Mike Nichols & Elaine May 1st Press OZ LP Improvisations to music NM ’58 Comedy
A$
25
$
17
A$ 25
Sold For
Jun 27, 2026
Sold Date
Sep 1, 2021
Start Date
1
Number Of Bids
Australia
Country Of Seller
eBay
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Description
Mike Nichols & Elaine May 1st Press OZ LP Improvisations to music NM ’58 Comedy
Original 1st Press OZ LP released in 1958 on Mercury Records. Cat: MG20376.Mike Nichols and Elaine May became multimedia sensations appearing on stage, television, film, and record. Their wry, often searing, and satirical insight highlights the three comedy LPs the pair issued during the late '50s and early '60s. These insights are well-defined throughout the eight entirely extemporaneous scenarios included on their debut comedy LP Improvisations to Music (1958). A noir reality tethers the off-centered sense of humor that drives Nichols and May throughout these scenes. The banter that effortlessly flows between them in and of itself is not filled with jokes. In fact, there are probably more awkward silences than straightforward jokes. What is undeniably funny is the lethal accuracy of the realistic portrayals of the characters they conjure up as Marty Rubenstein's piano accompaniment aurally colors the scenarios. The sleazy "Cocktail Piano" seethes with overtly sexual overtones. The dialogue plays out to reveal a married office superior (read: boss) as he gracelessly makes incremental advances toward his unwitting secretary. The cocktail bar setting adds an almost discomforting level of reality as the combination of consenting -- albeit immoral -- adults and alcohol yields an obviously, yet unspoken social statement. Another highly satirical piece is "Everybody's Doing It." Behind a high-steppin' piano ragtime, they enumerate a sort of Dadaist lament for the bards of old, comparing advertising writers with other great literary figures. They hail the grey-flannel-suit-wearing breed who "drown the poets/The flannel in the mouth/Choking the voice of the silver bird/That cries no more/Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should/ You get a lot to like in a Marlboro...." The comedic message in "Bach to Bach" pokes holes at overblown verbal rhetoric inherent in the lemming-like behavior of pseudo academics and intellectuals.
Tracks : Cocktail piano/ Mysterioso/ Second piano concerto/ bach to bach/ Jalousie/ Sonata for piano and celeste.
There are no signs of spindle marks on labels. Record is in Near Mint condition. Gloss cover has some light marks and is in Excellent condition.
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Wrapping method: All records are sent in stiff cardboard mailers then wrapped in brown paper and sealed around edges with brown packaging tape. Records are taken out of sleeve to avoid seam splits and ring wear.
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1292 (GS 8.3.6 (1292))
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