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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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Dragon (NZ) Dragon (Belgium) Dragonwyck Bob Drake |
Dream Theater Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity Minnie Driver |
Druid Ermelinda Duarte Dukes of Stratosphear |
Dungen Dusty Trails Dzyan |
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Scented Gardens for the Blind (1975, 37.53) ****½/TVermillion CellarsLa Gash Lagoon Sunburst Greylynn Candy Darkness Scented Gardens for the Blind |
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New Zealand's Dragon prove the old adage about their country: 'twelve hours forward and ten years back', which may sound a little cruel, but it's a reasonably fair assessment of their original sound, and in no way a criticism. They come across like a turn-of-the-'70s outfit from the UK (OK, so that's only five years), with vestiges of a late-'60s feel to their music, but where they win out is in the strength of their songwriting. Having honed their skills on the notoriously tough NZ 'pub' circuit (huge barns full of drunk Kiwis), it must have been difficult to come up with an album as thoughtful as Scented Gardens for the Blind, but Dragon come through smiling, with a set of memorable yet interesting songs. Organist Ivan Thompson (now there's a Kiwi name for you!) does a grand job on the Hammond, throwing a bit of synth into the mix, plus a smattering of Mellotron on La Gash Lagoon, but nothing you're not going to hear better elsewhere, to be honest.
Scented Gardens is a damn' good album, even if it's no 'Tron classic. Sadly, the CD has that 'unofficial' look about it, so your money's probably going into some bootlegger's pocket, as with several other acts from that part of the world (Australia's Rainbow Theatre spring to mind). Its predecessor, Universal Radio is good, too, but Dragon then slid into commercial mediocrity, becoming one of NZ's biggest (and least-known outside the Antipodes) bands, so avoid anything other than these two.
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Dragon (1976, 38.10) ***½/T½Introduction - InsectsLucifer Leave Me With Tears Gone in the Wind In the Blue Crystal Ball |
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Kalahen/Plus (1977/92, 46.47/74.34) **½/TT |
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| Children Are Playing Game Ballad America Les Hommes Bleus Red Light Kalahen [CD adds: Psychedelic Brotherman |
Blues Ashes Two Drops of Rain Burning Light Fanny (part 1-4) J.V.'s Private Works] |
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Dragon (Belgian version)'s first album is one of those 'out of time' sort of records, where you'd swear it was from a different age, which, oddly enough, it has in common with their New Zealand namesakes. Dragon could quite easily pass for one of those 1970/71 LPs from the likes of Cressida or Spring, with no immediately apparent sign that the band are Belgian. Organ-heavy, with that post-'60s 'jamming' feel about it, the material is actually very good, despite its dated feel. It isn't the most Mellotron-heavy album ever, but Gone In The Wind (OK, I take the Belgian comment back) has some excellent string parts from Christian Duponcheel, and there's a bit of choir on Crystal Ball, but the other two tracks I've noted aren't even definite; a few notes of a string sound that may or may not actually be 'Tron.
Their second album, Kalahen, appears to be no more than a bunch of demos stuck together, although this was in 1977, when such things were almost unheard of (it was issued on CD in 1992 as Kalahen Plus, adding another six tracks). Stylistically, it doesn't seem that the band had moved on much from their debut, with the extra added non-benefit of fairly poor sound quality, including extraneous noise that wouldn't have made the final version. To be honest, the album's a bit of a mess; several tracks are no better than raw jams, and of the original six, the title track's the only one that makes the grade at all, and then only because it's so odd.
It's also the only one to feature any 'Tron, although two other tracks have what sounds like string synth. A side-long piece, Kalahen itself opens with 'Tron pipe organ, before great slabs of choir are dropped onto it from a great height; undoubtedly the album's Mellotronic highlight and probably its musical one too, despite its incoherence. There's more choirs on the first bonus track, Psychedelic Brotherman, but that would appear to be it. In fact, apart from that track, the rest of the bonus material actually lowers the quality of the overall release, especially J.V.'s Private Works (guitarist Jean Vanaise), which is a messy collage of musical snippets, none of which were really worth saving, to be honest.
So; Dragon's a good album in a very early '70s style, with a smattering of 'Tron, although Kalahen is for completists only. Your choice.
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Chapter 2 (1995, recorded 1973, 45.50) ***½/TTTT |
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| Kimberly He Loves You Fire Climbs Relics Freedom Son Lady Run to the Devil Dead Man |
The Music Forever Only Last a Little While [Bonus tracks: Lovin' the Boys The Music] |
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Dragonwyck's debut, eponymous album, leaked out in a minuscule pressing run in 1970, sounding more like The Doors circa '67 than anything else. By the time they'd recorded what ended up as Chapter 2, three years later, they'd progressed to the heady heights of... 1970, making it no particular surprise that, despite a decent fanbase in Cleveland, they were never going to break through commercially. Their second album is actually a pretty decent hard rock/psych effort, just terribly dated, doubtless sounding prehistoric even at the time.
The band had purchased an arsenal of new gear between their two recording sessions, not least a Mellotron (presumably an M400), which keys man Kenneth Staab layered all over the album like it was going out of fashion. Strings on most tracks, with flutes here and there (Forever Only Last A Little While is a particular standout), although Staab knew what he was doing with the instrument; there's more than a hint of Mike Pinder's work with the Moody Blues in evidence here, albeit with rather less sonic variety, without a MkII to play with.
All in all, a bit of an unexpected killer 'Tron album, although Staab's work could hardly be described as original, knocking a half 'T' from the album's rating. The official World in Sound reissue (the tapes had been bootlegged before) adds two tracks from 1974, which, although more up-to-date for the era, are actually less essential than the main album. So; one for Moodies fans looking for something (very) slightly different.
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13 Songs and a Thing (2003, 50.38) ****/T |
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| Chase Foam II Abandoned Thermal Establishment Blues Rtuuf Ten for a Dime Move the King In Case the Insulator Fails Griffin - or - an Erotic Dream |
Pechan and Willy Spicules Plinth Shriveller Building With Bones - or - A Thing And the Sun Foam I |
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A founding member of Colorado's Thinking Plague, it seems Bob Drake has now left the band to pursue his own, strange path into the further reaches of RIO (Rock in Opposition). 13 Songs and a Thing seems to cover almost every musical genre known to mankind, plus a few new ones, often all in the same 'song'. It's very odd, but if Drake wanted to do something 'normal', I'm sure he would, so I think we should celebrate the fact that he chooses to go down the road less travelled. Just don't expect an easy listen... Difficult to pick out highlights, when every track differs wildly from every other one, but Chase has a particularly intense section, and many others feature Drake's fantastic acoustic guitar work. Oh, and if you're not into insane percussion overload, I'd skip the nearly 13 minutes of Building With Bones...
Drake lives in France these days, near the Pyrenees, where he recorded the mighty Nebelnest's latest album, 2002's Nova Express, which is when I suspect he got the band's Olivier Tejedor to add some Mellotron to Ten For A Dime. He puts down some discordant, almost random strings, with the odd bit of 'near-normality', though not enough to give you the impression that Drake's exactly sold out to the mainstream. As a result, you could hardly call this a Mellotron Album, but if you prefer musical backroads, as against the highway (and don't we all, really?), 13 Songs is definitely worth a listen. Oh, and don't get him confused with ex-Cardiacs' Bill Drake, and no, I've no idea why his website is www.bdrak.com, when www.bdrake.com seems to be available.
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Falling Into Infinity (1997, 78.20) ***/T½ |
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| New Millennium You Not Me Peruvian Skies Hollow Years Burning My Soul Hell's Kitchen Lines in the Sand Take Away My Pain |
Just Let Me Breathe Anna Lee Trial of Tears It's Raining Deep in Heaven The Wasteland |
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Dream Theater burst on to the scene at the end of the '80s, inventing modern 'progressive metal' in the process; many bands had mixed the two genres in the past, but DT discovered a particular combination of influences that caught the ears of large numbers of fans from both camps. Somewhere between Yes, Rush, Metallica and anything involving Steve Vai, they sounded, at least for a while, fresh, exciting and contemporary. Their debut, When Dream and Day Unite (***) was rather formless, but they followed up with one of their best albums, Images and Words (****), containing several concert favourites.
Falling Into Infinity, their fourth full studio album, was seen by many to be their attempt to 'go mainstream', although there seems to be little audible evidence to back this up. It was their second keyboard player Derek Sherinian's only full album with the band, and he surprised quite a few people by his fairly retro approach to his sound; loads of Hammond, some analogue-type synth sounds, and Mellotron on a couple of tracks. The music is typical Dream Theater, though; too much double-kick drumming, too much pseudo-Metallica riffing and too many pseudo-Vai solos. Peruvian Skies features a little 'Tron strings, but nothing you couldn't live without, to be honest. Anna Lee is a bit of a piano ballad if truth be told; this is probably one of the tracks that's given the album its 'commercial' reputation. There are some more strings on the track, but it's still a bit inessential, I'm afraid.
I did have their Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence here, too, but I'm assured that it's all samples, ditto Train of Thought. So, buy? Only if you like the noise they make anyway; OK album, but not a classic, Mellotron or otherwise.
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7" (1968) ****/TTT This Wheel's on Fire I'm a Lonesome Hobo |
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7" (1968) ***½/TT Road to Cairo Shadows of You |
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Given that Auger was the backbone of this outfit, I always feel they should file under his name, but this is how they were known, so this is where you find 'em. Normally a bluesy/jazzy sort of proposition, these two singles have a more mainstream sound, at least by late-'60s standards. This Wheel's On Fire is, of course, a Dylan song, though I'm not sure who wrote Road To Cairo.
I don't know if Auger used Mellotron on anything else around this period; there certainly wasn't any on the compilation I heard, but that may well not have been definitive, so it's hard to tell. Anyway, This Wheel's On Fire's a fantastic performance, starting with 'Tron strings and piano, organ coming in on the chorus, which is where you finally stylistically spot the song's author. Road To Cairo is more of a ballad featuring Julie Driscoll's great jazz voice and more of those 'Tron strings (Mark II, of course). So; two excellent tracks, good 'Tron throughout, worth finding on a compilation.
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Everything I've Got in My Pocket (2004, 46.25) **½/½ |
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| Everything I've Got in My Pocket Invisible Girl Fast as You Can Wire Home Deeper Water So Well Hungry Heart |
Down Yellow Eyes Ruby Adeline |
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British actress Amelia "Minnie" Driver kicked off her recording career in her early thirties, producing the laid-back modern singer-songwriter fare of Everything I've Got in My Pocket in 2004. It's one of those fairly inoffensive albums that doesn't actually really say anything much at all, while avoiding the intense irritation of many of its contemporaries; while Driver has a pleasant voice, the whole affair ends up being a little too unassuming.
The countryish pedal steel on Fast As You Can, Home and Yellow Eyes is the album's chief instrumental signature, regaining some sort of balance from the sampled beats prevalent on a few too many songs. Both Mellotron (Marc Dauer) and Chamberlin (Rami Jaffee) on the album, with what sounds like solo violin (viola?) on the opening title track and Down, some sort of generalised background string wash on So Well and nothing audible at all on Yellow Eyes, which all adds up to very little, to be honest.
You're going to have to really like ballads to like this album, I think; it never really picks up the pace, making it all a little one-dimensional (yes, I know a one-dimensional object is impossible...). Next to no audible tape-replay, either, so I wouldn't bother if I were you.
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Toward the Sun (1975, 47.37) ***½/TTTTTVoicesRemembering Theme Toward the Sun Red Carpet for an Autumn Dawn of Evening Shangri-La |
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As legend has it, Druid won their two-album deal with EMI in a competition, and funnily enough, recorded precisely that number of records before being dropped. They were also championed by '70s UK music show the Old Grey Whistle Test's 'Whispering' Bob Harris, who also produced their first album. Druid specialised in laid-back melodic progressive rock with a distinct Yes influence (unusual for a British band); extremely pleasant, but they were never really going to be first division.
I'm afraid to say I was under the impression that Toward the Sun was a dullard of an album; I had a vague memory of a fairly up-and-at-it opening track, then a long slow decline to the end. Wrong. Again. The material is good, if not great, but Andrew McCrorie-Shand's Mellotron use on the album is intense. Great swathes of strings layered over everything in sight, completely and gloriously ignoring the 'less is more' maxim. Given how long I've owned a copy of this, I was completely taken aback by just how full-on the Mellotron is. Top marks, chaps.
Now, until recently I've been under the impression that their second album, Fluid Druid (***), also contained 'Tron, but I've just been informed by no lesser a personage than McCrorie-Shand himself that the 'Mellotron' on the album is actually 'real' instruments arranged to sound like a Mellotron! Aaargh! Anyway, the album is generally not as good as their debut, and chances are that you're going to find them on the BGO 2-disc set, so you'll get it whether you want it or not. So, all in all, number one's a must, number two (now irrelevant to this site) isn't. If you find the double CD cheap, buy it anyway.
Amusing note: McCrorie-Shand now works as a composer for the BBC; among his works is the theme music for bizarre druggy cult show 'Teletubbies'. Oh, is it a kids' programme? Sorry, my mistake. Anyway, a far cry from Dawn of Evening, eh?!
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7" (1974) **½/TT Somos Livres Joaquim da Silva |
Ermelinda Duarte's Somos Livres, or 'We Are Free', from 1974, is highly significant, as that was the year the country overthrew its fascist dictatorship, a year before neighbouring Spain followed suit. The song opens with a stately folkish melody, although, sadly, it soon slips into jaunty Mediterranean folk-by-numbers, although I'm sure the message should be regarded as more important than the music. José Cid, then still of Quarteto 1111 (who were the band on the session), adds Mellotron strings throughout the track, sounding great on the intro and rather more cheesy later on. Good to hear them used, whatever.
Arnaldo Pata supplied me with this track (thanks, Arnaldo!), and he tells me that the b-side, Joaquim Da Silva, also features Cid's 'Tron, but he doesn't have access to a copy. Somehow, I can't imagine one is suddenly going to pop up for review, but stranger things have happened... You're not exactly going to find a copy of this easily, and you probably wouldn't like it if you did, but despite its being very much of its time and place, it's interesting to hear Señor Cid use his Mellotron in a non-prog setting.
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25 O'Clock (1985, 26.44) *****/TT½25 O'ClockBike Ride to the Moon My Love Explodes What in the World??... Your Gold Dress The Mole From the Ministry |
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Psonic Psunspot (1987, 40.00) *****/TTT½ |
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| Vanishing Girl Have You Seen Jackie? Little Lighthouse You're a Good Man Albert Brown (Curse You Red Barrel) Collideascope You're My Drug Shiny Cage |
Brainiac's Daughter The Affiliated Pale and Precious |
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Chips From the Chocolate Fireball (1989, 62.44) *****/TTTT |
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| 25 O'Clock Bike Ride to the Moon My Love Explodes What in the World??... Your Gold Dress The Mole From the Ministry Vanishing Girl Have You Seen Jackie? |
Little Lighthouse You're a Good Man Albert Brown (Curse You Red Barrel) Collideascope You're My Drug Shiny Cage Brainiac's Daughter The Affiliated Pale and Precious |
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Ah, the Dukes of Stratosphear, one of Britain's best-loved late-'60s psych outfits, unheralded in their time, only to be exhumed and beatified decades later. Oh all right, it's XTC's cod-psych alter-egos, rejoicing in the monickers Lord Cornelius Plum, Sir John Johns, e-i-e-i Owen and The Red Curtain. Their two albums, compiled onto the Chips From the Chocolate Fireball collection, are the most brilliant psych pastiches ever, with an almost psychotic attention to detail and bucketloads of humour to boot.
Fans tend to prefer the 25 O'Clock mini-album, originally conceived as a one-off project, and it's probably fair to say that there's a little more joyous abandon in its six tracks than in the more commercially-inclined Psonic Psunspot. It must have been intensely irritating to XTC to discover that their jokey side project was selling better than they were and I believe that's the reason behind the full-length album. Nonetheless, it's still full of superb material, replete with period detail and great songs, a touch that many bands would've forgotten in their haste. A brilliant touch is the spoken-word interludes by the studio owner's young daughter (I think), who does the best 'Alice' I've heard in a long while. Incidentally, scholars of the period can apparently nail almost every track down to a specific influence, many of them obscure in themselves, but my lesser knowledge can only spot the most obvious; 'Sgt. Pepper', 'Ogden's', 'Village Green' etc. A couple of specifics I've noticed, though, are Bike Ride To The Moon (Tomorrow), the excellent pub singalong You're A Good Man Albert Brown (Beatles vs. Kinks), the end of Pale And Precious (Beach Boys, theremin included) and Collideascope (The Move).
There's some great Mellotron, too, of course, although the band have resisted the doubtless huge temptation to swamp the entire project with it. It's not always easy to tell, but there's definitely a couple of tracks on the mini-album, but it really comes into its own on Psonic Psunspot, particularly on Have You Seen Jackie? and Collideascope. The story goes that for the recording of the full-length album at a studio right out in the sticks (Devon, I think), the equipment had to be transported in a rowing boat (!), M400 included...
It's interesting to note that as XTC's career has progressed, the distance between 'themselves' and the Dukes has gradually lessened until by 1999's excellent Apple Venus Volume 1, they're almost indistinguishable, except that the XTC album is technically 'serious'. Anyway, if you have even a remote interest in late-'60s British music, buy these (the compilation suffices) and contribute to XTC's pension fund (stop choking at the back...). Absolutely wonderful albums that stand repeated plays without a murmur of dissent. Sheer brilliance. Buy immediately.
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Stadsvandringar (2002, 38.09) ***½/T |
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| Stadsvandringar Har du Vart' i Stockholm? Solen Stiger Upp 1 & 2 Över Stock och Sten Sol och Regn Fest Natten Blir Dag Andra Sidan Sjön |
Stadsvandring Vem Vaktar Lejonen Krona |
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Ta det Lugnt (2004, 53.25) ****/T½ |
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| Panda Gjort Bort Sig Festival Du e fö Fin fö Mig Ta det Lugnt Det du Tänker Idag är du i Morgon Lejonet & Kulan Bortglömd |
Glömd Konst Kommer Stundom Ånyo Till Heders Lipsill Om du Vore en Vakthund Tack Ska Ni Ha Sluta Följa Efter |
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Dungen (pronounced 'doon-yen', not phonetically, or worst of all, 'dungeon') are the brainchild of a young Swedish multi-instrumentalist, Gustav Ejstes, around whom a band eventually coalesced, including no less a personage than guitarist Reine Fiske, ex-Landberk and Paatos. Having just seen the band play a blinding gig in a London club, I can attest that they can cut it live: what about on album? Stadsvandringar is their debut, and while distinctly promising, not enough of its tracks leap out at you, although the singalong title track and its reprise are probably stuck in my brain permanently. Actually, I'm being a little unfair; this is a really good album, although it pales slightly in comparison to its successor. Some background 'Tron strings on Har Du Vart' I Stockholm? are the sum total of its Mellotronic input, and are only just recognisable as such, so buy this because it's good, rather than for any supposed Mellotron work.
Ta det Lugnt is technically their third release, although only their second CD (followed by a compilation of early EPs, Dungen 1999-2001), and is a cool-as-fuck mixture of psych and prog, which begs the question: why are they fashionable? I ask the same question about Australia's super-retro Wolfmother, and the only (patronising) answer I can come up with is: expose enough people to good, underground music, and some of them will catch on, unaware of the band's forebears.
Ta det Lugnt by and large captures the band's live sound, right down to Fiske's guitar torture, particularly on Du E Fö Fin Fö Mig. Did I say that Ejstes sings in Swedish? Nothing if not uncompromising... He hauls a Hammond and a Wurly around, too, rather than make do with the standard substitutes. Christ, you can tell the difference... Listen to the churchy tones on Lejonet & Kulan for proof. Basically, there isn't a bad track here, from the more (relatively) straightforward stuff to the brain-frying psych workouts. I mean, closer Sluta Följa Efter is essentially Landberk at their most freakout, complete with ripping (and clearly real) 'Tron strings. Landberk's old machine? Who knows? Glömd Konst Kommer... is the other Mellotron track present, being no more or less than a 'Tron flute solo, complete with tape wobble part of the way through. Fantastic!
Look, buy Ta det Lugnt, make these guys rich and famous. Reine Fiske has obviously finally found his spiritual home, and Gustav Ejstes is a total star; how can they fail? Great album, sparse but wonderful 'Tron. Buy.
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Dusty Trails (2000, 43.40) ***½/T |
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| Pearls on a String You Freed Yourself Spy in the Lounge Est-ce Que Tu Roll the Dice St-Tropez Unhand Me You Wretch They May Call Me a Dreamer |
Fool for a Country Tune Regrets in Bordertown Order Coffee Conga Style Caught in a Dream Dusty Trails Theme |
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Dusty Trails are the duo of ex-Luscious Jackson (Mellotron users themselves) keyboardist Vivian Trimble and British ex-Breeder Josephine Wiggs. Their sole album to date, Dusty Trails, is faux-easy listening, with a notable South American influence in places. Various songs are sung in French by the wonderful Emmylou Harris, not at all in a European art-flick kind of way... Above all, this is an immensely mellow album, a million miles away from the protagonist's previous outfits. It could be mistaken for pastiche or irony, but it seems to me that both women mean it, although it's impossible to do this kind of stuff these days without at least a knowing, arched eyebrow.
Trimble is credited with 'keyboard strings', amongst other things, and going by a couple of online interviews I've seen, it appears that the strings (and presumably choir) on Fool For A Country Tune are actually Mellotron, although they sound more like samples to me. I'd be more than happy to be proved wrong, but I'll leave the review up here until/if I find out for sure. So, not one for the progheads among you (!), but if you're fed up with '60s lounge music, try this as an alternative. Don't bother for that 'Tron track, though.
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Electric Silence (1974, 37.05) ***½/TTBack to Where We Come FromA Day in My Life The Road Not Taken Khali For Earthly Thinking Electric Silence |
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Dzyan were named for the Stanzas of Dzyan, a supposed ancient Tibetan text, quite possibly forged in the late 19th century by H.P. Blavatsky. Their third and last release, Electric Silence, is a pretty bonkers stoned-out Krautrock album, with a considerable Eastern influence on several tracks. Eddy Marron's sitar and tambura playing are added to the ethnic pot-pourri, along with more standard rock and folk instrumentation, although the title track is pretty much the only one to stick to the standard electric guitar/bass/drums format. Difficult to isolate highlights when you're not really into the style, but if you go for that trippy, Eastern thing, you could do a lot worse.
The 'Mellotrone' (why?!) was played by both Marron and bassist Reinhard Karwatky, although side one of the original album seems to be 'Tron-free. Khali, on the other hand, has more 'Tron choir than you could shake a stick at, quite possibly being both players improvising on two machines, though that's a complete guess. There are a few flute chords on For Earthly Thinking, although that's it on the 'Tron front. So; if you like that Krautrock thing, you'll be well away here, although fans of more standard prog should probably steer clear. One full-on 'Tron track, so the decision's yours.
