Speechless  (1981,  44.12)  ***½/½
		Kick the Can (part 1) Carnival on Wall Street Ahead in the Sand Laughing Matter/Esperanza Women Speak to Men; Men   Speak to Women A Spit in the Ocean Navajo	Balance Saving Grace Speechless Conversations With White Arc Domaine de Planousset Kick the Can (part 2)

Current availability:

• ReR Megacorp (UK)

Fred Frith came to prominence in the mid-'70s as guitarist with art-rock supremos Henry Cow, while concurrently releasing solo albums and working with the likes of Robert Wyatt and The Residents. The Henry Cow/Slapp Happy conglomerate had folded by the end of the decade, although the related Art Bears carried on for a few more years, leaving Frith free to pursue his varied musical interests, not that being a band member seemed to stop him before. These were the days before 'solo guitarist' inevitably meant fretboard wankery of the highest order, especially if one operated at the avant-garde end of the spectrum, and while Frith isn't exactly what you'd call a superstar, he has critical acclaim a-plenty and a devoted hardcore of admirers who buy anything with his name on it.

I believe Speechless was his sixth solo album, and, true to form, is full of weird, dissonant cut-up pieces like Laughing Matter/Esperanza and A Spit In The Ocean, some recorded live, or adapted from live pieces. It's pretty obvious, listening to this, that Frith has influenced a good many people, not least Cardiacs, who were shifting up a gear around this time. Frith plays Mellotron on one track, with a few seconds of strings on Ahead In The Sand, but it's not exactly what you'd call major use, so unless you're particularly into what he's doing...

So; not an album for someone whose answer to "What music do you like?" is "Oh, anything really". This is an album for the strangest person you know, although probably also the most interesting. It isn't an album for Mellotron lovers, either, but that's all a bit irrelevant, I suppose.

Official site

Edgar Froese  (Germany)

	Aqua  (1974,  45.57)  ****/TT½ Aqua Panorphelia NGC 891 Upland
	Epsilon in Malaysian Pale  (1975,  34.15)  *****/TTTT Epsilon in Malaysian Pale Maroubra Bay
	Macula Transfer  (1976,  35.50)  *****/TTTTT OS-452 AF-765 PA-701 QUANTAS-611 IF-810
	Ages  (1978,  83.18)  ***/TT½ Metropolis Era of the Slaves Tropic of Capricorn Nights of Automatic Women Icarus Childrens Deeper Study Ode to Granny A. Pizarro and Atahuallpa Golgatha and the Circle Closes

Current availability:

• Aqua/Epsilon/Ages: all on Virgin and/or Caroline
• Macula Transfer: Manikin (Germany), but out of print

Mellotrons used:

• All titles: Froese's own M400 (& MkV?)

While I like the Tangs' Edgar Froese's solo output, I can't pretend to understand it in the way that aficionados do, so Dave Dewdney has kindly reviewed all the relevant releases for me:

Edgar Froese's debut solo album Aqua is counted as one of his best. Here Edgar fuses running water sounds with synthetic bubbling sounds courtesy of his VCS3 synthesizer. Aqua the title track contains no Mellotron at all, quite odd for a man who honed his skill on the Mellotron on the TD album Atem. But here on this track you have effects, deep washes of organs and strange synth noises. Panorphelia, the next track, is awash with a white noise rhythmic pulse and a Mellotron, however Edgar just tends to repeat the main melody over and over again until it fades away before the boredom sets in. The other two tracks, NGC-891 and Upland, follow much the same styles, NGC-891 has the Moog by Chris Franke on it, and Upland is just Edgar improvising with his organs and some backwards tape effects. A must-have album.

Edgar's next album Epsilon in Malaysian Pale is a much better affair, I mean absolutely packed to the gunnels with Mellotrons, a Mark-V with tapes specially recorded by the BBC for him. The title track Epsilon kicks off with monkeys/birds in a sweaty tropical jungle (Inspired by TD's tour of Australia in 1975) and then in comes the constant swells and lulls of Edgar's Mellotrons, using just strings and flute, actually giving his 8-voice choirs a miss on the whole album. Here he shows just what you can do with such a marvellous instrument. He also uses a Moog synthesizer on this track for the small 4-minute rhythmic part, and ends the track with another smattering of Mellotrons. Maroubra Bay the second track begins with the Mellotron strings/brass, with Edgar playing major/minor keys to give it a more sinister feel, then adding washes of white noise from his VCS3 synth into which a tumbling Moog rhythmic pulse sets up the rest of the track. In fact, Maroubra Bay is actually the masterpiece of this album. Now, if Chris Franke and Peter Baumann had been on this track, it would have become another milestone in TD's recording history.

Froese's third solo album Macula Transfer is somewhat of a sought-after rarity since it was only made available in Germany on the Brain/Metronome Label. However, 22 years later it was re-released by Manikin Records to the disgust of Froese himself who ordered it to be stopped because he wanted to release a new version of it himself. The tracks on this album all refer to flight numbers while TD was touring in 1975 and 1976. This album was recorded in June 1976; Edgar recorded this album just for fun? Now it's highly prized amongst collectors and aficionados. Edgar again puts the Mellotrons to good use on this album. The album opens with OS-452 which is a mixture of Edgar's guitar work and Mellotron techniques. AF-765 is a bit weird with backwards effects and a ping-pong Moog rhythm sequence continuously pounding away, he adds electric guitar, his voice fed through his VCS3, sinister staccato stabs on his Mellotrons, the track then just gets faster and faster till it ends very strangely. PA-701 starts with Edgar feeding his Mellotron through his VCS3 inputs, and is probably the best track on this album, using a mixture of choirs and strings for some lovely melodies and also introduces the gorgeous Mellotron flute on which the track ends. QUANTAS-611 is five minutes of very sinister Mellotrons all the way from beginning to end. IF-810, the last track, begins with a heavy Moog rhythm-pulse once again unto which Edgar sets up the main melody and puts in some nice Mellotron strings here and there. If you don't have this album, I suggest you try and locate a copy, any Mellotron enthusiast cannot do without this one to their collection.

Ages was Edgar Froese's fourth album recorded during 1977 which was a very turbulent time, with Peter Baumann having left TD, and Edgar having to cancel concerts in America and Europe. So with the time left he recorded Ages, but having recorded so much material it ended up being a double album. People have mixed feelings about this album. Ages is okay in parts, the rest is just either repetitive and nauseating where the boredom sets in quite quickly. The album kicks off with Metropolis where Edgar adds synths and Mellotrons (strings and brass) and Klaus Kreiger just bangs away repetitively away on his drums. Era Of Slaves is much better where there is a good measure of 'Tron flutes and strings nicely in the mix on this track. The big track Tropic Of Capricorn has very little 'Tron on it all, more piano, synth and drums. The rest of the tracks are just more banal and silly, and except for Pizzaro And Atahualpa there is a good dose of 'Tron throughout the rest of the tracks. Incidentally if you get the CD re-release by Virgin you will notice that Golgatha And The Circle Closes is missing; they couldn't fit the track on the CD and left it off. Most collectors will buy this to add to their collection, but is sometimes best avoided playing altogether. If you like this album - enjoy it, it's just a matter of personal taste.

Edgar's next album Stuntman 1979 was a purely digital affair utilising the new digital synthesis technology, although he added analogue synths and a grand piano to it, but left out the Mellotron altogether (put away only to come out briefly on TD's Tangram album at the end of part-two just using the choirs). After that it was just a digital affair. A sad end to Edgar's and TD's musical instrument history.

Official Tangerine Dream site

Frogg Café  (US)

Creatures  (2003,  53.14)  ****/TTT All This Time Creatures The Celestial Metal Can (In Memory of Charles Ives) Gagutz Waterfall Carnival

Current availability:

• Private - see Website

Frogg Café apparently started life as Zappa tribute act Lumpy Gravy, releasing their first album of original material, Frogg Café, in 2001. I haven't heard that, but Creatures is, despite some of its European influences, a very 'American' progressive album, with lengthy vocal sections, reminding me of various current US outfits. Aside from Zappa, I can hear bits of Gentle Giant, quite a bit of jazz (much marimba work) and, maybe surprisingly, a hint of psychedelia in places. Actually, The Celestial Metal Can (In Memory Of Charles Ives) is full-on weirdness, as you might expect, given its title, but the rest of the album is pretty musically cohesive.

Nick Lieto sticks Mellotron all over the place, with strings and/or choirs on four out of five tracks, although he rarely overuses it. There's a heavy string presence on All This Time, but even the 20-minute+ Waterfall Carnival doesn't overdo it, with choir parts drifting pleasantly in and out of the piece. So; good album, though slightly unfocussed in places, and decent 'Tron use, so that's a recommendation, then.

Official site

Mitchell Froom  (Canada)

	Dopamine  (1998,  31.43)  ***½/½
	Tastes Good The Bunny Kitsum Dopamine Watery Eyes Monkey Mind Noodletown Wave	I'd Better Not Permanent Midnight Overcast Fruta Prohibida

Current availability:

• Atlantic

Mellotron used:

• Froom's own Chamberlin M1?

Mitchell Froom's career goes right back to the late '70s, and he moved into production in the '80s, with high-profile clients including Crowded House, Richard Thompson and his (then) wife, Suzanne Vega. He apparently released his first solo album in the mid-'80s, waiting until 1998 to follow it with Dopamine. Of course, Froom is known for his dedication to old and/or weird keyboards, particularly the Chamberlin, so it comes as a slight surprise that it's featured so little here. The album is basically a set of little musical vignettes, with loads of Froom's famous friends appearing (Jerry Marotta, Sheryl Crow, Ron Sexsmith etc.). Every track is different to every other, covering a broad base of musical styles, with loads of odd stuff thrown in. Froom plays (amongst others) a Marxophone, Indian harmonium, Claviola, Optigan and Orchestron... I think you get the picture.

Froom's one Chamberlin track (fear of becoming typecast?) is Monkey Mind. It's actually rather hard to tell what he's using it for: flutes? Although there's a polyphonic part, a flautist is credited. Jazzy acoustic guitar? Probably depends on which model Chamby is being used. It's almost certainly one of the above, but used so little that a half 'T' is all I really feel I can give. So; will you like this album? If you like Froom's productions in general, you may very well do, but it's an awfully long way from Crowded House's streamlined, intelligent pop. You have been warned.

Official site

Frumpy  (Germany)

	All Will Be Changed  (1970,  41.56/48.47)  ***/½
	Life Without Pain Rosalie, part 1 Otium Rosalie, part 2 Indian Rope Man Morning Floating, part 1 Baroque	Floating, part 2 [CD adds: Roadriding Time Makes Wise]

Frumpy 2  (1971,  38.59)  ***½/T Good Winds How the Gipsy Was Born Take Care of Illusion Duty

Current availability:

• Repertoire (Germany)

Frumpy's first album, All Will Be Changed, is one of those 'very much of its time' records, featuring loads of Hammond, quite a bit of studio jamming and (God help us) a drum solo, a sure sign of a dearth of ideas. It's by no means all bad, although repetitive opener Life Without Pain makes one lose the will to live after a few minutes, and the aforementioned drum solo (on Floating, Part 1) is deeply unnecessary. Many tracks segue into each other, with possibly the best thing here, Baroque, being sandwiched between the two parts of Floating. Next to no Mellotron from Jean Jacques Kravetz, with a few odd-sounding string chords in Baroque, but nothing you absolutely have to have, to say the least.

Their follow-up, Frumpy 2, is their most progressive album, and I have to say, particularly in comparison to its predecessor, it's really rather good. Quite a bit of Uriah Heep in their sound by this point, and when you think that Heep were yet to produce their classic Demons and Wizards in '71, Frumpy could have given them a good run for their money, had they not been stuck in a non-UK/US market. The music is full-on progressive hard rock, with shedloads of well-played Hammond, and great guitar work, with English vocals, although I don't believe it (or any of their albums) was released outside Germany. On top of his extensive organ work, Kravetz played Mellotron on a couple of tracks, although I've had trouble working out exactly what he's using, although the strings have that 'keyed' sound to them. My best guess is an M300, and the strings are neither a Mark II nor an M400, unless it's a particularly unusual strings set in the latter. Anyway, this unusual string sound crops up on 'Take Care of Illusion' and 'Duty', with the latter having some on a short classical section which I should be able to name, but can't (Bach?).

So, their debut is decidedly average, while their sophomore effort is a damn' good album, progressive without being 'symphonic', but well worth hearing. The 'Tron use is odd, to be honest, so don't go out of your way for it on those grounds alone.

John Frusciante  (US)

	Shadows Collide With People  (2003,  62.23)  ***½/TTT
	Carvel Omission Regret Ricky Second Walk Every Person -00Ghost27 Wednesday's Song This Cold	Failure33 Object Song to Sing When I'm Lonely Time Goes Back In Relief Water Cut-Out Chances 23 Go in to End The Slaughter

Current availability:

• Warners

John Frusciante is best-known, of course, for being the on-off guitarist in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, although, drug problems seemingly overcome, he now seems like a fairly permanent fixture in the lineup. Shadows Collide With People is his fourth solo album, and falls loosely into the same category as the current Chilis, although he allows himself more sonic variety, not least with the various strangely-named tracks here (-00Ghost27, Failure33 Object etc.), all experiments in noise and effects.

I've just discovered that Frusciante plays Mellotron samples, along with almost everything else, it seems, with his mate John Klinghoffer adding more sampled 'Tron, but REAL Chamberlin, although I've no idea who played what where, so I'm going to have to leave all the above tracks highlighted, at least for the present. Carvel has a powerful strings opening section, with flutes later in the track, with some nice choir chords on Omission, and a filthy choir part on -00Ghost27, buried under layers of distortion and noise. Fainter choirs on Wednesday's Song, cellos on In Relief, a beautiful flute part on 23 Go In To End and finally, what has to be something weird from the Chamberlin on closer The Slaughter. I think Regret's strings are real, and several other tracks feature Mellotronish sounds (Time Goes Back, Cut-Out), though without further information, I don't think mere conjecture is enough to nail anything as definite. There seem to be quite a few other analogue keyboards used, with some 'late period' polysynth work cropping up here and there, but they rarely clash with the 'Tron/Chamby work, and can't be mistaken for them.

So; an inventive and relatively original album from the young Mr. Frusciante, covering a variety of styles and feels. My only real criticism is the weak vocals, though I hear they were his best yet. This is actually worth buying on the tape-replay front, too, as long as you don't pay too much for it, with several excellent 'Tron tracks in evidence.

Official site

Führs & Fröhling  (Germany)

Ammerland  (1978,  38.20)  ****½/TT Ammerland Gentle Breeze Dance of the Leaves Street Dance Sarabande Circles of Live Every Land Tells a Story Ammernoon

Current availability:

• Phantom (Brain?)

Mellotron used:

• Band's own M400

Gerd Führs (keys) and Heinz Fröhling (guitars) recorded Ammerland together while still members of SFF, or Schicke Führs Fröhling, but their partnership endured beyond the breakup of the trio. Ammerland is one of those absolutely wonderful albums you encounter every now and again, then wonder how you'd done without it for so long. It's an almost unique mixture of classical guitar and monosynths, with the odd other keyboard, and a plethora of superb tunes, at least one dating back to SFF's pre-deal days, going by bootleg evidence. Influences are the usual suspects, including Romantic era classical composers, but the CP70 piano work on the thirteen-minute Every Land Tells A Story is heavily redolent of Genesis' Tony Banks, which shouldn't come as any major surprise.

There isn't that much Mellotron to be heard, actually, but the album is bookended by superb 'Tron tracks in the really quite beautiful title track and Ammernoon, with its ethereal choirs (Mellotron cliché no.5. Go to the bottom of the class, Thompson). More choir, faintly, in Circles Of Live, but sadly, that's it. So; a superb album that anyone interested in progressive rock should hear. Was that unequivocal enough for you? BUY!

Nelly Furtado  (Canada)

	Whoa, Nelly!  (2001,  49.14)  **/T
	Hey, Man! Shit on the Radio (Remember   the Days) Baby Girl Legend I'm Like a Bird Turn Off the Light Trynna Finda Way	Party Well, Well My Love Grows Deeper (part 1) I Will Make U Cry Scared of You

Current availability:

• Dreamworks

Mellotron used:

• Hired-in MkVI (or samples?)

Canadian, but of Portuguese descent, Nelly Furtado's debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, has to be one of the most irritating records I've heard in several years. It's not just the sampled drums - that's only to be expected - but the infuriating production tricks with percussion and synth bleeps, combined with Ms. Furtado's whiny voice that make me want to reduce the thing to very small shards of broken plastic and high-grade aluminium foil. The 'songs' are rarely more than a piss-poor melody laid over one of these interchangeable backing tracks, although Nelly's lyrics occasionally seem to have some depth to them; Party doesn't actually appear to be about having a good time, being more about what such occasions can really be like.

Although it's completely uncredited, in a CD booklet with what appears to be full instrumental credits, I'm assured that the Mellotron on major hit I'm Like A Bird is not only real, but is actually a new MkVI machine, which is pretty specific. The track isn't loaded with it, but what you get is a nice enough part, if (as so often) slightly inessential. Despite its irritating overall vibe, I've still given this two stars, mainly for not falling into the trap of being R&B-by-numbers, although I'll be happy if I never have to hear this again. One OK 'Tron track, but that's it.

Official site

Fuse  (US)

Fuse  (1968,  38.08)  ****/T½ Across the Skies Permanent Resident Show Me To Your Health In a Window 4/4 3/4 Mystery Ship Sad Day

Current availability:

• Song Haus (US)

Mellotron used:

• Band's own MkII

The otherwise utterly obscure Fuse are known solely these days for being the first recording band of Rick Nielsen and Tom Peters(s)on, later of the mighty Cheap Trick. Their lone, self-titled album (released in '68 or 9) is actually a monster psychedelic heavy blues record with some killer playing and excellent songs, which will almost certainly colonise my CD player if I give it half a chance (sadly, I don't have the time to do this...). It has a couple of weaker spots, but overall is very good indeed, deserving of being far better-known than it is.

Rick plays both guitar and keyboards (at which he's actually very good), with plenty of decent Hammond work. The story goes, Rick's dad owned a music shop, and imported one of the first (MkII, of course) Mellotrons into the States, which Rick lost no time in borrowing. There are several points on the album which might be 'Tron, but given the complete over-the-topness of the string work on To Your Health, I doubt if any of the suspected parts actually are at all. I mean, have you ever heard a Mellotron almost distort before? OK, apart from on the second Gracious! album...

So; good album, fabby 'Tron on one track. Worth the proverbial flutter. There are apparently two bonus tracks on the recent CD version, from a single, but they're supposed to be not worth hearing.

Fusioon  (Spain)

Minorisa  (1975)  ****/TTTT Ebusas Minorisa Llaves del Subconsciente   Part I: Mente   Part II: Cerebro

Current availability:

• BMG/Ariola

Minorisa was Fusioon's third album, and probably their most eclectic; every online review I've read comments on its schizophrenic nature, lurching from one style to another with abandon, although this shouldn't be regarded as a problem, should it? The album is held together by its inherent jazziness, although that's not to say it's a fusion (ho ho) album; definitely 'prog', whatever you take that to mean. The joker in the pack is the two-part Llaves Del Subconsciente, which is more about synth exploration than the offbeat prog of the rest of the album, especially part two. It's not a bad track, just a little out of place; maybe they were short of material.

On the Mellotron front, played by Manuel Camp, Ebusas is loaded with strings, choirs and flutes, including brief choir and flute solo parts in the middle. He takes a similar approach in the title track, along with what sounds to my ears like 'Tron FX church bells, though I'm willing to be proven wrong. Llaves Del Subconsciente has an upfront string part in part one, but part two is entirely composed of analogue sequencer blips and drones, rather precluding anything more organic.

Saying that, this is absolutely excellent, and must be one of the best Spanish progressive albums I've heard. The Mellotron work is also fantastic, so an all-round hearty recommendation from yours truly. Buy.

Future Shock  (UK)

	Future Shock  (1977,  42.53)  ***/TT½
	The Ouverture Tides Are Turning Boogie Love Theme Cup-a-Love Rent-a-Family Spanish Dream Where We Came in	Forever and a Day Love Theme Well, Well Stand Back Temporary True Believer Fruity We're Together

Current availability:

• Not on CD

Mellotron used:

• Band's own M400?

As far as I can work out, Future Shock was a touring stageshow, utilising Cirkus (of One fame) as the production's band, with the songs being released under the show's name. Future Shock is a most peculiar album, to be honest; it lulls the listener into a false sense of security, beginning in a far more symphonic vein than the Cirkus album, before Tides Are Turning ends with the sound of the needle being dragged across the groove, while a voice remarks 'They can't write music like they used to in the sixties', and the band break into a by-numbers boogie, er, Boogie. There are other spoken-word interludes, some sillier than others, and a general overall feel of writers (none actually in the band, for what it's worth) who had ingested far too much Monty Python and bad drugs, and felt duty-bound (sadly) to foist their sense of humour on the public at large (see: their Roxy Music pastiche on Fruity).

As for the Mellotron (presumably played by Cirkus' Derek G. Miller), Tides Are Turning has a single-note string line that merges into a guitar lead, with discordant choir later in the song. Love Theme only has a few seconds of strings at the beginning, and Where We Came In has some quiet string chords dotted throughout the song, with more of the same on Forever And A Day. Love Theme features a distinctive strings part behind a more serious spoken-word piece about life and love, an' all that, while a few choir chords on Temporary True Believer round up the album's 'Tron content.

Hmmm. Future Shock has its moments, but I'm afraid it hasn't aged very well, and unlike the Cirkus album, it doesn't even especially define its times, which is probably why it's never been reissued. OK 'Tron, but don't pay a fortune for it, rare or not.

Fuzz Face  (Australia)

Fuzz Face EP  (1996,  15.28)  ***½/TTT Mr Doomsday The Great and Unknown Prosperity is Like the Tide For Tomorrow

Current availability:

• Murmur (Australia) - out of print?

Mellotron used:

• Moginie's own M400

Fuzz Face (named for the distortion pedal, of course) seem to've been a one-off project from Midnight Oil guitar/keys man Jim Moginie and a couple of mates, with Moginie doing the lion's share of the playing. Fuzz Face is all too brief; four tracks of good, aggressive guitar-driven stuff, very little like his alma mater, but also destined to sell diddly-squat to Oils fans.

Moginie also played Mellotron on the Oils' 1993 release, Earth and Sun and Moon, although there's no specific credit on the sleeve. Whether he's ever actually owned one is unknown, but assuming it's genuine, there's 'Tron flutes here in between the loud bits on Mr Doomsday, with more of the same on all the other tracks, with strings on For Tomorrow. Some of the playing is pretty unusual, too, notably on Prosperity Is Like The Tide, bumping the album's 'T' rating up a notch.

Well, I found this in a Melbourne second-hand shop for a whole Aussie dollar, and consider it money well spent. If slightly off-kilter songs with a heavy Mellotron presence sounds like your thing, you could do a lot worse than to pick up a copy of this EP.

Fan site

---