|
|
|
|
||
|
 |
 |
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.
|
Electric Orange Electric Sandwich Elegant Simplicity |
Eloiteron Eloy Embrace |
Embryo Emergency Emtidi |
The End Jon English The Enid |
 |
Electric Orange (1993, 71.58) ***½/TTReflections of 2072 and EverywhereSysyphus's Revenge Parts I-X Journey Through Weird Science Featuring Cows in Space The Return of Eugene, Be Careful! Electripity Chapter XVI Baby Cake Walk Soul Shadows Back in Strangeworld |
 |
Cyberdelic (1997, 73.10) ***/½ |
|
| Cyberdelic/Unaffected Fruit A Vaporized Dance Funny in the Bathroom Kirschen Sweet Absurd B Movie Steal No Egg Mothers Cake |
Tartisma Zemini She Wah More End/Cyberdelic |
|
Current availability:
How do you describe Electric Orange? 'Psychedelic', I suppose, but that doesn't really tell you very much. 'Modern psych'? There's certainly some contemporary stuff going on, not least the programming, but throw in rock guitars, vintage keyboards and other odd shit, and you've got a band doing something a bit different, although it doesn't seem to've brought them fame and fortune yet. 1993's Electric Orange is a little overlong, but is otherwise a strong debut, especially when you consider it's effectively a Dirk Jan Müller solo project, with various friends helping out on guitar, drums, vocals etc. Müller plays Mellotron (which sounds real), amongst other keyboards and percussives. Strings all round, with some beautifully upfront stuff on Sysyphus's Revenge and Journey Through Weird Science, though lesser use on The Return Of Eugene and Baby Cake Walk, making this probably worth it on the 'Tron front.
Müller released a remix album, Orange Commutation, next, so it ended up being four years between albums proper, with Cyberdelic (the ideal description for his music?) appearing in '97. By now, 'he' had become 'they', with the addition of vocalist/guitarist Dirk Bittner, the obvious difference being that there's, er, more vocals. The album is noticeably different, and I'm afraid to say that whatever made their debut quite interesting seems to have gone the way of all things; I found this rather dull, especially at over an hour. Far less Mellotron too, unfortunately, with flutes and strings at the end of A Vaporized Dance, but that would appear to be your lot.
Their website tells me Electric Orange have released two other 'Tron records, 2001's Abgelaufen! (by which time they'd become a 'proper' four-piece band) and 2003's Platte EP, although it was (temporarily?) retired for their latest effort, 2005's Fleischwerk. As for the titles above, I clearly found Electric Orange more interesting than Cyberdelic, but apart from the simple boredom factor, I can't even really tell you why. There's certainly more Mellotron on their debut, but it also has far more...life, I suppose. Oh well, one man's opinion...
 |
Electric Sandwich (1973, 39.31/46.04) ***/TChinaDevil's Dream Nervous Creek It's No Use to Run I Want You Archie's Blues Material Darkness [CD adds: On My Mind China (single version)] |
Current availability:
I think the opening to Electric Sandwich's self-titled sole album must be the most 'typical' krautrock I've heard; full-on spacey jamming with an insistent backbeat, although much of the rest of the album settles for more mainstream styles, not least the unnecessary blues of, er Archie's Blues. Top marks for refusing to be shoehorned into any one style, though; every track's different, for better or worse.
Guitarist Jörg Ohlert doubled on keys, with organ on I Want You and a short Mellotron flute solo, followed by a string part on album closer Material Darkness, so not enough to make it worth it on the 'Tron front (where have we heard this before?). Overall, Electric Sandwich is a decent enough album of its type, but not really for those who aren't students of the era.
 |
Reversal of Time (1997, 73.51) **½/½Whenever I Close My EyesStars That Cry Your Name Fear of Rejection Hearts in Harmony And So it Goes Reversal of Time The Light That Used to Shine Spinning Through the Years Like Shadows Again |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Elegant Simplicity, a.k.a. Steven McCabe, have been releasing albums since the early '90s, the first several initially on cassette only, although all have had limited CD-R release since. Their style appears to be yer typical neo-prog, with little melodic invention, not helped by the heavy-handed programmed drums, though I admit it can't be easy being a one-man band... The problem with this sort of stuff, at least to my ears, is the lack of real variety, especially in the longer material, with songs frequently staying in the same key, if not on the same chord for minutes on end, plodding around the same old chord sequences. It's like someone who's heard some progressive rock, and tries to emulate the sound, but without having the first idea of the compositional complexities of the real thing, so just ends up borrowing elements of the style, then playing them in a vastly simplified format. OK, it is someone who's heard some progressive rock...
I'm sorry to be so hard on this, but my heart sank within a minute of putting the disc in the player, as McCabe immediately swung into a seriously faceless root→5th chord sequence (E down to B, for example), and things didn't improve from there. He actually describes his band/project as 'underground melodic rock' on his website, which is probably better than anything involving the word 'progressive'. And I haven't even mentioned the lyrics... McCabe's favourite subject matter seems to be affairs of the heart, as you can see from the titles above, which become somewhat dreary after a while, as it's all quite relentlessly down, but without any genuine musical darkness to go with it. Do I like anything about this album? Not really, no. Sorry.
Anyway... The band are largely known (around here, anyway) as Mellotron sample users, but McCabe has assured me that their ninth release, Reversal of Time, features the Real Thing, hired in for the session and subsequently sampled for future use (grrr). I have to say that it isn't exactly overused, assuming it isn't providing the high-ish strings on a few tracks, with no more than a few low string chords scattered about here and there, unless that's flutes at the back of the mix on Like Shadows Again? In fact, I'm beginning to wonder whether McCabe accidentally gave me the wrong album title... The 'Mellotron' in Spinning Through The Years, for example, most certainly isn't, and I have to wonder about the other bits I thought I heard.
Why do so many lacklustre outfits use such outrageous hyperbole on their promo material? (See: Lana Lane for details...). Desperation, I suppose. Steven's hype for this particular title includes the phrase, "Beautiful ballads and guitar/synth epics make this is a must buy for any self respecting rock fan". To which I feel forced to say, I clearly can't be especially self-respecting, as there's no way I'd have bought this new. I'm genuinely sorry (just for once) to be so negative, as Steven sent me a very nice mail a while back re. his Mellotron use or otherwise, but that was before I'd heard any of his music. **½ is being pretty generous, to be honest, although he/they may well have improved over the course of the last decade. I doubt, however, that he's started making shorter albums; over 70 minutes of material with this little variety is actually quite excruciating. Edit, edit, edit... Supposedly more (real) Mellotron on the following year's Purity & Despair, but I'll believe it when I hear it.
 |
Lost Paradise (1980, 41.42) ***½/TTTime ReflectionOnce Fantasia Where Yapituttiperslikkenberg Homage à 'M' Octopus Tree of Conflicts Old Man's Voice |
Current availability:
Eloiteron's sole album is probably fairly typical for 1980, being a sort-of progressive release, but with shorter, more straightforward material, although, interestingly, most of it's instrumental (thankfully - the vocals aren't very good...). Some of the tracks are more adventurous than others, with Homage à 'M' having a particularly good part before sliding back into a rather standard chord sequence. One oddity on the album is the (real) solo trumpet, which is most unusual in the genre, and is one of the things, along with the excellent piano work, that lifts this above the mundanity to which it sometimes aspires.
Martin and Christian Frey both play the 'Tron, apparently, but do no more than add choirs to a few tracks, sometimes more overtly than others (Octopus has a nice part), until you get to the album's longest track, closer Old Man's Voice, with a beautiful string part, although I'm fairly certain the flute section on the intro is a double-tracked real one. String synth on a few tracks, but where you can hear it properly (Octopus again), it quite clearly isn't 'Tron.
So; you're not going to find this easily, to say the least, and it probably isn't the most scintillating Mellotron use ever, although should you run into a copy for sensible money, it's probably worth the effort.
 |
Power and the Passion (1975, 42.23) **½/0 |
|
| Introduction Journey Into 1358 Love Over Six Centuries Mutiny Imprisonment Daylight Thoughts of Home The Zany Magician |
Back Into the Present The Bells of Notre Dame |
|
 |
Dawn (1976, 48.08) **½/T | |
| Awakening Between the Times Memory - Flash Appearance of the Voice Return of the Voice The Sun-Song The Dance in Doubt and Fear Lost!?? (Introduction) Lost!?? (the Decision) |
The Midnight-Fight The Victory of Mental Force Gliding Into Light and Knowledge Le Reveil du Soleil/The Dawn |
|
 |
Ocean (1977, 43.53) ***/0Poseidon's CreationIncarnation of Logos Decay of Logos Atlantis' Agony at June 5th - 8498, 13 p.m. Gregorian Earthtime |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
During the '70s, Eloy were Germany's most popular progressive band, and (to my knowledge) the only one signed to a major label, EMI/Harvest. Predictably, given the circumstances, Eloy aren't the most exciting of bands, and frequently give the impression of wanting to be Pink Floyd so badly it hurts. Unfortunately, while they got the 'long sustained chords' bit right, the 'great songs' part went a bit awry somewhere; not that I'm saying they're bad, just... average. Songs often meander along for anything up to a side of vinyl without going anywhere in particular, although they're a perfectly pleasant listen, especially (I imagine) if you've been partaking of, er, 'recreational substances' (see below).
Power and the Passion, Eloy's fourth album, falls fairly and squarely into the dreaded 'concept' zone, with a particularly silly story concerning time travel, including a section where the chief protagonist introduces a 14th-century girl to marijuana. Sample lyrics:
| 'I've got something here... lots of my friends smoke it... I don't suppose you know it... try it, it helps at times like these...' 'Oh what a beautiful feeling... everything shimmering in the twilight... Look at that sunset... I've never seen such colours before...' |
Do me a bleeding favour! Christ Almighty, what a ludicrous concept; I'm sure the mediæval bæbe in question would be perfectly au fait with the techniques of smoking. Not. I suppose a lyric along the lines of 'Stop drooling on it and coughing so loudly' wouldn't have the same impact, would it? Er... anyway; back to the topic in question: Mellotrons! Well, Manfred Wieczorke is credited with playing one, although there's no mention of the string synth splattered all over the album. There's no sign of any 'Tron anywhere, so I'd approach this one with caution on several levels.
By '76's Dawn, the keyboards were being handled by Detlev Schmidtchen, and there's a few 'Tron choir chords towards the end of side one. The music's in the same general vein as its predecessor, although maybe slightly more dynamic; there's an orchestra involved this time, as well as Schmidtchen's RMI Keyboard Computer, so all strings tend to be either of these or, of course, the trusty unnamed string machine. Actually, the choir sound doesn't really match the usual Mellotron library ones, so it's possible that it's produced by the RMI as well; difficult to say.
Ocean has the makings of a better album; on Poseidon's Creation they get their Floyd pastiche just right, but it all falls to pieces by the near side-long Atlantis' Agony On Sunday, Round About Teatime or whatever it's called, which is based on a two-chord drone, but without any of the stuff that made the best Krautrock work so well. There is, once again, no sign of the credited Mellotron, making me wonder if they had any idea what one was. Too many drugs. It's perfectly possible that they used one on '78's Live (***), but if so, it's no more audible than on Ocean; there's a few tiny pics of the band on stage, but no close-ups of the keyboard rig.
So... As Mellotron albums, these are all complete disasters, with only a few chords on Dawn to boast of. Musically, they're OK if you want to hear Floyd-y stuff without the songs, with badly-accented vocals and extra added drone. Not awful, but a long, long way from 'special'.
 |
If You've Never Been (2001, 47.56) *½/½ |
|
| Over I Hope You're Happy Now Wonder Many Will Learn It's Gonna Take Time Hey, What You Trying to Say If You've Never Been in Love With Anything Make it Last |
Happiness Will Get You in the End Satellites |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
There's a pretty easy test you can take to determine whether or not you're going to like Embrace: Do you like music?. Er. sorry, that was meant to read: Do you like Travis? Or Coldplay? I would say Elbow, but shockingly, they're actually dynamic in comparison... Embrace's debut, The Good Will Out, hit no.1 in the UK album charts, probably giving them a false sense of security, although despite a subsequent career lull, they still seem to be doing OK a decade later. They operate in that wussy pop/rock kind of area popular with people who just like something nice and uplifting with just a hint of melancholy on in the background - something that doesn't actually require any thought or emotional involvement. Mainstream pop - yeah, that'll be it. Overblown, pompous arrangements, meaningless, 'positive' lyrics, vaguely involving relationships; you know the stuff. Not quite "Music for people who don't like music" (that's Simply Red), but bleedin' close.
There's very little I can think of to say about their third release, If You've Never Been, as it's so emotionally unengaging that it just washes over me, which is probably the point. God, this is almost the anti-music, isn't it? If there was a word meaning 'beyond bland', it would describe this perfectly. There's no point quoting any song titles, as they basically all sound the same, and are entirely interchangeable. I remember their official site used to have some studio pics from the sessions for this album, in one of which was an M400, so it seems that the little identifiable Mellotron on the album is real. Keys man Mickey Dale seems to have very little to do in the studio, as most of the songs' chordal backdrop is provided by acoustic guitar and orchestral strings (although there's some nice harmonium on Happiness Will Get You In The End), but the 'Tron's clearly audible on I Hope You're Happy Now (strings at the end), assuming it's Dale that plays it, and not guitarist and co-writer Richard McNamara. As so often with this type of album, it's possible there's more of that 'Tron in there (I thought I heard some choirs at one point), but the sludgy throw-everything-in mix makes it impossible to tell for sure.
This is a painfully awful album, and I sincerely hope that you, dear reader, never have to suffer as I have, listening to (or rather, hearing) 47.56 of this blandola tedium. Then again, maybe you like dullsville rubbish that washes over you? What do I know? And who am I to say this is rubbish anyway? It's perfectly well-played, the songs all hang together, but it's so dull. Practically no Mellotron either. What's the point?
As an odd postscript, I was sitting at the ferry port in Calais, waiting to go home after Änglagård's final gig in Belgium in August 2003, with my Mellotron sitting in the back of my van, when I got a call on my mobile from Embrace's production office asking if they could hire it (the Mellotron, not the van) for the recording of their next album. Weird or what? I think they found a pic on my brother's studio's site and rang them for my number. Needless to say, the hire never happened, despite my chasing it up, so although I missed out on some income, at least my M400 never had to play this kind of anodyne crap. The album in question was no doubt 2004's Out of Nothing, and I don't believe there's any 'Tron on the record.
 |
Embryo's Rache (1971, 41.37) ***½/TTT½TausendfüßlerTime You Can't Wait Eva's Nuvola Revenge Spain Yes, Franco Finished Try to Be Change |
 |
Steig Aus (1973, 37.45) ***½/TTTRadio Marrakesch/Orient ExpressDreaming Girls Call Call (part 1) Organ Walk Marimba Village Clouds Call (part 2) |
 |
We Keep On (1973, 38.34/63.12) ***/T (TT)No Place to GoFlute and Saz Ehna, Ehna, Abu Lele Hackbrett-Dance Abdul Malek Don't Come Tomorrow [CD adds: Ticket to India Flute, Saz and Marimba] |
Current availability:
I don't know about later Embryo albums, but their second effort, Embryo's Rache, is a fairly typical early-'70s German freakout album, sitting (un)comfortably alongside other Kraut heroes such as Amon Düül II, Witthüser & Westrupp et al.. The occasional lyrics are the usual stoned idiocy ("Revolution is the only way" etc.), but I suppose that may be missing the point somewhat. Listening to this 'straight' is a slightly futile experience, to be honest; an awful lot of drugs were consumed during its conception, and it seems a little pointless to attempt to appreciate it without indulging in a similar fashion. I can't really pick out any highlights as such, although the few moments where the band slot into a pseudo-Van der Graaf Generator groove are worth hearing.
James 'Jimi' Jackson, from Amon Düül II plays Mellotron on three tracks; Revenge and the lengthy Spain Yes, Franco Finished feature mainly brass block chords, with little bits of flute here and there, but Change has a heavy 'Tron strings presence, although I think the flutes may be real. Embryo's Rache is a lot more 'Tronically inclined than I'd expected, so although some of the music's rather hard going, a cautious recommendation on the 'Tron front.
No 'Tron on the follow-up, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but it's back on album no.4, Steig Aus, played by Jimi Jackson again. The band's future proto-world music direction is apparent on the muezzin's call at the beginning of Radio Marrakesch/Orient Express, before the track shifts into a heavy funk jam, like Funkadelic on overdrive. After the slightly more relaxed Dreaming Girls, the side-long multi-part Call is more reminiscent of the opening track, being another organ-heavy instrumental jam, though maybe fractionally less funky. Jackson's 'Tron work consists of thick, sludgy brass chords on the first and last tracks (pretty much all the way through Call), and more arranged brass on Dreaming Girls, making an interesting change from the more commonly-heard sounds.
After another gap ('73's Rocksession, which sounds like a bad compilation, but isn't), Embryo delivered their next to last 'Tron album in '74's We Keep On. A collaboration with veteran jazz saxophonist Charlie Mariano, it seems to me to be less cohesive than it predecessors, though that could simply be a result of their evolving style. Several of the tracks have vocals, although it's actually hard to tell whether they're being sung in German or English much of the time (!); suffice to say (at least to my ears), the band worked better instrumentally. For some unfathomable reason, the bonus-tracked CD has a completely different running order to the original album, so the order above is the original, with the bonus tracks added on (they're last on the CD, too). One 'Tron track on the original album, from drummer/main man Christian Burchard: Don't Come Tomorrow has a drifting strings part with little chord work, while one of the CD bonus tracks, the lengthy Ticket To India, has, er, a drifting strings part with little chord work. Quite nice, but inessential.
So; if you're into your krautrock, and you haven't already discovered Embryo, you need to. Conversely, I'm not sure there's much here for your typical prog fan, although some of the Mellotron work is worth hearing. There was one last Mellotron record, the following year's Surfin'; more news when I get to hear a copy.
 |
No Compromise (1974, 41.51) ***/TSmilin'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men From Here to New York City Time Can't Take it Away Hideaway No Compromise Goodbye to a Friend |
Current availability:
No Compromise appears to be Emergency's fourth, and possibly last album, although it's difficult to tell for certain. I've no idea what their earlier work is like, but this one's an odd mixture of cool jammed-out stuff (Time Can't Take It Away, with its great descending jazzy unison line) and tedious, funkyish material (From Here To New York City, Hideaway), and sometimes both in the same piece (the title track) making for the proverbial curate's egg.
Hanus Berka plays Mellotron on a couple of tracks, with quite overt string lines on From Here To New York City and No Compromise itself, although we're not exactly talking outstanding use here, to be honest. So; OK album with a handful of blistering moments, with fairly minimal 'Tron. There's supposed to be some on their third album, Get Out to the Country (a.k.a. This is Emergency), too; more news if I get to hear a copy.
 |
Saat (1972, 38.14) ***½/½Walkin' in the ParkTräume Touch the Sun Love Time Rain Saat Die Reise |
Current availability:
I don't know much about Emtidi, but they strongly remind me in places of early Pink Floyd, particularly on Touch The Sun, although all the organ work has that 'Rick Wrightness' about it. Male and/or female vocals, acoustic guitar, spacey keys; yup, it's Krautrock, albeit the folk end of it. Definitely an, er, 'late night listen'; it doesn't make much sense straight, to be honest.
Dolly Holmes plays Mellotron on Touch The Sun (although Dieter Dierks is credited with 'help with Mellotron'), and apart from some very background strings and (possibly) choir, that's it, really. A fairly good laid-back sort of stoner folk album, then, with minimal Mellotron presence.
 |
Introspection (1969, 34.36/40.19) ***½/T |
|
| Dreamworld Under the Rainbow Shades of Orange Bromley Common Cardboard Watch Introspection (part one) What Does it Feel Like? Linen Draper |
Don't Take Me Loving, Sacred Loving She Said Yeah Jacob's Bladder Introspection (part two) [CD adds: Shades of Orange (single version) Loving, Sacred Loving (single version)] |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
The End are known, if at all, for Bill Wyman's patronage; the bonus tracks on the CD were recorded during the sessions for Their Satanic Majesties Request, and have apparently turned up on Stones bootlegs, despite sounding nothing like them. Introspection was the only album they released during their career, and is a fairly normal psych album, albeit a little late in the day, although it was recorded in late '67. It's oddest feature is the handful of spoken-word tracks, including Bromley Common and Linen Draper, featuring some old cockney talking about his lifestyle; it sounds like someone's family friend, and makes for an interesting diversion, if nothing else. The material is mixed in both style and quality, and you can sort of see why this didn't really take off, as by then the listening public had moved on from the English whimsy of harpsichord-driven tracks like Loving, Sacred Loving (more's the pity).
Mellotron on one track, with a lovely flute part on Cardboard Watch from Nicky Graham, also featured (before the album's release) on a Spanish film, Al Escondite Ingle's, which received a bit of UK publicity at the time. The band split soon after its release, morphing into the more rocking Tucky Buzzard, although never really breaking through. There are a couple of CDs of outtakes and the like from The End; apparently, there's another Mellotron track on 1999's Retrospection, which I shall review if I get to hear a copy. As far as Introspection goes, it's a good, if not outstanding album, its unfashionability neutered by time. One reasonable 'Tron track, but not enough to make it worth buying for that alone.
 |
It's All a Game (1974) ***/TTurn the PageJust the Way I am He Could Have Been a Dancer Love Goes on By Firelight Space Shanty Snakeyes Chained to the Middle Superstar (You Promised Me) Hail All Hail to the Revolution (12 Bore) |
Current availability:
Jon English managed to juggle careers in acting (stage and screen) and music during the '70s, releasing several successful albums, including this presumably semi-concept effort, It's All a Game. It contains a cover of Bob Seger's classic Turn The Page (greatest 'road song' ever?), and seems to basically be about the trials and tribulations of playing in a band (maaan...), with the rear sleeve pic of English as a marionette, and the board game on the inside of the gatefold, an idea also used by Triumph a couple of years later. It also has to be said that his countrymen AC/DC's It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'Roll) did it far better in one song... It's not actually a bad album, though English's theatrical background comes lurching through at inopportune moments, not least on closer Hail All Hail To The Revolution (12 Bore) and the frankly bizarre Irish pub singalong interstellar epic (!), Space Shanty.
Mellotron on two tracks, from Michael Carlos, who also played on Chalice's Overflow: strings on He Could Have Been A Dancer and Snakeyes, although neither performance is exactly groundbreaking, to be honest. Interestingly, three-quarters of Sebastian Hardie are also present (how incestuous is all this?), though not keyboard player Toivo Pilt (who also played on the Chalice album...), thanked on the rear sleeve as 'Sebastian Hardy'; amusingly, English's official site says, "He produced his old band's first album..." Er, who came first, Jon?
Anyway, this isn't common, even in Australia, and only just scraped three stars, so don't make it your life's work to track a copy down or anything. Two OK 'Tron tracks and that's it.
 |
In the Region of the Summer Stars (1976, 39.29) *****/T½The Fool...The Falling TowerDeath, the Reaper The Lovers The Devil The Sun The Last Judgement In the Region of the Summer Stars |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
The Enid formed in 1974, the brainchild of Robert John Godfrey, who had previously worked with Barclay James Harvest as orchestral arranger. He claims that he presented his idea for an album based on the Tarot to Charisma, with whom he had just released a solo album, Fall of Hyperion, only to have it stolen from under his nose by Steve Hackett for his Voyage of the Acolyte opus. Undeterred, Godfrey began developing his own material anyway, demoing it with his fledgling lineup in 1975. These demos became available, briefly, on the vinyl-only The Alternative Enid, Vol.1 in the mid-'90s.
The band eventually secured a deal with the independent Buk Records, and released In the Region of the Summer Stars in '76. The album is an absolute tour de force; classical and rock influences thrown into the melting pot, creating a completely unique sound unlike that of any other progressive outfit of the era. Godfrey's years at music school were put to good use, and the arrangements, for keys and two guitars, are top-notch. Anyone who's heard Hyperion will spot a steal from that album's opening track in The Sun, a trick Godfrey was to re-use many times throughout the band's career. Basically, I can't recommend this album highly enough; there's not a duff moment on it, although I know Robert dislikes some of the synth sounds. The band were signed by EMI soon after, who re-released the album, although this version is no more common than the Buk issue.
They used a borrowed Mellotron on the last two linked pieces; The Last Judgement is based on Gregorian mega-hit Dies Irie, which I've never heard put to more effective use, despite the number of times it's been used over the years. The 'Tron use is restricted to some choirs in the background on both Judgement and the title track, so In the Region is far from being a Mellotron Classic, which explains its low 'T' rating, but the album itself is an absolute stormer. Now, a warning: after much legal wrangling with ex-record companies, Robert apparently retrieved various master tapes in the early '80s, only to lose some of them in a fire. Allegedly. The Enid re-recorded In the Region in 1984, but the guts of the original were lost; it's a pale imitation of the original LP, although the material still holds up. This version has a completely different sleeve, so it's the one pictured above that you want. The original is unavailable on CD, and it rather looks as though that situation is here to stay, especially if the masters have been lost.
So... BUY. IMMEDIATELY! If you can find it, if you have a turntable, etc.etc... Not for the 'Tron, mind you, but for the music. I quite seriously intend to have one of these pieces played at my funeral, which should give you some idea of how highly I rate this album. A true classic.
