ATTILEO MINEO

Discography (on Subliminal Sounds):
Man In Space With Sounds (SUBCD-4 1997)

Click on the album titl e to listen and/or purchase mp3.

Man In Space With Sounds is one of those legendary LPs many have heard about but few have ever actually heard or seen. A rare souvenir of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, this music served as the soundtrack to a ride called the Bubbleator, which transported fair visitors through an overview of the future, a technological utopia where science and space travel promised solutions to all of humanity’s plights. Needless to say, that future never arrived and this music (actually recorded in the early 1950s) still sounds as futuristic today as it must have back then.

This CD has two different versions of the original album, one with sprightly introductory voice-overs for each song, and the other solely instrumental. The all-original compositions fall somewhere between nervous Philip Glass and 1950s sci-fi movie music, arranged with string orchestra in a sometimes rhythmic, polyrhythmic, or merely ambient cloud of odd electronic space noises. Despite its intended technological optimism, the music is quite heavy and menacing, and the future ultimately feels pretty scary. Regardless, this recording proves Attilio Mineo to be an unbelievably progressive and underappreciated composer and arranger.

The amazing aural and visual content of this endearing package transcend everything. A rare, sought-after gem made accessible at a reasonable price.

Reviews:
"As you listen to this album you are quietly lifted into . . . Sounds of Space." Ayy-men. Exceptionally outasite kitsch: Mineo composed this music for the Bubbleator in Washington state‚s "World of Tomorrow" exhibit at the 1962 World‚s Fair. Eerie strings saw, vibes intone, bells chime, electronic boxes burp esoteric burps, in evocative mono. Your narrator explains how modern inventions will make life in the future much, much easier . . . – LA Weekly