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The Lottery EP (2006, 23.05) **½/½I've Got MoreFall When I See You Seconds Until Midnight If You Go Away |
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Ambulette were one of Denali frontwoman Maura Davis' projects, who managed just the one release, 2006's The Lottery EP before splitting up. It's pretty typical female-fronted US indie, to be honest, occasionally cranking up the volume, but defaulting to dreary miserablism at the first opportunity. Seconds Until Midnight is probably the most energetic track, but that's not a recommendation as such, merely a comment.
Guitarist Ryan Rapsys and bassist Matt Clark are both credited with Mellotron, but it's not exactly overused, assuming it's even real, with some not wildly Mellotronic-sounding strings on Seconds Until Midnight, while the mooted 'Tron on Fall seems to be sustained guitar. So; rather overwrought indie, little 'Tron, don't bother.
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Round Amen Corner (1968, 38.35/50.11) ***/T |
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| Bend Me, Shape Me Judge Rumpel Crassila Love Me Tender Our Love (is in the Pocket) Something You Got I am an Angel Expressway to Your Heart Good Time Let the Good Times Roll - Feel So Good |
Can't Get Used to Losing You Lost and Found Gin House Blues Nema I Know Satisnek the Job's Worth The World of Broken Hearts I Don't Want to Discuss it - Amen |
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Amen Corner, from Cardiff, are known for launching Andy Fairweather Low's career, although the band also spawned organist Derek "Blue" Weaver (Strawbs, Bee Gees) and a couple of members of the short-lived Judas Jump. Coming from a dancehall background (unusually for a pop act, they had a brass section), it should come as no surprise that their debut, 1968's Round Amen Corner, is full of spirited soul and R & B numbers, alongside pop (opener and major hit Bend Me, Shape Me), ballads (an iffy version of Love Me Tender) and, er, novelty calypso (Judge Rumpel Crassila). Their first hit, Gin House Blues, is probably the best thing here, at least from the original album, although one of the CD's bonus tracks (italicised above), Nema, isn't bad either.
Weaver doubled on Mellotron on a few tracks (thanks for that, Blue), with strings on Love Me Tender and sustained string notes and something else (flutes?) played rather oddly on I Am An Angel, although that would appear to be it. While not exactly essential, the expanded Round Amen Corner's a good listen for those interested in late '60s British rock and pop, who may've dismissed the band as too lightweight, although its relatively low Mellotron usage makes it not especially worthwhile on that front.
Official 'New Amen Corner' site
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Live (1977, 46.23) **½/T |
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| Tin Man Muskrat Love I Need You Old Man Took Daisy Jane Company Hollywood Sergeant Darkness |
Amber Cascades To Each His Own Another Try Ventura Highway Sister Golden Hair A Horse With No Name |
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There can't be many people of a certain age in the Western world who haven't heard America's A Horse With No Name; CSN-lite, but, in fairness, an evocative song that's stood the test of time. Try to find someone outside their home country who knows anything else by them and you could be on a hiding to nothing, though, probably because, going by the contents of their 1977 live album, er, Live, it's their most appealing song. It's not that the rest of their oeuvre is actually bad, just terribly, borderline-MOR bland, major US hits such as Muskrat Love, Tin Man and Ventura Highway leaving next to no impression.
The trio had just become a duo when the album was recorded, Dan Peek having left for pastures new, leaving songwriters Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (there, bet you didn't even know their names) to tackle the group's three-part harmonies as well as they could. Unfortunately (and probably because of the live recording), they chose to do a big production number, rather pointlessly getting the whole thing produced by their regular producer, the even-then-legendary George Martin. Some of the material survives the treatment (they actually play several songs just as a duo), but The Hit is mangled by the addition of not only strings, but brass and extraneous backing vocals. Horrible.
Although the strings on a couple of tracks are real, we're definitely hearing a Mellotron on Sergeant Darkness and Amber Cascades; given that they were one man down, it's almost certainly played by sax/extra keys man Jimmy Calire, to reasonable effect. But why use a Mellotron when you have real strings? Alternatively, why use real strings when you have a Mellotron? Mystifying. Anyway, America fans probably have this already and the rest of you don't need it; if you want to hear the original A Horse With No Name, find it on YouTube.
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American Babies (2008, 43.41) ***/½ |
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| Invite Your Friends Baby, Don't Cry Swimming at Night American Babies Broken English Brooklyn Bridge One for the Road Floating |
Rocker Flowers Don't Grow in the Moonlight Never Be Loved Like This Again |
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American Babies are a Philadelphia-based Americana outfit, led by Tom Hamilton, who has nothing to do with any other Tom Hamilton you might know. Musically, the bulk of their eponymous debut sounds as much like '65 Dylan as anything else (Invite Your Friends, Brooklyn Bridge), although it has its quieter tracks, notably haunted closer Never Be Loved Like This Again.
Stewart Myers plays Mellotron and Chamberlin, with (Chamby?) strings on Swimming At Night, although I'll be buggered if I can hear where else they might be used; even the album's vibes are real. Anyway, American Babies is a decent album without startling the listener in any way; I bet this lot are better live. Hardly any obvious tape-replay, but worth hearing for Dylan fans.
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Angel Eyes [a.k.a. American Gypsy] (1974, 39.27) ***½/0 |
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| Inside Out 10,000 Miles Ooh Why Not Golden Ring Lady Eleanor Angel Eyes While it's Cold Outside Stuck on You |
Let Your Life Lead By Love Tribute to American Gypsy |
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The multi-racial American Gypsy appear to have been a US band based in the Netherlands, for some reason. Their stock-in-trade was soul/funk and to my untrained ear they seem to do it pretty well, although I'd be the first to admit that this really doesn't float my boat that much. What may possibly be their debut, despite having been together for over a decade, 1974's Angel Eyes, was reissued the following year as American Gypsy. Opening with an orchestral flourish, the album features quite unusual songwriting for the genre, with most un-dancelike changes in tempo and some interesting guitar work; maybe I'm just judging it by modern standards, and not the more 'progressive' ones of the day. Their cover of Lindisfarne's Lady Eleanor is particularly interesting, showing what can be done with source material from another genre, while the African percussion on Angel Eyes combines surprisingly well with the period string arrangement. Most interesting of all, however, is Tribute To American Gypsy, with a synth part and chord changes straight out of contemporaneous Genesis, to the point where I'd put money on American Gypsy using the same synth, an ARP Pro-Soloist.
However... bassist Joe Skeete's credited Mellotron use is basically inaudible. There are several parts scattered throughout the album which may be Mellotronic, especially in Tribute To American Gypsy, but with a regular orchestra and brass section in attendance, it's almost impossible to tell. So; if mid-'70s soul is your bag, this is a good album, with more 'oomph' (and invention) than much of the period's music, although if you're after an unusual Mellotron experience, or indeed, any at all, forget it.
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Mercury (1993, 49.43) ****/TT |
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| Gratitude Walks If I Had a Hammer Challenger I've Been a Mess Hollywood 4-5-92 What Godzilla Said to God When His Name Wasn't Found in the Book of Life Keep Me Around |
Dallas, Airports, Bodybags Apology for an Accident Over and Done Johnny Mathis' Feet The Hopes and Dreams of Heaven's 10,000 Whores More Hopes and Dreams Will You Find Me? |
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Love Songs for Patriots (2004, 61.09) ****/T½ |
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| Ladies and Gentlemen Another Morning Patriot's Heart Love is Job to Do Only Love Can Set You Free Mantovani the Mind Reader Home |
Myopic Books America Loves the Minstrel Show The Horseshoe Wreath in Bloom Song of the Rats Leaving the Sinking Ship The Devil Needs You |
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American Music Club's sixth release, 1993's Mercury, is one of those albums that crops up every now and again, when a meddling record company tries to find out why the goose lays the golden eggs; they don't say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" for nothing, and, at least to an extent, this album proves it. Virgin decided to bring in über-producer Mitchell Froom, of recent Crowded House production fame, in the mistaken belief that getting in a 'name' would make superstars of their reluctant signings. What actually happened was that Froom grossly over-produced the record, making a nightmare of the procedure for all involved, not least main man Mark Eitzel. It has to be said that, as someone new to them, it doesn't actually sound that bad, but I'm told that most of their subtlety is lost, to the point where it barely sounds like the same band.
One thing is certain, though; without Froom's involvement, I wouldn't be reviewing this at all. His fascination with the Chamberlin was probably around its peak in the early '90s, although as is so often the case with the instrument (as against the Mellotron), it's difficult to spot when it's being used here, so apologies for any mistakes in the above listing. I think I can hear flutes on I've Been A Mess, but the strings on Johnny Mathis' Feet and Will You Find Me? are quite overt, making me wonder why I couldn't identify them on my initial hearing, a few years ago. So; fans will tell you the songs are great, but the album sounds awful. I find it quite difficult to comment, as I found it a good listen, with a couple of nice Chamby tracks, but that's rather irrelevant to the album's actual quality, of course.
After a final album for Virgin, '94's San Francisco, American Music Club split up, only reforming in 2003, releasing Love Songs for Patriots the following year. Highlights include the wonderfully sardonic Patriot's Heart, mournful acoustic ballad Song Of The Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship and epic closer The Devil Needs You, but there isn't a bad track here, to be honest. One notable musical change in the intervening decade has been the rise in popularity of tape-replay instruments again, so it's not entirely surprising that Marc Capelle plays Mellotron and Chamberlin on the album, not to mention both Optigan and Orchestron, although there's surprisingly little (obvious) tape-replay on show. Quite a major ('Tron?) string part on Patriot's Heart, with a more background one on Home, but unless the rhythms on Mantovani The Mind Reader are Chamby (I suspect one of the optical devices myself), that would appear to be it.
So; two good, albeit rather different albums, with the latter possibly improving on the former, at least from an outsider's perspective. Passable 'Tron/Chamby on both albums, but not really worth buying either on that account.
See: Mark Eitzel
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Branded Bad (1974, 45.27) ***½/T |
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| Sweet Changes Doctor Abreaction Low Down, Need You Badly Crooked is Quicker Pauline Lock and Chain Take Me Lord Louie (I've Been Arrested) |
Pennywall Slidin' Home |
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Tear Gas (1975, 40.37/53.01) ****/TTT½ |
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| Back Like Me Part 1 Part 2 Charon Serious Blue Boy (Sail on) Tear Gas I Saw a Soldier The War Lover Franki and the Midget |
[CD adds: My Mama Didn't Raise No Fool Leroy Diminished] |
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Isn't it funny how the same names keep cropping up time and time again? Keyboard player/vocalist Mark Mangold is familiar to me from Touch (not the '60s outfit), his very late-'70s AOR band who, like New England, were probably actually too good for mass acceptance, and after their demise, he formed Drive, She Said, who still appear to be around in one form or another. It appears that his first 'pro' band were American Tears, a guitarless pomp trio who made three 'cult' albums in the mid-'70s, eventually metamorphosing into Touch after the addition of guitarist Craig Brooks for their third album, Powerhouse (***).
Their debut, Branded Bad, is quite an odd album, with its keyboard-led guitar-free material, treading a fine line between (sort of) hard rock and proto-AOR. The material isn't bad, but few of the tracks really leap out at you, to be honest. There's very little audible Mellotron on the album, despite all Mangold's keyboard work, although it's possible that there's some buried in the mix on a couple of tracks. Anyway, all I can hear is a distant blend of M400 strings and brass at the beginning of Lock And Chain, and some upfront strings at the end of Pennywall.
They followed up a year later with Tear Gas, really hitting musical paydirt with a full-on seven-track pomp release. Of side one's three tracks, the two-part Back Like Me and Serious Blue Boy (Sail On) both top the seven-minute mark, while the rest of the album keeps up the pop-prog pressure admirably. After a relatively slow start, Mangold sticks 'Tron onto almost every track this time round, sometimes using a strings/Hammond combination that occasionally deceives the ear, although there's some standout string use on I Saw A Soldier, in particular. All in all, a massive improvement, making the sheer averageness of their last album all the more disappointing. Incidentally, the bonus tracks on the CD sound like they're by a different band, and both have guitar on them. Ignore.
So; Branded Bad is all rather ordinary, but Tear Gas is decidedly worth the effort. I don't think these CDs sold very well, so they're cropping up all over the place at knock-down prices at the moment, so you could do worse than invest in a slice of rather unusual American pomp.
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Pyragony X (1976, 38.29) ***/TTFlower of the OrientMerlin Crystal Hexagram Lost in Space Sally the Seducer Telly Vision The Only Thing Cappucino |
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Almost Alive... (1977, 45.31) ***/T½One Blue MorningGood Bye My Love Ain't Today Tomorrow's Yesterday Hallelujah Feeling Uneasy Live in Jericho |
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Pyragony, or Pyragony X, was Amon Düül II's tenth album, and with a large '10th' on the sleeve, but no 'X', you could quite feasibly leave the Roman numeral off the title, I suspect. They'd come a long way since their groundbreaking classic 'kraut' albums of the late '60s/early '70s, but not in a direction now considered fashionable, having become a lightweight prog band with boogie tendencies (yes, I'm afraid so). The album opens well enough with the eastern-flavoured Flower Of The Orient, but quickly descends into rock'n'roll hell with, surprisingly, something called Merlin. Nothing else plumbs those particular depths (which aren't really that deep, if truth be told), but there's nothing here that could be considered exceptional, or anywhere near, to be honest.
New keys man Stefan Zauner played Mellotron on the album, unlike earlier Amon mistaken identity cases, with choirs (mixed?) on Merlin and Crystal Hexagram, male voices on Telly Vision, and flutes on Cappucino, although all strings appear to be string synth, as so often with late-'70s albums. So you can hold a note for more than eight seconds. And? Anyway, a passable album, though not one you're likely to be desperate to find, although some of the 'Tron work isn't bad.
The following year's Almost Alive... (a studio album), despite sporting longer tracks all round, isn't really what you'd call a vast improvement musically. It certainly has a progressive feel in places, but keeps flexing its 'pop' muscles for no especially good reason, although I suppose, like most prog bands of the time, they were trying to keep their footing in a rapidly-changing world. Ain't Today Tomorrow's Yesterday goes all orchestral on us, with a nice extended instrumental coda, but Feeling Uneasy is fairly horrible progressive pop, whatever you take that to mean, and lengthy closer Live In Jericho is largely a waste of time, despite some promising synth work. Overall, we're talking 'about on a par with its predecessor', I think. Not much Mellotron to speak of, either, as Zauner uses string synth for most of the string parts, with the exception of Ain't Today Tomorrow's Yesterday, which uses real ones. The same track sports a couple of 'Tron male choir parts, one very upfront, pleasingly, with similar (but more restrained) on Live In Jericho, although that's your lot.
So; two rather average albums, although, oddly, the typical progophile may just find them easier going than the band's 'classic' work, despite their mainstream aspirations. Passable 'Tron choir parts, but nothing that wasn't done far better by a host of other bands, to be honest. Now, all I need to do is find a copy of Stefan Zauner's apparently rare-as-rocking-horse-shit Narziss, from '76, and I've got this whole era of the band covered. Anyone?
See: Mistaken ID
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Silent All These Years (1992, 15.04) ***/TSilent All These YearsUpside Down Me and a Gun Thoughts |
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Under the Pink (1994, 56.52) ***/½ |
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| Pretty Good Year God Bells for Her Past the Mission Baker Baker The Wrong Band The Waitress Cornflake Girl |
Icicle Cloud on My Tongue Space Dog Yes, Anastasia |
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Scarlet's Walk (2002, 73.39) ***/T |
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| Amber Waves A Sorta Fairytale Wednesday Strange Carbon Crazy Wampum Prayer Don't Make Me Come to Vegas Sweet Sangria |
Your Cloud Pancake I Can't See New York Mrs. Jesus Taxi Ride Another Girl's Paradise Scarlet's Walk Virginia Gold Dust |
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American Doll Posse (2007, 78.42) ***½/T |
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| Yo George Big Wheel Bouncing Off Clouds Teenage Hustling Digital Ghost You Can Bring Your Dog Mr. Bad Man Fat Slut |
Girl Disappearing Secret Spell Devils and Gods Body and Soul Father's Son Programmable Soda Code Red Roosterspur Bridge |
Beauty of Speed Almost Rosey Velvet Revolution Dark Side of the Sun Posse Bonus Smokey Joe Dragon |
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The trouble with Tori Amos is that her voice sounds so much like Kate Bush's that it's difficult to take her own material seriously; however, she seems to have a sizeable, mainly female following who couldn't give a toss that she sounds like someone else far more talented. Sorry, but there really isn't much comparison on the songwriting front, although I'm sure there are many who would disagree. Anyway, the first Mellotron use on any of her recordings is an interesting flute part on Upside Down, found on the European Silent All These Years EP, played by John Philip Shenale. I believe the track is also available on her Winter EP.
Under the Pink was her second 'proper' album, excluding the '80s nightmare of Y Kant Tori Read, which is apparently best forgotten. It's typical of her piano-driven singer-songwriter style, as far as I can make out, which means you're either going to love it or be really quite disinterested, I suspect. Most of it's pretty laid-back, with the occasional more energetic track to wake you up, but it's more for bedsits than cramped, sweaty gigs. John Philip Shenale 'arranges' both 'strings' and Chamberlin on Cloud On My Tongue, so it's only my assumption that he actually plays the thing, too. There are definitely real strings on the track, but I'll be damned if I can tell where the Chamby comes in, although some of the strings may emanate from it, though I'm not entirely sure why they bothered.
2002's Scarlet's Walk is a fairly typical Tori album, her songwriting much improved from her early work, highlights including Wednesday, brief, lovely solo vocal Wampum Prayer and I Can't See New York, complete with some great slide guitar work. Shenale plays Chamberlin again, although all I can hear are the flutes (alongside real strings) on Mrs. Jesus.
Tori's ninth album, 2007's American Doll Posse, sees Tori 'playing' five different characters (including herself), who take vocal leads on different songs. The album has more of a rock bent than most of her previous work, which isn't to say there isn't plenty of 'typical' Amos material to be heard. Just the one 'Tron track (played by Tori), with quite real-sounding flutes on closer Dragon, also the only track here where her historical Kate Bushisms appear. Apparently, the album was only meant to be twenty tracks long, but another three were added as so-called 'bonus' tracks before release, which means they aren't really a 'bonus' at all, are they?
Tori credits 'Mellotron' on '98's From the Choirgirl Hotel (reviewed here), but admitted in an interview that it was actually samples, so I'm not entirely sure we can trust the tape-replay examples reviewed above, either. Anyway, two exceedingly average and only fairly good 'Tron/Chamby tracks, but perfectly good musically, assuming you like her style.
See: Samples
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Further From the Truth (2003, 48.46) **½/½ |
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| 21 York Street He Walked Through The Dew The Man Who Ran Away In My House Genevieve Pale Sun The Reply |
In My House II The Willow Feeling Fine The Untangled Man |
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I thought I recognised the name; And Also the Trees formed in 1979 and would've been written about in the early '80s music press. They never split and reformed, just kept doing what they do, 2003's Further From the Truth being their ninth album, a quiet-yet-faintly-ominous collection of songs in a vaguely Nick Cave-esque vein, although that probably does them little justice. Thinking about it, is this the band who invented indie? Or was that their mates The Cure?
Steven Burrows plays Mellotron on a couple of tracks, with something chordal (flutes?) on The Reply and choirs on closer The Untangled Man, although it's hard to tell, once again, whether or not they're real. I'm not quite sure for whom And Also the Trees are making music these days: themselves? There are worse audiences to cater for, in fairness; if you make music to please yourselves, you stand a chance of pleasing others, whereas trying for success usually leads to Very Poor Music. Anyway, you're not going to buy this for its Mellotron use, but fans of the band shouldn't be disappointed.
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True Spirit (1994, 50.03) ***/T |
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| True Spirit Morning Loving Mama Said Ain't Givin' Up on You Only One for Me Nervous Breakdown Secrets Let it Last |
Feet Wet Up Welcome to Changes Ian Green's Groove Conclusion |
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Carleen Anderson, daughter of soulstress Vicki Anderson and stepdaughter of James Brown sideman Bobby Byrd, is American, but currently based in the UK. She has a strong Paul Weller connection, having sung backing on both Stanley Road and Heavy Soul, as well as working with the Brand New Heavies. Are you thinking, "I'm probably not going to like her music?" Well, if you're one of this site's regular readers, you're almost certainly right. Her first solo album, the sumptiously-packaged True Spirit, is a decent enough soul/r'n'b effort, as far as I can ascertain, being seriously (and deliberately) unfamiliar with the genre. It does break out of the mould in places, with the dancefloor-pounding James Brown-esque Nervous Breakdown having more of a rock/funk groove about it, although most of the material fits the standard pattern of soul ballads mixed with more uptempo stuff.
And what's it doing here...? Mark Nevin plays 'Mellotron and guitars' on Let It Last, with a string part beginning a couple of minutes into the song. Weller's M400? Seems likely, but no way of knowing. This barely earns the album a full 'T', but a half seems churlish, given that it's a) fully audible and b) not just a few-second part.
From everything she says and does, you get the feeling that Anderson is a thoroughly honest performer; her website unflinchingly owns up to her turning fifty in 2007, and she seems to be as bullshit-free as many of her contemporaries... aren't. She does have a slight built-in advantage from being a genuine Southern soul singer living in a country largely bereft of such things, although that's not to denigrate her talent in any way. True Spirit seems to be a good album of its type, although (possibly Nervous Breakdown aside) I wouldn't actually go as far as to say I enjoyed it, but that's my problem, not hers. Very little Mellotron, too, though more than some efforts I've heard. Good at what it does.
See: Paul Weller
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Rupi's Dance (2003, 55.52) ****/0 |
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| Calliandra Shade (The Cappuccino Song) Rupi's Dance Lost in Crowds A Raft of Penguins A Week of Moments A Hand of Thumbs Eurology Old Black Cat |
Photo Shop Pigeon Flying Over Berlin Zoo Griminelli's Lament Not Ralitsa Vassileva Two Short Planks Birthday Card at Christmas |
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Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull mainman, as if you needed to ask) has had a rather sporadic solo career over the last twenty years or so, though some might claim that Tull's entire career is synonymous with that of Anderson. 1983's Walk Into Light (***½) is the missing link between Tull's Broadsword and the Beast and the synth-heavy Under Wraps, but it took Anderson another twelve years to come up with the excellent Divinities: Twelve Dances With God (****). 2000's The Secret Language of Birds and Rupi's Dance from three years later are exactly what you'd expect of Ian Anderson solo albums, though neither are quite as good as their predecessor.
Both like and unlike Jethro Tull, it's instantly recognisable as being by The Man, but without Martin Barre's signature guitar work, it clearly isn't the band, and a few other things might sound out of place on a group LP, not least some of the lyrical content. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't see a song as unashamedly sentimental as Old Black Cat finding its way onto a Tull album; then again... So, who knows why Ian chose to put these songs onto a solo album rather than one by the band? His solo live performances always contain Tull material along with his own, and the band sometimes perform his solo pieces, so I think we have to say that Ian and Tull are so inextricably intertwined, that they are (almost) effectively one.
The album was recorded in Germany, and seems to feature several musicians linked to Munich's Park Studios, including the expat Hungarian team of Leslie Mandoki and Laszlo Bencker. Until I researched Bencker on the Net, seeing that he played Hammond and Mellotron, I assumed that it was a misspelling of Omega's László Benkő, a.k.a. Benkő László, but it would seem not. In fact, although I've no doubt that if you listened to the multitrack you'd hear some 'Tron, it's completely inaudible on the finished product, despite a credit on A Hand Of Thumbs. So; good album, although hardly a walk on the wild side for Anderson, but absolutely not worth it on the 'Tron front. Buy anyway.
See: Jethro Tull
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Olias of Sunhillow (1976, 44.08) ****½/T½ |
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| Ocean Song Meeting (Garden of Geda) Sound Out the Galleon Dance of Ranyart Olias (to Build the Moorglade) Qoquag ën Transic Naon Transic Tö |
Flight of the Moorglade Solid Space Moon Ra Chords Song of Search To the Runner |
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You know, it's really, really easy to take the piss out of ubiquitous Yes vocalist Jon Anderson. Everyone's favourite prog pixie, spaced-out old hippy, off with the fairies... See? Easy peasy. What isn't quite so easy is to say, "Um, actually, he's an extremely talented chap, and Olias of Sunhillow is one of the most original albums to come out of the entire progressive era". I can quite honestly say that this album sounds like nothing else you'll have ever heard, including Yes, although there are points of reference, the chief one being, of course, Jon's unique voice, not to mention his harp work, and I don't mean a bloody harmonica. Anderson admitted that he was 'pretty much a non-musician' when he recorded this album, which makes it all the more astonishing, as it's clearly been put together by someone who knows exactly what they're doing. Jon is the only credited musician, meaning he'd gained some technique on various instruments over the previous few years, although it's fair to say that none of this was that hard to play, as if it mattered.
Describing the material isn't easy, due to its complete uniqueness; think (if you will) of the more 'drifting' parts of the Yes canon, but with multiple Jons, backed by acoustic guitar, harp, occasional drums (though not in a drum kit kind of way) and plenty of monosynth parts, with an almost (sorry) 'tribal' feel in places. The concept (you knew there had to be one, didn't you?) concerns the Olias of the title, who builds a flying ship to leave his doomed world. Hippy nonsense? Yep, and we love it. I mean, the story printed inside the lavish gatefold sleeve is complete drivel, to be brutally honest, especially in 1976, but in JonAndersonWorld I'm sure it makes complete sense, and the music is quite ethereally beautiful, so all is forgiven. Anyway, anything other than a complete fantasy wouldn't fit the music, particularly Jon's later experiments with cheesy love lyrics, which he now seems doomed to repeat for the rest of his career.
Now, I'm taking a bit of a leap of faith by including this, as I'm still not entirely convinced that the choir work on the album is actually Mellotron at all, which is why I've had this down as a 'query' for so long. While some of the voices are clearly Jon multi-overdubbed, some of the others, principally the ones on Meeting (Garden of Geda) sound like Mellotron male voices, and there's even a rumour going round that Jon put his own voice onto a tape frame (thanks, Mark), which would explain their unusual sound, assuming it's true. The choirs on the other three highlighted tracks are less distinct, and it is possible that I'm just making the whole thing up, but I've finally decided to include this until/if I should find out otherwise.
So; if you have any interest in progressive rock whatsoever, and have shied away from this album in the past, buy it immediately. Unfortunately, the CD packaging is crap, with only half the lyrics printed (why?), and a cruelly cut-down version of the original's magnificent artwork, but it's the music that matters (as the sadly-missed Tommy Vance used to say), and this is an entirely unique and wonderful album. As for the Mellotron (assuming it's there at all), it's completely inessential, but that isn't why you're already ordering this online. Buy now.
See: Yes
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Life on a String (2001, 44.12) ***/½ |
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| One White Whale The Island Where I Come From Pieces and Parts Here With You Slip Away My Compensation Dark Angel Broken |
Washington Street Statue of Liberty One Beautiful Evening Life on a String |
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Laurie Anderson entered the public consciousness, of course, with 1981's very strange O Superman, one of the oddest songs ever to've almost hit the top spot on the UK charts. Her status as performance artist par excellence was sealed many years ago, her innovations including a violin fitted with a tape head instead of strings and a bow strung with a length of tape, making 2001's Life on a String sound fairly normal in comparison. It could be described as avant-garde jazz classical, for want of a better phrase, although none of those sobriquets really fit tracks like My Compensation or Dark Angel.
Mitchell Froom plays Mellotron on three tracks, with near-inaudible flutes on Pieces And Parts, and completely inaudible somethings on Broken and One Beautiful Evening, making you wonder why anyone bothered, really. So; a reasonable Laurie Anderson album, but a fairly useless Mellotron one.
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Born on Earth (2010, 43.52) ***/½ |
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| Born on Earth Timed Exposure Baggage Claim Private Moon Flower Julia Roberts Under a White Star Where Would We Go? New Beginning |
These Are the Days Funky Birthday Cake Intro |
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Russell 'Rusty' Anderson is best-known as Paul McCartney's guitarist of choice for the last decade or so, although he concurrently runs a low-key solo career, 2010's Born on Earth being his second release. It's a diverse effort, shifting between the unexpectedly string-fuelled, full-on rock of the opening title track, the indie-ish Baggage Claim and the Beatles-esque Julia Roberts, amongst several other styles. Does it work? To an extent, yes, although it might be fair to say that it could be just a little too diverse for its own good.
Anderson plays Chamberlin himself, with occasional strings on Julia Roberts and closer (!) Intro, although I'm willing to accept that it might be found elsewhere, too, as the album's real strings rather confuse the issue. So; 'sideman makes good solo album', eh? Not the first, won't be the last, but it's good to hear another example.
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Coloursound (2001, 40.50) ***½/T |
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| Sitting on a Cloud Blackboard of Your Mind Mind Meld Mud Feet of the Guru Hole in the Sky So in Love With You Girl Poppies Pansies and Tea Red Chalk Hill |
Never Stop Being '67 The Coke Jingle |
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The first time I saw Anderson Council's name I laughed out loud; for those at the back, The Pink Floyd (as they were originally known) named themselves after the forenames of two otherwise utterly obscure bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. For the three of you who didn't know the story...
Coloursound (note British spelling, probably from the FX pedal manufacturer) is an utter magpie of an album, copping ideas right, left and centre (note British spelling) from the original UK psych scene, with a few later powerpop tricks thrown in for good measure. The trouble is, as other online reviewers have pointed out, it's so slavishly copyist that the band forgot to put anything of themselves in it. Leslie'd vocal? Check. References to drinking tea? Check. Fake British accents? Check. It's a good album, but it's never going to be in any danger of being a great one. The two fake period-piece Coke commercials are amusing, but for how many times?
Beautifully full-on, very real-sounding Mellotron flutes on Mind Meld Mud, from Peter Horvath, although that's it on the 'Tron front. I suppose the Floyd didn't use one on Piper..., so getting one on here at all is a bit heretical. Anyway, definitely a fun listen, but you probably won't be digging this one out every week. File behind The Dukes of Stratosphear. Definitely behind.
See: Pink Floyd
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Wake Up (2009, 31.39) **½/T |
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| Wake Up I Will Follow Him I'll Save the Last Dance for You Running Scared I Only Wanna Be With You Tell Him You Don't Have to Say You Love Me I've Told Every Little Star |
Long Live Love The End of the World Here You Come Again |
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Jessica Andersson is a mainstream Swedish pop artist who apparently found fame in her thirties on some TV show called Fame Factory, which is almost certainly at least as bad as it sounds. Her debut album, 2009's Wake Up, seems to be a tribute to '60s pop, featuring just one new composition alongside such standards as I'll Save The Last Dance For You, I Only Wanna Be With You, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me and Long Live Love. ...And the point is? OK, they're perfectly acceptable versions, I've no doubt, but they're never going to match the originals, are they? Introducing the songs to a new generation? If Ms Andersson was twenty-two, maybe, but she isn't.
Stefan Brunzell plays Mellotron strings on that new composition, opener Wake Up, although whether or not it's real is a moot point. Given that the track in question was recorded at Abba's Polar Studios in Stockholm, is this their machine we're hearing? The last I heard it was in a state of disrepair, but machines in worse condition have been resurrected from the dead... Anyway, it's all a bit irrelevant, as you almost certainly have no desire to hear this album, relatively harmless though it is.
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Writer of Songs (1972, 43.12) ***/T½ |
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| Hey! Sandy In the Darkness Boothferry Bridge Unaccompanied Gift of a Brand New Day Soldier Anna (My Love) Born on the Breeze |
Martha When I am Old One Day Soap Opera Writer of Songs |
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Harvey Andrews is a Birmingham-born singer-songwriter, of the kind all-too often lazily and inaccurately described as 'folk'. His second album, 1972's Writer of Songs, features guest spots from a host of 'names', not least Danny Thompson, Daves Pegg and Mattacks (Fairport Convention), Ralph McTell, Cozy Powell and Rick Wakeman (on piano). It does exactly what it says on the tin, highlights including Hey! Sandy (written for a victim of the recent Kent State U. shootings), the excellent Unaccompanied (which also does what it says on the tin) and the harrowing Soldier (apparently the subject of a ludicrous unofficial BBC ban), although fans of the style will have little to complain about with anything here. Criticism? Although I've heard far worse offenders, the album suffers a little from that late '60s/early '70s insistence on 'smoothing over' singer-songwriter material with extraneous arrangement, sometimes affecting the songs' ability to breathe.
Ted Taylor (he of 'awful sixteen-voice Mellotron choir recording' fame) plays Mellotron on a couple of tracks, with lush MkII strings on Boothferry Bridge and more of the same plus a flute solo on Born On The Breeze. To be honest, you're probably not going to bother with this for its Mellotron use, but it's a good example of a folky singer-songwriter album of its day.
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Secrets of the Lost Satellite (2007, 40.33/45.16) **½/T |
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| Allergic Up or Down In Your Way Secret Things Write Your Story Perfect Days What it's Like Does Anybody Know |
Tripped Up The 23rd Boy Without |
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Ken "Andrews" Doty, ex-Failure (a band, not a description), kicked off his solo career after membership of several bands with 2007's Secrets of the Lost Satellite. Is this what they call emo? Or just common-or-garden indie-schmindie? It sounds like Andrews stabbed wildly for the button marked 'heartfelt', missed and hit 'dreary' instead. A couple of tracks in isolation aren't too bad (I'd pick In Your Way and Tripped Up if I were you), but that's not exactly a recommendation.
Andrews plays Mellotron himself, with a pleasant (if unadventurous) chordal flute part on Write Your Story and a rather wafting string part on closer Without. There seems to be a second version of the album, adding another Mellotron track, Perfect Days, from the Sunshine Cleaning soundtrack (it italics above); it's possibly the best thing here, ironically, although I can't work out what the Mellotron's supposed to be doing. Like indie? Go for it. Hate indie? Don't. Easy. Incidentally, Andrews has also played Mellotron on JamisonParker's Sleepwalker and his wife, Charlotte Martin's Reproductions.
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Off Track Betting (2008, 38.27) ***/T½Fever DreamTemple Incense Three Days Lady of the Silver Spoon Butterfly Wing Rented White Sedan Shoot Out the Stars Sunday Shoes Dollar and the Dream |
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Nels Andrews seems to've led a fairly itinerant life, taking work all over the States where he could, before his musical career kicked off early this decade. His second album, 2008's Off Track Betting, was recorded in New York, but shows little sign of its urban gestation, being a pretty straight folk/Americana offering featuring decent, if unspectacular material.
Producer Todd Sickafoose plays Mellotron, with uncredited strings and brass on Lady Of The Silver Spoon and credited (and more upfront) strings on Rented White Sedan. I see his Mellotronic additions have been criticised in some quarters, but to my ears, they do nothing but add to the tracks' appeal (big surprise there, then). Anyway, a reasonable if unexciting Americana album with a little Mellotron.
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Verfallen (2011, 52.55) ***½/TT |
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| Logistic The Keep Baritøne Stepsøne Cluster Heeyoum Alpha Centauri Stone Yuggothian Landscape Baritøne Stepsøne (reprise) |
Ulnaris Verfallen |
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Anechoic are led by Peter Scartabello, also of Sky Shadow Obelisk, although that outfit's full-on doom is replaced on 2011's Verfallen by an intriguing mixture of progressive, darkwave, psych and (the slightly inevitable) doom, to name but four of the genres it mines. The album (their third) shifts between the psychedelia of The Keep, the suitably avant-proto-prog of Cluster, the experimentation of Heeyoum and the progressive hard rock of Alpha Centauri Stone, although its most impressive track is possibly the solo Mellotron frenzy of Yuggothian Landscape.
David McNally plays an upfront Mellotron flute part on The Keep, while Yuggothian Landscape has cellos grinding away on the intro, joined by strings and flutes later on, all sounding wobbly enough to be genuine. Those of you who were put off by Sky Shadow Obelisk's heavily metallic overtones may find Anechoic more to your liking, although the album's stylistic variety conspires to make it a little uneven.
Official Peter Scartabello site
See: Sky Shadow Obelisk
