Muppet Hits
Louise Gold
starred as one of the Muppet Performers
Catalogue number: (CD - US Pressing) 74860 30021-2,
(CD - UK Pressing) 74321 14480-2, (Cassette - US Pressing) 74860
30021-4, (Cassette - UK Pressing) 74321 14480-4
Cast
The Players:
Jim Henson (as: Kermit The Frog, Dr Teeth, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Waldorf, The Newsman, Captain Link Hogtrob, Mahna Mahna, and other assorted characters)
Frank Oz (as: Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Animal,
Jerry
Richard Hunt (as: Scooter, Sweetums, Stadler, Janice, Beaker, Wayne, Mildred, and other assorted characters)
Dave Goelz (as: The Great Gonzo, Zoot, Bunsen Honeydew, Muppy, and other assorted characters)
Louise Gold (as: Zelda Rose, Annie Sue Pig, and other assorted characters)
Eren Ozker (as: Hilda, Wanda, and other assorted characters)
John Lovelady (as various assorted characters)
Uncredited:
Kathryn Mullen (as various assorted characters - notably a nurse)
Steve Whitmire (as various assorted characters)
Production Team
Songs originally produced by - Jim Henson
With the help of - Peter Harris
Executive Producer - Robert Kraft
Orchestra conducted by - Jack Parnell
Track Listing
1. The Muppet Show Theme - Cast (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry
2. Mahna Mahna - Mahna Mahna, and the Two Snowths (Jim Henson, Frank
Oz, and, Richard Hunt)
3. There’s A New Sound - Scooter (Richard Hunt)
4. Coconut
- Kermit a nurse, A Witch Doctor, and, another nurse (Jim Henson, Louise
Gold, Jerry
5. Lady Of
6. The Rhyming Song - Fozzie Bear, Link Hogthrob, Scooter, and, Annie Sue (Frank
Oz, Richard Hunt, Jim Henson, and, Louise Gold
7. Upidee -
Fozzie Bear, A Blond Pig, Baskerville The Afghan Hound, Another Dog, Miss
Mousey, A Goat (Frank Oz, Louise Gold, Jerry Nelson, and
possibly Richard Hunt)
8. Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear - Scooter and Fozzie (Richard
Hunt and Frank Oz)
9. Trees -
Wayne and Wanda (Richard Hunt and Eren Ozker)
10. I’m Five - Robin (Jerry Nelson)
11. Cuanto Le Gusto - Miss Piggy and The Pigs (Frank Oz, with: Jim Henson,
Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goez, and, Louise Gold)
12.
13. Sax And Violence - Instrumental
14. Mr Bassman - Floyd and Scooter (Jerry Nelson, and, Richard Hunt)
15. Who?
- Zelda Rose and Her Singing Owl (Louise Gold, with Jerry Nelson)
16. At The Dance - Scooter, a muppet girl, Male Chicken, Female Chicken, Kermit,
Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, another muppet girl, Animal, a sheep (Richard Hunt,
Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, and, Louise Gold)
17. Happy Feet - Kermit and Frog chorus (Jim Henson with others out of:
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and,. Dave Goelz)
18. We Got Us - Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and The Cast (Jim
Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Jerry
Nelson, and, Louise Gold)
19. Closing Theme - Instrumental
If
getting the CD, at least, the
It
should be noted that:
Track
5, Lady
Of Spain,
comes from the very first The Muppet Show Album, therefore ‘The
Players’ on that track can only consist of a selection of: Jerry Nelson,
Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Eren Ozker, John Lovelady,
and, Jim Henson.
Track
12, Borneo comes from comes from The Muppet Show 2, therefore ‘The Players’ on
that track can only consist of a selection of: Jim Henson, Frank Oz,
Richard Hunt, and, Dave Goelz, in fact the remainder of the
Jugband at that time.
According to
various Muppet fans it is thought that:
On Track 7, Upidee, Jerry Nelson voices 5 different
characters, namely: Baskerville
The Afghan Hound, Another Dog, Miss Mousey, and, A Goat
On Track 16:
At The Dance, The girl dancing with Scooter and the Male
Chicken are voiced by Jerry Nelson, The female Chicken is voiced by Richard
Hunt, and: the Sheep dancing with Animal and the girl dancing with Fozzie
are voiced by Louise Gold.
The version of
Who? used on this album is the one that was specially recorded
for the album The Muppet Show Album 2,
with Zelda Rose sung by Louise Gold, rather than the version on the
Milton Berle episode of The Muppet Show,
where it was sung by somebody else (an
unsuccessful candidate auditioning for a job on the show).
All of the
performers featured on this album had worked on The Muppet Show, as did Peter Harris and Jack Parnell.
All the
performers featured on this album also feature on: Muppet
Hits 2, along with a different version of The Muppet Show Theme.
The Muppet
Show Eight: Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen,
The Muppet
Show Eight: Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen,
The Muppet
Show Eight (Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen,
The Muppet Show Eight (Louise
Good, Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen,
Louise Gold, Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard
Hunt,
Jim Henson, Frank Oz,
Jim Henson, Frank Oz,
Louise Gold, Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard
Hunt, John Lovelady, Kathryn Mullen,
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Jim Henson, Richard
Hunt, John Lovelady, Kathryn Mullen,
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve
Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen puppeteered on The Dark Crystal, for which
Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank
Oz, and, Steve Whitmire also puppeteered on Labyrinth.
Louise Gold, Dave Goelz,
Louise Gold and Peter Harris also worked on Spitting Image and the album Spit In Your Ear.
Louise Gold,
Jim Henson, Frank Oz,
Jim Henson,
Frank Oz,
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise Gold went on to puppeteer on The Animal Show, on which Frank Oz did a guest puppeteering appearance, and Peter Harris was also involved with.
Louise Gold, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, and, Steve Whitmire puppeteered on Tale Of
The Bunny Picnic.
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Richard Hunt, Kathy Mullen,
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold,
Louise Gold, and, Richard Hunt had
puppeteered on The Ghost Of Faffner
Hall.
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Kathryn Mullen,
Frank Oz,
Steve Whitmire probably puppeteered
on ITV’s 50 Greatest Shows.
Review
by Emma Shane
To my mind this is one of the best compilations from The Muppet Show, as it contains many delightful, and very funny, numbers. It also happens to showcase quite nicely some of the very best of The Muppet Show’s singing talents (namely: Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, and Louise Gold). Although there are undoubtedly some numbers I enjoy very much more than others, they are all very listenable, so that although it is nice that with this being on CD one can pick and choose tracks, that is not so vital to ones enjoyment of it. The songs featured on it largely come from the earlier years of The Muppet Show, Seasons I, II and III, hence why Steve Whitmire does not appear to be featured at all, and Kathryn Mullen is only on once without a credit. This also accounts for the appearance of Season I performers Eren Ozker and John Lovelady. I have not actually been able to work out where John Lovelady appears. Eren Ozkar duets Trees with Richard Hunt. However, if her contribution to the song is anything to go by, she was rather lacking the sort of presonce her successor on The Muppet Show possesses.
The majority of tracks on the album come from actual numbers on The Muppet Show. However, two tracks and various bits of linking material were recorded especially for one or other of the Muppet Show albums, usually The Muppet Show 2. The two tracks in question being At The Dance (which is rather obvious on hearing it, as one of the jokes is about dancing on a phonograph record) and Who? a number which Louise Gold never actually sang on The Muppet Show. At The Dance is a very funny way of preserving on record a popular feature on The Muppet Show. The jokes on this track are great fun: Kermit describing the sort of circumstances under which he would dance with Miss Piggy, Male and Female chickens discussing “Peoplepox” as opposed to Chickenpox, and my favourite, Fozzie Bear asking a cute-sounding girl how she likes the jokes on the album. Lasting all of 53 seconds, Louise Gold’s rendering of Jerome Kern’s Who? must be the shortest version of that song on record! Short it maybe, but she does of course sing it very well, and it is a treat to hear this terrific Muppet vocalist have one track on this album almost to herself (there is contribution from Jerry Nelson as the singing owl).
Indeed this album is a good one for anyone who enjoys hearing The Muppet Show’s three top singing talents. All three having their moments in the sun. Richard Hunt has a bizarre solo in There’s A New Sound, he also sings the lead vocal really well on Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear. Jerry Nelson is at his cute best as Robin The Frog singing I’m Five, he has such a wonderful voice, that he cannot help but sing it well, with feeling, even when trying to portray a character who things its a silly sentimental song (as Robin supposedly did). These three also get to shine in duets. Mr Bassman is an excellent number, primarily because it is sung extremely well by Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt. I don’t know that I’d have actually liked the number if it had not been so well sung. While one of my favourite tracks on the album is Borneo, which, besides being great fun, is sung by a pair who must surely be one of the greatest singing-double-acts ever to grace the muppets, Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold. Their strong, magnificent voices dominate the number, and make it, well worth hearing.
The trio also give added strength numbers led by other performers. For example, they provide a strong chorus to Frank Oz’s performance of Cuanto Le Gusto. While Louise and Jerry can be very clearly heard on Coconut, a song led by Jim Henson as Kermit. This is another of the high spots on the album. It includes the English muppeteer Louise Gold as a narrator/nurse, singing, for once, in something approaching her normal accent! I think the track also includes backing vocals from Kathryn Mullen, but she is uncredited. Although Jim Henson may not have been quite one of the greatest singers, he did sing nicely with a lot of feeling. On this album he is perhaps at his best as Kermit singing Happy Feet, which is a glorious piece of fun.
This album is simply a whole lot of fun, very much like the muppets. This is characterised by many of the ensemble pieces. Upidee is gloriously silly, and actually says it is a silly song. It is sung quite adequately by Frank Oz and wonderfully bizarrely by Louise Gold, but gets its real tour de force from Jerry Nelson, as about five different characters! The Rhyming Song is a wonderful piece of silly fun. It is not exactly The Rhyming Song, but it is very Muppet, performed by such hopeless hams as: Fozzie Bear and Link Hogthrob, the not-easily fazed Scooter, and the delightful Annie Sue. The latter gets a characteristic last word “Well it wasn’t that bad”, which might (in Annie Sue’s modest kind of way) sum up this album. However, the finale is a stroke of genius. Whoever came up with the brilliant idea of getting the muppets to sing We Got Us, deserves an ovation. The song may have originally been written for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme to sing in the 1968 musical Golden Rainbow. But I do not think it can ever have been better inhabited than it is by the muppets. All of them perform it well, with real sincerity and enthusiasm, this is hardly surprising because this song is just so much their song. In particular the lines “People may say we are crazy the way we are, that we won’t even discuss,.... we got us”; Which about sum up the wonderfully: funny, anarchic, crazy, eccentric, loveable muppets, and the uniquely talented men and women who puppeteered them, especially on The Muppet Show.
Critics Comments
“This album represents a diverse compilation of
favorite songs from the different episodes of “The Muppet Show”. Featured are
the talents of several great performers and singing material written by many
great songwriters”, SLEEVE NOTES
Links about Muppet Hits
Muppet Wiki’s page for this album: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppet_Hits
