Search - Bob & Ray :: Stereo Spectacular

40 years of giggles

africangrey | Bismarck, ND USA | 11/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I was about 8 and "stereo" was hot, my parents splurged on a big stereo set. I would lie in bed and listen when they entertained friends some weekends. That's the first time I heard this album. I thought "Dr. Ahkbar at the Castle" and "The Round Room" were absolutely the funniest things I had ever heard (I particularly liked the bagpipes in the Round Room). In my teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s, I dug out the old album, and it was STILL one of the funniest things I had ever heard. I would love to get hold of a CD."

Welcome

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 03/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is basically a sampler of RCA Records "Living Stereo" albums, with a few comedy bits by Bob & Ray in between the music. The setup is that Bob & Ray are visiting the castle of Dr. Ahkbar, the mad scientist. While amusing, the Bob & Ray sketches are basically an excuse to show off stereo sound effects. The rest of the album features music from RCA's "Living Stereo" albums. Most of the music is actually quite good. It is "adult pop music" of the 1950s, both vocals and instrumentals. Vocals are performed by Lena Horne, Julie Andrews, Abbe Lane and the Belafonte Singers. The instrumentals are by George Melachrino, Skitch Henderson, Dick Schory, Guckenheimer Sour Kraut Band, Radio City Music Hall Organ and Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. An excellent sampler of the "Living Stereo" album releases. Plus, a great cover drawn by Jack Davis!"

Not exactly all the rage

RJ | PA USA | 07/06/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If memory serves, back when stereo was becoming all the rage, a lot of 33-1/3's were made with the sounds of aircraft, trains, etc., going between the stereo speakers to show off the new technology. Unfortunately, this album is one of them. The RCA Victor label, apparently, originally put this album together back in 1958. This is a series of songs and sound effects, linked together by comedy bits of Bob and Ray, the premise being that they were interviewing a Dr. Ahkbar, who was conducting a series of experiments. Along with music by the likes of Skitch Henderson, Julie Andrews, and Lena Horne, we hear noise - lots of noise. "...no double-woofer household can be complete without this disc. Maybe that's immodest, but where else can you hear a human clock swinging in three dimensions?--or sterophonic bagpipes, doors or cats [one track features a cat fight], for that matter?" reads one line in the liner notes.

I guess if one is a Bob and Ray completist, it is nice that this CD is available, but I was sorely disappointed in what was offered here."