The Irrelevant Orchestra – headed by the dynamic Professor Pinkerton – dropped their album Antiquated, at Best early this year. The album is 11 classic swing-era songs with 6 alternate takes. The majority of the songs are ideal for dancing. Pinkerton says that the lengthy number of alternate takes included is “partially a nod to the anthologies put out by record collectors of historically famous artists.”
This album is a must for your collection. The BPM range is 100 to 240. The songs range from very mellow and sweet (Lay Some Flowers on My Grave) to very intense (Nagasaki). One could play the album straight through and dance lindy, shag, charleston, balboa, and fox trot. The joy of this album is partially the variety. The remainder of the joy is from the pure talent of this group.
There is something else about this album that is very unique. It has the energy of a live performance, but the quality of a studio recording. Pinkerton explains how they created this feel:
“We did the whole thing live, straight to tape, with just a few mics in the room, mostly in a take or two. We had a core of our regular players but half the band met for the first time that morning. Outside of some false starts, we released everything performed.
Professor Pinkerton
We just had a very limited window to work with our out of town guests so I wanted to create an extremely casual and fun environment. It is also why we had so many little jokes and quips wrapped in. I was hoping to strike a balance of keeping people on their toes while not making them stiff up.”
Find the music
To get this fantastic album the band has vinyl, CD’s, and download codes available at their live shows.
If you can’t wait for the next live show, you can:
- Mail order directly at pinkertonx@gmail.com
- $25 vinyl with code for bonus tracks
- $10 CD
- Download and stream on Bandcamp: prof-pinkerton.bandcamp.com/album/antiquated-at-best
Milwaukee Stomp 