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Isabelle A A Camp A-Ha AK-Momo ...A Toys Orchestra |
Abba Morten Abel Absolute Elsewhere Acqua Fragile Acroma |
Action Action Bryan Adams Ryan Adams Add N to (X) |
Adrenal Aerial Aerosmith Aerovons |
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De Macht der Gewoonte (2008, 42.12) **½/T |
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| Karavaan Diagonaal Hou Je Nog Van Mij Onder de Sprei Het Heeft Geen Nut De Macht der Gewoonte Straatlied Zonder het te Weten |
Laconiek Je Bent Niet Alleen Het is Voorbij Komen en Gaan |
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Isabelle A(dam) is a Belgian Flemish-language pop artist, who released her first album aged fourteen, in 1989. 2008's De Macht der Gewoonte is something like her eighth release, ignoring compilations, an acceptable and reasonably diverse but unexciting set of mature pop songs that, due as much to the language barrier as anything, are unlikely to travel well outside the Benelux region. Best track? Probably slow, mournful, brass-led closer Komen En Gaan, a genuinely mature piece of work.
Alex Callier plays (presumably real) Mellotron, with uncredited flutes on Straatlied and upfront, credited string and flute parts on Je Bent Niet Alleen, but it really isn't anything you haven't heard before. I've heard far, far worse albums than De Macht der Gewoonte, but far better ones, too. Good at what it does, I suppose.
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A Camp (2001, 55.31) ***/T½ |
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| Frequent Flyer I Can Buy You Angel of Sadness Such a Bad Comedown Song for the Leftovers Walking the Cow Hard as a Stone Algebra |
Silent Night The Same Old Song The Oddness of the Lord Rock'n'Roll Ghost The Bluest Eyes in Texas Elephant |
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A Camp (as in B Camp, C Camp etc.) are a Cardigans offshoot, or a Nina Persson solo project, depending on whom you believe. Much of the album was recorded in the late '90s with collaborator Niclas Frisk, then picked up again in 2001 after some Cardigans activity before being handed to Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, with the end result that it sounds rather like... Sparklehorse. This isn't actually a bad thing, in fact, it's probably better than sounding like the Cardigans, but it isn't actually as good as Sparklehorse themselves, although Persson's voice (dry, and high in the mix) carries the lesser material. Most of A Camp is as melancholy as you'd expect, to greater or lesser effect, although a few tracks break the mould, notably the rocking Hard As A Stone.
No less than five people are credited with various tape-replay instruments, with Persson, Frisk, her partner Nathan Larson and Clayton Doley on Mellotron, and Linkous on Chamberlin. It's incredibly difficult to tell what's what in the mix, to be honest, with Linkous playing God only knows what on Chamberlin on I Can Buy You, and faint 'Tron flute from Doley on Such A Bad Comedown. Larson and Frisk both play Mellotron on Song For The Leftovers, with a strings part played alongside real cello, and a few seconds of shaky flute from the other player, leaving a triple-whammy on Algebra from Doley, Persson and Linkous, with a 'Strawberry Fields'-style polyphonic flute part and strings, once again alongside real ones. Several tracks also feature Orchestron and/or Optigan, just to heavily confuse the issue, as if it needed confusing at this stage.
So, do you buy this album? Given that it's more Americana than Scandinavian pop, fans of Sparklehorse, Wilco et al. may go for it, but it isn't really worth it for two tracks of OK 'Tron flute.
See: Cardigans | Sparklehorse
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Minor Earth, Major Sky (2000, 58.38) ***/TT |
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| Minor Earth Major Sky Little Black Heart Velvet Summer Moved on The Sun Never Shone That Day To Let You Win The Company Man Thought That it Was You |
I Wish I Cared Barely Hanging on You'll Never Get Over Me I Won't Forget Her Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count |
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Analogue (2006, 54.29) **½/T½ |
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| Celice Don't Do Me Any Favours Cosy Prisons Analogue (All I Want) Birthright Holyground Over the Treetops Halfway Through the Tour |
The Fine Blue Line Keeper of the Flame Make it Soon White Dwarf The Summers of Our Youth |
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It may come as a surprise to you to learn that A-Ha are still going; best known for a handful of mid-'80s hits, including the immortal Take On Me, and vocalist Morten Harket's unearthly several-octave voice. Minor Earth, Major Sky (OK, that's actually Minor Earth | Major Sky, isn't it?) is actually only their sixth album in 15 years, after a seven-year break, and it's pretty much what you'd expect of an A-Ha album at the turn of the millennium; glossy, reasonably intelligent pop with enough contemporary touches to make them at least slightly relevant. Assuming it's real, I believe guitarist/songwriter Paul (originally Pål) Waaktaar-Savoy plays the (new MkVI) Mellotron, with strings across the board. It's so far in the background on the title track that I'm not entirely sure it's there, and the strings on Little Black Heart sound real, but there's much more upfront use later in the album, with the 'Tron highlight here being closer Mary Ellen Makes The Moment Count, with a MONSTROUS 'Tron string chordal part. Assuming it's real.
Six years on, and A-Ha dug the ol' 'Tron out again for the aptly-named Analogue. Or did they? Musically, it's... well, an A-Ha album, so it's pretty mainstream modern pop, albeit very musicianly pop, but there's nothing here that's likely to excite the more, er, 'sophisticated' listener very much. Lots of stuff that could be Mellotron, only three tracks I'd put any money on, with flutes and possibly strings on opener Celice, definite choirs on Don't Do Me Any Favours and flutes and background choirs on Halfway Through The Tour.
Anyway, not bad for mainstream pop, with some pretty decent 'Tron parts, although I'm not so convinced about the second one. Pick 'em up cheap. I did.
See: Magne Furuholmen | Morten Harket | Savoy
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Return to N.Y. (2004, 35.02) ****/TTTT |
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| Greasy Spoon Return to N.Y. Women to Control Your Mother's Faith Hollywood Time for the Muse Only the Stars Cold War of the Hearts |
World Traveller Human Clones Boys & Girls |
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When the mighty Änglagård played Germany in 2003, drummer Mattias Olsson sloped off at one point to pick up an Optigan he'd purchased. An Optigan, you ask? A toy instrument, effectively, made by the Mattel Corporation in the '70s, also used (briefly) by Steve Hackett. It operates by shining a light (the 'opti' part) through clear film discs imprinted with waveforms, containing infinitely-sustaining sounds and rhythms. Sound like something else you've heard of? Apart from the infinite sustain... It works on the same basis as the more professional Orchestron, as used by Kraftwerk, Rainbow etc. (which, funnily enough, is also in Mr. Olsson's keyboard arsenal), although it's far more low-fi. Yes, more low-fi. While its lack of sound quality almost certainly hampered its sales at the time, it's now part of its appeal, especially if you like weird, fucked-up sounds. Enter Mattias.
Mere months after his purchase, Mattias ran into AK von Malmborg, and a jam turned into a recording session which quickly turned into an album under the name AK-Momo, based largely on the Optigan's loungecore rhythms. In fact, the Orchestron and Mellotron are the only other instruments on Return to N.Y., giving the whole thing a scratchy, almost grimy feel. I expect the record has its antecedents, but I'll be fucked if I know what; imagine Tom Waits... No, don't. Um, I give up. Various other Olsson projects from the last few years? Anyway, the material is catchy in a weird kind of way, with some gorgeous melodies from the mouth of the lovely AK, although she sings endearingly flat in places; hey, who needs perfection anyway?
Mattias' Mellotron crops up on all but one track, as you can see. It certainly isn't always at the front of the mix, although Greasy Spoon and Only The Stars feature solo spots at their relative conclusions. Sounds? All the usual suspects (is that the string section on Greasy Spoon?), and there are probably several things I haven't yet identified; I'm sure I have an e-mail somewhere detailing such things, although it could've been lost in The Great E-Mail Crash Of Late 2003. Oh hang on... found it (so why not just delete that last sentence? Eh?). He uses (deep breath):
And for those who are interested, the Orchestron sounds are:
I'm sure I should giving this more than four Ts, but much of the 'Tron use isn't readily apparent as such, although that should really be in the album's favour, surely? Anyway, this is sort-of pop, but sort-of something else entirely. I've no idea who it might appeal to, but I urge you to at least listen to the clips on the Exergy site if nothing else, and make your own minds up. I like it, anyway.
See: Änglagård | Molesome | Nanook of the North
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Technicolor Dreams (2007, 45.51) **½/T½ |
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| Invisible Cornice Dance Mrs. Macabrette Letter to Myself Ease Off the Bit Powder on the Words Amnesy International Santa Barbara |
Bug Embrace Danish Cookie Blue Box Technicolor Dream B4 I Walk Away Panic Attack #3 |
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...A Toys Orchestra's fifth album, 2007's Technicolor Dreams, is a surprisingly appealing piece of contemporary pop/rock that somehow manages to avoid doing all the irritating things that a band from the English-speaking world would do. Better tracks include the synth-heavy Cornice Dance and the creepy Bug Embrace, although little here actively offends.
Fausto Ferrara plays Mellotron, with faint flutes on Cornice Dance, more obvious ones on Mrs. Macabrette, a major string part on Ease Off The Bit, background choirs on Santa Barbara and flutes on the title track. OK, not the most exciting album you're going to hear all year, but rather better than expected, possibly proving that continental European indie might be a rather more listenable proposition than that from Britain or the U.S.
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Ring Ring (1973, 35.57/45.03) ***/T |
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| Ring Ring (Bara du Slog en Signal) Another Town, Another Train Disillusion People Need Love I Saw it in the Mirror Nina, Pretty Ballerina Love Isn't Easy (But it Sure is Hard Enough) Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother |
He is Your Brother Ring Ring I am Just a Girl Rock'n'Roll Band [CD adds: She's My Kind of Girl Merry-Go-Round Santa Rosa] |
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Waterloo (1974, 38.10) ***/TT½ |
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| Waterloo (Swedish version) Sitting in the Palmtree King Kong Song Hasta Mañana My Mama Said Dance (While the Music Still Goes on) Honey, Honey Watch Out |
What About Livingstone Gonna Sing You My Lovesong Suzy-Hang-Around Waterloo [CD adds: Ring Ring (single remix) Honey, Honey (Swedish version)] |
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It's weird, thirty years on, to think that Abba (or ABBA) were only one of several projects with which the various members were involved at the time, with no foreknowledge of which, if any, would take off. Their first album, Ring Ring, took a year to record, finally appearing in '73, and was an instant hit in their native Sweden, although the rest of the world took another year to catch the bug. The tracklisting above is the original Swedish one, plus the CD issue's bonus tracks; the international version shifts everything around, losing the Swedish-language title track and adding a b-side, She's My Kind Of Girl. It has to be said that, the excellent title track aside, Ring Ring shows little of the worldbeating talent that was soon to emerge; most of the songs are schmaltzy, lightweight pop, with none of the melodic and harmonic twists that made the best of their later material so compelling.
Benny Andersson is credited with 'piano and Mellotron', which can be read as 'largely piano'; in fact, Another Town, Another Train is the only apparent 'Tron track (the occasional strings on the album appear to be real), with an upfront polyphonic flute melody. It's interesting to note that not every track has an Agnetha/Frida vocal; several tracks have either Benny or Björn singing (sorry, don't know which), as they obviously hadn't yet worked out the band's other chief selling point, besides their songwriting.
Abba's international breakthrough came, of course, with their 1974 Eurovision winner, the fabulous Waterloo. You may scoff; listen to it again, and hear how the vocal and piano melodies twist round each other in the bridge, and the inspired way the descending figure is halved before the last chorus. Much of the rest of Waterloo (original Swedish tracklisting here, again) is nearly as unconvincing as the bulk of their debut (King Kong Song, anyone?), although there are a few better tracks. On the Mellotron front, Andersson sticks string arrangements onto three tracks, with the mock-calypso Sitting In The Palmtree being the best 'Tron part, and Gonna Sing You My Lovesong the best actual song.
So; two formative albums from one of the '70s major pop outfits, with all the best tracks available on compilations. The Mellotron use is nothing special, although Another Town, Another Train is quite nice, with the Waterloo tracks being OK, but inessential. I've had people tell me they can hear the 'Tron on later Abba efforts, particularly tracks from their third album, ABBA, but after listening closely, the jury's still out. Incidentally, I know Elvis Costello's Oliver's Army nicks the piano riff from Dancing Queen, but I'd put money on the chorus coming directly from Dance (While The Music Still Goes On), too.
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Snowboy (1997, 45.16) **½/T½ |
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| Not Emotional Helicopter Later Maybe Lydia So Be it All Or Nothing Get Up (Time is a Thief) Our Day's Coming |
Visions of Love Sailor Leave Her for You A Day Without Light Snowboy |
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Morten Abel (Knutsen) found fame with Mods and The September When, releasing his solo debut, Snowboy, in 1997. It's a pretty mainstream pop/rock affair, to be honest, Abel's rather irritating voice not helping matters overly, along with material like infuriating opener Not Emotional, Get Up (Time Is A Thief) and the trance-lite A Day Without Light. In fairness, it's not all bad, the more acoustic tracks (notably Later Maybe and So Be It) alleviating matters, while the best thing here is the closing title track, a short, instrumental, acoustic guitar piece that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the record.
Producer Glenn Rosenstein plays Mellotron and Chamberlin, with the occasional flute note and a brass part on Helicopter, an upfront flute part opening All Or Nothing, with strings later on, strings on Get Up (Time Is A Thief) and a flute line on A Day Without Light. I really can't recommend this on musical grounds, although it's nice to hear both tape-replay 'boards on one album, even when they're rarely upfront.
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In Search of Ancient Gods (1976, 51.04) ****/TT |
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| Earthbound Part 2: Future Past Moon City Miracles of the Gods Part 2: El Enladrillado Part 3: The Legend of Santa Cruz Part 4: Pyramids of Teotihuacan Part 5: Temple of the Inscriptions |
The Gold of the Gods Toktela Chariots of the Gods Return to the Stars |
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I'm told (thanks, Clive) that In Search of Ancient Gods, die-cut sleeve and all, was essentially a vanity project from the then-16 year old (!) Paul Fishman, bankrolled by his wealthy businessman father, or so the music press said at the time. The album is subtitled 'An Experience in Sound and Music Based on the Books of Erich von Däniken', and contains a booklet outlining von Däniken's now somewhat discredited theories (the sort of stuff I believed implicitly when I was 12, and had grown out of by, ooh, 13, I reckon). The album's entirely instrumental, with one lengthy piece taking up the bulk of side one; basically 'melodic symphonic/electronic', for want of a better phrase, although they mix'n'match styles pretty well, with closer Return To The Stars even having something of a funk vibe about it.
There's only a little Mellotron to be heard, and I'm not even entirely sure I've got the right parts of Miracles Of The Gods (note, by the way, their odd habit of titling a track, then titling its successor 'part 2', 'part 3' etc.), but I think the first 'Tron you hear (strings and flutes) is on Miracles Of The Gods itself. The main use, though, is on Part 5: Temple Of The Inscriptions, with some nice flute and strings work from Fishman himself, with a lengthy buildup to a superb crescendo at the end of the track.
Amusing aside: Bill Bruford plays on the album, apparently hired by Fishman's father to give the album some measure of credibility, but was slated for his involvement. Fishman was reported at the time as starting work on a follow-up, but it never happened. Anyway; a good album, without being great. Mostly very mellow, but a few powerful moments thrown in to keep you on your toes, and some nice, if sparingly used Mellotron. Buy if you don't have to pay too much.
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Mass-Media Stars (1974, 35.22) ****/TTTCosmic Mind AffairBar Gazing Mass-Media Stars Opening Act Professor Coffee Song |
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Acqua Fragile's second release, Mass-Media Stars, is an excellent Italian progressive album, although it doesn't quite reach the heights of PFM (who vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti subsequently joined), Banco or the best New Trolls work, among others. Where it does win out is in the quality of the songwriting; much of the material is highly memorable, with melody to the fore. Highlights include the title track and Opening Act, but there isn't really a bad track on the album.
Maurizio Mori's Mellotron work is fairly extensive, though strangely unexciting; he uses the strings as a useful backdrop sound, without ever doing anything particularly vibrant with them, although Cosmic Mind Affair, for one, is smothered in the thing. The end result is a good album, with a fair bit of 'Tron use, which I find it difficult to recommend as a Mellotron Album. It is, however, a good album in its own right, so I'll recommend on those grounds. By the way, their self-titled debut (***) is a really quite ordinary folk-influenced album, so don't go buying it expecting more of the same.
See: PFM
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Orbitals (2003, 56.37) **½/½ |
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| Careless Ones (Intro) Sun Rises Down Sweat Wash Away (Some Desert Night) Don't Think Just Move Motive Perfect Big Karma Now |
Distance Orbitals On That Day Slow Down Take the Pain |
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Acroma were one of those mid-American bands who take a bit from here and a bit from there to synthesize their unbelievably homogeneous sound, in this case, a lot like Tool side-project A Perfect Circle. For those none the wiser, this means gutless heavy rock with unmemorable riffs and a largish dose of U2, particularly in the vocal department. Sound like your bag? Thought not. Orbitals is their only album, and has few genuinely positive qualities. I mean, it does what it does perfectly well, but why do it at all? There's no obvious passion in this album; it sounds like it was recorded to try to sell as many copies as possible, in which it failed dismally, proving that there's no point in trying to sound commercial; you either are or you aren't. Mind you, tell that to Def Leppard or the hideous Bon Jovi.
Producer Sylvia Massy, under the name Sylvia Massy Shivy, adds 'Mellotron strings' in places, with occasional strings on Don't Think Just Move, and although it could be hidden away in one or two other places, that's probably your lot. So; I really wouldn't bother, for either music or Mellotron. No, really.
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Don't Cut Your Fabric to This Year's Fashion (2004, 50.19) **/T |
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| This Year's Fashion Drug Like Photograph Basic Tiny Fragments Bleed Instructions on Building a Model Airplane A Simple Question Eighth Grade Summer Romance |
Lets Never Go to Sleep Broken Four-piece Jigsaw Puzzle Don't Cut Your Fabric The Short Weekend Begins With Longing |
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Action Action are almost as wanky as their name suggests; a hint of mod, more than a hint of early-'80s new wave/synthpop, a huge fucking hint of current indie. Is this stuff currently popular? Rest assured, it won't be for long. The trouble with being fashionable is how quickly you become unfashionable, isn't it? Some of the irritatingly- (and ironically-)titled Don't Cut Your Fabric to This Year's Fashion rocks more than other parts, but the only thing that really caught my attention was some of the synth sounds, not least the great portamento part that opens the album. Songs are shit, though.
Mellotron on two tracks, from Mark Thomas Kluepfel, with a few seconds of strings on Instructions On Building A Model Airplane and a more noticeable flute part on Eighth Grade Summer Romance, but it's hardly enough to be worth bothering with, either for the music or the 'Tron. A waste of time.
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On a Day Like Today (1999, 59.20) **/½ |
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| How Do Ya Feel Tonight C'mon C'mon C'mon Getaway On a Day Like Today Fearless I'm a Liar Cloud Number Nine When You're Gone |
Inside Out If I Had You Before the Night is Over I Don't Wanna Live Forever Where Angels Fear to Tread Lie to Me Cloud Number Nine (Chicane Mix) |
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Well, I'm not quite sure what else I expected of a Bryan Adams album, but On a Day Like Today is exactly the sort of blandola AOR mush with the usual touch of 'rootsiness' we've come to expect from the Golden Pen Of Bryan. Actually, said Golden Pen seem to've become somewhat tarnished over the last decade or so, with no major hit since that utterly execrable ballad stuck on the closing credits of that terrible Robin Hood film for NO REASON WHATSOEVER. Talking of which, you must all know the story about the couple about to get married who ask the elderly organist to play 'the Robin Hood song'? As the bride walks in, up he strikes, with the tune to the '50s TV series: 'Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen...' I really want that one to be true.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand, namely telling you more reasons why you shouldn't buy this album. Given this site's standard subject matter, there is next to no bloody Mellotron to be heard, with just a background string part on opener How Do Ya Feel Tonight from Bryan himself. You know, you've gotta hand it to that Adams chap - he does it all: rockers, ballads, fast ones, slow ones... He even manages the occasional minor key. Not often, mind... And why the fuck (look, he's made me swear now) do the first two tracks sounds like bloody Oasis?
Although they're pretty naff, his '80s hits like Summer of 69 (not about the year, apparently - see, he does rebellion as well!) and Run To You at least had decent tunes, despite being fairly irritating. Nothing here even has the saving grace of being the slightest bit memorable, and the Mellotron's almost nonexistent. Just say no, kids.
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Heartbreaker (2000, 51.57) ***½/T½ |
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| (Argument With David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey) To Be Young (is to Be Sad, is to Be High) My Winding Wheel AMY Oh My Sweet Carolina Bartering Lines Call Me on Your Way Back Home |
Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) Come Pick Me Up To Be the One Why Do They Leave? Shakedown on 9th Street Don't Ask for the Water In My Time of Need Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st) |
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Gold (2001, 71.25/91.18) ***/T½ |
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| New York, New York Firecracker Answering Bell La Cienega Just Smiled The Rescue Blues Somehow, Someday When the Stars Go Blue Nobody Girl |
Sylvia Plath Enemy Fire Gonna Make You Love Me Wild Flowers Harder Now That it's Over Touch, Feel and Lose Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd |
[Some copies include 'Side 4' EP: Rosalie Come & Go The Fools We Are as Men The Bar is a Beautiful Place Sweet Black Magic Cannonball Days] |
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29 (2005, 48.54) ***½/T29Strawberry Wine Nightbirds Blue Sky Blues Carolina Rain Starlite Diner The Sadness Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part Voices |
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After leaving the seminal Whiskeytown, Ryan Adams (amusingly sometimes confused with Bryan) launched his solo career in 2000 with Heartbreaker. Call it what you will; alt.country, country-rock, Americana, it's all country- and folk-influenced rock to a greater or lesser degree, for better or worse. Actually, it's not a bad album at all, with considerable input from Nashville non-mainstream regulars Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, although Adams seems a little over-keen on trading on his image as pin-up boy of the 'movement', such as it is. The material is a bit variable, to be honest, although different online reviewers find it impossible to agree, with a song like AMY being both loved and hated. For myself, the Emmylou Harris collaboration Oh My Sweet Carolina is a highlight, as is My Winding Wheel, although some of the tracks are just a little too...ordinary to cut it.
Anyway, Chamberlin from Ethan Johns and Pat Sansone, with flutes and strings on AMY, and strings on Oh My Sweet Carolina and (presumably) Call Me On Your Way Back Home, with a part that could be mistaken for real strings, although I don't believe there are any on the album. Bottom marks, incidentally, for the cover: anyone who tries to make smoking look 'cool' is a dickhead, in my opinion - it isn't, and I'm sick of other people inflicting their addiction on me. Rant over. For now.
Adams followed up a year later with Gold, which appears to have come out in several different editions with various bonus tracks. The most immediately noticeable thing about the album is how much more mainstream it is, with far more band instrumentation on most tracks, although there are still plenty of folk/country touches, not least the banjo on Answering Bell. Compared to its predecessor, the album is way too long, too; this style of music really doesn't lend itself to an hour-plus of listening. Once upon a time, this would've been a double album; most bands only released one per career, if that. What happened to self-censorship or editing? I suspect being on Mercury has a lot to do with it. Anyway, best track? Possibly the near-ten minutes of Nobody Girl, with touches of Neil Young, particularly on the guitar front, or maybe the rockier Enemy Fire.
Just Ethan Johns on Chamby this time round, with strings on all highlighted tracks. Real strings on Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd and Sylvia Plath, by the way; nice to see someone writing about something worthwhile, for once... Incidentally, the extra tracks on the 'Side 4' EP included with some versions hark back to Heartbreaker in many ways, being more 'downhome' and folkier, particularly the excellent The Fools We Are As Men, though no Chamby input this time round.
Several years on and Adams used Ethan Johns again on 2005's 29, making for another Chamby album. The record itself is surprisingly downbeat, most tracks consisting of vocal and acoustic only, with sparse extra instrumentation where appropriate. Johns plays Chamby on two tracks, with strings on Nightbirds and muted brass on The Sadness, by the sound of it, although it's not what you'd call the most major use ever.
So; three albums of Americana, one more commercial and mainstream than the others, but all vastly preferable to most of the crud that clogs up our airwaves, which has to be applauded. I personally prefer Heartbreaker and 29 to Gold, but that's personal taste for you. Top marks for choice of instrumental backing, incidentally, with no digital guff anywhere, and plenty of Hammond and Wurly piano, along with the Chamberlin.
See: Whiskeytown
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Avant Hard (1999, 56.21) ***/TTT |
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| Barry 7's Contraption Robot New York Skills Steve's Going to Teach Himself Who's Boss Fyuz Buckminster Fuller Revenge of the Black Regent |
Metal Fingers in My Body Ann's Eveready Equestrian Oh Yeah, Oh No Machine is Bored With Love |
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Add Insult to Injury (2000, 60.28) ***/TT½ |
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| Adding N to X Brothel Charge You Must Create Kingdom of Shades Monster Bobby Poke 'er 'ole Plug Me in Hit for Cheese |
MDMH (Miami Dust Mite Harvest) BP Perino Incinerator No 1 The Regent is Dead Violent Breath |
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Loud Like Nature (2002, 51.03) ***/TT |
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| Total All Out Water Electric Village Sheez Mine Invasion of the Polaroid People Party Bag Quantum Leap Pink Light |
Up the Punks Take Me to Your Leader (Make Me Really Happy) Lick a Battery (Tongues Across the Terminals) . - U Baby Large Number All Night Lazy |
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Add N to (X) were one of Britain's chief electronica exponents, apparently specialising in using analogue equipment (hurrah!) to construct their bizarre sound sculptures whilst crapping from a great height onto the fey likes of Stereolab and their ilk. Whatever an 'ilk' actually is. I mean, do you ever hear the word used in any other context? They were also quite keen on writing about the human/machine interface, specifically sexually, which has to be a good thing. Er... Anyway, 1999's Avant Hard was their third album, apparently fairly typical of their oeuvre, skipping between vaguely danceable tracks (Skills, with its '60s-ish feel, Metal Fingers In My Body) and their more experimental side (most of the rest) with ease.
I've seen references to Mellotron sample use, but the album's 'Tron use sounds too skronky to be samples in several places (it turns out they bought Pallas' old Novatron). It is possible that Ann Shenton (I believe) sampled herself playing phrases on the machine which were then looped to death, but the actual sounds are too wobbly and uncertain to be regular samples. Anyway, we have a multiply-repeating string part on opener Barry 7's Contraption, with solo strings opening Revenge Of The Black Regent (good titles, this lot), plus cellos and choir. More strings and choir in Ann's Eveready Equestrian and flutes and cellos in Oh Yeah, Oh No, although I'm not at all sure what opens Machine Is Bored With Love. Its key-click suggests a Mellotron, but I haven't heard anything like it before. [Note: Mattias Puttonen tells me it's the boys choir]. Oh, and spot the Egg sample...
The following year's Add Insult to Injury is maybe an infinitesimal amount nearer the mainstream, but not so's you'd actually notice. More weird synth shit and more, well, weird synth shit, I suppose. Three 'Tron players this time round: Shenton, Barry 7 and Steve Claydon, although it's only audible on three tracks. One each? Kingdom Of Shades opens with 'Tron cellos, jerky choir notes and flutes entering the fray soon after, plus choirs, flutes, cellos and strings on closer The Regent Is Dead. Just when you thought it was all over, after a three-minute silence (removed from the timing above), a hidden track, Violent Breath, kicks in, all 'Tron flutes and clanking somethings, which is a nice bonus.
By Add N's swansong, 2002's Loud Like Nature, vocals (of a sort) were starting to make their presence felt a little more, and despite it still being a pretty odd album, it's rather less odd than its predecessors, which may've precipitated their split, or may not have. Mellotron (Shenton again?), with distant choirs throughout Quantum Leap, an upfront string part on Pink Light, and having finally started using the damn' thing, it seems there's no stopping her/them, with flutes, cellos and strings on Up The Punks, at which point it suddenly drops out.
So; three very individualistic albums, three lots of genuine Mellotron use, though be warned: not for the faint-hearted, or those who like things on the gentler side. Incidentally, after the split, Shenton sold their Novatron on to I Monster.
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Hollow Words EP (1996, 15.06) **½/TTHollow WordsTurn Away Byronic Man Radio Music Intermission |
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Adrenal were, going by their 1996 EP Hollow Words, a fairly typical Brit-indie act of the time, i.e. a bit post-Britpop while looking for the next set of coattails to ride. Harsh? Probably, but it's a pretty average piece of work, to be honest, sounding like a thousand other bands you could see in Camden's pubs'n'clubs every night at the time, with the notable exception of its last track, Radio Music Intermission, listed as "An instrumental tribute to Kraftwerk's Radioactivity-period", making it the most interesting thing here by a country mile.
Duncan Goddard of Radio Massacre International plays his own Mellotron on the EP, with faint strings on Turn Away and string section and choir on Radio Music Intermission. I don't know how many tape frames he owned at the time (more than me, though), but it's possible there's some other stuff going on here, too. Anyway, not a very exciting effort, but one decent 'Tron track.
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In the Middle of the Night (1978, 37.30) ***/TT½HarmonyIn the Middle of the Night Easy Love All Right If Only I Were Older Indispensable Thomas Hensible Race the Sun You've Got a Way Gypsy Face |
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Aerial began as a Beatles tribute band, Liverpool, before branching out in order to record their own material. Signed to Anthem (Max Webster, Rush in Canada), they released two albums, debuting with 1978's In the Middle of the Night. It neatly straddles the powerpop, AOR and pomp divides, opener Harmony actually utilising the term 'Merseybeat' in its lyrics, Easy Love (a hit) being straightforward late '70s pop/rock, while the stomping Indispensable Thomas Hensible is an early example of a little-known phenomenon, Canadian Bands Using Silly Names In Song Lyrics, repeated by Saga the same year with Ellery Sneed on their debut's The Perfectionist and Nightwinds from the following year, with The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (admittedly from the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story).
Keys man Malcolm Buchanan is credited with Mellotron, with flutes, background strings and choir on Harmony, upfront strings on the title track and Easy Love, background choirs on Race The Sun and strings and choirs on the proggy You've Got A Way, all to reasonable effect. Although this came out on CD as early as 1994, paired with its (Mellotron-free?) successor, 1980's Maneuvers, I'd be surprised if that version's still in print, sadly. Hardcore proggers will probably not be as interested in this as they might, but pomp fans really should make the effort to track a copy down. As for the Mellotron, while it's used fairly extensively, it probably isn't enough to make it worth shelling out for, but enough to be worth hearing.
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Aerosmith (1973, 36.01) ***½/TTMake itSomebody Dream on One Way Street Mama Kin Write Me Movin' Out Walkin' the Dog |
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Permanent Vacation (1987, 51.46) ***½/TT |
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| Heart's Done Time Magic Touch Rag Doll Simoriah Dude (Looks Like a Lady) St. John Hangman Jury Girl Keeps Coming Apart | Angel Permanent Vacation I'm Down The Movie |
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Get a Grip (1993, 65.38) ***/½ |
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| Intro Eat the Rich Get a Grip Fever Livin' on the Edge Flesh Walk on Down Shut Up and Dance |
Cryin' Gotta Love it Crazy Line Up Can't Stop Messin' Amazing Boogie Man |
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Aerosmith probably don't need much introduction, especially to US readers; the quintessential American hard rock/rock'n'roll outfit from the '70s who reinvented themselves in the '80s by bringing in outside writers to become by far and away the best of the 'big hair' metal bands, although it could be said that they transcended the genre completely.
They coalesced around 1970 from various other Boston-area bands, and it only took them a couple of years to get signed, releasing their eponymous debut with its astoundingly cheapo sleeve in '73, consisting (like so many bands) of the best of their live set. Aerosmith contains several numbers played regularly by the band till this day, including the best ballad they'll ever write, Dream On. Steven Tyler's impassioned vocal belies his years, and Joe Perry's blues-influenced guitar style comes into its own, creating a song that has sadly become a bit of a cliché, particularly on US 'classic rock' radio, where I believe it's only slightly less ubiquitous than Stairway To Heaven. One of the best things about the song is the Mellotron; beautifully played (by Tyler, uncredited) strings and flutes that lift the song to another level. In their tell-all autobiography of a few years ago, 'Walk This Way', Tyler had this to say about it:
| "It came with a standard set of tapes that included brass, flute, violins, cello, and an eight-voice choir. By overdubbing you had a cheesy-sounding orchestra at your fingertips. "So I put the string section on Dream On sitting at this Mellotron while a friend of mine kept laying out lines of crystal THC that I was snorting while I was playing. That's my memory of the Mellotron, except that we used it for the flute of Dream On too". |
Beat that for Mellotron drug stories... Anyway, a good album, if otherwise pretty basic, and some great 'Tron. So what is 'crystal THC' anyway?
It took Aerosmith another fourteen years to use a Mellotron again, apparently due to producer Bruce Fairbairn's association with Canadians Strange Advance's Drew Arnott, a 'Tron owner. Permanent Vacation was the second album recorded by the reformed original lineup, and the one to break the band wide open all over again, a position they've managed to sustain to this day. There's no denying its commerciality; Dude (Looks Like A Lady) was on constant rotation on MTV throughout '87, and the album sold in its millions. However, it's still recognisably the same band who recorded Aerosmith a lifetime earlier; the acoustic swamp blues of Hangman Jury, the stomping opener Heart's Done Time. Basically, Aerosmith took on the young guns and beat them at their own game, while royally taking the piss at the same time (see: Dude). Much of the album is a little unlistenable these days though, at least to my ears, and the only thing that saves the big ballad Angel is the major 'Tron string arrangement, but closing instrumental The Movie is an excellent little track, improved further by its Mellotronic content.
Now, I was convinced that was it for Aerosmith's Mellotron usage. Nothing on '89's excellent Pump (****), and although I've seen mentions of 'Tron use on their belated follow-up, '93's Get a Grip, I'd discounted them until it was very specifically pointed out to me. It's another typical Aerosmith album, to be honest, although it outstays its welcome a little; this is music made for 40-minute bursts, tops. Plenty of good tracks, though little of the quality of their '70s material; Eat The Rich, Livin' On The Edge and Flesh would all easily make a 'best of their later stuff' compilation, and the short instrumental Boogie Man is so much better than the title suggests, but don't go expecting Rocks pt 2, OK? Next to no 'Tron, actually, with nothing more than a near-inaudible polyphonic flute part near the beginning of Cryin'. No wonder I didn't spot it earlier.
So, you probably know what the band sound like; there's some good Mellotron bits on each album, but none of them are worth buying for that alone, so I'd only invest if you like Aerosmith anyway.
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Resurrection (2003, recorded 1969, 46.23) ***/T |
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| World of You Resurrection Say Georgia With Her Quotes and Photos Words From a Song Bessy Goodheart Something of Yours |
She's Not Dead The Years Everything's Alright The Children The Train Song for Jane Here World of You (demo) |
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The Aerovons were one of those one-in-a-million bands who actually manage to realise their dreams, if only briefly. Forming in St Louis in 1966 while still all extremely young, they got themselves signed to EMI, and ended up recording at Abbey Road in the Beatles' downtime, even managing to piss Lennon off by messing around on the bed he'd had installed at Yoko's instigation. Actually, I'd have paid good money to've seen John lay into them; I believe the quote was something like "Oi, wack - what th'fuck d'ya think you're doing?" Anyway, after recording an album's-worth of material and having a couple of non-selling singles released on Parlophone, the band were dropped and split up.
The music? Well, despite their origins, the Aerovons would've easily passed for a second-division British psych/pop outfit, with Bessy Goodheart sounding like a Sgt. Pepper outtake, and leader Tom Hartman sounding uncannily like McCartney on Something Of Yours. While Resurrection, finally released in 2003, shows considerable talent, it also reveals the band to be, essentially, Beatles imitators, although it has to be said they were pretty damn' good at it. They occasionally shifted into sounding like someone else, with Words From A Song copping the Bee Gees something rotten, but overall, its the Beatles all the way (what have they ripped off on The Children?).
Mellotron? Well, the strings on opener World Of You are real, but I'd swear blind that's a high, single-note 'Tron line on Words From A Song, with more of the same on The Train, a single added to the end of the originally-proposed album sequence. There are also a couple of special-FX inserts that could be 'Tron, but they're not the sounds I've heard before.
Anyway, although it's not worth it for the 'Tron, Resurrection is worth the effort for late-'60s completists and Beatles nuts, although it's possibly too derivative for the more casual listener.
