Swingle Singers - Anyone for Mozart?

Artist  :  The Swingle Singers

Title  :  Anyone for Mozart?  (1965)

Genre  :  Classical, a cappella

  - Tracks  (favorites in pink) -

01. Sonata No. 15

02. Ah! vous Dirais Je Maman

03. Allegro from Sonata No. 14

04. Fugue 

05. Eine Kleine Nacht Music

    The Swingle Singers had a brief heyday way back in the late 1960's.  They were (and still are, for that matter) a mostly a cappella group, with only a modicum of bass fiddle and drum accompaniment.  ISTR their most popular album featured Bach tunes.

    I found  Anyone For Mozart?, the stereo version no less, at the local Goodwill store, and snagged it for $0.99.  Released in 1965, this means this is a 49-year-old LP, so it had a fair amount of scratches, but no skips.  The scratch-removal program had its normal efficiency, removing about 95% of the scratches, without noticeably compromising the highs and lows of the music.

    The main problem with this LP is its brevity, even by 1965 standards.  Each side was only about 12-13 minutes in length, which is unforgivable, given the copious amount of Mozart music available.  Was this a "rush to release" issue, or did the record company just decide the public would buy it without checking out the times on the back of the album?

   That being said, I like the album.  I doubt it will ever be released as a CD, although I wouldn't be surprised to see it packaged with several other Swingle Singers albums.  There are a couple YouTube videos featuring the group singing some of these Mozart offerings, although ISTR they were all "live" concert videos.

    If you like classical music, especially lively take-offs of it (see : Apollo 100), then you should enjoy this LP.