Experts, please forgive my total lack of musical genre terminology here.
I have an audio memory (or maybe something my brain made up) that I haven’t been able to identify, looking for some esoteric music ID assistance.
Background: my parents had a lot of interesting music, including early moog stuff, Wendy Carlos, Swingle Singers, etc. Bizarre covers in different styles, among other things (see also: Beatrice Kay, Yma Sumac).
The music I am “seeing” in my head was covers of classic Motown songs like “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and maybe “Bernadette”, done in a baroque-ish, twiddly, “too many notes” Mozart style with lots of flutes and possibly harpsichord.
Does this ring a bell with anyone? I’d love to know what the heck it was, or if I’m imagining it.
I suspect your memory is real. I’ve heard lots of recordings of popular music done in classical styles. When I was in high school we had a stereo demo tape (it came with a stereo to show off the sound quality) that had an instrumental arrangement of Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da done in the style of Mozart and incorporated parts of Ronda Alla Turca. The Hampton String Quartet had a CD called “What if Mozart wrote Born to be Wild?”
There are a bunch of albums basically like that. (Beatles Go Baroque is one I rather enjoyed.)
I don’t know if it’s the album you’re thinking of, but apparently the London Symphony Orchestra did one that included Reach Out and I’ll Be There, called Rhapsody in Black. (Part of a series of popular music done in classical styles.) I’ve not heard it, and the sound clips of it on YT suck, so I can’t say if it’s particularly baroque (though the styles tend to be appropriate to the songs, from the ones I’ve heard).
Hmm. Those are interesting groups and good suggestions but they’re not the specific one I’m looking for, although the Rondo alla Turca is a good match for the style.
What is that type of music called? Is baroque correct?
HOLY CRUD. I finally get up the nerve to ask a music question here and then…I discover the album the very next day! I suppose I should have pawed through all the LPs at mom’s that we are packing up for the estate auction first, but it only just occurred to me.
My musical memory of this music is so much better than the actual recording. It all seems to be one guy with a casio keyboard and a couple of women doing “Madrigal style” vocals. I should probably hold on to my mental version of it with full orchestration.
The LP jacket gives some hokum story about a guy named Mike Curb who spends a night in a castle in Austria and is entertained by this bewigged group who disappears at dawn.
I just looked up Mike Curb and…again, holy crud, who knew?
Interestingly, this recording doesn’t show up anywhere in his discography. Apparently not as proud of this efford as he is of, say “The Candy Man” or “Puppy Love”.
Oh well. At least I have an answer now, and those of you with a fascination for horrible one-hit wonders may find it entertaining.