Few movies antagonized pre-Microsoft paranoia about man and machine quite the way 2001: A Space Odyssey did when it was released in 1968. Though Neil Armstrong’s walk in space was imminent, the movie’s sparse dialogue and chilling cinematography addressed far more than space technology: artificial intelligence and human evolution were the more critical topics that sparked people’s fearful imaginations.
Though it was met with mixed reviews when it was released, the movie has been retrospectively called one of the greats of all time, particularly in the science fiction genre. And its theme song, Also Sprach Zarathustra, though composed as a tone poem in 1896 by Richard Strauss, is as well-known to the masses today as the theme from Rocky or the Star Spangled Banner.
Part of the song’s popular evolution came from an unlikely melding of jazz fusion and disco.
In 1972, it was Eumir Deodato, a Brazilian-born keyboard player, who fused the sounds of the nightclub and Latin jazz together and created the version of Also Sprach Zarathustra that became a pop music classic. The single, which rose to #2 on the Billboard chart and won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental, sold several million copies.The album version, which clocked in at over 9 minutes, fueled the sales of his first US release, Prelude, to a level of 5 million copies sold.
Following the single on side one are two Deodato-penned tunes: Spirit of Summer and Carly And Carole. Recalling that Prelude was recorded at a time in American popular culture when the Odd Couple was the Friday night hit on TV, you can hum Neal Hefti’s theme song and hear, with some slight variations, most of what Deodato laid down on Prelude’s first side: an easy listening, lounging about the New York apartment vibe that sounds like a combination of Bob James and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
On side two, Deodato returns to classical music and movies as his source of inspiration, relaxing into a version of the George Forrest/Robert Wright chestnut, Baubles, Bangles And Beads (taken from the musical, Kismet, and based on Borodin’s String Quartet In D). Hubert Laws’ flute takes center stage on Deodato’s articulate reading of Debussy’s Prelude To An Afternoon of A Faun while John Tropea’s guitar steals the spotlight on the album’s last cut, September 13.
It’s on September 13 where, belatedly, the album takes on some life: Billy Cobham lays down a groove in keeping with his solo work, Tropea plays a smoking guitar and the horn arrangement, which echoes some of Quincy Jones’ work from that period, frames the tune nicely.
While the top quality musicians from the CTI Records are there in full force (Tropea, Laws, Cobham, Ray Barretto and Stanley Clarke), Prelude suffers from being too polite and too restrained for too long. Sadly, Ray Baretto’s NY street vibe didn’t inspire Deodato quite as much as would’ve been beneficial.
MP3 TASTE TEST:
Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)
BUY-O-METER
LP (99 cents at the Salvation Army): In good condition, it’s an enjoyable listen for under a buck.
CD (as low as $3.45, used, at Amazon): If early 70’s latin lounge turns you on, it wouldn’t be untoward to drop 4 bucks on it.
DOWNLOAD (99 cents pe cut at iTunes): Well, considering I paid 99 cents for the whole record (and the CD is only a few more dollars more), that seems a little expensive.
BEST BET: The next time you’re on Amazon, toss it in for good measure. But, don’t spend the postage to buy it separately.
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