INTERGALACTIC TROT

Stardrive was the name of a custom-made synthesizer made by Robert Mason. It looks like a cannibalized ARP 2500 (in fact, he did cannibalize an ARP 2500, as parts of the synth are undeniably ARP 2500) with a bunch of unidentifiable stuff. Of course he was frustrated at the monophonic limitations of synthesizers in 1973, so he developed a prototype polyphonic synthesizer (of course, the synth industry had to pay attention, because polyphonic synthesizers started making themselves available to the public in the second half of the '70s).

I found a cheap copy of Intergalactic Trot, I was rather amazed how glossy the cover is for an American LP. Here Robert Mason hires some jazz musicians (Michael Brecker and Steve Gadd are the ones I recognize) and puts the Stardrive synth to work. The original material is nothing short of great. I've heard comparisons to Rundgren's Utopia, and I guess it does, minus vocals, as there are none to be found here. I could do without his take on "Strawberry Fields Forever", though, it sounds like one of those cheesy Moog takes on the song, although his take on "I Want To Take You Higher" is much easier for me to take in. I love how some of the music really soars, some of it a bit cheesy, no wonder one can easily dismiss this as a gimmick (showing off a home-made prototype polyphonic synth), but I'm glad to have bought this album.