''Classical Gas'' is a 1987 album by

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

group

Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with ...

and guitarist/composer

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental " Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on '' The Smothers Brother ...

. The album's title piece, "

Classical Gas "Classical Gas" is an instrumental musical piece composed and originally performed by American guitarist Mason Williams with instrumental backing by members of the Wrecking Crew. Originally released in 1968 on the album '' The Mason Williams P ...

", was originally featured on Williams's 1968 solo album '' The Mason Williams Phonograph Record''.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mason Williams unless otherwise indicated. #"

" – 3:32 #"Sunflower" – 2:14 #"Samba Beach" – 3:59 #"Country Idyll" – 2:18 #"Saturday Night at the World" – 3:56 #"Shady Dell" – 3:23 #"Katydid's Ditty" – 0:58 #"

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

" (traditional) – 3:07 #"Doot-Doot" – 2:08 #"La Chanson de Claudine" – 3:17 #"McCall" – 2:41 #"Vancouver Island" – 2:50 #"Baroque-a-Nova" – 3:06

Personnel

Performance Credits

*Mannheim Steamroller – primary artist; drums; recorder *Mason Williams – primary artist; guitar; horn *Clinton Gregory – cello *Jackson Berkey – keyboards *Ron Cooley – guitar; electric guitar; rhythm guitar *Chip Davis – drums; recorder; baton *Bob Jenkins – oboe *Deborah Fuller – violin *Joey Gulizia – percussion *Eric Hansen – bass *David Low – cello *Roxanne Adams – violin *Grace Granata – violin *David Kappy – French horn *Richard Lohmann – violin *Bill Ritchie – double bass *Bill Erickson – accordion *Sherrie Goeden – viola *Joshua Kuhl – double bass *Michelle Mathewson – viola *Arthur McCann – saxophone *Jim Schanilec – trombone *Scott Shoemaker – violin *David Wampler – trombone *Candida Wiley – violin *Margaret Wilmeth – cello *Bochmann String Quartet – group

Technical Credits

*Mason Williams – composer; liner notes *Mannheim Steamroller – contributor *Chip Davis – director; producer; contributor; orchestration *Clete Baker – mastering *John Boyd – engineer *Joe Gastwirt – mastering *Howie Weinberg – mastering *Steve Shipps – contributor *Dick Lewsey – engineer

In popular culture

*The title track was featured in "The Great Crane Robbery", a 2000 episode of ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

''. When Frasier's new boss copies his apartment down to the last detail, Frasier tries redecorating, and the song plays over a montage of him trying a long series of ridiculous styles of décor. *The title track appeared in S1:E5 "Fork" of Netflix's limited series, "The Queen's Gambit." *The title track was briefly featured in S5:E8 “Marco Polo” of HBO’s “The Sopranos.”

References

External links

Classical Gas
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Classical Gas
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Mason Williams albums Mannheim Steamroller albums American Gramaphone albums Collaborative albums {{1980s-electronic-album-stub