Manhattan Research, Inc.


Manhattan Research, Inc. is a two-CD compilation of electronic music created by the musician, composer and inventor, Raymond Scott and his company, "Manhattan Research Inc." Posthumously released in 2000 by Basta Music of the Netherlands, the album contains selected samples of Scott's work from the 1950s and 1960s for film soundtracks, commercials, and for his own technical and musical experiments.
The synthesizers, sequencers, and drum-machines used were designed and constructed by Raymond Scott.

Background

Scott would often describe Manhattan Research, Inc. as "More than a think factory - a dream center where the excitement of tomorrow is made available today." The material, while never intended for commercial release, provides insight into Scott's work. Included among the tracks on the album are commercials for companies such as Ford Motor and IBM, a humorous "Audio Logo" collage entitled "Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!", and various collaborations with Jim Henson. The album features a number of Scott's inventions including the Clavivox keyboard, Circle Machine, Bass Line Generator, Rhythm Modulator, Karloff, Bandito the Bongo Artist, and the auto-composing Electronium.
Much of the audio selections, as well as the images for the accompanying 144-page book, were culled from the University of Missouri Kansas City's extensive collection of Raymond Scott material. Album producers Gert-Jan Blom and Jeff Winner worked with several of the university's staff in choosing material for the project. During the process, the two producers were impressed by the quality and fidelity of the recordings, despite being some thirty to forty years old. Due to Scott's meticulous attention to detail, "They were so well recorded that almost no audio correction was necessary during the mastering" of the album." In the CD notes, Blom & Winner write, "Scott sought to master all aspects of sound capture and manipulation. His special interest in the technical aspects of recording, combined with the state-of-the-art facilities at his disposal, provided him with enormous hands-on experience as an engineer."

Track listing

Disc one

  1. Manhattan Research, Inc. Copyright
  2. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
  3. Bendix 1: "The Tomorrow People"
  4. Lightworks
  5. * Vocal by Dorothy Collins
  6. The Bass-line Generator
  7. "Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!"
  8. * Announced by 'Bucky' Coslow
  9. "B.C. 1675"
  10. Vim
  11. Auto-Lite: Sta-Ful
  12. Sprite: "Melonball Bounce"
  13. Sprite: "Melonball Bounce"
  14. Wheels That Go
  15. Limbo: The Organized Mind
  16. * Narrated by Jim Henson
  17. "Portofino" 1
  18. County Fair
  19. Lady Gaylord
  20. Good Air
  21. IBM MT/ST: The Paperwork Explosion
  22. Domino
  23. Super Cheer
  24. Cheer: Revision 3
  25. "Twilight in Turkey"
  26. Raymond Scott Quote / Vicks: Medicated Cough Drops
  27. * Vocal by Dorothy Collins
  28. Vicks: Formula 44
  29. Auto-Lite: Spark Plugs
  30. Nescafé
  31. Awake
  32. "Backwards Overload"
  33. Bufferin: "Memories"
  34. * Narrated by Jim Henson
  35. Bandito the Bongo Artist
  36. "Night and Day"
  37. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
  38. K2r
  39. IBM Probe
  40. GMGM 1A
  41. The Rhythm Modulator

Disc two

  1. Ohio Plus
  2. "In the Hall of the Mountain Queen"
  3. General Motors: Futurama
  4. "Portofino" 2
  5. "The Wild Piece"
  6. "Take Me to Your Violin Teacher"
  7. Ripples
  8. Cyclic Bit
  9. Ripples
  10. The Wing Thing
  11. County Fair
  12. "Cindy Electronium"
  13. "Don't Beat Your Wife Every Night!"
  14. Hostess: Twinkies
  15. Hostess: Twinkies
  16. Ohio Bell: Thermo Fax
  17. "The Pygmy Taxi Corporation"
  18. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
  19. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.
  20. Lightworks
  21. The Paperwork Explosion
  22. Auto-Lite: Ford Family
  23. Auto-Lite: Ford Family
  24. Raymond Scott Quote / Auto-Lite: "Wheels"
  25. Bufferin: "Memories"
  26. * Narrated by Jim Henson
  27. "Space Mystery"
  28. "The Toy Trumpet"
  29. "Backwards Beeps"
  30. Raymond Scott Quote / Auto-Lite: Sta-Ful
  31. Lightworks
  32. "When Will It End?"
  33. Bendix 2: "The Tomorrow People"
  34. Electronic Audio Logos, Inc.