Thelonious Moog' debut was, as you might expect, jazz cats playing Mr. Monk on vintage synths. Their 2007 follow-up, "American Standard," ditched the music of their namesake for an unpredictable, irreverent romp ranging from heavy cats like Gershwin, Brubeck, & Zappa, to the EZ kitsch of those thrift-store inevitables "Alley Cat" and Al Hirt's "Java," all getting the same zany Space-Age treatment and some ingenious arrangements. Raymond Scotts'"Powerhouse" is dunked in wacky cartoon sound-effects, Duke Ellington's exotica standard "Caravan" goes surf-rock (+ odd noises) and one of my fave kooky '70s glam classics, "Hocus Pocus" by Focus, gets tackled here twice. All quite silly, but played by pros, and plenty fun - one of the best novelty albums of the 00s.
Thelonious Moog - American Standard
1. Powerhouse
2. T 4 2
3. Hocus Pocus
4. Caravan
5. Take 5, 6, & 7
6. Got Rhythm?
7. Alley Cat
8. Duodenum
9. Hocus Pocus
10. Have U Seen It Yet?
11. Java