Top 102 Albums. N0. 89. The Carl Stalling Project.

Top 102 Albums. N0. 89.
The Carl Stalling Project, Vols 1 & 2. Carl Stalling & The Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra.

I started this post with the intention of posting on a jazz album, narrowed it down to Miles David but then couldn't narrow it down to an album. There are just so many - Sketches of Spain, Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew, On the Corner & on & on. I was listening to Davis and thinking of how his music reminds me at times of a Mondrian canvas, full of joy and imagination, references and surprises.

And then I thought of this record. Few are as full of joy and imagination. This is wild anarchic, joyful, funny music, hardwired into our brains from an early age. This is some of my very favourite music to listen to on my iPod. It seems to make the world around a different place although it's hard to resist the urge to spread banana skins on the pavements and sit back waiting for life to match it's soundtrack.

Here's a track that is left off the album on the Spotify link below. I've been trying to get my chickens to sing along to this but no joy so far.
But there's more to it than just nostalgia or a direct link to childhood memories. The cartoons work so well because of the music and the anarchic references to classical and popular music prefigure jazz improvisations and still seem shockingly modern. There is a similar sensibility to sampling but find me sampling done this wildly, with this joy and humour.

And where will you find titles this good: To Itch His Own; Anxiety Montage; Guided Muscle; The Unexpected Pest; Mouse-Taken Identity...

Enjoy. (I'll get back to deciding which Miles Davis album to include - it could take some time.)