Mannheim Steamroller (USA)

Mannheim Steamroller's debut is a unique mix of light classical piano music, progressive rock, and medieval songs. Composer Chip Davis breaks the album into 12 semi-classical structures (sonatas, interludes, even a disguised passacaglia) that match up to the seasons, rendering Fresh Aire a concept album about nature and life.

Most of the music is played by Jackson Berkey, dubbing piano, harpsichord, and synthesizers atop one another with a minimal rhythm section from Davis and Eric Hansen. At its spaciest, Fresh Aire sounds like Keith Emerson or Camel; when the band's in a medieval mood, Gentle Giant (notably "Talybont") comes to mind. Audiophiles took a real shine to Mannheim Steamroller, both for the superior album packaging and the clean sound (if memory serves, American Gramaphone used to charge on the high side for their LPs). As CD technology was introduced, the Fresh Aire series was reissued and became a popular demo for its inoffensive high-mindedness as much as its dynamic range. While sections of Fresh Aire are very pretty, the frequent interludes cost the album its momentum (and are a full half of the months really sad?). When Mannheim Steamroller cuts loose — as on "Rondo," "Chocolate Fudge," and "Saras Band" — they're a hoot. The solo piano passages are all right, but listeners would do better to turn to budding ambient composers (Brian Eno), electronic acts (Tangerine Dream), and the original masters (Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninoff) themselves. Then again, a mix of medieval prog and mawkish piano melodies might be just what you're looking for.

The alias of composer Chip Davis, Mannheim Steamroller was among the pioneers of neo-classical electronic music. Born in Sylvania, Ohio, Davis' father was a high school music teacher, while his mother was a trombonist with Phil Spitalny's All Girl Orchestra. His grandmother was his first music teacher, giving the child his initial piano lessons at the age of four; two years later, Davis composed his first piece, a four-part chorale written in honor of his dog. He later joined a boys' choir as well, and while attending the University of Michigan played bassoon in the school's concert band. Upon graduating in 1969, Davis was tapped to tour with the Norman Luboff Choir; after five years with the group, performing everything from pop to classical, he returned to Sylvania to teach music at the local junior high school, often adapting classical standards to contemporary harmonies and rhythms for student consumption.

Davis later left teaching, arranging and conducting an Omaha, Nebraska production of Hair before accepting a job writing advertising jingles. With co-worker Bill Fries, he created the enormously popular C.W. McCall character, later the figure behind the chart-topping hit "Convoy; " as the McCall craze went into high gear, however, Davis returned to the classical adaptations he'd first composed while a teacher, and soon entered the studio to begin recording what he dubbed "18th century classical rock" -- classical music performed on electric bass and synthesizers. He titled the resulting album Fresh Aire, and when no label would touch it, he founded his own company, American Gramaphone, in 1974, creating a fictitious band named Mannheim Steamroller to better promote the project. Davis initially marketed Fresh Aire to stereo showrooms, where his state-of-the-art sound proved ideal for demonstrating home stereo equipment; the LP became a smash hit among audiophiles, and a series of popular Fresh Aire sequels followed in the years to come.