Moog

Although I'm not a massive fan of electronic music but I have sufficient interest in the genre to check out this documentary on the inventor of the electronic synthesizer, Robert Moog. Watching this film was probably not the best way to try and find out more about the man, the instrument and its impact. As many others on this internet site have already pointed out, director Hans Fjellestad does a really average job of doing anything in this film.

The one thing he does appear to be good at selling himself to potential subjects because the film does have a reasonably good array of people on hand to discuss what they do with it and particularly Fjellestad has Moog pretty much on tap throughout the film. It looks like the plan has been to point the camera at whoever is talking, film it and work out the detail in the edit. Sometimes that works and of course with reality shows and the like that is pretty much all you can do but in the vast majority of cases it is a recipe for disaster. So it is here in a film that lacks structure to the point that if Moog wants to ramble endlessly while pottering round his garden then that makes the cut but hardly anytime can be found for many artists that one would associate with the synthesizer. OK, maybe rights to the music or access to the artists was an issue due to the low budget but this is not much of an excuse.

Astonishingly the film is barely over an hour long and it is testament to how poor it is that it feels like it never ends. God help us if we ever see an extended cut of this because imagine the footage that they didn't feel worthy of making it into this version! Anyway, I stuck with it but ultimately there is almost nothing of value here; my mind was open to learning more about the impact this instrument had had but it falls down in this regard with a lack of structure and aim that must be laid right at the doors of the director and producers. A totally missed opportunity.

Documentary about Robert Moog, his synthesizer and its effect on music, as well as the general concept of electronic music.

I liked it.

It wasn't overlong, it was an interesting topic and Moog himself came across as a really nice guy (sort of like Brian Wilson without the breakdown).

It also featured interviews, concert footage and music by various artists such as Stereolab, Keith Emerson, Money Mark, Rick Wakeman, Sun Ra, Tortoise etc.

If you're at all interested in electronic music, check it out.

The film was reasonably well filmed and reasonably edited and it's great that there is now a film out there about a synth pioneer.

However my first thoughts on watching this film are: It repeats itself far too many times. It only needed to mention that Moog synths were first used for experimental music and adverts once. It only needed to show Bob Moog with his garden once! And there only needed to be one section on his philosophies on life and synthesisers.

There were massive sections of the Moog story missing. What about the first fall of Moog Music in the early 80s and the Moog Liberation (the first guitar synth - only problem was it was too heavy to hold!) He only touched on his feelings about digital synthesisers. What about the 80s and the DX7 and Moog synths falling massively out of favour. What about the comeback in the 90s - initially selling his analogue circuit designs to other companies, who produced synths like the MIDI Moog and the SE ATC1. What about his FX pedals?

Finally the soundtrack left much to be desired. All the live performances were badly recorded, the synths were far too loud compared to the backing. I know the synth was the instrument being demonstrated, but I found it uncomfortable to listen to. The content of the music was nearly all progressive rock musicians and various lesser known modern electro acts (bar stereo-lab and DJ spooky). He only mentioned Walter/Wendy Carlos in passing, he/she was the most important thing to happen to him and there was no interview or audio clip!! What about electropop, which was founded on the early affordable synths like the Moog Prodigy? These are just the first 2 genres that spring to mind that were missing - I could go on! So all in all - it's great that there is now a film about this fascinating guy. But...Hans Fjellestad should have got all the raw materials together before doing it. Get interviews with ALL the relevant people and use a soundtrack that is more diverse.

Others have said it in other comments and I have to agree with them. Moog was an extremely important man in the world of electronic music and he really deserved a better tribute than this rambling mess of clips. The film maker never gets to grips with the guy in any way, shape or form but what I find more frustrating than anything is his choice of music to represent the moments in history. Perhaps he was on such a low budget that he couldn't afford certain rights but when Bob Moog talks about 'Switched on Bach' as being a ground breaking album, changing the public perception of what electronic music could offer, there isn't one single note from the album played. There's not even the mention of the composer's name. How can you have a documentary about Moog and not even mention the name Walter Carlos ? Quite unbelievable. The 'Switched on Bach' moment is quickly passed over for some reason and rushes into a short Keith Emerson clip. I also seem to remember that Tangerine Dream are never mentioned or any of their music played. All in all there are so many holes in the production it limits both its appeal and historic interest. Shame really because it queers the pitch for someone else who may want to do the job properly.

I feel a little bad giving this a 6, only because the film quality was very good for 16mm and I did like the cinematography, but I guess I was expecting a more traditional approach to the Moog story; not only the views and lifestyle of Bob Moog. I then realized that this was entirely the idea behind this documentary, and the director did not want to compile a history of the Moog synth, but had he added in some extra footage and talked about the many different synthesizers that Moog produced through the years, this would have been a much fuller documentary. All in all though, it was nice to have a real up close interview with the creator.

I didn't care for the experimental music, even though experimental music was largely influenced by the Moog. I find that type of music to be scattered and annoying. I also refuse to listen to the classical approach to the Moog. What Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson do on the moog are what impresses me. All the other stuff just didn't seem in place. Still, this DVD is a nice addition to the collection and as a Moog lover, an enjoyable reference overall.