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Well, after a year or more of writing reviews of many of the albums on the list, it's occurred to me that it might be useful to put a little commentary on some of the artists whom I'm unable to review properly, as I haven't actually heard the music in question, or at least the entire album. People often write to me to tell me about another Mellotron 'find', often going into quite some detail, but without hearing it myself, I don't feel I can really write about it properly, so some of the comments you'll find here are direct quotes from correspondents' e-mails.
Apparently used an M400 live for some years to replicate studio string parts, so there may be other relevant albums.
'Corn Riggs' is Angelica's version of a song from the soundtrack to UK cult classic 'The Wicker Man', recently (at last!) released properly.
'(You're) Having My Baby', despite no Mellotron credit on the Anka album, is smothered in 'Tron, although I've no idea if there's any more on the record.
Caedmon's Call are one of the large (and largely American) sub-genre of Christian music. Yes, I recoiled, too, but if you don't listen to the lyrics too closely, 'Petrified Heart', from '99's 40 Acres is a perfectly acceptable acoustic number with a pleasant enough 'Tron flute part.
Don't know much about this lot, but their Meanwhile album has a track called 'Mellotron' featuring, er, some Mellotron choir chords, although I don't know if it's real or not. Slightly dancey indie stuff from '91, anyway.
Before using 'Tron on his Doc at the Radar Station opus, the good Captain, with Eric Drew Feldman in tow, used one on his '78 tour. Massive CD set Grow Fins contains two short Mellotron improvisations, one from '78 and one from '80, both of them manic and tuneless, but somehow incredibly powerful. Don't go there looking for great playing or fantastic melodies, but if you like the sound of the above, try to hear them.
'Rock is Dead' is a particularly dodgy (and very lengthy) outtake from the imaginatively-titled The Doors Box Set, released in '97. It appears to be the band messing around in the studio, with a cotérie of hangers-on audible in the background. Ray Manzarek's only dalliance with the Mellotron is a few string notes here and there on this especially dreadful blues jam, which does their legacy no favours whatsoever. Avoid.
The Pretty Things under an assumed name, with Twink on drums.
Fantastic Plastic Machine (Japan)
Japanese DJ Tomoyuki Tanaka's Fantastic Plastic Machine project play a currently fantastically hip fusion of modern beats and bossa nova, which may well sound hideously dated before very long. 'Beautiful Days' is quite cool, in a retro kind of way, though, with some nice 'Tron strings that sound authentically cranky.
Fludd's main claim to fame is providing three members for the fledgling Saga in the late '70s, although one (later keys man Peter Rochon) only stayed for one album. Their unexpected Canadian hit 'Cousin Mary', belatedly taken from '72's ...On! (censored from the original Cock on!), is unpretentious and uncharacteristic country rock, as I'm assured by ex-member Pete Csanky that they were actually more glam-rock than anything, which explains the original album title... A pleasant enough track, with wailing harmonica and background Mellotron strings, which I thought was from a converted FX machine, now owned by the estimable Rick Blechta of Toronto, but was actually from Csanky's M300 (and he owned a regular MkII...).
Gay Dad were one of that small group of outfits over the years led by a music journalist; Cliff Jones in this instance. I wouldn't let that put you off specifically; the music should do that. Bad Britpop, basically. As for the Mellotron, I've had it confirmed that they hired one for the sessions, but I'll be damned if I can hear it.
Another 'don't know much about 'em' bunch. 'Dream', from '97's Soundtracks for Living lives up to the band's name by being gentle, drifting and all-round rather pleasant. I think that's 'Tron flutes on the intro, but I'm less convinced about the strings.
The Go-Gos' 2001 comeback album, God Bless the Go-Gos, features both Mellotron and Chamberlin on two tracks. 'Here You Are' and 'Daisy Chain' both have some nice flutes and cellos, with the differences between the two instruments fairly hard to discern. Inessential.
Golden Smog are one of the rather lesser outfits peddling 'Americana', 'alt.country', or whatever else you'd like to call it. '95's Down By the Old Mainstream (ho ho) gives us Chamberlin strings on the rather dull 'Yesterday Cried' and more of the same on the rather better 'Radio King', whose lyrics provide the album title. I can't say this stuff excites me overmuch, but it seems to be reasonably good at what it does.
The superbly-named Mr.Groovy (Winston Tucker to his ma) had some success in the early '70s, essentially by diluting his take on reggae with mainstream pop. 'Please Don't Make Me Cry', which I believe is a re-recording, from 1974's Presenting Winston Groovy has some 'Tron string chords, but I don't know if there's anything else on the album. By the way, beware of his 1980's remake, after the success of the atrocious UB40's cover of the song. Very nasty (both of them).
I'm sure GBV used to be more 'out there' than this. Probably did. Anyway, Isolation Drill's 'Unspirited' is actually anything but, with some reasonable 'Tron strings.
Light 'alternative' stuff (alternative to what?); unspectacular but perfectly pleasant. 'My Darling' from Only Everything has some nice 'Tron flutes, but nothing to write home about.
The rather self-evident 'Instrumental With Mellotron' from '98's The Closer I Get is precisely what it says on the packet, with an upfront 'Tron flute part laid over a short instrumental piece. Argue with that.
Iraklis Triantafylidis' Se Allous Kosmous ('In Other Worlds') is an Aphrodites Child's 666-style double concept album from 1975 or '76, though rather less successful in its scope. To confuse the issue, a single-LP version appeared in 1981, and since this is all I've heard, a 'regular' review isn't currently in the offing, although the full double is now available on CD. 'Tron strings on a handful of tracks on the truncated version, so as soon as I can track down the complete version...
This one's bizarre. What on earth were soul smoothies the Isleys doing using what sounds like Mellotron or Chamberlin on a track at all, never mind as late as 1980? Anyway, 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)' from Go All the Way sounds pretty certain to me, with background strings throughout.
More 'alternative' stuff. Not that interesting, to be honest, and although there are various keyboard and 'orchestral' sounds to be heard, there's nothing that screams 'Mellotron' at me. Maybe the strings. Anyway, it's credited, but far from immediately apparent.
'The Band is Playing Too Slow', from Knight's 1998 self-titled album is a pleasant enough countryish ballad with a nice 'Tron flute part. That's it, really.
'No Easy Action', from ex-Screaming Tree Lanegan's 2001 album, Field Songs, has some wobbly 'tron strings to the fore, on a song sounding like the better end of his previous outfit's work.
Lennon Jr.Jr.'s '98 effort, Into the Sun has three 'Tron tracks, and while apparently some of the sounds are samples, they don't say which ones. 'Mystery Juice' has some not very 'Tronlike flutes, although I'm pretty sure that's real 'Tron (Mark II?) strings on 'Queue', backing Lennon's scarily dadlike vocals. 'Sean's Theme' has a short 'Tron string line, along with the loungey brass and piano. Not a 'Tron classic, but a couple of decent-ish tracks.
Lerche is a young Norwegian prodigy, in the 'perfect pop' vein; God knows where he learnt to write songs this skilfully, but his 2001 (in Norway) debut, Faces Down, has that classy Burt Bacharach feel to it, assuming you like such things. 'You Know So Well' has some 'Strawberry Fields'-style 'Tron flutes, while 'Virtue and Wine' has more flutes, but block chords this time.
'Often Again', from '95's Amrita... album has some nice upfront 'Tron flutes, along with the on-off rhythm and strange male vocal.
Luna have apparently used Mellotron on several albums, but the only thing I've heard is 'Lost in Space', from '95's Penthouse. A laid-back sort of thing, with 'Tron strings so heavily processed that you'd be hard-pushed to tell that's what they were.
The Masters of Reality (Sabbath album title, for the two of you who don't know) have been going since the late '80s, with very lengthy gaps between releases until recently, when they seem to've suddenly been taken to the bosom of the current stoner movement. 'Major Lance', from 2001's Deep in the Hole is essentially a 'Tron strings solo with added vocals. Very nice indeed.
The Moog Cookbook are a superb US duo comprised of synth wizard Brian Kehew and ex-Jellyfish man Roger Manning, who specialise in ridiculous covers of songs you thought you knew, played on a bevy of analogue keys in magnificently cheesy fashion. Kehew confirmed their Mellotron and Chamberlin usage for me a few years ago, so I can quite confidently state that Ye Olde Space Bande has Chamberlin M2 choir on 'Sweet Home Alabama', and Chamberlin RhythmMate drums plus Chamby steel guitar, animal FX and violins on 'Hotel California'. This stuff absolutely has to be heard; the way they masterfully switch into the minor at the end of 'Free Fallin'', complete with sampled explosions, had me rolling on the floor. Well, almost. Buy or die.
US sitcom actor/stand-up comic Mull's 'Woodstock Samba', from his '74 opus, Normal, is thoroughly (and deliberately) ridiculous, with some cheesy high 'Tron strings, until about halfway through the minute-and-a-half piece, when it shifts into a beautiful 'Tron flute solo. Edit this part out, and you've got one of the nicest bits of solo Mellotron I've heard in a while. I haven't yet heard Mull's earlier single, 'Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope', though I hope to track it down before too long. Possibly.
'Apology' from ex-Green on Red man Prophet's Hurting Business (2000) has some light strings in the background, mildly enhancing an already good acoustically-based song.
Apart from his known 'Tron use on Berlin, it appears Mr.Reed also put some Mellotron flutes on 'Ennui', from '74's Sally Can't Dance. Typical Lou track, understated 'Tron. That's it.
Going by 'Maybe We Will Find the Divine Cult', from Salako's Musicality, their sound is a slightly irritating hybrid of 'contemporary' rhythms and odd instrumentation, although the whole album may not be like that. The Mellotron on this track is limited to some flute chords thrown in here and there. Inessential.
SubPop perennials Sebadoh are rumoured to have used quite a bit of Mellotron over the years, but the only definites I've been able to track down are 'Spoiled' from '91's III, with some background strings, and 'Willing to Wait' from Harmacy from a few years later with, er, some background strings. Don't get me wrong, the 'Tron livens the tracks up, but they're far from essential, to be honest.
The Sheila Divine do their mid-paced thing reasonably well, by the sound of 'Vanishing Act', from 2001's Where Have My Countrymen Gone, enhanced by some nice 'Tron flutes.
There's a couple of 'Tron tracks on Silver Sun's '98 album, Neo Wave, although I've only heard one of them. 'Cheerleading' is a pop-punk sort of thing with 'Tron strings in the chorus; good, but nothing special. I'll report back if I get to hear the other track.
This is Ginger from the Wildhearts, with ex-Cardiac Bill Drake playing my Mellotron. More news when I get to hear a copy.
Alt.country stuff from the acclaimed Son Volt, i.e. more like American folk than the schmaltzy rubbish that Nashville emits like a bad smell. 'Carry You Down', from '98's Wide Swing Tremelo features some highly effective Chamberlin flutes laid over a really rather good little song. Recommended.
Squeeze's first major-label single, 'Take Me I'm Yours', after their indie 'Packet of Three' EP (the wags), was a bizarre amalgam of influences, nothing like their later bittersweet London-centric hits ('Up the Junction', 'Another Nail in My Heart' etc.). Driven by a marvellously squelchy synth bassline (MiniMoog?), it also features some atmospheric 'Tron choir, pitchbent in places, presumably played by future Tube presenter Jools Holland. Holland is now, of course, master of all he surveys on 'Later... With Jools Holland', although I have to say that most of the show's performances are horrendously anodyne, with much 'we are not worthy'-ness from the studio guests. Anyway... Squeeze were a fantastic singles band in their day, and their Singles: 45s and Under is well worth obtaining. They apparently used a Mellotron at least once more, on a b-side called 'Going Crazy', which found its way onto 1996's Excess Moderation anthology.
After owning a Mark II 'Tron in the late '60s, but never recording with it, Ringo finally took the plunge on 1998's Vertical Man, with some 'Strawberry Fields'-style flutes on the Beatley 'King of Broken Hearts'. The title track also has 'Tron credited, but it's hard to tell if the strings on the track are Mellotron or a generic string patch.
Treble Charger's 'Christ is on the Lawn', from '97's Maybe it's Me is a nice little ballad with a big chorus, bolstered up by 'Tron strings.
The Violent Femmes were apparently pretty radical back in the '80s, but by 1991's Why Do Birds Sing they'd moved inexorably towards the mainstream. A not-very-good cover of a really-not-very-good song, the appalling Culture Club's 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' is all strummed acoustics and distant 'Tron strings, with similar on 'Used to Be', although the song is far less offensive.
According to the (now sadly defunct) Tapestry of Delights site, 'Shirley', the obscure Wade's own composition, was recorded around 1969 but never released at the time, although it's now available on a compilation of his work, 2001's Looking for Shirley: The Pop-Sike World of Cliff Wade. It's a pleasant little whimsical psych song with a neat key-change in the verse and an infuriatingly catchy chorus, that could easily have been a hit if anyone had got around to putting it out. There's some parping Mellotron brass, but not the full-on brass section you may be familiar with. Solo trumpet, maybe? Anyway, a nice song, if a little inessential.
Whiskeytown's alt.country thing is pretty much as you'd expect, with some 'Tron string washes livening things up slightly. A little inessential, to be honest.
Wishful Thinking's second album, 1971's Hiroshima contains its mighty late-period psych title track, 'Tron strings a-blazing. The late-'70s compilation I've heard also features a track allegedly from the following year called '1984', with a brief 'Tron flute part, but discographical information on the band seems to be almost impossible to find, and there appears to be an American fusion band of the same name from the '80s. As a result, while I assume it also appears on the album, I'm only going by a reference on the excellent Sweet Floral Albion site, so make of that what you will.