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Highlighting in album tracklistings denotes 'contains Mellotron'. On 'multi-part' tracks I've tried to indicate which parts contain 'Tron, although this isn't always possible.
Ratings:
The * rating (½-5) is my personal, entirely subjective and completely partisan rating of the music.
The 'T' ('Tron, of course...) rating (0-5) is an only slightly more objective indicator of an album's Mellotronness.
By the way, if you know of any Mellotron albums that aren't listed here, please look at my albums page first! Thanks.
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The Moses Lake Recordings (2002, recorded 1968, 33.51) ***½/TT |
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| Rainy Days I Had With You Laredo Oobleck Moses Reluctantly and Slow The Creation And the Light Broke He Made the World Seven Seas |
Green, Green Grass I'll Make Me a Man Up From the Bed of the River Amen Hollow Men |
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From Washington State, The Bards were a fairly typical mid-'60s garage outfit who, after releasing a handful of singles, fell in with the legendary Curt Boettcher (The Millennium), producing an album in 1968, unreleased at the time, which finally appeared in 2002 titled The Moses Lake Recordings. It's an odd mixture of their garage roots and mild psychedelia, its centrepiece being the fourteen-minute The Creation, a sort-of budget Electric Prunes quasi-religious mini-epic and the nearest the album gets to true psych. While no classic, it's also a world away from Boettcher's more usual sunshine pop productions, making it a worthy addition to the late '60s canon.
Mike Balzotti played Chamberlin on three parts of The Creation, with major string parts on He Made The World and I'll Make Me A Man (which sounds a little too pre-Rocky Horror for comfort), plus distant, reverbed strings on its brief closer, Amen. Overall, then, one for psych fans who think they've heard it all; given how many great recordings must've been lost over the decades, it's good to see something this worthwhile gain release, even if at least one of its creators (Boettcher himself) is long gone.
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You Can't get Off With Your Shoes on (1975, 36.10) ***/TT |
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| Ali Baba Boogie Woogie Slowin' Down You Can't Get Off With Your Shoes on West Side of Mississippi The Measure of Your Worth Lucille Hero Frodo |
Sinkin' in the Sea Cades Cove |
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The Nashville-based Barefoot Jerry had an Area 615 connection, which will probably only mean anything much to you if you're into the country-rock end of things already. Their fourth album, You Can't get Off With Your Shoes on, is a surprisingly appealing 'Southern'-style rock/country crossover, with plenty of dual guitar work and keyboard playing well outside Nashville orthodoxy, which has to be a good thing. Several tracks surprise with their variety; The Measure Of Your Worth starts as an average country toon, then shifts into 'Suvvern' mode before heading off on another tangent, and isn't that unusual in the context of the record. Progressive country? Don't laugh... The preposterously-titled Hero Frodo straddles the line between a soft-rock ballad and a cut-down prog epic, while Sinkin' In The Sea's guitar intro could almost be Kansas.
Warren Hartman joined for the album, playing various 'boards, including clavinet, Moog and Mellotron, the latter audible on Slowin' Down (faint strings) and the solo flute and massed strings on Hero Frodo and closer Cades Cove. So; if this unusual mix of styles sounds like it might appeal to you, this is available with its predecessor, Watching TV, on a 2-on-1 CD. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but what it does, it does well, with the added bonus of a couple of decent 'Tron tracks.
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Are Me (2006, 49.13) ***/0 |
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| Adrift Bank Job Sound of Your Voice Easy Home Bull in a China Shop Everything Had Changed Peterborough and the Kawarthas |
Maybe You're Right Take it Back Vanishing Rule the World With Love Wind it Up |
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How can you like a band called Barenaked Ladies? I mean, how? Stupid frat-boy humour should be shucked off once one has left one's place of higher education, I feel, although Barenaked Ladies have made a twenty-year career out of playing the fool, so what do I know? In fairness, they seem harmless enough, sounding like a not-up-themselves Canadian version of Counting Crows with extra added jokes, maybe; you know, that Americana-influenced soft rock thing with catchy choruses that sounds good on car radios. Is that good? If you like that kind of thing, I suppose. Then again, EVERYTHING'S good if you like it... The only even slightly remarkable thing about the album is the presence of band inspiration and ex-Max Webster god Kim Mitchell on closer Wind It Up, whose solo lifts the track above the rest of the album, although it sounds disconcertingly like one of his own later efforts...
2006's Are Me (or Barenaked Ladies Are Me) is a perfectly acceptable, reasonably musicianly record, middling rock with a country influence, as you'd expect, although it's desperately unexciting, to be honest. I rather suspect that Barenaked Ladies fans don't want 'exciting', though, so job done, lads. Kevin Hearn is credited with Mellotron on opener Adrift, although there's a small string section on there, too, making whatever may be Mellotronically present entirely inaudible. I mean, why bother? Really?
Are Me's a bland, harmless record, that drifted by without ever actually impinging itself on my consciousness, with no audible Mellotron, all of which adds up to... I really wouldn't bother. If you choose to ignore my advice, there's a companion release, [Barenaked Ladies] Are Men, which mops up the rest of the tracks from the sessions, just in case the original album wasn't enough.
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Heat (1993, 67.07) **½/TT |
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| Sweat it Out Wheels in Motion Stand Up Burn Baby Burn Something's Got a Hold Love Thing Talking to You Stone Cold |
Wait for Me Tears We Cry Right By Your Side A Little Bit of Love I'd Rather Be Blind Not the Loving Kind Knock Me Down Catch Your Shadow |
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CDS (1993, 12.44) **½/TTT Right By Your Side Love Thing Love Will Find a Way (rough mix) |
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Ex-Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes is essentially Australia's answer to Joe Cocker, as far as I can work out, though with an even bigger reputation as a hard-drinking, hard-loving etc. etc. (yawn). Like Cocker, his reputation isn't borne out by his music, which seems to be largely anodyne 'middle-of-the-road rock', the sort of thing to which middle-aged guys listen to pretend they're still 'relevant' (see: Eric Clapton. Or don't). 1993's Heat is his seventh solo album, released a decade after Cold Chisel's dissolution, fitting neatly into that 'return to the roots' sound that appeared in the early '90s, presumably in reaction to the '80s' production excesses. I'd hardly call it the most dynamic rock album I've ever heard, but it's always better to hear Hammonds and Clavinets as against crummy digital synths and sampled drums, at least as far as I'm concerned. Of course, it's vastly overlong (believe me, over an hour of this stuff has a peculiarly soporific effect), but at least's it's generally harmless.
Our old friend John Philip "Phil" Shenale (Tori Amos, Bangles, Willy DeVille) plays keys, including uncredited Mellotron (thanks, Tilo), with strings (string section?) on opener Sweat It Out, cellos on Something's Got A Hold, regular strings on Love Thing and strings and flutes on Talking To You, although the strings on Stone Cold are real. Oddly, that's it for the album's 'Tron content, with nothing even on closing ballad Catch Your Shadow. One of the album's singles, Right By Your Side, features a non-album b-side, the soul-inflected Love Will Find A Way (Rough Mix), with the highest 'Tron content (strings and cellos) of anything here, making it a shame it isn't on reissues of Heat, although it can be found on disc two of 1997's imaginatively-titled The Best of Jimmy Barnes. The best thing about these releases is their Mellotron use, to be honest; the music's dull, mainstream stuff, only slightly enlivened by the 'Tron.
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Primal Dream (1990, 45.58) ***½/T |
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| Where the Truth Lies Before You Were Born Something Happens River to River Opposites Attracting I Only Took What I Needed Mr. Used-to-Be Native Tongue |
To the Pure... I'll Be Your Mirror Roman Circus |
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Clouds Over Eden (1993, 47.42) ***½/TT |
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| Within These Walls Paper Airplane Forbidden Nobody Knows Me Clouds Over Eden Waiting for the Train Miss Jean Beautiful Human |
Standing in the Line Law of the Jungle Within These Walls (reprise) |
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After his first band, the Bongos, split in the mid-'80s, New Jersey native Barone's solo career kicked off with a live album, Cool Blue Halo, presaging the 'chamber pop' of the following decade, and including cellist Jane Scarpantoni of Tiny Lights. By his second solo release, 1990's Primal Dream, he was sitting fairly and squarely in singer/songwriter territory, with those chamber pop elements creeping in here and there (Scarpantoni guests again). The writing's good, though given the year of release, there seems to be a slight '80s hangover, of the kind that only the very best (or stubborn) artists managed to avoid. Highlights include Opposites Attracting and Native Tongue, while the guitarist on opener Where The Truth Lies seems to be channelling the solo from Gerry Rafferty's Baker St. Mellotron from Mr. Barone, though not all that much, with flutes on River To River and weird, stabby strings on I Only Took What I Needed.
Three years on and Clouds Over Eden appears. The songwriting really is very good, without straying into the sort of schmaltz of which so many of his contemporaries are guilty, which isn't to say that it's all great, but there's enough good material to make this a decent listen. Digital keys seem to be a no-no here (hoorah!), with a Hammond used on several tracks, along with Barone's Mellotron work. Credited on five tracks, it's only really audible on three, although I hear a couple of string chords on excellent opener Within These Walls, along with a string quartet. More strings on Forbidden (played by co-writer George Usher) and Beautiful Human, with flutes on Standing In The Line, leaving Paper Airplane as the 'OK, so where is it?' track.
As these albums progressed, I moved from 'hmmm, pretty good' to 'so what?' then back to 'OK, worth a listen', although this seems to have nothing to do with the quality of the material at any given point on the disc. Basically, if you like well-crafted singer-songwriter material, chances are you'll like both these albums, and there's enough Mellotron to be worth hearing should you find copies cheap.
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Curse of the Red River (2010, 54.07) ***½/T½Curse of the Red RiverOur Twilight Forlorn Waves Flicker The Leer The Ritual of Dawn Ere All Perish Cold Earth Chamber Deserted Morrows |
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Barren Earth are a Finnish metal supergroup (yes, it seems there can be such a thing), comprising members of Kreator, Moonsorrow and others, whose debut, 2010's Curse of the Red River, is surprisingly listenable for non-lovers of the more metallic end of the metal spectrum. It takes influences from early Priest, Metallica and doubtless other more modern outfits I haven't heard, alongside '70s prog and folk (mainly in the melody department). The end result is an unexpectedly tuneful racket, only spoiled by the on-off 'cookie monster' vocals. WHY do you do this, guys? Is it meant to be threatening? It isn't. The album's improved immeasurably when Mikko Kotamäki stops growling and starts singing, which he can do perfectly well.
Kasper Mårtenson plays either Mellotron, or exceedingly good samples, with strings on the title track, Flicker and The Ritual Of Dawn, although the background strings and choirs on most of the rest are generic samples. Overall, Curse of the Red River treads the fine line between 'traditional' and 'extreme' metal, throwing some folk-metal in for good measure. If you can ignore the silly vocals, it's not a bad listen, although I can't say it's ever going to replace, say, Stained Class or even Metallica in my affections. A little Mellotron (assuming it's real), but nothing to get too excited about.
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Opel (1988, recorded 1968-70, 45.53/65.05) ****/½ |
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| Opel Clowns and Jugglers Rats Golden Hair Dolly Rocker Word Song Wined and Dined |
Swan Lee (Silas Lang) Birdie Hop Let's Split Lanky (Part One) Wouldn't You Miss Me (Dark Globe) Milky Way Golden Hair |
[CD adds: Gigolo Aunt (Take 9) It is Obvious (Take 3) It is Obvious (Take 5) Clowns and Jugglers (Take 1) Late Night (Take 2) Effervescing Elephant (Take 2)] |
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There are those who maintain that Pink Floyd's best work is to be found on their early singles and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn with Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett; a matter of opinion, clearly, but held by enough people to be impossible to ignore entirely. Of course, he bailed/was kicked out of the band in early '68, a direct result of his not-so slow descent into the fractured state of mind in which he (arguably) existed for the rest of his life. His two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett (both released 1970, though recorded across various sessions between mid-'68 and then) are treasure troves of Barrett-esque whimsy, adding many gems to his tiny canon, and even with bootlegs of the album sessions in circulation, there is unceasing fan demand for more.
Opel appeared in 1988, originally on vinyl, gathering together many unreleased tracks, along with early versions and alternate takes of previously-released material, silencing the faithful for a while. Sadly, prepared versions of Floyd's Vegetable Man and Scream Thy Last Scream were pulled, presumably at the request of the by-then fragmented band, still not seeing official release to this day. What we do get are outtakes of the quality of the title track, the beautiful Word Song and Dolly Rocker, along with later-rerecorded material such as Clowns And Jugglers (later Octopus) and an early Wined And Dined. As if that wasn't enough, 1993's CD version added another half-dozen tracks, arguably to the overall detriment of the collection, with even more appearing on the same year's Crazy Diamond box set.
Rather surprisingly, there's the tiniest snatch of Mellotron to be found here, with a faint, rather tuneless MkII flute part to be heard on Syd's Hiawatha-esque Swan Lee (Silas Lang), that adds precisely nothing to the track. Although the player's unknown (records don't appear to have been kept of many of Syd's solo sessions), it seems likely that Rick Wright hauled his black and gold MkII in, although the out-of-key meandering is quite unlike his normally concise style.
Overall, then, a 'must' for Syd fans, although I'm sure you've already got not only this, his two official albums and Crazy Diamond, but every bootleg going, too; er, how many takes of Effervescing Elephant do you need? Answer: how many have you got? Anyway, a thoroughly worthwhile compilation, but don't bother for its utterly minimal Mellotron. For the two of you who didn't know, Syd died on 7th July 2006, never reconciling himself with his brief but mercurial musical career. R.I.P.
See: Pink Floyd
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Bleu Pétrole (2008, 50.31) ***/T |
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| Je t'Ai Manqué Résidents de la République Tant de Nuits Hier à Sousse Vénus Comme un Légo Sur un Trapèze Je Tuerai la Pianiste |
Suzanne Le Secret des Banquises Il Voyage en Solitaire |
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2008's Bleu Pétrole was Alain Bashung's last album before his untimely death the following year, from lung cancer (that'll be a lifelong Gallic 40-a-day habit, I expect). Much of it's in a folky vein, although elements of jazz, blues and French chanson are all apparent at different points. Best tracks? Probably opener Je T'Ai Manqué, Comme Un Légo and his take on Leonard Cohen's Suzanne, suitably translated.
Mark Plati plays Mellotron on Sur Un Trapèze, with a nicely overt string part, although its last, high note lasts far longer than the Mellotron's eight-second limit, meaning it's a) something else at that point, b) studio trickery or c) sampled, probably throughout. Either way, this is a good album of its type, a fitting memorial for a long and honourable career.
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Voci (1976, 38.50) ****½/½PreludioPromenade I Promenade II Voci Echo |
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I don't really know anything about the estimable Mr. Basso, but Voci is an excellent album, overflowing with lyrical (if instrumental) Italian mid-'70s Italian prog of the highest order. Preludio is good, but Promenade I is quite superb, with some lovely harpsichord/clavinet interplay, with all keyboards played by Basso himself. The other three tracks are all excellent, too, with Echo sounding a lot like early Pink Floyd, appropriately enough. I don't know the identities of any of the other musicians, but there's a violinist and a cellist involved, adding an almost classical feel to proceedings; appropriate, since Basso's three subsequent albums are apparently pretty much in the neo-classical vein.
About the only disappointment here is the almost total lack of audible Mellotron; I keep thinking I can hear it, only to realise it's real strings, ditto the voices on Echo. I finally spotted a flute line on Echo that has to be 'Tron, but it's not exactly overt. So, although the album barely merits a review on this site, it's an absolutely fabulous record that deserves your attention at the earliest opportunity, being right up there with the best of its genre. Buy unreservedly.
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Ahí Ven o Maio (1975, 40.06) **½/½ |
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| Ahí Ven o Maio Camiño Longo Notas Necrolòxicas Chove-Chove I a Nosa Señora Detrás do Tonel Quien Poidera Namorarla Agardaréi A Rosalía |
Viaxeiro Nocturno |
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I'm having trouble locating any information on Luis Emilio Batallán; being little-known outside his home country, pretty much all 'Net info on him is in Spanish, which (unlike in the States) isn't the first, or even the second foreign language taught in British schools. Suffice to say, at least going by 1975's Ahí Ven o Maio (I've no idea how many other albums he may've recorded), he's a lightweight, slightly folky balladeer, mainstream without being horribly gloopy. The album's perfectly harmless, also totally dull, with no standout features whatsoever.
Granada's Carlos Cárcamo plays Mellotron, with background strings on Quien Poidera Namorarla, although the other orchestral sounds on the album seem to be precisely that. This is available on CD, but the question has to be asked: why would you? It only gets as high a rating as it does due to its complete harmlessness; it didn't particularly irritate, but then, it didn't particularly do anything at all. Practically no obvious Mellotron, either, making for a resounding, all round 'no'.
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I See the Light (1974) ***½/T½ |
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| Lament San Juan Caroni Seasoning Voodoo Man Get Out of My Way Love is Blind Bird |
I See the Light Streaking |
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Batti Mamzelle (French patois for 'crazy lady', the Trinidadian term for a dragonfly) found themselves attached to the London 'afro-rock' scene in the early '70s, alongside the better-known Osibisa, despite not actually featuring any African musicians per se. They mixed steel drums and other percussion into a kind of Latin/funk/rock brew, making music that must have been devastating live. Their sole album, I See the Light, apparently took a while to record, as the band (unsurprisingly) had trouble capturing their live sound on tape, and while the end result gives some idea of how they must've sounded, the limitations of the studio presumably hindered the band's chances commercially. Voodoo Man is a prime example of their, er, voodoo, with an outrageously propulsive rhythm, while Bird sounds like a Caribbean Santana, although Winston Delandro's guitar work lack's Carlos' fire.
Osibisa's ex-keyboard player, Robert Bailey, produced (his brother was the drummer and their dad was manager), adding Mellotron to a few tracks. The background string part on Seasoning is neither here nor there, but an upfront flute part on Get Out Of My Way enhances the track nicely, although that would seem to be your lot. I had the impression this was pretty hard to find, but I found a slightly battered copy in a suburban London shop for two quid, although that was probably more down to luck than judgement. Its almost unique mix of steel pans and more standard instrumentation is worth hearing, with most of the solos taken on percussion rather than guitar or keys, the notable exception being the ripping fuzz guitar solo on album closer Streaking. Not that much Mellotron, but an interesting curio that still stands up well today.
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Baueresque (2004, 45.59) ***½/TTT |
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| Bouillabaisse of Brilliance Libitz in a Car A Renegade Cop Cubicle The Record Machine Thin White Line It's Getting Better Life's a Breeze |
Open Air A Bird Called Fish Swag Climbing Trees Doctor in Love Everything After All |
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The Bauer Melody of 2006 (2006, 44.58) ***/T |
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| Bouillabaisse of Brilliance Sunburned Teeth It's Getting Better Boring Pictures At the Door Long Way Away Blissfully Up Save |
Here Come the Germans Herrmann I'm No Prototype! Captured in a Spinning Wheel Don't Think About it Too Much Snow in Spring |
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It seems Bauer are essentially a duo of Berend Dubbe (ex-Bettie Serveert) and Sonja van Hamel, who between them play everything on their third album, Baueresque. They use a whole raft of vintage gear, including a MiniMoog, an ARP Odyssey, Rhodes, Wurly and Hohner pianos and a new Mellotron MkVI (does that mean it's no longer 'vintage'?). Musically, they describe themselves amusingly as 'queasy listening' or 'soft psych synth pop', both of which should give you some idea of their sound. The songwriting's really rather good, although I suspect this is going to take a few plays to really sink in, and highlights are difficult to pick out on a first listen. Actually, d'you know what this reminds me of? Mattias 'Änglagård' Olsson's work with several of his recent projects such as Reminder or Nanook of the North, so if you're into them, you can't go too far wrong here.
I'm having trouble identifying the string sounds on opener Bouillabaisse Of Brilliance: M300B solo violin? A new sound? Cellos underneath, I think, but it's hard to tell. No such issues on Thin White Line; standard M400 strings throughout, and a front-of-the-mix flute melody on Open Air. I think that's 'Tron choir on Swag, along with more strings, flutes and cellos again on Climbing Trees, and more of the same (the band must own at least two tape frames) on the other highlighted tracks.
The duo's follow-up, The Bauer Melody of 2006, is a bit of an oddity, being a live album recorded with a small orchestra alongside their usual vintage kit, credited to 'Pop-Duo Bauer & the Metropole Orchestra'. The strings and brass have the effect of making an already cheesy thing, er, cheesier, bringing in something of a Scott Walker/John Barry vibe to the proceedings, but I'm sure the end result is exactly the sound the band were looking for. Dubbe plays flute chords on Sunburned Teeth and a monophonic part on Don't Think About It Too Much, and while there may be other parts hidden under or playing along with the real strings and/or flutes, it's almost impossible to tell.
If you don't object to retro/modern crossover pop, you may well go for Baueresque; I've seen it memorably described as 'pop made by a prog band', which isn't to say that it isn't pop - just clever pop. Less Mellotron than expected, but what's here is good, so; tentatively recommended. I'm not quite so sure about The Bauer Melody..., but that's probably down to taste. Definitely less 'Tron, though.
See: Bettie Serveert
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Romance 76 (1976, 36.58) ***½/TTTBicentennial PresentRomance Phase By Phase Meadow of Infinity (Part 1) The Glass Bridge Meadow of Infinity (Part 2) |
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Peter Baumann was still a member of Tangerine Dream when he recorded Romance 76, his first solo album. The title obviously refers to several things, including its year of release and the 'aged' half of Baumann's face on the sleeve. Unsurprisingly, the album delves deeply into Tangs territory, though without Edgar Froese's guitar interjections; six lengthy instrumental synth-led pieces with a reasonable dash of Mellotron here and there. Apart from the usual sounds, I suspect that's Mellotron piano and tuned percussion to be heard, though it's always difficult to prove with the 'lesser-known' sounds.
So, while nothing outstanding, Romance 76 is both a good electronic album and a reasonable 'Tron one. Worth a flutter.
See: Tangerine Dream
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Baxter (1973, 44.46) ***½/TTTBy the GatesGive it All Renaissance Woman '51 Gentle Arms Moonfire II Can’t Find The Time Doctor Doctor 197Three |
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Baxter were one of those early-'70s US bands who can only really be described as 'rock': not heavy enough to be 'heavy', prog enough to be 'prog' or soft enough to be 'West Coast'. Their sole, eponymous album from '73 displays a mixture of styles, from the twin-guitar hard rock of '51 through the near-country balladry of Gentle Arms to the almost-prog of Renaissance Woman and Moonfire II, the two main tracks that save this album from mediocrity and gain it an extra half star. There are other progressive moments, not least in Doctor Doctor and 197Three, but too much of this album is mid-paced third-division material, which explains why you've probably never heard of them before.
Mellotron from both Doug Arioli and Steve Kirshenbaum, though I've no idea who played what and where. Renaissance Woman marks the first entrance of the 'Tron, with a cello part that couldn't be anything else, with a more 'normal' string part on Gentle Arms, leaving the album's major 'Tron interjection to side two's Moonfire II, with some very upfront strings, with less of the same on closer 197Three. So; Baxter is a game of two halves, with the band's proggier material being dragged down by their more straightforward stuff. However, I'm quite sure that the latter went down better on stage, and since they probably relied on live work to pay the bills, who can blame them for recording some of it? Anyway, not bad, not great, with a surprising amount of Mellotron work.
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Wild Honey (1968, 24.22) ***½/T |
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| Wild Honey Aren't You Glad I Was Made to Love Her Country Air A Thing or Two Darlin' I'd Love Just Once to See You Here Comes the Night |
Let the Wind Blow Now She Boogalooed it Mama Says |
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Sunflower (1970, 36.49) ***½/½ |
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| Slip on Through This Whole World Add Some Music to Your Day Got to Know the Woman Deirdre It's about Time Tears in the Morning All I Wanna Do |
Forever Our Sweet Love At My Window Cool, Cool Water |
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By 1968, the Beach Boys were beginning to lose their way. After the Smile debacle and the half-arsed Smiley Smile (****), Brian Wilson co-wrote most of Wild Honey with his arch-nemesis, Mike Love, with patchy results. It opens well enough with the title track, but most of the tracks fade awkwardly and sound slightly unfinished, with the obvious exception of the album's standout, Darlin'. It's also about the shortest album on this entire site, including one that runs at 45 rpm and at least one mini-album, indicating, I suspect, the band's serious loss of direction and confidence. Now, this has been ping-ponging its way between this page and Mistaken ID for the last couple of months, but it seems to have found its way back here for good. Country Air has a little of what are presumably Chamberlin flutes, as the chances of any Mellotron finding its way to the West Coast in 1968 are slim-to-vanishing. A nice part, but nothing outstanding.
Sunflower is generally regarded as the best Beach Boys album since the mid-'60s, although, to be honest, it sounds a bit lightweight to my ears after the wonders of Pet Sounds, or Brian Wilson's slightly belated Smile (only 40 years late, Bri). The harmonies are certainly there, as are those gorgeous chordal twists (the 4th in the bass or whatever it is), but there's no God Only Knows, no Caroline No, no Surf's Up (finally unveiled to the listening public on the album of the same name the following year). I'm probably being a bit churlish, though, as there's plenty hear for the ear attuned to the Beach Boys' unique melodic sense, and not all of it written by Brian; he has no writing input on five of its twelve tracks, while Dennis writes or co-writes three.
But what's it doing here, eh? Donny Lang tells me that Add Some Music To Your Day and Forever have faint Chamberlin string lines, probably played by Brian. They're there all right, hidden away beneath the vocals, but they're hardly the most auspicious use of the instrument ever, to the point where I wouldn't have known if I hadn't been told. So; two good Beach Boys albums, if not classics, with little enough Chamby to be worth ignoring on that front.
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Once We Were Trees (2001, 51.25) ***½/T |
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| Germination Confusion is Nothing New The Sun Surrounds Me You Take the Gold Hearts Mend Let it Run Old Manatee The Hustler |
Yer Selfish Ways By Your Side Close Your Eyes Banjo Press Conference Jugglers Revenge The Good Night Whistle Once We Were Trees |
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Make the Cowboy Robots Cry (2002, 28.43) ****/T½DrinkswaterHibernation Ponce de Leon Blues Sing Your Thoughts Galapagos Ghost Dance 1492 |
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Beachwood Sparks fit fairly and squarely into the 'alt.country' ghetto, though it seems to me there are far worse places to be. Along with Wilco, Son Volt et al., their efforts to build on the brief career of Gram Parsons, including his work with the Byrds, is not only admirable, but actually rather good, even to those of us who loathe mainstream country music with a passion; how thankful I am that I live in a country where that bilge isn't ubiquitous. They released their eponymous debut in 2000, following it a year later with Once We Were Trees.
Distinctly different from the other Americana I've heard, it's a good selection of songs, without being especially outstanding, although Let It Run's drifting-tumbleweed feel and Syd Barrett-ish guitar definitely catch the ear; possibly the work of a band still trying to find their collective feet. I wasn't at all sure they was going to be any Mellotron on here, but Close Your Eyes' choirs are pretty authentic, and the vibes on Banjo Press Conference (best song title award) have that 'Tronnish key-click about them. The flutes on By Your Side are slightly less convincing (as in, could be real), but I'll leave it highlighted until/if I find out it isn't.
The mini-album (remember them?) Make the Cowboy Robots Cry gives the impression of being a stop-gap release between the band's second and third albums, only it seems they disintegrated before recording anything else, leaving this as their last will and testament. And a very fine one it is, too, with its oblique songwriting (the climax of Drinkswater is really quite transcendent) and unusual juxtapositions of instruments, notably the plucked banjo and pitchbent synth on Galapagos. It's rather hard to tell, but there seems to be some Mellotron use on at least two tracks, with some occasional background string chords on Hibernation and a distant flute part towards the end of Galapagos. The string part on Sing Your Thoughts has a very 'Mellotronic' feel to it, too, although the precise sound isn't entirely familiar. String section? Uncredited Chamberlin? Not tape-replay at all?
Anyway; if you're thinking of dipping a toe or two into the murky waters of Americana, you could do a lot worse than pick up a copy of either of these releases. A little 'Tron, but much excellent music. Recommended.
See: All Night Radio | The Quarter After
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How I Learned to Stop Worrying (1996, 37.08) ***½/TT½ |
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| Almost Something There Something/Anything? This Year's Jessica Without a Doubt Last Thing on My Mind Happy to Be Sad Crazy Lovesick Heart Those Kids |
Read You Wrong Green Day Rising |
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The Way We Never Were (2002, 33.12) ***/TT |
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| Sorry Yesterdays After All February The Only One When it's Whenever Different Stars In the Meantime Between The Lines |
Pt. 2 Outro |
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Mellotrons used:
I don't know if The Beatifics' name was chosen to file next to The Beatles, but I wouldn't be surprised; they fit fairly and squarely into the powerpop genre, clearly worshipping at the altar of all the 'B' bands, not to mention later proponents of jangly, melodic-yet-intelligent pop (which makes it sound like melody's for idiots. Sorry). 1996's How I Learned to Stop Worrying was their debut, full of songs of the quality of opener Almost Something There (hey, always open a powerpop album with your best track), This Year's Jessica and Without A Doubt, and Something/Anything? has to be a deliberate Todd quote...
Band leader Chris Dorn plays Mellotron, amongst other things, with a wash of strings on Without A Doubt, plus full-on, definitely genuine cellos, strings on Last Thing On My Mind and Green Day Rising and strings and cellos on Read You Wrong. Incidentally, the CD displays about twenty minutes longer, but I've removed the empty space between the end of the last track and a few seconds of pointlessness at the end of the album.
The band released an EP in 2001, In the Meantime, with Mellotron credited; three of its five tracks appeared on the following year's The Way We Never Were, but it's impossible to know if there's any 'Tron on the other two without hearing them. Said album appeared in 2002 and the band seem to have taken on a bit of a garage influence (not the hip-hop variant, dumbarse), notably on opener Sorry Yesterdays, although the album as a whole seems rowdier than before. The material's decent enough, but possibly not quite meeting the band's earlier standards, seeming slight more derivative (that's a cheeky chord at the end of In the Meantime...).
Mellotronically speaking, I thought at first that they used samples this time round, until a 'stand alone' part convinced me otherwise, although I suspect it's mixed with something sample-based. Anyway, we get strings on After All, flutes and phased strings on The Only One, flutes on When It's Whenever, although the strings don't sound right, ditto for Different Stars, although the flutes and cellos sound real and I remain unconvinced by the strings on February and the cellos on Outro.
Overall, then, two powerpop albums, one very good and one good, one with plenty of definite 'Tron and one with some rather suspect stuff. If you're thinking of dipping your toe in the water, I'd have to recommend How I Learned to Stop Worrying over In the Meantime on every front, although the latter's worth hearing, too.
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Futurama (1975) ****½/TStage WhispersLove With the Madman Maid in Heaven Sister Seagull Sound Track Music in Dreamland Jean Cocteau Between the Worlds Swan Song |
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Sunburst Finish (1976) ****½/T |
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| Fair Exchange Heavenly Homes Ships in the Night Crying to the Sky Sleep That Burns Beauty Secrets Life in the Air-Age Like an Old Blues |
Crystal Gazing Blazing Apostles |
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Radioland: BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert [a.k.a. Tremulous Antenna] (1997, recorded 1976/78, 77.26) ****/TT½ |
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| Life in the Air Age Sister Seagull Third Floor Heaven Blazing Apostles Maid in Heaven Kiss of Light Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape Fair Exchange Ships in the Night |
Modern Music/Dancing in the Moonlight/ Honeymoon on Mars/Lost in the Neon World/ Modern Music (Reprise) New Precision Superenigmatix Possession Dangerous Stranger Island of the Dead Panic in the World |
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Be-Bop Deluxe were a rather excellent band who never did as well as they should've, falling through several gaps, although, of course, this can occasionally work in a band's favour. Be-Bop weren't really prog enough for the prog crowd, heavy enough for the rock fraternity or arty enough for the Roxy/Bowiephiles, although the last is where their allegiances probably really lay. Led by the charismatic Bill Nelson, Be-Bop had an almost complete lineup change between their first two albums, Axe Victim (***½) and Futurama.
Futurama is a superb piece of work, pieced together lovingly by Nelson, who plays all guitars (and there are a LOT of guitars) and keys. There isn't a duff track to be heard, from the opening killer punch of Stage Whispers on, with particular highlights being Between The Worlds and live faves Maid In Heaven and Sister Seagull. The care and attention taken over the recording brings contemporaneous Queen to mind, so it's no surprise that Roy Thomas Baker produces here, too, although I wouldn't want to get involved in an argument over whether Nelson or Brian May was the more innovative player. Closer Swan Song features what I at first took to be real voices, though I'm now fairly certain they're Mellotron, probably multi-overdubbed male voices, though it's hard to tell. While it's not exactly a central part of the album's sound, this is a 'must-own' record, if you have any interest in the era whatsoever.
It wasn't until Be-Bop's third album, Sunburst Finish, that their 'classic' lineup was complete, with the addition of keys man Andy Clark, who seems to have nothing to do with the identically-named keyboard player from Upp. It's a superb album which still holds up well today; it's dated surprisingly well, at least to my ears, and provided the band with their only hit in Ships In The Night, along with other killer tracks like Fair Exchange, Life In The Air-Age and the determinedly rocking Blazing Apostles, a blinding put-down aimed at religious nutters. The only tracks that concern us here, though, are the emotive ballad Crying To The Sky, with some rather nice 'Tron choirs thrown in from Clark, with less of the same on Sleep That Burns. So, while I can't really recommend this on Mellotron grounds, it really is a great record, well worthy of your attention. After another studio album (Modern Music (****½)) and an excellent live effort, Live! In the Air Age (*****) Nelson radically changed the band's style, making them more contemporary, but, well, rather dull I'm afraid to say. He split Be-Bop soon after, forming one-off outfit Red Noise, then moving into a lengthy solo career, helping invent the concept of 'ambient'.
Various Be-Bop compilations including non-LP tracks appeared over the succeeding decade or so, but it wasn't until twenty years after their demise that any completely unheard material appeared. Radioland (later reissued as Tremulous Antenna, apparently with much-improved sound) is a compilation of various BBC radio appearances, with the usual problem that some performances get edited to squeeze everything onto a single disc. In this case it's principally the late-'76 show that gets sliced, which is a real shame, as the original broadcast featured most of their current album, the forward-looking Modern Music. The four songs from early that year, however, have the feel of a complete short broadcast to them, and going by the picture on the right, Andy Clark was using a Mellotron at this stage, although by the later set, and their official Live! In the Air Age LP + EP, he's using a Solina string synth. You can hear the 'Tron on three tracks here, along with a few bum notes from various band members (naming no names...), although it's not really used that effectively, to be honest. In fact, at risk of being labelled a heretic, I actually think the Solina sounded better on these tracks. Sorry, but sometimes a Mellotron isn't what's actually called for. Not often, mind you...
Anyway, two great and one good album, though none of them are really 'Tron classics. Buy if you like tuneful '70s rock with an arty bent.
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Mutations (1998, 49.18) ***/T |
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| Cold Brains Nobody's Fault But My Own Lazy Flies Cancelled Check We Live Again Tropicalia Dead Melodies Bottle of Blues |
O Maria Sing it Again Static Diamond Bollocks |
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Stray Blues (2000, 29.02) ***/½Totally ConfusedHalo of Gold Burro Brother Lemonade Electric Music and the Summer People Clock Feather in Your Cap |
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, 5.54) ***½/T[Beck contributes]Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes |
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Mellotrons/Chamberlin used:
After a shaky 'one-hit wonder' start, Beck Hansen has gone on to become the darling of the 'alternative' scene, and one of its most visible members. Although his early-'90s signing with Geffen was ostensibly because they allowed him to concurrently release less commercial material on indie labels, he only seems to've made use of this facility initially, with two indie albums in '94, after his Geffen debut, Mellow Gold. Mutations was his third major release, after the unexpected success of '96's Odelay, and is a blend of low-fi(ish) folk-influenced material, with just about everything thrown into the pot somewhere down the line, not least the slightly unwelcome country of Cancelled Check and Sing It Again. Roger Manning, once of the extraordinary Jellyfish, plays Mellotron on two tracks: a gorgeous flute part on Dead Melodies and some solo strings right at the end of Diamond Bollocks (which isn't a word in use in the States; is that why he's used it?).
One more definite Beck 'Tron track in his version of Skip Spence's Halo Of Gold, originally recorded for the Spence tribute album More Oar, finding its way onto Beck's b-sides compilation Stray Blues, apparently only available on Geffen Japan. It's a heavily psychedelic version of what's probably a heavy psychedelic track, with some form of electronic organ making flutey sounds in the verses, then actual 'Tron flutes during the choruses. The rest of the album's as you'd expect; Beck odds'n'sods that hardcore fans will want, while the rest of us shrug our shoulders.
So; if you're a Beck fan, I'm sure you own Mutations anyway. For the rest of us, if a laid-back, slightly countryish album with odd bits thrown in sounds like your thing, go for it. I can't say it blows me away, but there you go. Only one overt 'Tron track, too. Oh, and please can we hear no more of that Scientology bullshit please, Mr. Hansen? Just because with you grew up around that insidious crap is no excuse to get caught up in it yourself. You're far more intelligent than most 'celebrity Scientologists', after all...
See: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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Beck, Bogert & Appice (1973, 37.10) ***/TBlack Cat MoanLady Oh to Love You Superstition Sweet Sweet Surrender Why Should I Care Lose Myself With You Livin' Alone I'm So Proud |
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BBA were Jeff Beck's then-latest attempt to find a band scenario that suited him (he never did, of course), with the defunct Vanilla Fudge's rhythm section, Tim Bogert and the superb Carmine Appice. Musically, Beck, Bogert & Appice's a bit of a mish-mash of funky hard rock; not heavy enough to really grab the Zeppelin/Purple fans, but too 'rock' for the mainstream. Typical Beck, really; rarely in quite the right place at quite the right time. Saying that, it has its moments, Lose Myself With You rocks and funks with equal enthusiasm, and opener Black Cat Moan gets things off to a good start, but thirty years on, much of the album just sounds far too stodgy and lifeless compared to many of their contemporaries, whose work still stands up well today.
There's only one Mellotron track, credited: Oh To Love You, 'Tron played by Duane Hitchings; an undistinguished ballad, with 'Tron strings (and possibly cellos) coming in about a minute from the end. Beck, Bogert & Appice is, well, OK I suppose, but I'm having difficulty getting excited about much of it, although some of Beck's guitar work is as good as you'd expect. Maybe pick it up if you see it cheap, but don't bother for the 'Tron.
See: Carmine Appice
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Bedlam (1973, 37.48) ***/T½ |
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| I Believe in You (Fire in My Body) Hot Lips Sarah Sweet Sister Mary Seven Long Years The Beast Whisky and Wine Looking Through Love's Eyes |
Putting on the Flesh Set Me Free |
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Bedlam Anthology (1968-99/2000, 91.52) ***/T |
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| 1812 Thrashed Swlabr Hideaway For Your Love Stepping Out Funky Woman Ring of Fire Munich City |
Hot Lips At the Gateway Candy (Rainbow Over New York) Share With You Dave's Ditty for Cozy I Believe in You (live) The Beast (live) The Great Game (live) |
Set Me Free (live) Interview (live) The Fool (live) |
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Cozy Powell was already über-session drummer extraordinaire when he put Bedlam together, who, to be quite honest, were a rather average early-'70s hard rock outfit, with few particularly outstanding features. The songwriting was OK, the playing was reasonably good, Francesco Aiello's vocals were fine, but there was nothing about them to set them apart from many other similar bands, unless you count Cozy's name, of course. Actually, I know exactly who they remind me of - Cream, or maybe Mountain. This is obviously no accident, as the album's produced by Felix Pappalardi, who produced the former and played in the latter, but it's got that sort of 'half-arsed hard rock' sound that seemed to be reasonably popular at the time, at least with American audiences.
Pappalardi also plays most of the keys on Bedlam, which would include the Mellotron on two tracks; the balladic Sarah has some muted strings over a rather cheesy chord sequence, as does Looking Through Love's Eyes, although the song's better. Overall, I have to say that I can't really recommend this; for 'rock', it's startlingly middle of the road, and I can't think who this might actually appeal to these days. I mean, if I don't think that much of it...
The Bedlam Anthology was released in 2000, containing material recorded between 1968 and 1999. You thought Bedlam only existed for a year or two? Technically, yes, but the Ball brothers, Dave and Denny (and later, Pete) and Cozy worked on and off over a lengthy period in Ideal Milk, Big Bertha and others. The compilation's actually better than their album proper, despite its pot-pourri of styles, highlights including its opener, 1812 Thrashed (Cozy's first stab at his later drum solo tour de force), their inventive rearrangement of Graham Gouldman/The Yardbirds' For Your Love and the live '74 (supporting Cozy's mates and future employers Black Sabbath) version of the album's closer Set Me Free. Other notable tracks are their '68 version of Cream's Swalbr, completely proving my point above, Dave's Ditty For Cozy, Dave Ball's '99 country-blues tribute to his old mate, after Cozy's senseless death the year before and the live disc's twenty-odd minute closer The Fool. Mellotron on one track, Ring Of Fire, from Ed Welch, probably recorded in 1970, with a MkII string part that works well enough without being particularly outstanding.
These are both available through the estimable Zoom Club label, so if you have a yen for strictly third-rate UK hard rock of the era, feel free. I feel rather churlish being so unkind about these, but you really can see why they didn't do better than they did and why Cozy (although he'd already played with Jeff Beck at this point) had to change outfits to realise his potential (Rainbow, The Michael Schenker Group, Whitesnake, Sabbath, a host of others). Neither album's worth it on the Mellotron front, either; all a bit disappointing, really.
