The recent announcement of E1’s Sesame Street Old School Volume 1 has got me excited, but for a slightly different reason. I am sentimental toward the Sesame Street Muppets (despite not having been much of a viewer as a child), but my favorite Muppets were always the ones in The Muppet Show – those loveable felt and fur actors singing pop standards, blowing things up and causing all sorts of mayhem.

Perhaps more than any other youth-oriented entertaiment of the 1970s (aside from, say, School House Rock!), the Muppets were joined at the hip (or human hand, maybe) to their music. Who can forget moments like Kermit’s heart-tugging “Bein’ Green” or “The Rainbow Connection”? Or silly sketches like the plight of the pink Snowths, who can’t sing a song without that nonsensical interruption “Mahna Mahna!”

It’s not surprising, then, that there’s lots of Muppet material to be released on disc. What is surprising, though, is how fleetingly the tunes have seen the light of day on compact disc. There were two kid-friendly compilations released through BMG in 1993 and 1994 (Muppet Hits and Muppet Hits Take 2), and a nice compilation by Rhino in 2002 (The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem and More! also added select cuts from the many Muppet movies), but the original albums tied to The Muppet Show have never seen proper releases – something I wish Walt Disney Records (who likely own the rights to distributing the music, as they own the Muppets outright) would capitalize on.

In fact, after the jump, check out how it’d go down if it were up to me.

Initially I thought there was only enough material to warrant straight reissues. Luckily, I was wrong. Imagine a Muppet Memories box comprising the albums tied into the show – it’d probably look like this:

DISC 1 – The Muppet Show (1977)

1. The Muppet Show Theme/Introduction by Kermit the Frog
2. Mississippi Mud – The Gogolala Jubilee Jugband/Dialogue with Statler and Waldorf *
3. Dialogue with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy/Mahna Mahna with Lullabye of Birdland – Mahna Mahna
4. Gonzo Eats a Rubber Tire to “The Flight of the Bumblebee” *
5. Mr. Bassman – Floyd and Scooter/Dialogue with Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear
6. Cottleston Pie – Rowlf *
7. Lady of Spain – The Amazing Marvin Suggs and His Muppaphone *
8. Lydia the Tattooed Lady – Kermit the Frog *
9. Halfway Down the Stairs – Robin the Frog
10. Tenderly – Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
11. I’m in Love with a Big Blue Frog – Mary Louise/Dialogue with Statler and Waldorf *
12. Dialogue with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy/Tit Willow – Rowlf and Sam the Eagle
13. Veterinarian’s Hospital: A Soap Opera – Dr. Bob, Nurse Piggy and Nurse Janice *
14. Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear – Scooter and Fozzie Bear
15. Dialogue with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy/What Now My Love? – Miss Piggy
16. A Monologue by Fozzie Bear
17. Trees – Wayne and Wanda
18. Sax and Violence – Zoot, Nigel and Mahna Mahna
19. Bein’ Green – Kermit the Frog

Tracks 1-19 released as The Muppet Show (Arista AB-4152)
* denotes track previously unreleased on CD

DISC 2 – The Muppet Show 2 (1978)

1. The Muppet Show Theme (Alternate)
2. Baby Face – The Chickens *
3. There’s a New Sound – Scooter
4. A Monologue by Fozzie Bear
5. Cuanto Le Gusta – Miss Piggy and The Pigs
6. Who? – Zelda and Her Singing Owl
7. Time in a Bottle – The Whatnots*
8. An Editorial by Sam the Eagle
9. Borneo – Lubbock Lou and His Jughuggers
10. At the Dance – Original Cast *
11. Upidee – Original Cast
12. Just One Person – Bernadette Peters *
13. Happy – Kermit the Frog
14. Pigs in Space – Link Hogthrob, First Mate Piggy and Dr. Julius Strangepork *
15. I’m Five – Robin the Frog
16. Sea Chantey – Link Hogthrob, Scooter, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Robin the Frog
17. New York State of Mind – Floyd Pepper *
18. Pig Calypso – The Pigs
19. When – Rowlf *
20. A Gypsy’s Violin – Peter Sellers *
21. Wishing Song – Gonzo
22. Animal Sings Gershwin *
23. For What It’s Worth – Woodland Creatures *
24. We Got Us – Original Cast
25. Closing Theme

Tracks 1-25 released as The Muppet Show 2 (Arista AB-4192)
* denotes track previously unreleased on CD

DISC 3 – Muppet Treasures (1977-1979)

1. The Muppet Show Theme (Single Version) *
2. Pachalafaka – The Whatnots*
3. Hugga Wugga – Hugga Wugga*
4. Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way – Miss Piggy *
5. Waiting at the Church – Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog *
6. The Boy in the Gallery – Miss Piggy *
7. Wotcher Knocked ‘Em in the Old Kent Road – Fozzie Bear with Statler and Waldorf *
8. Hawaiian War Chant – The Pigs
9. The Rhyming Song – Fozzie Bear, Scooter, Annie Sue and Link Hogthrob
10. Blue Skies – The Prairie Dogs *
11. Eight Little Notes – Rowlf *
12. Doo Wah Diddy Diddy – Geri and The Atrics *
13. Jamboree – Gonzo
14. Henrietta’s Wedding – Jerry and Lou *
15. Sweet Tooth Jam – Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
16. Magic Garden – Kermit the Frog *
17. Macho Man – Link and The Pigs with Gonzo and The Chickens *
18. Mad About That Frog – Miss Piggy *
19. Pennsylvania 6-5000 – Bobby Benson’s Baby Band
20. Coconut – Kermit the Frog and The Witch Doctor
21. Frog Kissin’ – The Frogs*
22. Dog Walk – Wayne
23. While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Floyd Pepper *
24. Sixty Seconds Got Together – The Gills Brothers *
25. It Was a Very Good Year – Statler and Waldorf *
26. Welcome to The Muppet Show Fan Club! – The Muppets *

Tracks 1 released on international 7″ single (Pye 7N 45705)
Tracks 2-3 released on international pressings of The Muppet Show (Pye NSPH 19)
Tracks 4-7 released as The Muppet Show Music Hall EP (U.K. only – Pye 7NX 8004)
Tracks 8-25 released on The Muppet Show Music Album (U.K. only – Pye NSPL 18613)
Track 26 released on 33 1/3 RPM soundsheet (Eva Tone 1025771X)

If you wanted to throw a fourth disc in there, you could go with the previously-released Ol’ Brown Ears is Back, a Rowlf-only LP recorded in 1983 but unreleased until 1993, three years after Jim Henson’s death. Or if you wanted to go really crazy, there’s The Muppet Show En Francais, a 1977 re-recording of The Muppet Show album with the French cast of the show (released in Europe as Pye 4106). Sure, it’s ridiculous, but so are the Muppets – so in a crazy way, that might work.

(All information gleaned from the exhaustive Muppet Wiki.)

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