of Iz, he had learned most of the techniques for using the instrument.[1]

Cast of characters[]

  • Dorothy - Suzie Jane Hokom[A]
  • Scared Crow - Barney Phillips
  • In-man - Jay Jasin
  • Lyin' Coward - Barney Phillips
  • Baddy Witch - Julie Haas
  • Goodie Witch - Jadine Vaughn
  • Narrator - Jacques Wilson

Track listing[]

Side one[]

  1. "Prologue" - 3:05
  2. "Leave the Driving to Us" - 2:50
  3. "Upset Strip" - 2:25
  4. "Never Follow the Yellow-Green Road" - 2:40
  5. "Thing-a-Ling (Scared Crow)" - 2:21
  6. "In-man" - 1:28
  7. "Man With the Word (Lyin' Coward)" - 2:00
  8. "They're Off to Find the Wozard" - 1:40

Side two[]

  1. "Blue Poppy" - 6:27
  2. "I've Been Over the Rainbow" - 2:10
  3. "Big Sur" - 3:20
  4. "Killing of the Witch" - 3:35
  5. "Finale" - 1:04

Personnel[]

  • Mort Garson – score, electronics
  • Jacques Wilson – vocals
  • Bill Lazarus – engineering
  • Tom Wilkes – art director, cover illustration
  • Guy Webster – photography
  • Bernard Krause – producer

Legacy[]

Kim Cooper, in the 2005 book Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed, described The Wozard of Iz as "the pinnacle of the rather small genre of psychedelic Wizard of Oz-themed albums", also citing the The Wizard of Oz and Other Trans Love Trips, by the West Coast Workshop, in this genre.[2] Garson's album was sampled by the Avalanches for their 2016 album Wildflower, and gave its name to one of the tracks on that album.[3]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Contrary to popular legend, Suzi(e) Jane Hokom is not a pseudonym for Nancy Sinatra.

Citations[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mclellan, Dennis (2008-01-11). "Composer was a synthesizer pioneer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  2. ^ Cooper, Kim (2005). Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-96998-0.
  3. ^ Ducker, Eric (2019-06-21). "Music For Plants Is Real (Even If The Science Isn't)". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2021-05-17.

External links[]


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