Morgan Fisher's Miniatures - The Blog

January 6, 2011 7:44 PM

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his awesome abstract compilation album Miniatures, Morgan Fisher (of Mott the Hoople fame) has started going through the 51-track masterpiece from the beginning in, well, minute detail, updating readers on the current status of the featured band, providing relevant links, explaining his compilation process, and, of course, streaming each track. So far the first 7 tracks are featured, but start here with the bonus track added to the 1994 CD re-issue of Miniatures – "The Miniatures Miniature".

After he's done with Miniatures, it's on to the 60-track follow-up released in the mid-'90's, Miniatures 2.
Salud feuilleton!

posted by carsonb (11 comments total)

Miniatures is a legendary album indeed... although Miniatures 2 didn't come out until the '00s! I was working at Rykodisc around '98 or so when we got a demo tape from Fischer of some of the works-in-progress. I nabbed it because it had a new piece by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra on it and I couldn't contain my excitement. (As history will show, we passed on releasing it.)
posted by mykescipark at 7:48 PM on January 6, 2011

Oops, I got 'released' and 'started' all mixed-up. =\
posted by carsonb at 7:51 PM on January 6, 2011

Cool links, I've wondered about some of the more obscure artists on the compilation (I only have the first one), and it's cool that Morgan Fisher is doing a little site for each one. Unfortunately, the CD is terrible in that it groups together five or six tracks in a single "song," so you can't really listen to each one on its own or program your own favorite list.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 8:04 PM on January 6, 2011

Yay Morgan Fisher!

He's a buddy of mine, an occasional collaborator, and a damn fine keyboardist, improvisor and composer. And for any of you Tokyo folk reading this who don't already know about it, Morgan has a monthly solo concert at Super Deluxe where he performs on any number of his and large and amazing collection of vintage organs, analog synths, electric pianos, etc. He calls it Morgan's Organ.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:24 PM on January 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've known about Partidge's History of Rock and Roll for years, but how did I not realize there was a whole 'nuther collection that goes along with it? Consider me schooled.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:41 PM on January 6, 2011

Whew! I fear you getting too far ahead of me, cars. Morgan Fisher is also an avant-garde filmmaker's name.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:54 PM on January 6, 2011

(And sorry about Fischer. The minute I hear the musical name Fis(c)her, my neanderthal brain goes straight to "Wild Man.")
posted by mykescipark at 9:59 PM on January 6, 2011

A reliable album for filling up those tiny blank spots at the end of cassette compilations. My fave is Robert Wyatt's eeire "cover" of "Strangers In The Night".
posted by stinkycheese at 10:08 PM on January 6, 2011

Joined the Third Ear Band for a brief period (an avant-garde acoustic band who made the music for Roman Polanski’s film of "Macbeth")

I didn't know that.
posted by ovvl at 8:14 AM on January 7, 2011

Ralph Steadman has a wonderful voice.

Also note the Michael Nyman excerpts from the soundtrack for Greenaway's The Falls is a perfect example of one conceptual compilation translating into another one.
posted by ovvl at 8:20 AM on January 7, 2011

I was just regretting giving away my vinyl copy of Hybrid Kids. Jah Wurzel's version of "Wuthering Heights" still raises a smile ("Eathcliff, it's me, oi'm Kathy, oi've coom 'ome neow").
posted by vickyverky at 4:40 PM on January 7, 2011