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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 Doors Box Set Disc 1: Without a Safety Net (1997, recorded 1965-70, 67.21) ***½/T |
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| Five to One Queen of the Highway Hyacinth House My Eyes Have Seen You Who Scared You Black Train Song End of the Night Whiskey, Mystics and Men |
I Will Never Be Untrue Moonlight Drive (Demo) Moonlight Drive (Sunset Sound) Rock is Dead Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor |
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Back when the three surviving members of The Doors were all speaking to each other (i.e. pre-reformation, with The Cult's buffoon-in-chief Ian 'Dan' Astbury replacing Jimbo, haircut and all), they decided to seal their band's legacy with a four-CD set, imaginatively titled The Doors Box Set (plenty of thought went into that one, then). A fair chunk of the set consists of previously-released material, but the first disc, Without a Safety Net, trawls the vaults for stuff that hasn't found its way onto the various archive releases that have appeared over the decades. I've opted to review just the one disc, as a) you probably know most of the rest of it anyway and b) life's too short when this hour-plus is the only relevant part of the set.
I thought the first track, Five To One, recorded in Miami, '69, was going to be the infamous 'did you see it?' performance, but turns out to be merely a Morrison rant at the audience, calling them 'fucking idiots' at one point; fairly strong for the times, I'd have thought. One of the other two live tracks is listed as Black Train Song (better known as Mystery Train), and I can only assume its twelve minutes sounded better at the time than in retrospect, although it morphs into work-in-progress for Roadhouse Blues, by the sound of it. The other is a fairly ordinary take on I Will Never Be Untrue, the remainder consisting of studio outtakes; unsurprisingly, given some of the second-rate stuff that ended up on their official albums, there's nothing here that'll trigger hasty rewrites from the band's various biographers. Saying that, The Doors' outtakes are still better than many band's official albums, so the above rating isn't disproportionate.
So you didn't think The Doors had ever used a Mellotron? Nor me, until the release of this set, but there it is on '69's lengthy studio jam Rock Is Dead (still coughing up blood forty years on, guys...), with what sounds like solo cello from Ray Manzarek under Morrison's 'rock is dead' rap. Hang on, is this a Chamberlin? There were no Mellotron cellos in 1969, and very few 'Trons in the States at all at that point. The track itself is quite interminable; it's hardly surprising this hasn't seen the light of day before, although completists will want to hear it. For the second time on this disc, Morrison goes into Mystery Train around the eleven-minute mark, after some choppy 'Tron/Chamby/whatever, possibly brass, making this a tape-replay curio, at least.
As I said, the rest of the box is relatively uneventful, although Doors fans should probably invest. Actually, given that this came out twelve years before this review was written, you've probably all got it anyway... The ratings above are for disc one only, incidentally; the box overall probably gets ****. As far as Mellotronic content goes, one track, even a long one, out of four discs is pretty slim pickings, and it's hardly what you'd call a classic, either, so it's more a case of 'hear once' than 'buy the box', I think.
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The Lost Take (2006, 40.25) **½/TT½ |
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| One Through Seven Everybody Cheer Up Song Um, Circles and Squares A Ghost's Business Ship Wreck Mpls Rock and Roll Fireball |
Unemployed Blues Pink Floyd Cowboy Blues O Mexico Bottom of a Well The Lost Take |
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Martin Dosh is an instrumental American jazz/electronica artist, for want of a better description, at least going by 2006's The Lost Take. While not a bad album, nor is it a particularly interesting one, at least to non-believers, although at least it features a variety of styles within Dosh's chosen genre mash-up.
Dosh plays (real?) Mellotron and Chamberlin, with what sounds like Mellotron strings and flutes on opener One Through Seven, with strings of a more Chamberlinic nature and flutes on Um, Circles And Squares. Very real-sounding 'Tron flutes on Fireball and the closing title track make this a tape-replay 'possibly worth it', although you'll have to get round the frequently rather dull music.
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Leaving Not Arriving (2003, 41.45) **½/½ |
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| True Everyday Dream of the West Not Detoured My Sunshine High Water Mark Cold Street Light Blinker Mapmaker |
My Time This Time Overground |
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I'm not entirely sure where Downpilot are coming from on Leaving Not Arriving; it's a sort of melancholy indie/folk kind of thing, but in that irritating modern way where 25 years of 'indie' have taken their toll on the songwriting, the drumming, the way the singer sings... I blame the bloody Smiths. And The Cure. I'm trying to think of those bands' American equivalents, but I can't, probably because, deep down, I really don't want to. I'm sure this stuff is immensely heartfelt, but to my ears, it just sounds like people moaning. With a harmonica. I mean, what possessed them to use a gob-iron on this album? You ain't Dylan you know, guys...
Steve Moore is credited with Mellotron, but the only thing here that even might be (a real?) one is a few seconds of strings in High Water Mark, making it a bit of a waste of time on the 'Tron front. If you like miserablist indie, you'll probably go a bundle on this, but I don't, unless it transcends the genre in the manner of, say, Low. Rather dull, I'm afraid.
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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 John Hall 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 Hall 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 Hall'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.
See: Thinking Plague
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Melancholy World EP (2002, 9.32) ****/TT½Melancholy WorldLarge Life Freedom and Love |
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William D Drake (Bill to his friends) is one of Cardiacs' more celebrated and prolific ex-members, having been involved in several different projects since he left the band in the early '90s. Strangely, I only recently discovered that his first solo release was 2002's Melancholy World EP, sounding like, well, like Bill Drake, really, with an almost pre-war feel to some of the melodies, Bill's sonorous baritone sounding little like anyone else (in a good way, Bill). The title track's probably the best track here, as you'd expect of an EP, but all three are worth hearing for anyone with even a passing interest in Cardiacs and its offshoots.
Part of the reason it's strange it's taken me so long to learn of this release's existence is that I believe that's my Mellotron providing the major flute, string and choir parts on the title track and the strings on the brief Freedom And Love. Bill asked me if I might be able to bring it down to his place in South London back in 2000 or 2001, which I duly did, although it managed to break down in his front room, leading to a frantic out-of-hours call to Mellotron HQ. Having got it working, Bill recorded some parts using all three sounds on my main tape frame, before several of us went out for a meal in a Polish ex-servicemen's club. As you do. That was the last I heard of it until recently, having assumed he'd never used them. Well, here they are, and very nice they sound, too. Cardiacs fan? Buy this.
See: Cardiacs
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One Two Three Four (2005, 43.31) ***/T |
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| Super Zero Big Blue Sky Baby Inchworm The Broken Muzzle Needlessly Jezebel Parasite Seven Black Crows |
Lifeboat The Sleeping Giant Candle Opera One Two Three Four |
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Linda Draper's fourth album, One Two Three Four (is that an implied Ramones tribute from a fellow New Yorker?), is probably best described as folk, or maybe singer-songwriter, although it seems to lack a certain something that we've come to expect from those areas of music. The songs may be better than they first seem, but giving this the several plays it may need to appreciate it properly is, sadly, beyond the scope of this very busy webmaster. Any single track taken at random sounds reasonably good, but taken as a whole, the album quickly palls, I'm afraid to say.
Nobody seems to be credited, but given that the legendary Kramer (a previous Mellotron user) produces, it seems likely that it's him playing what appear to be polyphonic 'Tron flutes on The Broken Muzzle, although the choirs in Lifeboat sound either real or sample-generated. Overall, a passable album, but despite its sensible length, Draper's voice grows monotonous after a while and the bulk of her songwriting isn't really up to par. Heard worse, but definitely heard better.
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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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The Making of Falling Into Infinity (1997, 77.04) ***/T |
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| New Millennium Basic Tracks Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Stick and 7-string Guitar Overdubs You Not Me Basic Tracks Strings, Piano, Vocals and Key Overdubs Peruvian Skies Basic Tracks Rhodes, Mellotron, Acoustic Guitar and Vocals Overdubs Hollow Years Basic Tracks Acoustic, Edge and Classical Guitar and Vocals Overdubs Burning My Soul Basic Tracks Guitar, Key, Vocals, Talk Box and Whisper Overdubs Hell's Kitchen Writing the Finale |
Lines in the Sand Intro, Key, Piano and String Overdubs Bass, Guitar, Synth and Vocal Overdubs Doug Pinnick Vocals Take Away My Pain Alternate Take Basic Tracks Space Guitar, Hawaiian Keys, Heavy Keys and Vocal Overdubs Just Let Me Breathe Basic Tracks Feedback and Rhythm Guitars, Lead Guitar and Keys, Vocal Overdubs Anna Lee Derek Noodling At The Piano Basic Tracks Mellotron, Acoustic and Leslie Guitars, Slide Guitar Overdubs Trial of Tears Basic Tracks Lead Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Guitar and Piano Overdubs The End (?) |
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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.
The band have gained a reputation for multiple 'fan club' releases, although I believe they're available to anyone who orders them from their website. Alongside rather pointless and doubtless metallified live recreations of famous albums (Dark Side of the Moon, Made in Japan, The Number of the Beast etc.) are a slew of demos, 'making ofs' and the like, including The Making of Falling Into Infinity, made available to fan club members at the end of that year. The full-length disc sounds like snapshots of mixing and overdub sessions, with individual tracks dropping in and out of brief snippets of the album's thirteen songs. No, it isn't a 'regular listen', but yes, it is a fascinating document of the album's genesis for über-fans, highlighting otherwise hard-to-hear highlights like King's X's incomparable Doug Pinnick's guest vocals on Lines In The Sand or, of course, Sherinian's Mellotron work. You can now quite clearly hear string and flute parts in preparation for Peruvian Skies, sounding very real indeed, and a briefer strings part on Anna Lee, which at the very least seem to verify that they used a real machine.
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.
See: Sampledelica!
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Yes, Virginia... (2006, 55.16) ***½/½ |
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| Sex Changes Backstabber Modern Moonlight My Alcoholic Friends Delilah Dirty Business First Orgasm |
Mrs. O Shores of California Necessary Evil Mandy Goes to Med School Me & the Minibar Sing |
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No, Virginia... (2008, recorded 2003-8, 48.42) ***½/T |
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| Dear Jenny Night Reconnaissance The Mouse and the Model Ultima Esperanza The Gardener Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner Sorry Bunch Pretty in Pink |
The Kill The Sheep Song Boston |
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The Dresden Dolls are pretty much Amanda Palmer's solo project, by the looks of it, with Brian Viglione as chief collaborator, playing most of the 'standard' band instruments. Palmer provides the songs, the bats-in-her-belfry vocals and theatrical piano work, not to mention the album's other keyboards. Yes, Virginia... is a fairly startling album; it vaguely reminds me of some awful '60s piano cabaret stuff I've heard, except it's good. Really good. The vocals/piano/bass-drums sound that informs the bulk of the record sounds like a female Brecht on speed, making a sound that I can almost guarantee you haven't heard before. If the album has a fault, it's that 55 minutes is a long time when there's little stylistic divergence, but that's nit-picking, really. Palmer plays Mellotron strings on closer Sing, but if the album's sound wasn't already so sparse, you probably wouldn't hear it at all, so that's not exactly a 'Tron recommendation, then.
Two years later, a companion album appeared, No, Virginia..., consisting of outtakes, b-sides and a handful of older, but newly-recorded tracks. The Gardener, Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner, The Kill and Boston are b-sides, The Mouse And The Model's a demo and Pretty In Pink's a cover of The Psychedelic Furs' classic (it says here), leaving Dear Jenny, Night Reconnaissance, Ultima Esperanza, Sorry Bunch and The Sheep Song as the early '08 recordings. Musically, it's similar to its parent album, unsurprisingly, several of its tracks only being absent from that release due to 'issues with the album's flow', apparently. Best track? Matter of opinion, of course, but Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner tears along at a cracking pace and features a particularly twisted set of lyrics. Sean Slade produces the new tracks and plays Mellotron flutes on Ultima Esperanza, more audibly than Amanda's performance on Yes, Virginia..., but hardly anything to set the world alight.
Musically, these are intriguing albums that almost certainly contains hidden depths; one of these fine days, I intend to find the time to explore them. Worthwhile, though not for the Mellotron.
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7" (1968) ***½/TT½ I am a Lonesome Hobo A Kind of Love in |
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7" (1968) ****/TTT This Wheel's on Fire Black Cat |
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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. I Am A Lonesome Hobo is probably fairly typical of their bluesy/jazzy style, although This Wheel's On Fire (Dylan, of course, as is I Am A Lonesome Hobo) and Road To Cairo (David Ackles) have a more mainstream sound, at least by late-'60s standards.
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, I Am A Lonesome Hobo has a 'Tron flute melody and pitchbent string chords, although you can see why it wasn't a hit. This Wheel's On Fire's a fantastic performance (try to forget the Ab Fab connection), starting with 'Tron strings and piano, organ coming in on the chorus, which is where you finally stylistically spot the song's author, while Road To Cairo is more of a ballad featuring Julie Driscoll's great jazz voice and more of those 'Tron strings (MkII, of course). So; three excellent tracks, good 'Tron throughout, worth finding on a compilation.
See: Brian Auger Trinity/Oblivion Express
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A Different Man (1996, 48.50) *½/T |
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| Road to Jerusalem Walk With Me Jesus A Different Man Christ Remains Everytime I Say Yes Place in My Heart The Long and Winding Road Can God? God Can! |
Love Won't Let Me The Time of Your Life The Lights of the City (I See the Lights of the City) |
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Phil Driscoll's been around approximately forever, although I'd never heard of him before I ran across 1996's A Different Man. Although he made his first album in 1970, in his early twenties, his career didn't take off properly for another decade, probably when the concept of CCM picked up speed. Yup, he's a Christian, and titles like Road To Jerusalem, Walk With Me Jesus and Christ Remains (wouldn't that be a holy relic? Oh, sorry, that's Christ's remains...) leave you in no doubt as to where his loyalties lie. Like most CCM, the music appears to be entirely secondary to the 'message', although said 'message' is exactly the same one peddled by every other Christian album, ever, making me wonder why anyone bothers making any more (he said, hopefully).
Matt Huesmann plays Mellotron on The Time Of Your Life, with an almost interesting flute part in an otherwise utterly insipid song. It is, however, not even remotely enough to save this dreary album. I have heard a handful of Christian albums that don't either send me to sleep or make me want to gag, but this isn't one of them. Very nasty.
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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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Seastories (2007, 51.56) **½/T |
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| Stars & Satellites Sorry Baby Beloved Cold Dark River Mockingbird How to Be Good King Without a Queen Mary |
Lakewater Hair London Skies Coming Back to Life Love is Love |
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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.
Three years on and Driver's second album, Seastories, isn't dissimilar to her first, although the songs may be a touch better. It's still more a country album than anything else, though done well enough not to offend, with her 'Midatlantic' accent sounding sufficiently far from the Deep South to avoid accusations of Nashvillisms. Just Jaffee on Chamby this time round, with exceedingly background strings on How To Be Good and much more obvious ones on London Skies, but nothing to get too excited about.
You're going to have to really like ballads to like Everything I've Got..., 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...), while Seastories is a bit more upbeat, though similarly countryfied. Little audible tape-replay on either, so I probably wouldn't bother if I were you.
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Shadowboxing (1975, 32.44) **/TTThe Writing on the WallOutlaw The Sweetest One Sleep with One Eye Open Shadowboxing in the Rain Li-O-Me Hold on to Me Girl Tailfeather |
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Joe Droukas seems to be one of those musicians who's known more to his peers than the public at large, which is one way of saying, "I know next to nothing about this guy". He's written songs for the great and the good, but it looks like his solo career never really got off the ground, so I don't even know whether or not 1975's Shadowboxing is his debut album. It's pretty typical of its time, I have to say; middling pop/rock with a New York edge, although when you consider that The Ramones were playing CBGBs the same year... The album occasionally picks up a bit - Outlaw is slightly ballsier than most of its songs - but overall, this is bland, mid-'70s singer-songwriter fare, where the 'songs' are presumably supposed to exist outside their arrangements. Guess what: they don't.
Ken Ascher (John Lennon, multiple sessions) plays keyboards, including an unspecified tape-replay instrument, probably a Mellotron, with pseudo-orchestral strings on all the highlighted tracks above, probably at their best on opener The Writing On The Wall (sample lyric: "Oh, Edgar Allan Poe, I never read your books, I never took a look...". Pure poetry). Surprisingly, maybe, this is available on CD, although at under 33 minutes, with no bonuses, never mind a 2-on-1, I'd hardly say it was good value for money, even if you like his style. Decent, if slightly subdued Mellotron use, though, so the album has one saving grace, at least.
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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?! On a related note, Phil tells me that another kids' programme with which McCrorie-Shand is associated, Rosie & Jim, has been hosted since soon after its inception by Druid's old bassist, Neil Brewer. "Old-school tie, or what?", says Phil.
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7" (1974) **½/TTT Somos Livres Joaquim da Silva |
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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. B-side Joaquim Da Silva isn't dissimilar, although Cid's Mellotron is further in the background.
Arnaldo Pata supplied me with these (thanks, Arnaldo!), although they're only available on crackly vinyl these days. 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.
See: José Cid
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Keep Going (2003, 51.41) ***/½ |
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| Home Don't Feed the Rats Nothing Can Last I Wasn't Scared of Flying Bank Holiday Monday We Used to Be So Keep Going So Far Away |
The Silence Oh God The Twelve Tones Already Gone An Open Book |
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Stephen Duffy, later Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy, began his career as a pre-fame co-founder of Duran Duran (oops), going on to achieve solo success (OK, maybe not oops) in the early '80s, before forming the moveable feast otherwise known as The Lilac Time. I've no idea what most of his/their output sounds like, but 2003's Keep Going is, improbably, a country record. Admittedly, country crossed with folk, but still country... The songwriting crosses between the two related genres, too, avoiding the mawkishness of many trad country albums, making for a surprisingly listenable end result.
Duffy plays background Mellotron strings on The Silence, although you'd barely notice if they weren't there, to be honest. Overall, then, a rather odd Brit-country album with folk vocals and very little Mellotron. I think this is called 'beating the Americans at their own game'.
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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.
See: XTC | Andy Partridge
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Dunaj IV (1994, 45.36) ***½/T |
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| Po Ztezkách Srdce Už Dávno Není Barvy My Steps Watchtower Any Sight In the Flash It's Near Right |
The Solitary Bird Kobylky Stojím Popel a Dým Whisper Sometimes Venus |
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Pustit Musíš [as Iva Bittová & Pavel Fajt] (1996, 54.35) ***½/T½ |
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| Ouvertura Pavouk Zrcadlový Sál Pustit Musíš V Bílém Bumerang Kaše Nedĕlej, Nedĕlej |
Muriel Cassiniho Dĕlení Dunaj Nekňuba Divoká Svinĕ Rukama V Černém Mrtvý Joe |
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Iva Bittová's Dunaj seem to have a decent public profile in their native Czech Republic, although they mean diddly-squat anywhere else, as is so often the way with local heroes. They had a pretty ragged history, with lineups coalescing, splitting and re-coalescing, with albums being recorded with various combinations of musicians. Iva Bittová (vocals) and Pavel Fajt (drums) appear to've been the main members, although they left an early version of the band, reforming their best lineup to recorded 1989's Dunaj a Bittová. However, Bittová subsequently left, rejoining for their third effort, '93's Dudlay, which sounds an awful lot like locals' pronunciation of Dudley in the Birmingham conurbation. With me so far?
Anyway, going by 1994's Dunaj IV, they played a kind of awkward, progressive hard rock, with '80s Crimson influences never far from the surface, typified by Už Dávno Není or Sometimes, contrasting sharply with the acoustic Popel A Dým, although their version of Dutch pop outfit Shocking Blue's Venus is a bit pointless. Attempt at a hit single, anyone? Volkmar Miedtke plays Mellotron on two tracks, with a floating string line on Any Sight and a skronky flute line with shrieking strings on It's Near Right. It sounds a bit ropey, but it seems rather unlikely that Mellotron samples had reached that part of the world in '94, although who knows?
Just to confuse matters, their follow-up, '96's Pustit Musíš, was officially released under the name Iva Bittová & Pavel Fajt, although I've also seen it listed under its title and, of course, Dunaj. It seems easier to leave it here, anyway. It's not dissimilar to its predecessor, although Jiří Kolšovský's vocals put a different emphasis on things, though not enough to change their overall sound. Two 'Tron tracks from Miedtke again, with block string chords on opener Ouvertura and very upfront ones on Kaše, making the latter the nearest the band ever got to a 'Tron track'.
So; I think these are both available on CD, so fans of rather offbeat prog might want to make the effort to hear them. Not all that much Mellotron, but it's hardly at the centre of their sound, anyway. Odd, but worthwhile. incidentally and sadly, Jiří Kolšovský died in the late '90s, although all the other members are still musically active.
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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.
See: Luscious Jackson
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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.
