|
|
|
|
||
|
 |
August & Everything After (1993, 51.46) **½/0 |
|
| Round Here Omaha Mr. Jones Perfect Blue Buildings Anna Begins Time and Time Again Rain King Sullivan Street |
Ghost Train Raining in Baltimore Murder of One |
|
 |
Recovering the Satellites (1996, 59.30) ***½/T½ |
|
| Catapult Angels of the Silences Daylight Fading I'm Not Sleeping Goodnight Elisabeth Children in Bloom Have You Seen Me Lately? Miller's Angels |
Another Horsedreamer's Blues Recovering the Satellites Monkey Mercury A Long December Walkaways |
|
 |
This Desert Life (1999, 56.18) ***/TT½ |
|
| Hanginaround Mrs. Potter's Lullaby Amy Hit the Atmosphere Four Days All My Friends High Life Colorblind I Wish I Was a Girl |
Speedway St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream [unlisted track] |
|
 |
Hard Candy (2002, 64.01) ***/T |
|
| Hard Candy American Girls Good Time If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel is Dead) Goodnight L.A. Butterfly in Reverse Miami |
New Frontier Carriage Black and Blue Why Should You Come When I Call? Up All Night (Frankie Miller Goes to Hollywood) Holiday in Spain 4 White Stallions [unlisted track] |
|
 |
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (2008, 59.52) ***/T½ |
|
| 1492 Hanging Tree Los Angeles Sundays Insignificant Cowboys Washington Square On Almost Any Sunday Morning |
When I Dream of Michelangelo Anyone But You You Can't Count on Me Le Ballet d'or On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago Come Around |
|
 |
Shrek 2 (2004, 3.08) ***/T[Counting Crows contribute]Accidentally in Love |
Current availability:
Mellotrons/Chamberlins used:
Counting Crows are another one of those Americana-type bands that the States have been throwing up in profusion over the last few years. Think updated Tom Petty, or maybe REM, with jangly guitars, '70s keyboards (much Hammond and Wurlie here) and a rather overwrought vocalist in Adam Duritz. They're not really my thing, to be honest, and their somewhat downbeat debut, August & Everything After doesn't particularly float my boat. Its hit, Mr. Jones, rocketed them to stardom, but I really don't hear anything here of any great value, although I'm told I should be listening to the lyrics (yawn). Keys man Charlie Gillingham is credited with Chamberlin, but I'll be buggered if I can hear it anywhere, and that's after two close listens.
They took a ridiculous three years to follow up with Recovering the Satellites, but the wait seems to've been worthwhile, as the album's a clear improvement on its predecessor. It actually opens with some lovely Mellotron flute on Catapult, though the song goes slightly downhill from there, while the only other 'Tron to be heard here is some more flute, this time mixed with pedal steel, on the balladic Miller's Angels. Two nice 'Tron tracks, then, but not worth the purchase unless you're into this sort of thing anyway.
I actually feel This Desert Life was a step backwards for the band, with an irritating country feel pervading most of the tracks, not to mention bits of REM cropping up here and there. Gillingham plays both Mellotron and Chamberlin this time round, though I have trouble differentiating one from the other. Mrs. Potter's Lullaby has flutes ('Tron?) and strings (Chamby?) dipping in and out of the mix, and that has to be Chamby strings all over All My Friends. More strings and cellos on High Life, though, and an interesting flute part on I Wish I Was A Girl still don't save the album from mediocrity, I'm afraid.
Hard Candy picked things up a little (again), with the title track and 'Holiday in Spain' standing out. This time round, Gillingham is credited with 'Melotron [sic] and Chamberlain [sic] Obo [sic]', but all I can hear is has a quick burst of phased, choppy flute chords on American Girls, with the aforementioned 'Chamberlain Obo' on Butterfly In Reverse and 'Tron cellos on Holiday In Spain. Duritz is credited with 'string sampler' which can be heard on a couple of tracks, too, but it's fairly obviously not 'Tron.
After a lengthy gap, 2008's Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings seems to be a concept album of sorts, tracks 1-6 being collectively labelled 'Saturday Nights' and the remainder 'Sunday Mornings'. Like its predecessor, it's a decent enough album of its kind; opener 1492 proves that, despite past form, Counting Crows can rock out, although it's something of a one-off, the bulk of the album displaying the usual Americana-ish mainstream pop/rock for which they're known. Gillingham on 'Tron and Chamby again, with ('Tron?) flutes on Sundays (although the 'flute' on Insignificant is more likely to be a Farfisa or similar), while Anyone But You opens with, er, something (some form of Chamby brass?) doubling flutes, although that would seem to be your lot.
Just to spoil the nice run of quite arty sleeves above, the band contributed Accidentally In Love to the Shrek 2 soundtrack in 2004. Yeah, typical Counting Crows, quite upbeat, if you like them you'll probably like it. Bit of tape-replay strings, nothing to write home about.
So; if you 'do' the mainstream end of Americana, or want to hear a band attempt to emulate The Band, so to speak, you'll probably like Counting Crows. If you want some decent Mellotron/Chamberlin work, although there's a couple of worthwhile tracks here, I'd go elsewhere if I were you.
See: Shrek 2
 |
Christina Courtin (2009, 45.23) ***/½ |
|
| Green Jay Bundah Foreign Country Hedonistic Paradise Mulberries February Laconia One Man Down |
Rainy Unzipped |
|
Current availability:
Chamberlin used:
Christina Courtin is a Juilliard graduate (on violin), although she doesn't flash her skills around on her eponymous debut album, a delicate singer-songwriter effort, which isn't to say she doesn't play at all. It's one of those perfectly nice albums that are slightly unengaging, Courtin's voice not really being quite strong enough to carry the material, although nothing here even comes close to offending. Think: fragile, folk-influenced writing and singing and you won't be too far off, though nowhere near the level of, say, Vashti Bunyan, but then, who is? The album's best tracks are probably February (a lovely string part) and maybe closer Unzipped, an unusually loud effort from Ms. Courtin, with an almost chaotically full arrangement.
Jon Brion plays credited Chamberlin on two tracks, with whichever woodwind plays the solo in the middle of the song (I think) and what sounds like flutes amongst the maelstrom on closer Unzipped. In other words, two credits, but it's not entirely certain what either of them are. Anyway, Christina Courtin isn't a bad album at all, with a couple of surprises, although its Chamberlin use isn't among them.
 |
Nature's Divine Reflection (1992, 42.29) ***½/TT½ |
|
| Premise of Life Thanatopsis Nature's Gift Ascension Spiritual Forces Eternity's Call Synopsis Eschatolic Covenant |
Sunchild's Spiritual Quest Through the Forest of Introspection Acquiesence Catharsis Assessment of Reality Enter the Sacred Labyrinth Metamorphosis/Transformation Across the River of Souls Through the Gates of Emotion Storm of Centuries Past; Rebirth Sunchild's Lament As One With the Infinite Spirit |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
It seems Covenant were essentially drummer/keyboardist Dave Gryder's solo project, with noted progressive guitarist Bill Pohl (of Solid Earth fame) guesting on the first track. Although Echolyn and Magellan were both already in operation when Nature's Divine Reflection was recorded in 1992, it still counts as one of the earliest American entries in the 'new prog' field, although, sadly, it now seems to be largely forgotten. I believe Gryder is first and foremost a drummer, so it's unsurprising that the album is rhythmically complex, although slightly less so melodically and harmonically. Fully instrumental, the online review I saw that compared its sound to that of Wetton/Jobson's UK wasn't too far off, although UK would never have written 'side-long' pieces, let alone ones with titles such as Sunchild's Spiritual Quest Through The Forest Of Introspection.
Gryder uses a range of keyboard equipment, old and new, so you get the bland Korg M1 next to a Hammond, Solina, Prophet and, of course, a Mellotron, though the newer 'boards aren't intrusive enough to ruin the overall sound (unlike on, say, the Romantic Warriors' album). He's actually a pretty good player, showing off his Hammond chops on the shorter Eschatolic Covenant, and what I presume to be a Prophet-on-mono-mode solo near the beginning of the aforementioned Sunchild's Spiritual Quest.... Gryder doesn't overuse his Mellotron - in fact, he only uses the choirs, preferring the Solina for strings (why?). It isn't fantastically well-recorded, to be honest, although it could simply be that the machine was well overdue for an overhaul (not so easy in the early '90s). Choir parts on all tracks, though Eschatolic Covenant is the only one to feature it to any great extent; I've no idea where the 'Tron comes in on the longer tracks - suffice to say, it dips in and out of the mix without ever completely taking over (sadly).
To be honest, I don't personally find the music as exciting as that of many other practitioners of the genre, but Nature's Divine Reflection is a perfectly 'good' album without ever being in any particular danger of crossing over to 'great'. If you like your prog instrumental, rhythmic and a bit jazzy, you could do a hell of a lot worse than this, although I wouldn't really bother for the 'Tron work. Incidentally, these days, Gryder plays with stoner hard rockers Storm at Sunrise, still using the 'Tron.
See: Storm at Sunrise
 |
Ear of Beholder (1971, 83.34) ***/T |
||
| Introduction Hungerford Deviation Dance Two Little Pigeons Don Alfonso Open Piccadilly Feedback Vorblifa-Exit |
Insensatez Conversation With Children/ Jamaican Rumba Piccadilly With Goofs Rasa-Moods Collective Improvisation I am the Walrus Rhymthmic Hooter |
Lover Man Zoological Fun Little Triple One Shot That's Why... Darkies Were Born? A Series of Superbly Played Mellotron Codas |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Legendary free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill, already no spring chicken as the '70s rolled around, has played with the good and the great, not least Kevin Ayers, Fred Frith and, er, The Damned, alongside running a solo career. His solo debut, 1971's Ear of Beholder, was released on the also legendary John Peel's wonderfully crackpot Dandelion label (logo: the Peel family's pet hamster, Dandelion), largely a home for the wilfully obscure and, frankly, utterly unsellable. Ear of Beholder falls firmly into both camps, being a double album of mostly unaccompanied soprano sax solos of variable recording quality, intercut with strange little items such as Coxhill and David Bedford (later of Mike Oldfield fame, of course) singing twee little songs such as Two Little Pigeons or Don Alfonso. The most 'difficult' piece here is probably the twenty-minute Rasa-Moods, though, a mad, full band improv piece, sounding as if it was recorded on one mic from the next room, which does little for its fidelity.
This album's presence on this site rests wholly on its last track, the 26-second A Series Of Superbly Played Mellotron Codas, Coxhill playing five codas from the left-hand (rhythm) manual of a MkII 'Tron, including the famous (well, round these parts, anyway) Bill Franson "Yeah!". Despite its brevity, the track is so startling and so, well, Mellotronic, that it still gets a full T. This isn't an album for the faint-hearted, or, for that matter, people who don't like saxophones, but if you're of an adventurous bent, you might find things to admire here. Personally, I admire its last 26 seconds. File under: 'music I'm glad exists but don't really want to listen to again'.
 |
Blur the Lines (2006, 58.15) */½ |
|
| Friend of God Redeemer One Day Holding Out Hope to You I Go to the Rock Shout to the Lord Nothing But the Blood Call on Jesus |
Champion of Love Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus I Can't Live a Day I'd Rather Have Jesus Amigo de Dios (Friend of God) |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
The Crabb Family describe themselves as 'A Southern Gospel Group from K[entuck]y that has taken the industry by storm'; the emphasis on 'industry' says it all for me; this is music designed for a purpose rather than for itself. And that purpose is... 'worship music'. Aaargh. I'd imagine 2006's Blur the Lines is fairly typical of their output, containing aggressively pro-God messages in every song, in a variety of styles, some of which might be acceptable, were it not for their single/closed-minded lyrical content.
Tim Akers adds Mellotron string stabs to Champion Of Love, assuming it's real, but it's pretty minor use by any standards. God (pun, if pun it is, intended), this is fucking awful, redefining the word 'gloop'. This is the kind of stuff used to hammer home the Christian 'message' to pliant young minds, not yet able to make them up for themselves. Brainwashing music. Mind you, their pious lives sound so fucking dull that I can't imagine why anyone would want to do the same. Peer pressure, I suppose. Some peers.
 |
Si Todo Hiciera Crack (1979, 40.53) ****½/TTT½Descenso en el MahëllstrongAmantes de la Irrealidad Cobarde o Desertor Buenos Deseos Marchando Una del Cid (part 1, 2) Si Todo Hiciera Crack Epillogo |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Crack's sole album, Si Todo Hiciera Crack, is a masterpiece of Spanish progressive, with gentle lyrical passages alternating with fiery unison sections. There is a slight 'Spanish' feel to the music, although not nearly as overtly as, say, Iman, Califato Independiente, with a real edge to their piano-driven compositions, marking this as one of the best albums from Spain's late-'70s progressive scene. Plenty of interesting synth work on several tracks, plus, of course, shitloads of Mellotron (as you can see, a rare MkV) from Mento Hevia.
On the 'Tron front, Descenso En El Mahëllstrong has cellos on its gentle intro and later in the track, while Amantes De La Irrealidad features choirs quite heavily, plus a few ethereal string chords at its close. Cellos again on Cobarde O Desertor, while Marchando Una Del Cid ('Tron brass) is indeed a march, with more than a little Jethro Tull about it, and not just because of the flute. Apart from the last two tracks, there's a good whack of 'Tron on the album, although as with so many Spanish bands, most of the strings are from a string synth. Why did they do that?
Anyway, an excellent album that I'd been hoping to track down for a while. Fantastic compositions and excellent Mellotron. Buy.
Crack the Sky (US) see: |
 |
|
 |
The Golden Age (1996, 48.34) ***/T½ |
|
| I Hate My Generation I'm a Little Rocket Ship Big Dipper Nothing to Believe in The Golden Age 100 Flower Power Maximum Dixie Babylon I Can't Forget You |
Sweet Thistle Pie Useless Stuff How Can I Live Without You Bicycle Spaniard |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Cracker are fronted by David Lowery, ex-Camper Van Beethoven (of Take The Skinheads Bowling fame), and boast of being the only band to support both the Grateful Dead and the Ramones (!). Critical opinion has it that their third album, Golden Age, isn't a patch on their second, Kerosene Hat, but to my ears it sounds like a decent enough semi-Americana effort, frequently tipping over into more straightforward, slightly grungy mainstream rock. Best track? Possibly opener I Hate My Generation, even though (or because?) it nicks the riff from Hawkwind's iconic Assault And Battery.
Lowery and Dennis Herring both play Mellotron, with most of the work being Lowery's, with strings on the really rather good I'm A Little Rocket Ship, a high string part on the title track and yet more strings near the end of 100 Flower Power Maximum that could, at a pinch, be mistaken for real ones, which, incidentally, is exactly what you get on Dixie Babylon and Bicycle Spaniard. So; not bad at what it does, though no classic, with passable 'Tron work. Yup, another average Mellotron album.
 |
Give Yourself a Hand (1999, 38.37) **½/TTT |
|
| Keep a Lid on Things A Cigarette is All You Get Just Chillin' I Want to Par-tay! Give Yourself a Hand Get You in the Morning Pissed With Me Just Shoot Me, Baby |
A Little Something I Love Your Goo Aching to Sneeze Playing Dead |
|
 |
Puss'n'Boots (2003, 45.28) **½/TT½ |
|
| It's a Shame Everything is Better With Me Triple Master Blaster I'm the Man (That You Are Not) Stupid Same I'll See What I Can Do Your Gun Won't Fire Flying Feeling |
If Ya Wanna Know Bye Bye Baby, Goodbye I Never Try That Hard Never Bother Looking Back It'll Never Leave You |
|
Current availability:
Mellotrons used:
The Crash Test Dummies apparently started off as irritating 'wacky', but by '99, they'd mutated into a far-too contemporary outfit, with all the right 'retro' instrumental references, including widespread use of a vibraphone, not to mention the obligatory Mellotron, although incorporating funk, soul etc. influences doth not necessarily a 'relevant' album make, especially when the lyrics are so tediously infantile. As far as the Mellotron's concerned (possibly from co-vocalist Ellen Reid), most of the relevant tracks feature it in a pretty low-key role, although Get You In The Morning, Just Shoot Me, Baby and I Love Your Goo have some upfront flutes and strings. The others all have amounts ranging from 'bits' to 'next to nothing', but there's probably enough use to make it worth picking up second-hand, as long as you can cope with the irritating music.
A few years on, and the Dummies (can I call them that?) stuck some more Mellotron on an album, in this case, 2003's Puss'n'Boots. Musically, it's the same old same old, of course; mainstream pop/rock with several sets of lyrics fairly obviously referencing drug use (yawn). Several 'Tron tracks again, from Chris Brown this time, with fairly major string parts on opener It's A Shame, Your Gun Won't Fire and If Ya Wanna Know and flutes on I'm The Man (That You Are Not), although not enough to make this boring album worth a purchase, unless you see it very cheap.
So; a rather tedious band with a surprising amount of Mellotron use over two albums. It has to be your choice; I wouldn't (and didn't) pay much for these, but I still feel a bit ripped off. A nice bit of 'Tron's all well and good, but not when it's in such a dullsville setting.
 |
They Dance Like This From as Far Off as the Crazy House (1982, 45.20) ***/½ |
|
| Come on Down No 1 10, Pemberley Sands This is Procedure While We Walked There We Drive So Hard Honeymoon The Weekend One (10, Pemberley Sands... Reprise) Fall in Line Laura |
Cowboys Out of Action The First Time March, March, March People Fall From Tall Buildings Come on Down No 2 The Weekend Two (the Weekend One... Reprise) |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
I'm British and was a (young) music-obsessed adult in 1982. Why have I never heard of Crazy House? Despite being (much) more towards the rock end of things, I nursed a secret admiration for some synthpop outfits, so discovering this lot almost three decades on is, if not an active joy, certainly of interest. 1982's verbosely-titled They Dance Like This From as Far Off as the Crazy House is a pretty decent noo wave/synthpop effort, better tracks including Men Without Hats-esque opener Come On Down No 1, the driving, fractured electronica of We Drive So Hard and the spacious Cowboys Out Of Action, all tied together by David Luckhurst's Bowiesque vocals and the stench of cheap synthesizers.
Peter Parsons is credited with various keyboards, including Mellotron, although by the end of track thirteen, Come On Down No 2, I was beginning to think it was a misnomer. Then album closer The Weekend Two (The Weekend One... Reprise) kicks in and... there it is. Weedy background choirs, although unmistakably Mellotron, not least due to the obvious key-click. Students of the era who haven't previously encountered Crazy House should make the effort to track this down; not exactly a lost gem, but a worthwhile effort, although not for the Mellotron.
 |
Goodbye (1969) ***½/TI'm So GladPolitician Sitting on Top of the World Badge Doing That Scrapyard Thing What a Bringdown |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Cream's last, posthumous album, Goodbye, was comprised of three live tracks (covering about two-thirds of the album's length) and three studio, one of which had already been a hit. Scraping the barrel? Hmmm. Saying that, the lengthy I'm So Glad which opens the record is a storming version, with Clapton's soloing showing what he was once capable of, and the band almost telepathically slipping back into the groove after all going their separate ways for a few minutes. Neither Politician or Sitting On Top Of The World fare as well, but the three studio tracks are all pretty good.
Badge is one of their best-known songs anyway, although the marvellous 'chorus' Leslied guitar part would have born some repetition. There's some Mellotron strings towards the end of the song that I'd never noticed before, too, from producer and later Mountaineer Felix Pappalardi, although Doing That Scrapyard Thing is the track that's usually quoted as being the album's 'Tron highlight. Well, it's got a brief repeating brass (?) part, but nothing to write home about, so while it's a good album, it's no 'Tron classic.
See: Jack Bruce
 |
How Does it Feel to Feel (1982, recorded 1966-68, 45.10) ***/½ |
|
| How Does it Feel to Feel Life is Just Beginning Through My Eyes Ostrich Man I am The Walker Tom Tom The Girls Are Naked Painter Man |
Try & Stop Me Biff-Bang-Pow Making Time Cool Jerk For All That I am Nightmares Midway Down Can I Join Your Band? |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
It seems a select band of music fans exist who claim that The Creation are better then The Who; both outfits had art school connections, both utilised feedback and did things to their guitars other than play them 'normally', but The Who predated The Creation by a good two years, had better songs and did it first. All of which isn't to say that The Creation were a bad band; far from it - they produced some excellent sides, more than equalling some of The Who's rather ordinary album tracks, but there's nothing in their (smallish) catalogue to obviously challenge My Generation, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere or, well, any other Who hits you can think of.
They only released one album in their lifetime, 1967's We Are Paintermen, although they've been compiled multiple times since, starting as early as 1968's The Best of The Creation. 1982's How Does it Feel to Feel added some previously unreleased tracks to their catalogue, including what appears to be their sole Mellotron track, Ostrich Man, with a skronky woodwind (oboe?) line from guitarist Eddie Phillips, although it's hardly something you're going to go out of your way to hear for that alone.
Anyone interested in British '60s rock probably needs to hear The Creation somewhere down the line, but given that this compilation's long, long out of print, you're probably better off with, say, the expanded We Are Paintermen, containing pretty much everything you need to hear, including Ostrich Man.
 |
 |
Creation/Felix Pappalardi (1976, 35.19) ***/T½She's Got MeDreams I Dream of You Green Rocky Road Preachers' Daughters Listen to the Music Secret Power Summer Days Dark Eyed Lady of the Night Ballad of a Sad Café |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Mountain were long washed-up by 1976, and bassist Felix Pappalardi fell in with a Japanese band, Creation. Each liked the other's way of working, and a decision was made to record together, although the resulting album was released with the band's name first in Japan, and Pappalardi's in the States, as you can see. The album isn't a million miles away from Mountain, proving that they were Pappalardi's band as much as Leslie West's, although it's fairly bland throughout much of its length - no Nantucket Sleighride here. Mid-paced bluesy opener She's Got Me sets the tone for much of the album, slipping into ballad territory on track two, Dreams I Dream Of You. None of the material's particularly outstanding, to be honest, although nothing actually offends.
Real strings on a couple of tracks, with Pappalardi's 'Tron only cropping up with a few string chords on She's Got Me and a slightly more substantial part on 'Ballad Of A Sad Café, though that would seem to be it. So; not a classic on any front, though possibly worth picking up cheap. Average.
See: Mountain
 |
I Become Small and Go (1998, 43.55) **½/T |
|
| Wonderful Love Tracy Empty Ships Dreaming Again Prison Mix Sylvia Dear Deadly Black Hole |
Drink and Drive Second Chance He Made Us All Blind unlisted track |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
I'm afraid to say I can't really think of anything much to say about Creeper Lagoon. They're a US-based indie outfit, with the regulation whiny vocals (WHY do they do that? I mean, WHY??!), and the regulation dreary, half-arsed songs, with no discernable melody. OK, it isn't quite that bad, but I Become Small and Go didn't grab me by the throat and say, "Play me again!". No standout tracks, really, although the Mellotron (player unknown) on opener Wonderful Love is really quite full-on; easily the best bit of the album.
Buy? Don't be silly. Incidentally, 2000's rather better Watering Ghost Garden mini-album is alleged to contain Mellotron, but doesn't.
 |
Life's Too Short (1991, 45.34) ***/½ |
|
| Better Back Off Don't Disappear Now Fantastic Planet of Love Delilah Face of Fashion Stop Doing That Walkin' Around Starting Tomorrow |
Everything's the Truth Somewhere Down the Line |
|
 |
#447 (1999, 39.43) ***½/TT |
|
| Opening Dime a Dozen Guy Television Light Glad Goodbye West of Bald Knob Tell Me About it Ready Right Now Eydie's Tune |
T.M.D. Right There in Front of Me You Said What?? |
|
 |
Jaggedland (2009, 46.04) ***/T |
|
| Right on Time Passing Through Someone Told Me Stormy River Gasoline Baby Never Coming Down Long Hard Road Jaggedland |
Sunday Blues Just Snap Your Fingers Eventually Live and Learn |
|
Current availability:
Mellotrons/Chamberlin used:
Marshall Crenshaw is revered in some circles as a God Of Powerpop, although going by these three albums, I'm not sure I'm ready to join the cult just yet. They're not bad records, by any means, with at least a couple of excellent tracks on every one, but only one of the three leapt out at me as something I'll play again in the near future. Crenshaw's biggest hit was his eponymous 1982 debut, and while he spent the '80s on major labels, his particular brand of intelligent, melodic pop has been subsequently sidelined onto indies. At least he stands a better chance of not being treated like crap, I suppose.
His sixth album, 1991's Life's Too Short (still on a major), is a decent record, if slightly unengaging, despite its thankful insistence on not sounding like a late-period '80s record. Actually, most of the songs are good, although Starting Tomorrow's a little slushy and the slightly countryish Somewhere Down The Line's a rather low-key closer. Producer Ed Stasium is credited with Mellotron, with what sounds like background flute chords in Somewhere Down The Line, though it's almost impossible to spot.
Eight years on and the difference in style and production values on '99's #447 is impossible to miss. I'm not sure if it's that the songs are better, or the more sympathetic arrangements and instrumentation make them sound that way, but it's a far more listenable album (to my ears, anyway) than Life's Too Short, highlights including Dime A Dozen Guy, Tell Me About It and Ready Right Now. Crenshaw and Brad Jones play Mellotron and Chamberlin respectively, with (presumably) a wonky 'Tron strings melody on Glad Goodbye, flutes on the instrumental West Of Bald Knob and strings on T.M.D.
I haven't heard Crenshaw's 2003 outing, What's in the Bag, but '09's Jaggedland, while recognisably him, is a little more low-fi than previous excursions, and the 'great song' count seems to be lower than on #447, although opener Right On Time and Stormy River are pretty good. Crenshaw plays 'Tron again, although not much, with cellos and strings eventually making themselves known on the title track, and while they could be hidden away elsewhere, it's almost impossible to tell.
it's quite odd reviewing three albums spread over nearly twenty years of an artist's career; unless they're a dyed-in-the-wool genre specialist (see: most older metal bands), you'd expect some progression (or regression) over the years, so it's hardly surprising that these all sound fairly different. To be honest, I found #447 to be both the most listenable and the one with the most Mellotron, but his best album's probably another one altogether. Anyway, I'll review What's in the Bag when I finally track a copy down.
 |
Cressida (1970, 46.39) ****/T |
|
| To Play Your Little Game Winter is Coming Again Time for Bed Cressida Home and Where I Long to Be Depression One of a Group Lights in My Mind |
The Only Earthman in Town Spring '69 Down Down Tomorrow is a Whole New Day |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Cressida were yet another formative progressive outfit whose style has become known as 'proto-prog' (see: Spring, Gracious!, etc.); organ-dominated, late-period psych stylings jostling for space with those new-fangled progressive ideas. Yup, it's 1970. Cressida is actually very good, although like just about all albums of this type, it sounds rather dated these days, even by the standards of the genre.
Peter Jennings' Mellotron work only features on two tracks: Cressida itself has some lush Mark II strings, while Down Down has rather less of the same, although it's a wonderful song. Actually, it's a really nice album, and I'm assured that upon repeated plays many of the songs will end up sticking like glue. Anyway, if you like this particular style, I'll recommend this for the music, though not for the 'Tron.
 |
Moon, Light & Flowers [a.k.a. Ausgewählte Goldstücke] (1979, 36.02/40.37) **/½'57 (The Year I Was Born)Fire and Rain Wild River Shadows Over My Head Love Me Moonlight Flower Sparks of Imagination Streets of Time Song for Unknown Heroes |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Romania's Mihai Creţu found fame as Michael Cretu, going on to form the enormously successful Enigma in the '90s. His first solo album, 1979's Moon, Light & Flowers (Ausgewählte Goldstücke in Germany) is a pretty insipid effort, to be honest, full of drippy love songs like Love Me and Sparks Of Imagination, or crummy pseudo-disco like opener '57 (The Year I Was Born) (sample lyric: "Fifty-seven is the year I was born/Nothing special in the eyes of the Lord"), or Shadows Over My Head. Its only real saving grace is Cretu's heavy reliance on synths, with some decent sounds peering through the mix in those pre-digital days.
Cretu's only obvious Mellotron use on the album is the choirs on six-minute (an epic, no less!) closer Song For Unknown Heroes, although those chords seem to go on longer than they should... Maybe he worked out the 'two octaves the same' technique, whereby the player can fake a perpetual choir chord; it's actually one of the less arresting keyboard sounds on the album, not really enhancing the track. So; do you like late '70s Euro-disco/balladry? Yes? Maybe this album's for you, then. If Cretu had used similar synth sounds on some less gloopy material, I might like it a little more myself, too. Incidentally, the italicised track above (Wild River) was his first single from the previous year and is included on some versions of the album.
 |
Ignore the Ignorant (2009, 47.48) ***/½ |
|
| We Were Aborted Cheat on Me We Share the Same Skies City of Bugs Hari Kari Last Years Snow Emasculate Me Ignore the Ignorant |
Save Your Secrets Nothing Vistim of Mass Production Stick to Yr Guns |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Yorkshire's Cribs started as the trio of the Jarman brothers, Ross and twins Gary and Ryan, adding The Smiths' Johnny Marr in 2008, in an unlikely move. His first album with the band, 2009's Ignore the Ignorant, is a surprisingly good effort by modern indie standards, combining raucous material (opener We Were Aborted - that'll go down well in the States, chaps - and Emasculate Me) with reasonably inventive arrangements (We Share The Same Skies, Hari Kari), although it pulls off the unenviable trick of doing the opposite of growing on the (or this) listener with repeated plays. Shrinking on me?
Gary plays Mellotron on closer Stick To Yr Guns, with a nice descending string line that might even be genuine. Overall, then, a powerpop/indie crossover thing with several good songs, although at pushing fifty minutes, I'd say it's a good ten minutes too long. Anyway, not enough Mellotron to be worth hearing on those grounds, just in case...
 |
You Don't Mess Around With Jim (1972, 32.16) ***½/½ |
|
| You Don't Mess Around With Jim Tomorrow's Gonna Be a Brighter Day New York's Not My Home Hard Time Losin' Man Photographs and Memories Walkin' Back to Georgia Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels) Time in a Bottle |
Rapid Roy (the Stock Car Boy) Box #10 A Long Time Ago Hey Tomorrow |
|
Current availability:
Chamberlin used:
Right: this one's a bit of a leap of faith for this site. Someone called Cheyenne wrote to me a while back, claiming that Croce's track Time In A Bottle featured a Mellotron harpsichord patch, apparently from the very same machine that was played on Strawberry Fields (yeah, right), his (or her?) proof being that their dad was the musician in question, which presumably makes them the offspring of a certain Tommy West. OK. No.1: The nearest the Mellotron ever got to a harpsichord patch is the MkII's 'harpsichord effect'. No.2: The album was recorded in New York, and it seems likely the 'Strawberry Fields' machine still resided in London at that time. No.3: Huh? However.... There is a Chamberlin harpsichord, and listening to the brief snippets on Mellotron.com, the high note sounds an awful lot like the ones on the track... So, I'll give this the benefit of the (considerable) doubt, and review it on that basis.
Jim Croce's story is an ultimately tragic one; after an initial album in 1969, he finally got himself signed properly in his late 20s, released two albums in quick succession in 1972, then died in a plane crash the following year, just before the release of his next record. You Don't Mess Around With Jim is the first of his 'proper' albums, and is a worthy slice of early-'70s rootsy singer-songwriter fare, the highlight of which is definitely Time In A Bottle, which, by the way, has nothing to do with its alleged Chamberlin use. The rest of the material varies, with the slower stuff working better, at least to my ears, but nothing really grates, which is more than you can say for many of his contemporaries.
So; Jim Croce is worth hearing, but unless you're the sort of obsessive that has to hear everything that might just possibly contain tape-replay (whadd'ya mean, me?), you won't want this just on the offchance.
 |
7" ( 1968) ***½/TT Maxine's Parlour Get Out Your Rock'n'Roll Shoes |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Crocheted Doughnut Ring were a short-lived late '60s outfit who released four singles in total, including one as the abbreviated Doughnut Ring. The nicely psychedelic Maxine's Parlour was the third of these, standing up well in comparison with other second-division acts of the day, although I can't find out whether it's been anthologised. The flip, Get Out Your Rock'n'Roll Shoes, however, sounds exactly as you'd expect, and really isn't worth the effort.
John Chapel plays Mellotron strings and flutes on the a-side, making this all the more in need of finding its way onto a compilation. Actually, given that the band released eight sides, they probably recorded more, if only as demos, so surely someone could put out an album? Anyway, worth hearing if you get the chance.
 |
Cold War (1983, 30.28/38.29) ***½/T |
|
| Cold War (Nuclear War) Nuclear War (part II) Nuclear Winter Human Clones Future Man The Elohim The Golden Age Star Gate |
[CD adds: Cold War (atomic dub) The Golden Age (instrumental)] |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Edward "David Michael Cross" Upton's obscure Cold War was released on CD in 2003, but its music is spot-on early '80s electro, while the lyrics are strangely preoccupied with nuclear war. It seems that Cross' album was actually originally released on a tiny label in 1983, which explains everything, as it's as firmly stuck in its era as anything I've heard all year, albeit not actually in a bad way. It's almost pointless trying to isolate any 'best tracks', although opener Cold War (Nuclear War) is almost a microcosm of the entire record.
Cross plays Mellotron, with the inevitable choirs on Future Man, providing the track's main chordal backdrop. Plenty of other cool gear on board (hey, pre-digital!), but only one Mellotron track. I'd like to commend White Leather for this worthy resurrection; if only most obscure reissues were this good. Oh, and speaking of the cold war, the next time you feel inclined to moan about how bad things are, remember (if you're old enough) the nuclear paranoia of the '60s through to the '80s, then shut up whingeing.
 |
What's Rattlin' on the Moon (2010, 77.05) ****/TTTTT |
|
| Tarabos Chloe and the Pirates All White The Man Who Waved at Trains As if Hibou, Anemone and Bear Out-Bloody-Rageous Pig |
Esther's Nose Job Slightly All the Time Leonardo's E-Mail Moonvision Many Moons, Many Junes Lunar Impression Circular Lines in the Air Moon Geezers |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
If Beppe Crovella isn't considered 'legendary', he should be; keyboard player and main mover'n'shaker with Italian fusioneers Arti & Mestieri and the now-defunct Vinyl Magic label boss, not to mention his multifarious projects in the '90s, some of which are listed below. He's also released a whole slew of solo projects, the latest of which, 2010's What's Rattlin' on the Moon, is an album of Crovella's interpretations of ten of The Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge's compositions, with a few of his own stuck on the end. I'll admit here to an almost complete ignorance of the source material, so how Crovella's versions shape up against Ratledge's originals is unknown, but to the untrained ear, they stand up well in their own right, in an avant-jazz kind of way. The compositions are far from unmelodious, although their harmonic content is complex enough to give all but the most jaded listener something to chew on, highlights including The Man Who Waved At Trains and Pig. Crovella's own material is good, but rather outclassed by Ratledge's, although, in fairness, he's operating in a different, less avant- idiom.
Crovella slathers Mellotron over every Ratledge composition, treating it as the lead instrument, with combinations of strings, choirs and flutes on most tracks, with brass on several others. Less common sounds include the vibes on Chloe And The Pirates, plus what sounds like two different choir sounds, the solo sax on All White, the cello on The Man Who Waved At Trains and the (presumably sampled) MkII rhythms on the same track, leading to a highly satisfying Mellotronic effort all round. This isn't the easiest listen, which should be taken as a compliment; there's enough going on here to keep your average proghead busy for a while, assuming he (yes, usually a he) doesn't tire of the unconventional writing style. Crovella's writing contributions are less essential, but are at worst ignorable and at best complimentary to the album's real meat'n'potatoes. Recommended.
See: Arti & Mestieri | Cantina Sociale | Randone | Romantic Warriors | Secret Cinema | Tower
