The Muppet Show 2

Louise Gold starred as one of The Muppet Performers

Catalogue number: (US Pressing LP) ARISTA AB 4192, (US Pressing Cassette) ARISTA ATC-4192, (UK Pressing LP) PYE NSPH 21, (UK Pressing Cassette) PYE ZCP 21, (UK Pressing Cartridge) PYE Y8P 21, album produced in 1978. And, (Stereo 747 label Cassette) 2263.

There is evidence to suggest that this is very probably the first album Louise Gold ever recorded, and indeed at least two tracks that she features on, where actually recorded especially for the album.

Cast

 The Players:

Jim Henson (as: Kermit The Frog, Rowlf, Link Hogthrob, Waldorf, and other assorted characters)

Frank Oz (as: Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam The Eagle, and other assorted characters)

Jerry Nelson (as: Floyd, Robin, Dr Strangepork, & other assorted characters)

Richard Hunt (as: Scooter, Stadler, and other assorted characters)

Dave Goelz (as: Gonzo, Zoot, and other assorted characters)

Louise Gold (as: Zelda Rose, Annie Sue Pig, and other assorted characters)

Non-Muppet

Bernadette Peters

Peter Sellars

Production Team

 Producer - Jim Henson

Directors - Peter Harris and Philip Casson

Musical Associate - Derek Scott

Orchestra Conducted by - Jack Parnell

Writers - Jerry Juhl, Don Hinkley, Joseph A Bailey, and, Jim Henson

Music Consultant - Larry Grossman

Audio - Roger Knight and Ted Scott

Track Listing

Side A

1. The Muppet Show Theme - Cast (The Players)

2. Baby Face - The Muppet Chickens (any player who can do a decent chicken impersonation: so probably. Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Jim Henson, and, Louise Gold are the most likely candidates)

3. There’s A New Sound - Scooter (Richard Hunt)

4. A Monologue - Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz)

5. Cuento Le Gusta - Miss Piggy and The Pigs (Frank Oz with: Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Louise Gold, etc)

6. Who? - Zelda Rose and her singing Owl (Louise Gold, with Jerry Nelson)

7. Time In A Bottle - (Jim Henson)

8. An Editorial - Sam The Eagle (Frank Oz)

9. Borneo - Cowboy Jerry And Lou-The-Jugband-Lady, with the Jugband (Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold, with Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and, Richard Hunt)

10. 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)

11. 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)

12 Just One Person - Bernadette Peters and Robin with The cast (Bernadette Peters and Jerry Nelson, with The Players)

Side B

13. Happy Feet - Kermit and the frog chorus (Jim Henson with Frank Oz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, and, Dave Goelz)

14. Pigs In Space - Captain Link Hogthrob, First Mate Piggy, Dr Julius Strangepork, The Announcer (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and, Jerry Nelson)

15. I’m Five - Robin (Jerry Nelson)

16. Sea Chanty - Link Hogthrob, Scooter, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, and, Robin (Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and, Jerry Nelson)

17. New York State Of Mind - Floyd (Jerry Nelson)

18. The Pig Calypso - Miss Piggy, Kermit, with The Pigs (Frank Oz and Jim Henson, with Louise Gold, Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson etc)

19. When - Rowlf (Jim Henson)

20. A Gypsy’s Violin - Boris-The-Gypsy-Violinist and The Cast (Peter Sellers and The Players)

21. Wishing Song - Gonzo (Dave Goelz with Jerry Nelson)

22. Animal Sings Gershwin - Animal (Frank Oz)

23. For What It’s Worth - Cast (Jerry Nelson with: Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold)

24. We Got Us - Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and The Cast (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, and, Louise Gold)

25. Closing Theme - instrumental

 If getting the LP the UK pressing is to be preferred to the US pressing, because it has a double record-sleeve, the opened out centre contains pictures of a wide variety of Muppet Show characters, including some less well known ones. The Stereo 747 label issue seems to be somewhat sloppy in quality (one the copy I have, at the end of Side A there is a repeat of the whole of Track 7 and part of Track 8).

According to various Muppet fans it is thought that:

On Track 10: 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.

On Track 11, Jerry Nelson voices 5 different characters, namely: Baskerville The Afghan Hound, Another Dog, Miss Mousey, and, A Goat

The version of Who? used on this album is the one that was specially recorded for the album The Muppet Show 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).

Two songs from this album (For What It’s Worth, and, Pig Calypso) were released as a 45 RPM single For What It’s Worth. This of course involved most of the performers (the six main puppeteers at least, and Jack Parnell’s orchestra) on this album.

All of the Muppet performers featured on this album, and all the production team, had worked on The Muppet Show, which the two non-muppet singers had of course guested on. There is a very good reason why only six members of The Muppet Show Eight feature on this album, the remaining two members of the Eight (Kathryn Mullen and Steve Whitmire) did not join until later in the run of The Muppet Show. At the time of recording this album the newest recruit was Louise Gold, who had joined during Season II, and is featured on the album.

All six puppeteers represented The Muppets on The Royal Variety Performance (1977)

All six puppeteers performed on the film The Great Muppet Caper, on which Jerry Juhl also worked.

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold (plus the last two members of Eight), produced by Derek Scott with writing by Jerry Juhl and Don Hinkley, under the direction of Peter Harris and Philip Casson, and the musical direction of Jack Parnell, with musical consultation by Larry Grossman, and audio by Roger Knight and Ted Scott, starred the following year on Muppet Show Music Album , a different version of The Muppet Show Theme also features on this album.

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold can also be heard on The Great Muppet Caper Soundtrack album, John Denver & The Muppets A Christmas Together, John Denver & The Muppets Merry Christmas 45RPM, Christmas For Kids, John Denver Christmas, Favorite Songs From Jim Henson’s Muppets (the latter included a different version of The Muppet Show Theme), and Muppet Music Sampler (which includes the tracks: At The Dance, and, Fozzie On Skates).

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz and Louise Gold, with the musical direction of Jack Parnell can also be heard on Jim Henson Presents Silly Songs (which includes the tracks: There’s A New Sound, Who?, Borneo, Upidee, and, Sea Chanty, along with a version of The Muppet Show Theme).

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz and Louise Gold, under the direction of Peter Harris, and musical direction of Jack Parnell, can also be heard on Muppet Hits (which includes the tracks: There’s A New Sound, Fozzie’s roller skating monologue, Cuento Le Gusta, Who?, Borneo, At The Dance, Happy Feet, Upidee, I’m Five, and We Got Us, along with a different version of The Muppet Show Theme) and Muppet Hits 2 (Which includes the same versions of the tracks: The Muppet Show Theme, Sam The Eagle’s Editorial about nudity, Sea Chanty, The Pig Calypso, and, For What It’s Worth)

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz and Louise Gold can also be heard, although not necessarily credited, on Muppet Music Mix (which includes the track: Happy Feet, along with a different version of The Muppet Show Theme), and, Music Mayhem And More (which includes the tracks: There’s A New Sound, Wishing Song, Happy Feet, and, We Got Us, along with a different version of The Muppet Show Theme).

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold under the direction of Philip Casson and Peter Harris, Musical Direction of Jack Parnellcan also be heard on The Muppet Show Music Hall, which Derek Scott was music associate on, and which Ted Scott and Roger Knight were also involved with.

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold all puppeteered on The Muppets Go To The Movies, on which Jerry Juhl, and, Peter Harris also worked.

Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold, singing Who, with an introduction by Jim Henson can also be heard on Jerome Kern The First 100 Years (although they are credited simply as ‘The Muppets’, rather than as individuals)

Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, and Louise Gold puppeteered on The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, on both of which Jerry Juhl also worked.

Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold also puppeteered on Sesame Street (in the early 1990s); and can be heard on The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack Album .

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold puppeteered on The Dark Crystal, for which Jerry Nelson did some voice-work.

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Dave Goelz also puppeteered on Labyrinth.

Louise Gold and Philip Casson were later involved in creating the Spitting Image pilots.

Louise Gold, Peter Harris and Philip Casson were later involved with Spitting Image and the album Spit In Your Ear

Philip Casson went on to direct Louise Gold in her actress’ guise in an episode of Casualty.

Louise Gold, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson and Frank Oz, later sang on Born To Add

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold later sang on Elmo’s Lowdown Hoedown

Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold appeared in “a burlesque show with some of the Muppet-company”

Dave Goelz, 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, and, Richard Hunt went on to puppeteer on Tale Of The Bunny Picnic.

Jerry Nelson, and, Dave Goelz (besides puppeteering on Fraggle Rock itself) went on to do voice-work on the UK Co-Production of Fraggle Rock, on which Louise Gold puppeteered.

Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and, Jerry Juhl went on to take part in Jim Henson’s Memorial Service.

Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold went on to puppeteer on The Secret Life Of Toys, their recording credits include A Green And Red Christmas.

Louise Gold, and, Richard Hunt went on to puppeteer on The Ghost Of Faffner Hall (with Louise actually starring, she performed the title role).

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Jerry Juhl, Peter Harris, and, Don Hinkley all feature in the television documentary Of Muppets And Men.

Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold’s recording credits include The Count’s Countdown, however there has been some debate as to whether Louise Gold actually sang on it.

Review

by Emma Shane

Near the beginning of the album Stadler and Waldorf speculate what might be on this, “the second Muppet Show cast album” and conclude “Probably stuff that wasn’t good enough for the first.” In actual fact this is absolutely not the case, if anything this album is a vast improvement on the first. There are several reasons for this: Firstly, by the time this album came to be put together the show had run for longer, so there was more material to choose from, and everyone, especially the writers, was more experienced in knowing what would work and what would not, thus the standard on this album is much higher than on the first. The time that had elapsed between the first and second Muppet Show cast albums had also seen some changes to the cast. Although The Big Five muppeteers feature on both albums, the first album had also featured season one performers Erin Ozkar and John Lovelady, the meagre musical talent had on offer been eked out by adding Fran Brill to the group. By the time of the second Muppet Show cast album, both Erin Ozkar and John Lovelady had left, and we have the very welcome addition of Miss Ozkar’s replacement, Louise Gold, who, it has to be said, is a considerable addition to the musical resources of the troupe. Although it was very likely her first time properly recording on an album, the gloriously-voiced new girl certainly makes her presence felt on quite a number of tracks.

Besides The Muppet performers, the album also boasts two guest-stars. Bernadette Peters with Jerry Nelson, and the rest of the cast, sing a lovely rendition of the song Just One Person, and I think they do it rather better than the cast of the musical Snoopy do it on that show’s cast recording. Peter Sellers gets to display his comedy talents as a Gypsy violinist, accompanied by an equally mad bunch of muppet singers, amongst whom one can pick out the strong voice of Louise Gold, doing what she often does on these occasions, providing an extra-strong chorus.

The rest of the album is entirely devoted to the vocal talents of The Muppet performers themselves. Besides the many musical numbers, this includes several dialog tracks, mostly featuring Frank Oz. First there is Fozzie Bear on roller skates, a hugely amusing number, made particularly funny by Stadler and Waldof’s commentary. Then there is one of Sam The Eagle’s better editorials, the one on nudity. There is also an entire sketch from The Muppet Show’s regular Sci-Fi send-up, Pigs In Space, this is the legendary one where they have to perform the mid-course correction. I had my doubts about how well this would come across on a record, but it actually works surprisingly well, especially if you are a Star Trek fan. In addition the album includes an At The Dance skit recorded especially for it. This includes: Kermit making one of his characteristic maybe’s to Miss Piggy “I will dance with you when the sun goes red and the ocean turns a yoga”, a very funny female chicken referring to “Peoplepox” (as opposed to Chickenpox), and Animal attacking a sheep (which some muppet fans reckon was voiced by Louise Gold). But my favourite bit in this At The Dance, is Fozzie asking a cute girl, who almost certainly is voiced by Louise Gold, how she likes the jokes, but she’s only interested in dancing.

It is the music that really makes this album. This includes some surprising contributions from muppeteers: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and, Dave Goelz, who are not particularly noted for their singing abilities (or at least Dave Goelz wasn’t at the time of that album). Frank Oz features prominently as Miss Piggy in Cuento Le Gusta, and again in The Pig Calypso. On both tracks he is admirably backed by the great Muppet singing talents (such as: Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Louise Gold), on the latter number, as well as a notable appearance by Jim Henson as “the frog has come to have his say”, one can particularly hear in the backing vocals of Louise Gold’s Annie Sue (that young lady happening to posses quite a naturally loud and powerful voice). Frank Oz also stars briefly on the track Animal Sings Gershwin, where he attempts a bit of A Foggy Day In London Town, sufficient to say it is so bad it is terrible, but that is probably intentional. Dave Goelz fares rather better, as Gonzo, singing Wishing Song. In fact considering that at the time of The Muppet Show he was not very experienced musically, he actually does it rather well, and it is something of a foretaste of what he would go on to achieve as a singer on Muppet recordings. Jim Henson also manages to handle his three solos very well, although his voice might not be in the same league as Hunt or Nelson, it is never-the-less more than passable, and well suited to the material he sings. When is the least successful of these songs, although it is very funny. Happy Feet, as his reliable standby Kermit, is sheer delight, he is absolutely in his element, and sings it really well. According to various Muppet fans Jim Henson also sings one of the most poignant numbers on the album Time In A Bottle. The number is thought provoking and characteristic of Jim Henson, the man who made his directorial debut with a short film called Timepiece, a man for whom there never seemed to be enough time.

The Muppet Show 2, is not, a sad album, it contains many moments of riotous Muppet fun, characterised, amongst other things by four ensemble numbers. Sea Chanty is a funny item about being a sailor, performed hilariously, in typical muppet fashion by a bunch of unlikely mis-fits: Scooter, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, and, Robin. In fact this works surprisingly well, especially Frank Oz’s Fozzie. Baby Face, as performed by The Muppet Chickens is one of the high-spots on the album, although I’m not sure how much of it was actually recognisable as anything. None-the-less it is very funny, in a typically muppet-chorus kind of a way. It is also a splendid example of just how good those muppeteers are at doing funny voices, and performing musical numbers in them. Another gloriously silly little song, they even say it is in it’s altered lyrics, is Upidee; This has some input from Frank Oz, some very noticeable input from Louise Gold, getting a rare opportunity to do a British accent (and a very classy British accent she does too), but the number’s biggest star is probably versatile Jerry Nelson, since he sings about four different characters! The number is also a great example of something else The Muppeteers are very good at, singing complete gibberish seriously! There cannot be that many singers who would be willing to do that. (For example Broadway’ s Ethel Merman would never sing any lyric she did not understand, and actually walked out of a show called Sadie Thompson because of that, somehow, though, I get the impression that The Muppet’s own resident Merman-belter might sing something regardless of whether it made sense - perhaps someone should try casting her in Sadie Thompson!). But delightful silliness, not to say down right zaniness is just typical of The Muppets, especially on The Muppet Show, and this is delightfully summed up by the team with We Got Us. 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. This song is quite simply them, in particular the lines “People may say we are crazy the way we are, that we won’t even discuss,...., we got us” seem to be an accurate description of those crazy, zany, anarchic muppets, and their talented, extrovert, madcap muppeteers.

One thing The Muppets, especially at the time of The Muppet Show had in abundance, which is really displayed well on this album, is considerable musical talent. By being made in England, with financing from Lew Grade’s ATV, The Muppet Show had the good fortune to use The Jack Parnell Orchestra as its band. They were also fortunate in their choice of musical direction. But in the end one of the most significant contributions to the musical-excellence of their work, came from the puppeteers themselves, and on both The Muppet Show, and this album, three performers stand out: Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold. All three have a chance to shine on this album. Richard Hunt’s best performance on the album is his solo as Scooter singing There’s A New Sound. The song really would not work half so well if it were sung by any less a performer. Versatile Jerry Nelson has numerous moments to shine, and since he is such a wonderful singer, they are all terrific. For What It’s Worth finds him at his most moving, a manner which really befits the song. He is at his cutest, though, as Robin singing I’m Five, which he sings very well, and with some feeling, even if in the context of the show Robin had dismissed the song as being “a silly sentimental song”. It is always a pleasure to hear Jerry Nelson’s singing voice on a Muppet recording, and none more so than on Floyd Pepper’s performance of New York State Of Mind, when it is indeed “time for some serious sound”. But Jerry Nelson is more than just a great soloist, he can also sing a good duet, and on this album Borneo features a lovely performance from what must surely be The Muppets’ best Singing-double-act, Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold. These performers, surely two of the best singing talents The Muppets have ever had, balance each other really well. Jerry Nelson is one of the very few people who can sing a duet with Louise Gold without getting in the least bit overshadowed by her, in fact he can really provide her with some serious competition. Borneo is a delightfully amusing Muppet number, and a wonderful display of two spectacular singing talents. At the time of recording this album Louise Gold was the muppets newest recruit, but she is very much a part of the team on this album, and she also gets a very short little solo, Jerome Kern’s Who? a number she recorded especially for the album. She manages to sound similar to the person who did it on Milton Berle episode of The Muppet Show, but at the same time, her rendition is something of an improvement on that version, as one might expect, given that it was sung on The Muppet Show itself by a rival candidate for her job!

All in all, if you buy just one Muppet album relating to The Muppet Show, I would suggest this, because it is one of the best, and out of the ones you are likely to stand a reasonable chance of being able to get a copy of, it is by far the best. All the tracks on it are worth hearing, some are perhaps more outstanding than others, but there is not a dud amongst them. The album revelles in the talents of six outstanding performers, all of whom make their own distinct contributions to the album, but are collectively more than the sum of the parts. In a way it might not seem fair to single out any one individual from the six for special praise, but perhaps one might just mention the newest, and youngest of them, Louise Gold (who at the time of this album was in her early twenties) makes her own unique contribution to the album, if it was her recording debut, then she certainly did it proud, and proved herself to truly belong with the zany, crazy, loveable, talented Muppet performers starring on this album, which must surely be one of the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational albums the muppet gang have ever produced.

Critics Comments

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Links about The Muppet Show 2

Muppet Wiki’s page for this album: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Muppet_Show_2

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