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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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Grifters Grobschnitt |
Groundhogs Gryphon |
Guapo Isaac Guillory |
Trey Gunn |
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Full Blown Possession (1997, 54.08) **½/0 |
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| Re-Entry Blues Fireflies Spaced Out Centuries Sweetest thing Happy Wickedthing Blood Thirsty Lovers |
Hours You Be the Stranger Cigarette Contact Me Now |
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I've seen the Grifters described as 'the kings of swampy blues/rock swagger', which just goes to prove that I obviously have no rock'n'roll in my soul, as I thought they were dull US indie. Actually, I'm of the opinion that I do have a bit rock'n'roll in my soul, prog leanings notwithstanding, which may be why the Grifters' brand of mid-paced pointlessness gets me down. It's not even that Full Blown Possession is awful. It isn't; it's just... dull.
Scott Taylor, one of the band's two vocalist/guitarists, allegedly plays Mellotron, but I'll be fucked if I can hear it. Extraordinarily background strings on Cigarette? Who knows. Nothing that I can pinpoint, anyway. So; dull record, no obvious 'Tron. No thanks.
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Ballermann (1974, 73.56) ****/TSaharaNickel-Odeon Drummer's Dream Morning Song Magic Train Solar-Music, Part 1 Solar-Music, Part 2 |
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Jumbo (1975/76, 34.13) ****½/T½JuppThe Excursions of Father Smith (Vater Schmidt's Wandertag) The Clown (Der Clown) Dream and Reality (Traum und Wirlichkeit) Sunny Sundays Sunset (Sontags Sonnabend) Auf Wiedersehn |
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Rockpommel's Land (1977, 45.03/51.18) *****/TTTErnie's ReiseSeverity Town Anywhere Rockpommel's Land [CD reissue adds: Tontillon] |
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Solar Music Live (1978, 54.15) ****½/TTSolar Music IFood Sicore Solar Music II Mühlheim Special Otto Pankrock Golden Mist Solar Music III |
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Merry-Go-Round (1979, 40.33) ***½/T½Come on PeopleMerry-Go-Round A.C.Y.M. Du Schaffst das Nicht COKE-Train May Day |
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Volle Molle (1980, 45.20) ***½/TTSnowflakesA.C.Y.M. Wuppertal Punk Beifall Waldeslied Coke-Train-Show Rockpommel's Land |
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Illegal (1980, 44.13) ***/½The SnifferSpace-Rider Mary Green Silent Movie Joker Illegal Simple Dimple Raintime |
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There's probably one phrase that describes Grobschnitt (loosely translates as 'rough cut') better than any other: Barking mad. Anyone who has a problem with the German sense of humour should have a quick gander at this lot; trouble is, sometimes the lunacy takes precedence over the music, although they usually manage to just about keep it in check. Headcase drummer Joachim H. Ehrig, better known as Eroc, was the ringleader, and it's a tragedy that there isn't more footage of their legendary '70s live shows about (see the cover of Solar Music Live to see what I mean).
Their first outing, 1972's Grobschnitt (****), is fairly formative, and a great deal more 'space rock' than they became later, but is still worth hearing. After various changes, they reached a settled lineup in '74, and recorded the double Ballermann; presumably their label, the excellent prog imprint Brain, must have trusted their ability to sell enough copies to repay their investment in the band. The first disc starts in suitably silly style before moving into typical Grobschnitt of this period, with driving organ and guitar work, concentrating more on an ensemble feel than on individual pyrotechnics. Ballermann is the album that introduced their audience to the considerable talents of their new keyboard player, Volker "Mist" Kahrs; in fact, the whole band had nicknames, which were usually used in place of their actual monikers. The only Mellotron on the album is on the lengthy Magic Train, with several string parts throughout the piece. The second LP of the set was the band's first outing for their legendary 'Solar Music' suite, trimmed down (!) to 33 minutes for the studio version. More of which later...
Their next release, Jumbo, moved further into symphonic progressive territory, showcasing some truly excellent material, particularly The Excursions Of Father Smith, starting with harmony vocals and solo string synth before the Mellotron strings cut in with the rest of the band. Dream And Reality is another killer track, with a few 'Tron string swells, but there's very little to be heard on Sunny Sundays Sunset, with more string synth than anything else. So, great music, but very little actual 'Tron use.
Grobschnitt had only sung in English up to this point, so presumably to appease their entire fanbase (they never really broke out of their own country), not to mention filling an otherwise albumless year, they recorded German vocals for Jumbo, reissuing it with a German flag background instead of the original sky with the legend 'Mit Deutschen Texten' added. To be honest, their accents were still so heavy by this point that you have to listen carefully to hear which is which... The album was (obviously) remixed, but neither version seems to be especially superior. Both are available on one CD, which should save the completist a lot of messing about; the English version is still considerably easier to find on vinyl.
In 1977, the year their style was suddenly about to go horribly out of fashion, Grobschnitt released their absolute meisterwerk, Rockpommel's Land. A total classic of the symphonic style, on first listen the album might sound a little insipid, but on repeated spins its depths become apparent. The storyline is rather silly, concerning a little boy called Ernie who flies off on the back of a giant bird... I expect you get the idea. However, the music is absolutely fucking fantastic, and in no way should be dismissed without making the appropriate effort. The four pieces tie in thematically, and the crescendo at the end of the title track is one of those 'makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end' moments. There's Mellotron to be heard throughout the album, but rarely more than a little burst here and there, which is why it doesn't get a higher 'Tron rating, the exception being the choirs on the chorus of 'big ballad' Anywhere.
The following year, the band finally did the decent thing, and released a full-length album of Solar Music Live, confusing the casual listener by seemingly drastically changing style in the space of a few months. It expands excellently on the original studio piece, by now being split into several distinct tracks; I get the feeling they would insert the whole piece into a set of their shorter material, so rumours of a 'style change' were obviously greatly exaggerated. The infamous Grobschnitt sense of humour rears its ugly head here; the album is primarily instrumental, but at one point Eroc (I presume) suddenly intones:
| 'Would you like to sit on your bum, on the surface of the sun?' |
Thank you for that, chaps... What's more, it's not half as 'spacey' as is often made out; it's basically prog, just with a freeform element thrown in, and even then, it's hard to say just how much of it was written in advance. Anyway, very little Mellotron to be heard; snippets of strings on Mühlheim Special and Golden Mist, but nothing major, although the latter track has a nice 'Tron crescendo near the end.
As with pretty much every other progressive band worldwide (with a few honourable exceptions, of course), Grobschnitt simplified their approach as the decade drew to a close. Mind you, they get in a good dig on Merry-Go-Round with A.C.Y.M., their rather droll take on the ubiquitous disco sound (rearrange the title), and I think they actually had a sneaking respect for the whole punk thing, even though it didn't hit Germany big-time until the '80s. Saying that, there's still only six tracks on the album, with all but one being over the six-minute mark. Come On People has an almost disco beat to it, and isn't really up to their recent standard, but is layered in 'Tron strings, along with them new-fangled polysynth thingys. It's a reasonable compromise between their favoured style and (presumably) record company demands, although I'd like to think that Brain weren't as bad as the majors.
Volle Molle was, surprisingly, their first 'proper' live album, and is a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. Much of the material is previously unreleased, and some of it is just plain messing about, but the live version of A.C.Y.M. has the studio's 'Tron parts recreated accurately. Rockpommel's Land isn't the album of the same name's title track, precisely; more an edited version of the whole album squashed into 16 minutes. It also has the 'Tron parts in the right places, and doesn't suffer overly from its drastic editing. Not a great album, but (unlike their later horrors), still worth hearing.
Illegal is the last Grobschnitt studio album worth a toss, in my humble opinion; they updated their style without descending into pop pap, at least, not at this stage. Still, it's got a much harder sound than their earlier albums, and is difficult to recommend on the same level, although a couple of tracks are worth a listen. Mary Green is the closest they get to their old style, and Simple Dimple just, er, rocks better than anything else here. The only even remotely obvious Mellotron (in fact, a Novatron) is on the title track, but the quick burst of choir really isn't worth the effort.
After this, it was downhill all the way. Long-standing members left, and Grobschnitt quickly slid down the proverbial slippery slope. Their next effort, Razzia (**½), has barely any listenable moments, and the only subsequent album that's worth hearing in any shape or form is the live Sonnentanz (***½), with yet another version of Solar Music on it, although it's all 'modern' keyboards by this stage.
So; Grobschnitt were an excellent band, particularly from Ballermann through Solar Music, though they were never major 'Tron users, preferring the subtle approach. It's difficult to recommend any of these on the 'Tron front, though maybe Rockpommel's Land would be worth it on those grounds. Whatever. Buy their best albums because they're their best albums.
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Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs! (1972, 35.40) ****/TT½Earth is Not Room EnoughWages of Peace Body in Mind Music is the Food of Thought Bog Roll Blues Death of the Sun Amazing Grace The Grey Maze |
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Hogwash (1972, 39.04) ***½/TT½I Love Miss OgynyYou Had a Lesson The Ringmaster 3744 James Road Sad is the Hunter S'one Song Earth Shanty Mr Hooker, Sir John |
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Solid (1974) ***½/TTLight My LightFree From All Alarm Sins of the Father Sad Go Round Corn Cob Plea Sing, Plea Song Snow Storm Joker's Grave |
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The Groundhogs had been together since the late '60s, and leader Tony 'T.S.' McPhee was already something of an old blues warhorse even then. They're best remembered for albums such as Thank Christ for the Bomb and the seminal Split, where they redefined blues rock, adding a stoned psych/jamming ambience to it, before discovering progressive rock and heading in another direction. Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs! is a pretty good album, if beginning to show its age somewhat, although its cartoon sleeve still amuses and sadly, is still quite relevant today. Ever the iconoclast, T.S. had bought himself a Mellotron and an ARP 2600, in sharp contrast to his blues contemporaries' organ and piano, and proceeded to make good use of them both, although I'm assured it's actually a hired-in MkII on this album (thanks, Chris).
I have to say, there's not a bad track on the album, although Bog Roll Blues (toilet paper, for the non-Brits out there) is probably slightly unnecessary, and I'm not sure there was really much point in a guitar and harmonium version of Amazing Grace, although it's far from bad. The Grey Maze is a pretty cool stretched-out piece, though, and they don't put a foot wrong anywhere on side one. As far as the 'Tron's concerned, Earth Is Not Room Enough (title adapted from a Robert A. Heinlein story) is full-on progressive blues, with a repeating Mellotron string line, although I don't know how McPhee can have played this live. Music Is The Food Of Thought has a flute melody, alternating with brass chords, and Wages Of Peace has a weird, unidentified sound which has to be 'Tron, as McPhee's only credited with 'guitar, Mellotron and harmonium'. Oboes, maybe? Hard to say. Anyway, a good album, albeit rather bluesy.
Wasting no time at all, The Groundhogs released Hogwash later that same year. Sticking to their new progressive blues template, they produced another good album in a similar vein to its predecessor, although I detect slightly more jamming, possibly to fill a quickly-recorded follow-up. On the 'Tron front, You Had A Lesson has some nice string chords, double-tracked with brass at one point, but the album's other Mellotronic track is most certainly its highlight. Earth Shanty opens with wave sounds from McPhee's ARP 2600, before a strong 'Tron strings part, lasting some time, leads into the main part of the track. Further along, a cello line underpins the acoustic guitar, and some brass chords ride over the top. Excellent.
Two years on, Solid's another, er, solid record, despite now sounding rather dated. As on its predecessors, the band sound (to my ears, anyway) at their best when they're at their furthest from the blues, taking the style somewhere else. Light My Light and Plea Sing, Plea Song are particularly good examples, although I'm personally less keen on the twisted acoustic blues of Corn Cob. Only two Mellotron tracks this time (and full instrumental credits on the lyric sheet): Sins Of The Father has an excellent string part, as has Snow Storm, making you wonder why ol' T.S. didn't use it more often. His synth use is pretty damn' good, too; maybe they should've got themselves a full-time keyboard player? Now, I know the Groundhogs used their 'Tron live; what's the chances of an official live album from this era?
So; three good albums, assuming you like their take on progressive blues. Good 'Tron work all round, although not that much of it. Best track? Earth Shanty - no contest.
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Raindance (1975, 40.53) ****/TDown the DogRaindance Mother Nature's Son 'Le Cambrioleur est Dans le Mouchoir' Ormolu Fontinental Version Wallbanger Don't Say Go (Ein Klein) Heldenleben |
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Treason (1977, 37.31) ****/TSpring SongRound & Round Flash in the Pantry Falero Lady Snakes and Ladders Fall of the Leaf Major Disaster |
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About as Curious as it Can Be (2002, recorded 1974-75, 54.23) ****/TRenaissance Dance MedleyMidnight Mushrumps Ethelion Wallbanger The Last Flash of Gaberdine Tailor Le Cambrioleur est Dans le Mouchoir Ein Klein Heldenleben Jigs |
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Gryphon were formed in the early '70s as an attempt to recreate early English musical forms, in which (in my opinion) they were rather more successful than, say, Amazing Blondel or Magna Carta. Their debut, Gryphon (1973, ****) sticks pretty closely to their original manifesto, but by their second outing, Midnight Mushrumps (1974, ****), they'd caught the prog bug, and created a fascinating fusion of the two styles, with medieval instrumentation mixed in with the contemporary. Red Queen to Gryphon Three (****) (you may know it for its fantastic cover art) moved further towards the prog 'mainstream', and by the time they released Raindance they were essentially a progressive band with medieval flourishes.
Raindance opens with a synth and clavinet part that would have been completely out the question three, or even two albums earlier. Krumhorn/recorder/keyboard player Richard Harvey had moved across mainly to keys by this point, proving it with inventive arrangements and excellent playing (Royal College of Music, I believe); I suspect their US support tour with Yes may have had a lot to do with this... The songwriting is excellent, fitting perfectly into the 'very British' school of prog, with common themes cropping up on different tracks; compare the title track to (Ein Klein) Heldenleben, for example. The band's medievalisms show up on the more acoustic material, like Ormolu, or the cover of the Beatles' Mother Nature's Son, complete with recorders and Brian Gulland's bassoon, but they tend to be more the exception than the rule by this point. Harvey's Mellotron only turns up on a couple of tracks, with a short string part toward the end of Fontinental Version and strings dipping in and out of the album's pièce de resistance, the sixteen-minute instrumental (Ein Klein) Heldenleben, harking back slightly towards Red Queen.
Treason turned out to be Gryphon's last album; sunk by punk, no doubt, like so many of their second division contemporaries (which is no slur on the quality of the music). It's about as near the 'mainstream' as the band ever got, which isn't that near, but the song structures are certainly more conventional (read: mostly shorter), but without sacrificing their customary invention in the process. There's some excellent material, including Spring Song and Major Disaster, but once again, very little Mellotron. Rather like Raindance, there's a little strings towards the end of two tracks, but it's extremely spare use for a band who would appear to have owned their own machine.
In 2002, a CD of two BBC In Concert tapes from 1974 and '75 suddenly turned up, titled About as Curious as it Can Be, from the gryphon in Alice (and no, I didn't know that offhand; that's what sleevenotes are for...). Apart from the rather dodgy mixes (only stereo masters have survived), these sound great, with two otherwise unavailable tracks in Renaissance Dance Medley and Jigs (both pretty much as you'd expect). The rest of the material is from Midnight Mushrumps and Raindance, and is all performed excellently; 'with gusto', in fact. Richard Harvey's keyboard rig had obviously expanded exponentially by 1975, and you can hear the Mellotron parts on Ein Klein Heldenleben reproduced faithfully on stage, but that's it on the 'Tron front for this one. To prove the tapes' authenticity (as if you'd need to), you can hear what sounds like a mic falling over on the track at around the four-minute mark. So; well worth the purchase for Gryphon fans, but minimal Mellotron.
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Great Sage, Equal of Heaven (2001, 41.12) ****½/T½Mountain of the Five ElementsBlessed Albania Zero for Conduct Five Cornered Square Ten Years of Heisei Sakura Perfect Blue El Topo |
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Five Suns (2004, 61.48) ****½/TTTFive SunsMictlan Topan |
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Black Oni (2005, 44.34) ****/T½Black Oni |
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Well, I'm not entirely sure I should be reviewing this at all, due to personal bias; Guapo is my brother Matt's band, and I actually guest on Great Sage, Equal of Heaven, playing MiniMoog for all of thirty seconds on the last track, El Topo. For all that, it's an extremely good album; all instrumental, lots of bass, lots of drums, bits of guitar, keys and sax. They performed live as a two-piece at the time, just bass and drums, but various people helped out in the studio, as did the modern marvel of multitracking...
Bassist Matt Thompson credits himself with 'bass and electronics' on the sleeve, but he actually plays practically all the keys himself, including my Mellotron on Mountain Of The Five Elements (in one take, fact fans). The track slowly builds, including a killer ascending strings part on the 'Tron, rising to a crescendo of multi-overdubbed keyboards. Hard-hitting, but, er, rather wonderful actually! My personal favourite track is the album closer (nothing to do with my involvement, either), but the whole thing's worth hearing, as long as you can handle a bit of serious intensity.
Although recorded in 2002, a sought-after deal with US weird progsters Cuneiform delayed the release of Five Suns until early 2004, adding two shorter tracks to the original album-long effort in the process. The band had expanded to a trio by this point, adding keys/guitar man Daniel O'Sullivan, which must make this something like their fifth different instrumental setup in eight years... Dan adds hugely to the band's sound, and the band have 'progressified' all round, with drummer Dave Smith adding a gong to his kit, extensive use of my vintage gear in the studio, not to mention Dan's new Fender Rhodes. Five Suns itself is 45 minutes long, broken into five sections purely for the CD, and it's more Magma-influenced mayhem, with Smith's drumming (and gurning) having only become wilder since Great Sage. The piece's Main Riff is superb; a grinding, Mellotron-driven, bass-heavy zeuhl-fest to rival the masters themselves. The 'Tron (all strings) dips in and out of the piece, along with occasional bursts of Hammond, MiniMoog and Taurus pedals, although the Rhodes is the album's chief keyboard, heard to even better effect on the two later compositions, along with 'Tron strings and flutes on Mictlan. Superb.
Black Oni, again recorded some time earlier, finally appeared in spring 2005 on ex-Faith No More Mike Patton's Ipecac imprint. Described as 'the second in a trilogy', it shows the band at their best, although it's their first release to sound anything like its predecessor; I imagine a stable lineup helps. It's extremely difficult to assess properly on one listen, but it seems to lack the central riff that made Five Suns such a joy, while otherwise not sounding dissimilar to it, but suffice to say, if you like their sound, you won't be disappointed. Rather less Mellotron this time round, too, with strings and choirs towards the end of the piece.
What was I saying about a stable lineup? After over ten years, my brother's left his own band. C'est la vie. Anyway, Great Sage and its worthy predecessor, the sadly-'Tronless Hirohito (****) should still be available from Pandemonium while stocks last, but Five Suns and Black Oni should be easy to find, with (at last!) some sort of worldwide distribution. Anyway, all titles recommended, nepotism notwithstanding. Buy.
p.s. Have a look at my review for Matt's new project, Rashomon.
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Isaac Guillory (1974, 31.18) ***/½St. PeterStaying Awhile Brusselles Steamboat Sidewalks of America The Carbondale Strutt Movin' on Ice Cream Phoenix El Jadida Karma Blues |
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Isaac Guillory is often mistaken for a Brit, as he based his career here from around 1970 onwards, though he was born at the naval base at the now-infamous Guantánamo Bay, in Cuba, and was brought up in the States from the age of eleven. After a spell in The Cryan' Shames, he moved to Europe and began playing acoustically, becoming known as a bit of a 'guitarist's guitarist', releasing albums sporadically up until his untimely death on new year's eve, 2000. Isaac Guillory (sometimes erroneously known as 'Side One', after its rather poor sleeve design) was his first solo album, mixing together the various acoustic styles Guillory had assimilated up to that point. His vocals, while better than, say, his contemporary Gordon Giltrap's, are only slightly above perfunctory, but his playing is excellent, particularly on The Carbondale Strutt and El Jadida. Don't think of this as a guitarist's album, though; it's more about songwriting, with occasional flashes of fiery playing amongst the more ordinary acoustic backdrop of the bulk of the record.
I can't work out if the astounding cheapness of the cover was a deliberate, 'arty' ploy, or exactly what it looks like: an artwork budget somewhere in minus figures. Each side features the same, unsmiling picture of Guillory, surrounded by a large red ring emblazoned with the side number. A narrow blue edging lists production credits, with tracks and musicians' credits being found to either side of Guillory's pic. Very cheap, very nasty. Side two lists Guillory's own credits, managing to misspell his name as 'Gillory' in the process. Aside from vocals, guitar and bass, he's also credited with ARP and Mellotron, although the latter can only be obviously heard as a background flute part on Staying Awhile, with the flutes on Ice Cream Phoenix being real, although I wouldn't swear that the background part isn't 'Tron, too.
Anyway, this is a pleasant enough album, although slightly unengaging, and not really a patch on Giltrap's work of the period. It sounds to me as though he would've liked to let rip a little more, but record company constraints made the album more of a singer-songwriter effort, though I could be barking completely up the wrong tree. It seems that nine of its ten tracks are available on Personal's 1997 compilation, The Atlantic Years, 1973-1974, with only the brief Karma Blues missing, making it all the more odd than they chopped it off. Not bad, not great, your choice.
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The Joy of Molybdenum (2000, 47.02) ***½/½The Joy of MolybdenumThe Glove Hard Winds Redux Rune Song: The Origin of Water Untune the Sky Sozzle Gate of Dreams Brief Encounter Tehlikeli Madde |
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Trey Gunn was a member of King Crimson for a good decade until late 2004, playing Warr Guitar (a Stick variant); I believe The Joy of Molybdenum's his first solo album, though I'm willing to be proved wrong. It's a strange record, instrumental, with far more 'ethnic' influence than you might expect, particularly in the percussion department. I'll freely admit it didn't really grab me, although there's nothing wrong with the music at all, so I can't really pick out highlights.
Gunn credits himself with Mellotron, amongst other things (no, no idea where he got hold of one), but unless my ears are heavily deceiving me, all I can hear is a quick burst of background choirs on Brief Encounter, barely making for even a half-'T', to be honest. So; decent enough record, if the idea of a more ethnic and less full-on Crimson appeals to you, but don't bother for the 'Tron.
