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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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Perfecting Loneliness (2002, 67.42) **/T |
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| The Frequency You're the One I Want Cat Heaven Perfecting Loneliness Lucky Charm Wish List Psalm Autumn Walker |
Further North William Tell Override Disgrace Rocket Boy |
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Jets to Brazil were a New York-based sort of post-post-hardcore outfit, active from around 1997 to 2003. 'Post-post-hardcore'? A bit like a wussy Hüsker Dü without any of the good bits. Easy, eh? Going by their third and last album, 2002's Perfecting Loneliness, about the only thing they really seem to have perfected is the ability to play rock without any real passion, although they don't sink as far as the likes of Matchbox Twenty or Train, or about 500 other bands I could name if you tortured me for long enough. Speaking of things being long enough, not only is this album at least twenty minutes too long, with too many tracks, but almost all said tracks drag on far longer than necessary; practically nothing here's under four minutes, and closer Rocket Boy is stretched out to an unbelievable nine plus.
J. Robbins and Blake Schwarzenbach play Mellotron, with (mixed?) strings on the Hüsker Dü-ish You're The One I Want and Lucky Charm, which isn't Hüsker Dü-ish at all, just stultifyingly dull and (guess what) overlong, while a real cello turns up here and there (notably on Rocket Boy), just to confuse the issue. If this album was a four-track EP with edits of its best material, it might just about be palatable. As it is, it's dull as ditchwater and best avoided, although its 'Tron work is at least passable.
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0304 (2003, 53.16) **½/T½ |
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| Stand Run 2 U Intuition Leave the Lights on 2 Find U Fragile Heart Doin' Fine 2 Become 1 |
Haunted Sweet Temptation Yes U Can U & Me = Love America Becoming |
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Jewel Kilcher grew up in Alaska, moving down to California in her teens, slowly building a reputation as a young, serious singer-songwriter before being 'spotted'. After several successful albums of introspective material, for some bizarre reason (money? Fame?), she chose to hit the mainstream with 2003's 0304, promoting the album with a series of provocative videos, obviously attempting to appeal to the teeny crowd, although already in her late 20s. Huh? Except that her past keeps lurching through the sound, with her signature acoustic guitar on Run 2 U (note irritating Prince-style/txtspk titles), the banjo (!) on Fragile Heart and the accordion, for Chrissake, on Intuition. I can't work out at whom, exactly, this album is aimed; her old (very sizeable) fanbase aren't going to like it, and why would the younger crowd suddenly latch on to someone half a generation away from them?
Anyway, almost the first sound on the album is Patrick Warren's (uncredited) Chamberlin flutes, although the later, credited use is mostly fairly minimal, with background strings on Leave The Lights On and Becoming and flutes on Fragile Heart, although the strings on Haunted are fairly upfront, with a nice 'slow-down' effect at the end. So; I don't like this, you're not going to like this, and there ain't enough Chamby to even be worth picking up for a couple of quid/bucks/whatever. Avoid.
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Letherslade Farm (1970, 50.35) **/T |
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| Tap Dance (1) Weaver's Answer Interview (1) Je T'aime/If You Were the Only Girl in the World Interview (2) Can I Have This Dance? Interview (3) School Sketch |
Blow Blow Thou' Winter Wind Interview (4) Vicar's Sermon Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring Tap Dance (2) Tap Dance (3) Agent Sketch Danny Interview (5) |
Northern Sketch (1) A Nitingale Sang in Berkeley Square Northern Sketch (2) Say Hello to Mrs Jones Northern Sketch (3) Interview (6) Diesel Blues |
Interview (7) Group Sketch Morning Interview (8) Seven Fishes Record Company Sketch Interview (9) Tap Dance (4) |
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Going by their debut, Letherslade Farm, I'd guess Jigsaw were already veterans of the cabaret scene by 1970, although I could be wrong. The album contains a ridiculous 32 tracks, most of them rather unfunny sketches or joke versions of known material, although Family's Weaver's Answer is atypical, being pretty much a straight cover. The album appears to be some kind of joke concept effort, its 'humour' not only forced, but incorporating all the usual -isms and -phobias you'd expect of the time, not least the recurring Tap Dance numbers, consisting of someone saying, "Anyone who can't tap dance must be queer" and the Agent Sketch's string of Jewish clichés. The handful of 'regular' songs tend to be fairly uninteresting (over eight minutes of Diesel Blues is unforgivable), although Morning isn't bad for what it is, ditto Seven Fishes.
Clive Scott's Mellotron (studio MkII, I'd guess) finally puts in an appearance on Say Hello To Mrs Jones, with a string part that barely sounds like a 'Tron, and I'm pretty sure that's Mellotron vibes on Seven Fishes, one of the record's handful of straighter tracks. Of course, the band finally found success in the mid-'70s, dressing in outrageous pink and silver costumes and making multiple Top of the Pops appearances with Sky High, before disappearing back into obscurity. That's the pop business for you, boys... Letherslade Farm was a fairly inauspicious start to their career, best described as a 'period piece', I think. Very little Mellotron, too, so I really couldn't recommend a purchase in the unlikely event that this ever sees a CD release.
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Jumpin' the Gunne (1973, 38.46) ***/T½ |
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| I Wanna Love You To the Island Red Meat Getaway Before You Get Your Breakfast At the Spa Monkey Music Couldn't Love You Better |
High School Drool Neon City Turn the Boy Loose |
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Comprising ex-members of the underrated Spirit, it seems Jo Jo Gunne played a typically American mixture of straightforward rock'n'roll and some more interesting areas, not unlike lesser-known outfits such as Baxter or the wildly obscure Bronin-Hogman Band. Their second album, Jumpin' the Gunne, opens with the straight-ahead I Wanna Love You, before launching head-first into the progressively-inclined To The Island, diverting into a steel drum solo (!) on Getaway, although it has to be said, the bulk of its material is proto-arena rock.
Like many before and after him, Jay Ferguson plays mostly piano and organ on the album, although a clavinet makes itself audible on one track. His Mellotron crops up on three songs here, with a slightly unorthodox strings part on To The Island, while a few seconds of strings in Before You Get Your Breakfast are completely upstaged by one of those 'how do you play that thing that fast?' moments in At The Spa, although that would appear to be it.
Do you need this album? Not really for its 'Tron content, but if you go for that American early-'70s lightish-hard rock sound, you may wish to dabble.
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The Stranger (1977, 42.34) ***/½Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)The Stranger Just the Way You Are Scenes From an Italian Restaurant Vienna Only the Good Die Young She's Always a Woman Get it Right the First Time Everybody Has a Dream |
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It's funny to think that once upon a time, Billy Joel wasn't actually a byword for appallingly cheesy pop/AOR along the lines of the horrid Uptown Girl or the truly offensive We Didn't Start The Fire; no, Billy - just gleefully fanned the flames. The Stranger was his fifth album, and is, by and large, well-crafted singer-songwriter stuff; Joel certainly knows how to put a song together, even the rather cringeworthy Just The Way You Are has better lyrics than I'd remembered. I've surprised myself by not loathing his early work, although I can't see myself exactly playing it on a regular basis.
On what appears to be the only 'Tron track of his career, Joel (presumably) plays a Mellotron flute melody on She's Always A Woman, but it's fair to say that it doesn't especially make the track; I suspect a studio 'Tron that he used on a whim. So; don't go out of your way (big surprise there, then), but a lot less nasty than his later work. Incidentally, extra special low marks for rhyming 'Garden of Eden' with 'bleedin''.
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Discus Ursi (1998, 65.17) ***/TTT |
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| Discus Ursi's Prelude King of Gold Golden Discharge The Wish The Transmutation The Oracle The Dive Golden Riverbank Time Fracture |
Pegasus The Goddess and the Gold The Desert The Goddess and the Queen The Queens Father The Desert The Last Minstrel of Marble Discus Ursi's Rhapsody |
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Guitarist Björn Johansson is a compatriot of Swedish progster Pär Lindh, the pair having recorded a couple of couple of co-credited albums together, while Johansson played on the Pär Lindh Project's first album. 1998's Discus Ursi is credited to Johansson alone, although Lindh's stamp is all over the record in the form of his lush keyboard contributions, although Johansson's compositional style is a long way from Lindh's frequently Emersonian excesses. Saying that, chunks of Discus Ursi are distinctly neo-proggish, though without the pseudo-'commercial' edge that ruins so much second- and third-wave prog. The album's chief problem is a lack of truly memorable material, with several lengthy tracks padded out with guitar solos or noodling, failing to sound like the scored symphonic prog that it aims for. There are no end of good moments, but few, if any, really good whole pieces.
Lindh plays his ex-Anekdoten MkV Mellotron on the album, with strings and choir scattered across all but the album's brief intro piece, plus a flute melody on Pegasus. Unfortunately, although two of the longer (although not the longest) tracks are split into several parts, I've no way of knowing where one part ends and another begins, so the tracklisting above makes it look like there's rather less Mellotron on the album than is actually the case. I have to say, too, it really hasn't been recorded very well; the strings don't exactly leap out at you, while the choirs are very murky indeed, rather lessening their effect. As on Lindh's own albums, the Mellotron use here is rarely jaw-dropping, while the recording quality spoils it when it does appear, although it's still good to hear it used this much.
All in all, then, a passable progressive release, several notches above yer typical neo- effort, but several below the best that the genre's had to offer in the last couple of decades. It would've got a higher 'T' rating if the Mellotron had actually been recorded in the same building as the rest of the instruments, too. I'm sorry I can't be more positive about this album, but the good bits are, if not outweighed, then certainly held back by the mediocre ones.
See: Pär Lindh Project | Pär Lindh & Björn Johansson
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Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player (1973) ***/T |
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| Daniel Teacher I Need You Elderberry Wine Blues for My Baby and Me Midnight Creeper Have Mercy on the Criminal I'm Going to be a Teenage Idol Texan Love Song |
Crocodile Rock High-Flying Bird |
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![Elton John, '[title]'](images/johnelton-goodbye.jpg) |
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) ****/TT |
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| Funeral for a Friend Love Lies Bleeding Candle in the Wind Bennie and the Jets Goodbye Yellow Brick Road This Song Has No Title Grey Seal Jamaica Jerk-Off I've Seen That Movie Too |
Sweet Painted Lady The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-34) Dirty Little Girl All the Girls Love Alice Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock'n'Roll) Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting Roy Rogers Social Disease Harmony |
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Caribou (1974) ***/½ |
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| The Bitch is Back Pinky Grimsby Dixie Lily Solar Prestige a Gammon You're So Static I've Seen the Saucers Stinker |
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me Ticking |
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7" ( 1974) ***/TT½ Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds One Day at a Time |
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Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) ***½/T |
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| Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Tower of Babel Bitter Fingers Tell Me When the Whistle Blows Someone Saved My Life Tonight (Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket Better Off Dead Writing |
We All Fall in Love Sometimes Curtains |
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Rock of the Westies (1975) ***/½Medley (Yell Help, Wednesday Night, Ugly)Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future) Island Girl Grow Some Funk of Your Own I Feel Like a Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford) Street Kids Hard Luck Story Feed Me Billy Bones and the White Bird |
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Blue Moves (1976) ***½/T |
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| Your Starter for... Tonight One Horse Town Chameleon Boogie Pilgrim Cage the Songbird Crazy Water Shoulder Holster Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word |
Out of the Blue Between Seventeen and Twenty The Wide-Eyed and Laughing Someone's Final Song Where's the Shoorah? If There's a God in Heaven (What's He Waiting for?) Idol Theme From a Non-Existent TV Series Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!) |
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A Single Man (1978) ***/½ |
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| Shine on Through Return to Paradise I Don't Care Big Dipper It Ain't Gonna Be Easy Part Time Love Georgia Shooting Star |
Madness Reverie Song for Guy |
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Songs From the West Coast (2001, 54.12) ***½/½ |
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| The Emperor's New Clothes Dark Diamond Look Ma, No Hands American Triangle Original Sin Birds I Want Love The Wasteland |
Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes Love Her Like Me Mansfield This Train Don't Stop There Anymore |
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Now, I'm approaching Elton's considerable back-catalogue as a self-confessed non-fan, so apologies to those of you who love this stuff; I've tried to be as fair as possible, given the constraints under which I'm working (i.e. I don't like most of the music), but every now and again, a heartfelt opinion's liable to slip through. As a result, like some of the other artists on this site, I'll review the music more from a Mellotronic viewpoint than a musical one; after all, I expect there are plenty of sites which cover that angle already... Incidentally, thanks to Mark for the loan of the albums.
After several years as the critics' darling, Elton (that's Reginald Dwight to you), together with his long-term collaborator, lyricist Bernie Taupin, broke through commercially with his fifth studio LP, 1972's Honky Chateau and its hit, Rocket Man, followed by '73's Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player. Its second hit, the balladic Daniel, has a melodic 'Tron flute part drifting in and out of the song, with some block chords towards the end, while Teacher I Need You has some string chords bolstering up the chorus. That's it for the 'Tron, although the album's best moments are probably first single, Crocodile Rock and the affecting Have Mercy On The Criminal.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is regarded by many fans as Elton's musical peak; a highly-ambitious double album (shockingly, his second release of the year), it opens with my personal favourite from his oeuvre, Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, with the instrumental first part being effectively full-on prog, with an inventive synth arrangement by future Genesis producer David Hentschel. It also contains two of his best-ever vocal melodies in Candle In The Wind (forget the hideous abortion of the 'Diana' version) and the title track; love 'em or loathe 'em, you'll certainly remember 'em... Looking at the tracklisting, I can't believe that this album produced four hit singles, at a time when two was considered excessive; we're still a long way from the '80s 'single overkill'. As far as the Mellotron's concerned, This Song Has No Title, a solo vocal and keyboard number, has a typical 'orchestral' flute and string arrangement, Grey Seal has some excellent backing string chords, and Dirty Little Girl features a few brass chords; at least Elton's habit of track-by-track instrumental credits doesn't allow for any dissent over where it's used.
Around this time, Elton played 'Tron on three tracks on his sometime co-singer Kiki Dee's Loving and Free, although I don't know of any other sessions for his mates (John Lennon, Rod Stewart etc.) where he used one. I'm told that he regularly used a Mellotron on stage, too, played by his back-up keyboard player, Ray Cooper, with rather more use than in the studio. The only officially-available live recording from the time is 1976's Here and There (Cooper's first performances with the band, apparently), and I believe it's entirely 'Tron-free. Can't see him releasing anything else from the era in the near future, if ever, sadly.
1974's Caribou, sounds, to my ears, like a somewhat weaker effort, although it still spawned two hit singles in the rather anodyne rocker The Bitch Is Back and big ballad (again), Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me, with some almost completely inaudible 'Tron strings from David Hentschel. Best track is probably closer Ticking, a sad tale of dysfunction and spree-killing. Later that year, Elton released a version of the Beatles' classic drug song, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds as a non-album single, something he was quite prone to doing at the time. Not as good as the original, it does, however, feature 'Tron flutes and strings, including a great flute melody line, key-click and all, which I'll admit may've sounded good on Sgt. Pepper. It's available on various compilations, including '77's stopgap Greatest Hits Vol.2 (the 'cricket' sleeve).
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is more of the same, compositionally, with the more acoustic guitar-based title track being one of the better tracks. On the Mellotron front, We All Fall In Love Sometimes has a lovely flute melody, but Curtains, despite a credit, has no audible 'Tron whatsoever. I haven't actually been able to get hold of two of these albums for review, the first being Elt's second album of '75, Rock of the Westies, although I've tracked down a copy of its sole Mellotron track, the single Island Girl. Saying that, there's startlingly little 'Tron on it, with nowt but a fast flute melody from James Newton Howard, so don't go out of your way for this one.
1976's Blue Moves, another double, is slightly stronger than its immediate predecessors, with highlights including the orchestral Tonight, the rocking One Horse Town and the (relatively) lengthy instrumental Out Of The Blue, although its best-known track is the typical big ballad Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word. A really rather good flute part on Cage The Songbird, again from James Newton Howard, is the only Mellotron this time round; never one to overuse it, I suspect Elton was tiring of it by this point, with polysynths obviously just around the corner. The other album I haven't actually heard is '78's A Single Man, which closes with the six-minute Song For Guy, written as an elegy for Guy Burkett, a messenger at his label, Rocket, who died in a motorbike accident. An almost-instrumental solo keyboard track, most of the keys are piano and synths, but a brief 'Tron flute line comes in halfway through in typical Elton style.
Elton abandoned the Mellotron at this point, switching to polysynths like everyone else, although the story doesn't quite end here. After twenty years of going with the flow, recording-wise, he went back to his roots on 2001's Songs From the West Coast, recording onto 24-track analogue, and refusing to use Pro-Tools, sampling etc. He's working with Bernie Taupin again, not to mention guitarist Davey Johnstone and drummer Nigel Olsson from his regular '70s band, marking what everyone's calling a remarkable return to form. To prove his point, producer Patrick Leonard plays Mellotron on Love Her Like Me, although a background string line isn't really in the same league as some of his better '70s 'Tron Tracks.
So...; hmmm. If you like Elton (you can't refer to him as 'John', can you?), you'll like most, if not all of these albums, and you'll probably own them anyway. He has to be considered a fairly major Mellotron user, though more like David Bowie than Genesis, say (!), so none of the above albums even comes close to 'Tron classic status. Of the dozen or so listed above, I'd say the best tracks for their 'Tron content would be Daniel, This Song Has No Title, Grey Seal, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, We All Fall In Love Sometimes and Cage The Songbird. Every highlighted track above wouldn't fill a CD-R, but it's nice to see a mainstream performer use it on a whole string of albums. Songs From the West Coast is a definite move in the right direction, but next time round, could we have a bit more, please? Ta.
See: Kiki Dee
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Year of Mondays (1996, 51.43) ***½/T |
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| Where am I? One Way Out Way it Will Be/Too Far Another Side Circle Eclipse Left in the Dark Hold the Reins |
Say It's So Overdrive |
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Mike Johnson replaced Lou Barlow (later of Sebadoh) in Dinosaur Jr and has been making concurrent solo albums since 1994. '96's Year of Mondays is his second, mixing a careworn Americana with bursts of Neil Youngesque electric fury, notably on Say It's So and the lengthy, jammed-out Overdrive, although it's safe to say there are no bad tracks on the album, which makes a nice change.
Johnson plays Mellotron (Mascis'?) on Circle, with a string part running throughout the song, although that's it on the 'Tron front. Year of Mondays is a good, if not great album, likely to appeal to Americana and dinosaur Jr fans, although I wouldn't go too far out of your way for its Mellotron use.
See: Dinosaur Jr
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Fear Yourself (2003, 46.17) ***½/TT |
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| Now Syrup of Tears Mountain Top Love Enchanted Must Fish The Power of Love Forever Your Love |
Love Not Dead You Hurt Me Wish Living it for The Moment |
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If you're of an even remotely 'alt.' persuasion, you'll know Daniel Johnston; diagnosed as bipolar, he's spent time in mental hospitals, which doesn't seem to have harmed his slightly skewed career ambitions. He's been recording his strange, naïve little songs since his late teens, initially giving cassettes to people he met, eventually being signed to Atlantic, although they only actually released one of his albums. His career has had its highs and lows since (Kurt Cobain wearing one of his T-shirts didn't hurt), but his devoted following devours his sporadic releases and he has a coterie of high-profile fans and collaborators.
2003's Fear Yourself is something like his 17th studio album in 20-odd years. I get the impression it's a pretty Johnston release; sad songs, mostly dealing with love forsaken, sung in his cracked, heartfelt voice. He actually has a way with a melody; Syrup Of Tears is marvellous, although the quieter tracks featuring Johnston on school piano tend to work better than the more upbeat ones. This isn't for everyone, by any means, but the faithful will understand. As a newcomer to Johnston's work, I find it strangely affecting, although I can't see myself playing it that often.
Y'know, if I didn't have track-by-track credits, I might well be sitting here typing 'can't hear the Mellotron anywhere', it's so low in the mix. Alan Weatherhead plays Mellotron and/or Chamberlin on all highlighted tracks, with Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous on Mellotron here and there. Opener Now has Weatherhead on Chamberlin strings, although I've no idea what the Mellotron's doing, while the only possible Chamby sound on Syrup Of Tears is the cellos, with Mellotron cello on Love Enchanted and strings ('Tron or Chamby?) on Must. Finally, there's some properly audible strings (and reverbed-to-hell choir) on The Power Of Love, one of two tracks where Mark Linkous contributes 'Tron, although Weatherhead plays both 'Tron and Chamby, too. I don't know if the low-fi church bells at the beginning of Forever Your Love are Mellotron FX tapes or Linkous' Optigan, but the flutes and cellos are definitely 'Tron, again, from Linkous and Weatherhead.
So; an odd little album, but it's Daniel Johnston. What did you expect? Despite a half-dozen 'Tron/Chamby tracks, it isn't that apparent on most of them, but it's probably worth hearing anyway, if only to get a handle on where Johnston's coming from. Cautiously recommended.
See: Sparklehorse
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Not Too Late (2007, 45.23) ***/T |
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| Wish I Could Sinkin' Soon The Sun Doesn't Like You Until the End Not My Friend Thinking About You Broken My Dear Country |
Wake Me Up Be My Somebody Little Room Rosie's Lullaby Not Too Late |
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There can't be (m)any readers of this site who haven't run into (Geethali) Norah Jones (Shankar) somewhere along the line; she's become pretty ubiquitous the last few years, hardly ever off the telly, it seems. You'll all know that she's the illegitimate (what an appalling concept) daughter of Ravi Shankar, from his '70s wild years, so it's hardly surprising that she's so prodigiously talented, whether or not you actually like what she does. Personally, I find her music well on the wrong side of the 'bland/not bland' divide, which is probably why it's so popular, but what do I know? Most of my favourite artists struggle to sell any records at all, apart from, er, Led Zeppelin and, er, a few others. Anyway, the album combines various facets of her style, with mainstream balladry (Wish I Could, the title track), the jazz that she's known for (Sinkin' Soon) and even country (Wake Me Up).
On the tape-replay front, Paul Bryan plays a nice Chamberlin string line on The Sun Doesn't Like You, while Norah provides Mellotron strings on the title track, subdued enough that you're not quite sure whether they're 'Tron or not. Overall, this is only going to appeal to those with fairly mainstream tastes, I'd say, although if you appreciate great voices, regardless of musical style, you may well go for it. Passable tape-replay, but nothing outstanding.
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No Alternative (1972, 43.21) ***½/TTTTNo AlternativeHeaven Mind of the Century 1958 Pollution Ricochet |
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Keeping Up... (1973, 40.13) ****/TTTTMasqueradeSunset and Evening Star Preview Questions and Answers Critique (With Exceptions) Duet Song Children |
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Growing (1973, 39.03) ***½/T½Can You Get That TogetherWaltz for Yesterday Know Who Your Friends Are Growing Hard Road Jonesy |
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Sudden Prayers Make God Jump... (2003, recorded 1974, 35.47) ****/TTTDark RoomRunning Bad Dreams The Lights Have Changed Old Gentleman's Relief Anthem |
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Jonesy were put together by John (Evan-) Jones after he released a solo singer/songwriter-type album for German label BASF with keyboard player Jamie Kaleth. No Alternative is a little dated for '72, being a bluesy prog album, nearer to the 'proto-prog' of Gracious! or Cressida than the market leaders of the day. It's by no means a bad album, but is very much of its time, failing to transcend the decades the way their best contemporaries have. Kaleth only plays pianos and Mellotron, so there's a good bit of it to be heard; all six tracks, in fact. Plenty of brass and strings; I'm told they had an M400, but I'm sure I can hear the Mark II brass/strings mix. Maybe not. Anyway, 'Tronnic highlights include the occasional strings pitchbend/swells on Mind Of The Century and the string work on Pollution. Keep an ear out for Kaleth's 'choppy' chords, where he tries to play the thing more like a organ. Key-click warning, key-click warning...
After some lineup changes, they quickly followed-up with Keeping Up..., with veteran hornsman Alan Bown firmly ensconced as a full member. It's an immediate improvement on its predecessor, with considerably more adventurous material, although a vastly improved production may have helped. There's an excellent string arrangement alongside 'Tron strings and flutes on Masquerade, with more of the same on Sunset And Evening Star and a killer string part on Questions And Answers. I keep finding myself thinking 'King Crimson' as I listen to this album; several tracks have some of that Islands weirdness, or Poseidon 'Tron-epic feel to them, particularly the imaginatively-titled Song. Children finishes the album off in grand style, with more Crimsonisms and 'Tron brass alongside the real thing. Recommended.
Growing was more of a group-written album, which shows in its relative lack of direction, and it's often regarded as the weakest of the three. More Crimsonesque stuff, particularly the jazzy dissonance on their, er, 'theme song', Jonesy. Not that much of Kaleth's Mellotron this time round, with just regular strings on Can You Get That Together, and the rarely-heard Mellotron Hammond on Know Who Your Friends Are, but all the rest of the strings seem to be real ones, ditto the brass.
A fourth album was recorded in 1974, but the tapes were stolen and never recovered. When an Italian fan got in contact with Evan-Jones recently, after hearing a copy dubbed from a surviving cassette, he offered to release it. Sudden Prayers Make God Jump... (now, is that a modern Crimson title or what?) saw the light of day in 2003, and although Kaleth had left, Ken Elliott of Second Hand/Seventh Wave fame stepped in on 'Tron duties. The album's an immediate improvement on Growing, making it even more tragic that the masters were lost, although the mastering job that's been done here is excellent, all things considered. Elliott gets plenty of that 'Tron in, with major use in lengthy opener Dark Room and some upfront flutes and strings in Bad Dreams, amongst others.
So; what to recommend? Keeping Up... is definitely their best, but the other three are worth hearing (particularly Sudden Prayers), if not of quite the same quality, with No Alternative being the most straightforward, and Growing the weirdest. The first two are obviously the better 'Tron albums, so I think I have to say, start with Keeping Up..., then maybe move onto the others. Although it's by far the easiest way to find these albums, be careful of the Australian 'Progressive Line' issues. There's two CDs, No Alternative and Keeping Up..., with the first half of Growing after their second album and the second half on the first... The mastering is pretty awful, with all three albums varying in volume, a minuscule silent gap on Keeping Up..., and worse, what sounds like a few seconds missing at the beginning of Growing, and two listed tracks indexing as one. Sloppy. The Korean Si-Wan releases will be more expensive, but are probably better.
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Rats (1994, 44.26) ***/T½ |
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| Damaged Slave Pissin' Down High Road Easy Sun's Gonna Rise Head Ugly I'm Not |
Honey Wish Breakin' Give |
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Sarah "Sass" Jordan, although born in the UK, grew up in Canada, later moving to the States as her career stepped up a gear. 1994's Rats is her third album, fitting firmly into the 'raunch'n'roll' hard rock sub-set, in other words, a bit like Aerosmith in '70s mode. Guest players including Stevie Salas and Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, which probably gives you more idea of the album's sound. It's not... bad, it's just not that exciting, either, and either the mix is truly appalling, or the pressing's awful, with track volumes starting high, then plummeting as soon as the rest of the band join the guitar. Huh? Although it's a bit of a weepy ballad, Breakin' might just be the best track, avoiding the rock'n'roll clichés of the rest of the album.
Mellotron from Rei Atsumi (ex-Vow Wow), with strings on Sun's Gonna Rise (a hit in the States, I believe) and uncredited flutes and strings on Breakin', alongside real strings, but that's yer lot. So; run-of-the-mill rockin' stuff, with a decent, vaguely Janis-like singer and a little Mellotron. Don't go paying too much, now...
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Departure (1980, 38.02) **½/½ |
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| Any Way You Want it Walks Like a Lady Someday Soon People and Places Precious Time Where Were You I'm Cryin' Line of Fire |
Departure Good Morning Girl Stay Awhile Homemade Love |
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Journey's sixth album, Departure, was their third since their early jazz-rock phase, although we're not exactly talking Mahavishnu, even then. 1978's Infinity was their first breakthrough AOR album with new singer Steve Perry, catapulting the band into the upper echelons of the US charts, even if other territories were slower to succumb to their charms. Basically, you either like this stuff or you don't; it's utterly ludicrous, but despite its cheesiness, I find it difficult to hate Journey unreservedly, although their awful ballads push me perilously close... The more listenable moments on the album are easily its longest track, People And Places and opener and major hit Any Way You Want It (containing NO double-entendres, amazingly), with several moments of pure cheese that are best skipped over.
Gregg Rolie, on his last album with the band before being replaced by ex-Babys man Jonathan Cain, only used the hired-in Mellotron on one track, with some background strings on Any Way You Want It. According to the liner notes on the Time³ box set, the instrument he used didn't work too well (no maintenance, as usual), but co-producer Geoff Workman got some useable stuff out of it, doubling it with Hammond, not to mention their usual massed backing vocals. Real strings on the last two tracks, so with one minor 'Tron track, don't even think about buying this for that reason. In fact, don't even think about buying this unless you're big on Radio Rock, or whatever you want to call it. Listen to the vastly superior New England instead.
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Closer (1980, 44.28) ****/TAtrocity ExhibitionIsolation Passover Colony A Means to an End Heart and Soul Twenty Four Hours The Eternal Decades |
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Joy Division first appeared at the height of punk in 1977 under the rather non-PC name of Warsaw, complete with Hitler Youth-inspired cover art. Tell you what, chaps, Nazi chic has never been cool, and no, I don't care what Lemmy says... Anyway, they soon dropped the more overtly fascistic trappings, although their new name was inspired by the officially-sanctioned corps of prostitutes used by the SS, so no change really... Many fans hold Joy Division up as 'some of the most depressing music ever', or somesuch, but with a few exceptions I feel this is mostly wishful thinking. However, their secret weapon was gravel-voiced vocalist Ian Curtis, a seriously depressed young man who sadly took his own life not long after the release of Closer. Even on the more upbeat songs, Curtis' vocals certainly produce feelings of despair, however, as do his lyrics. Their best-known song (and only real hit) Love Will Tear Us Apart, is definitely one of the most depressing chart singles ever, major key or no.
Closer was the band's second album, and last as an extant unit; its weird, claustrophobic sound doesn't make for easy listening, with Peter Hook's 'lead bass' and their unconventional drum patterns triggering the whole 'post-punk' movement. The cover is no less stark than the monochrome oddness of its predecessor, Unknown Pleasures (****), and is very recognisably in the 'house style' of their label, Factory, being a photo of the Appiani family tomb in the Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno in Genoa (thanks, Mike). The album has the occasional keyboard part dotted about (probably Bernard Sumner, a.k.a. Albrecht), mostly string synth, but strangely someone must've brought in a Mellotron at some point, as there's a clearly audible string line during album closer (sorry) Decades, under the string synth melody. The second time round the melody, it's all 'Tron, just in case there are any doubters out there.
After Curtis' death, Joy Division felt they couldn't carry on as they were, and regrouped as the massively successful New Order. It's rumoured that they've used Mellotron somewhere during their lengthy career (still going strong now), but I've yet to discover where. It certainly isn't their first major hit, Blue Monday; those choirs are early samples.
So; Closer: not a Mellotron classic, but an essential album for anyone interested in the UK punk/post-punk scene. Uneasy listening.
See: New Order
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Minne (1974, 44.04) ***/T½ |
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| Origo Minne Wunder Kan Din Guete/Monogam-Polygam Der Din Wip Alrerst Betrouc Cinctura Virginae Swer Gieht, Daz Minne Sunde Si/Abruptio Venus |
Almin Fröide Thermae Roter Mund Wie Du Dich Swachest Bacchanal Flos Lividus I Flos Lividus II |
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Minne was Joy Unlimited's fourth and last album, and is apparently their most laid-back effort, containing a mixture of styles, from the folkish (Minne Wunder Kan Din Guete/Monogam-Polygam, Der Din Wip Alrerst Betrouc) to brass-driven rock (Cinctura Virginae, Bacchanal), and even a track in a Gryphonesque medieval vein (Almin Fröide). Its diversity is probably its downfall, sad though it makes me to say so; the album lacks focus, with its disparate influences refusing to gel sufficiently to create a cohesive whole, sounding one minute like Wind, and the next, Van der Graaf Generator.
Roland Heck's Mellotron work only crops up on two tracks, with some nicely up-front strings on opener Origo and closer Flos Lividus II, bookending the album in a Mellotronic kind of way. This isn't a bad album, and should possibly have been rated higher, but its irritating habit of lurching from style to style makes it a slightly fractured listen, probably due to the band's failure to integrate their influences. Two nice 'Tron tracks, though.
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Three (1997, 38.09) ***/T |
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| What it's Worth She's Something Else The Doorway Ordinary Another Girl Love You Now Your Girlfriend Supervision |
Know it All Promises Anyone But You Sex Attack Record Collection Make Love to You Once More |
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The Joykiller were a Californian so-called 'punk' band, although going by their, er, third effort, Three, they might just qualify as 'pop/punk'. Just. It's not actually a bad album, closer to energetic powerpop than punk, with amusing lyrics sometimes making up for rather run-of-the-mill songs, not least Sex Attack (nice turnaround, guys).
Ronnie King plays Hammond, Mellotron and Kurzweil, the latter seemingly providing all the string sounds, leaving the Mellotron to handle flutes on Your Girlfriend, Anyone But You and Make Love To You, very clearly at the end of the latter. So; hardly a major Mellotron album, but then, hardly expected, either. Good at what it does, but don't expect much Mellotron action.
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Fijate Bien (2000, 47.42) **½/½ |
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| Ahi le Va Para Ser Eterno Volcan Podemos Hacernos Dano Destino Nada Fijate Bien Vulnerable |
Soñador Ficcion Para Que Me da Igual |
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Juan Esteban Aristizábal "Juanes" Vasquez is a Colombian musician who apparently used to play in a metal band, Ekhymosis, before splitting the group to start his more mainstream solo career. 2000's Fijate Bien is the first fruit of said career and it's... mainstream. Admittedly, mainstream Latin pop, which is generally more palatable than mainstream English-speaking pop, but its appeal palls after a few tracks, especially if you don't speak Spanish.
Anibal Kerpel is credited with Mellotron, although all I can hear are quiet flute parts on Destino and Nada, which don't exactly set the world alight. So; harmless but disposable South American pop with a smattering of Mellotron. Hmmm...
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Scorch (1970, 37.07) ***/TT½ |
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| John Brown's Body Rockin' Chair Beer Drinking Woman Medley: 49 Fingers Purple God Bossa Jump Cry-de-Cry Run for Your Life |
Cully Mississippi Turnpike Medley: Primrose Lady Scorch |
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Judas Jump were apparently considered something of a supergroup at the time, with mainman/guitarist/keyboard player Andrew/Andy Bown and drummer Henry Spinetti being ex-The Herd (with Peter Frampton), while other members had played with various minor British '60s pop outfits. Their sound was that very of-its-time mixture of barroom boogie, hard rock and prog (!), that hasn't really dated very well. Scorch was their sole album, and actually isn't at all bad, though their attempts at barrelhouse stuff (Beer Drinking Woman) or countryish material (Mississippi Turnpike) would probably, with hindsight, have been better left on the cutting-room floor.
Bown plays plenty of Mellotron (presumably MkII) on the album, to the point where sometimes you wonder if it's slightly overdone, although much of it is obviously an attempt to replicate string and brass sections, rather than using it for its own sound. Strings on John Brown's Body, then brass (alongside real sax), plus more strings on Rockin' Chair, with more of the same across the other highlighted tracks, with the most minor use being about three seconds of faint strings at the end of the first part of the second medley, Primrose Lady.
For some strange reason, the US issue appeared in 1972, after the band has split up, and removed the last track, Private Holiday Camp. It's this version I've reviewed here, so I've no idea whether or not there's any 'Tron on it; more info should I ever source the UK version. Anyway, a reasonable enough album, if rather unexciting, but with a fair bit of the ol' 'Tron, though more for proto-prog completists than the general listening public, I suspect. Oh, and if you weren't aware (assuming you care), Bown went on to become Status Quo's onstage keyboard player, before finally being accepted as a full band member many years later, well after they'd gone down the pan.
See: Andrew Bown
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Profiles in Clownhenge (1998, 52.33) ***½/T |
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| Prelude Ballad of Bud and Dan The Ugly American Everybody Loves Bob The Nemesis Waltz Earl's Breakdown Smaller Than Life The King of Reseda |
Horrible Guy Parade of the Damned Send in the Clowns A Perfect Day Just Another Girl Vision X-Mas in Clownhenge |
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Buddy Judge is one of the two less well-known members of The Grays, alongside Jason Falkner and the inimitable Jon Brion. His 1998 solo album, Profiles in Clownhenge (or, properly, Mr Spalding's Orchestral Devices Proudly Perform Buddy Judge's Full-Length Musical Compendium "Profiles in Clownhenge"), is a pretty odd effort all round, with Judge playing tuba on most (if not all) tracks, which makes for an, er, unusual lead instrument. Unsurprisingly, an oom-pah sound pervades the record, sounding like a slightly demented Victorian circus, fittingly, since the album's concept seems to be based around the idea of the proverbial Mr Spalding's steam-powered mechanical animal orchestra and its (and his) eventual demise. Weird? Yup, but far from unappealing, containing songs of the quality of Horrible Guy, A Perfect Day and Vision, although the cover of Send In The Clowns and various snippets of well-known tunes (including Christmas ones on X-Mas In Clownhenge) sometimes sit uncomfortably with Judge's own material.
I can't find any reference to anyone playing Mellotron (or Chamberlin) on the album, but that has to be tape-replay flutes and cellos on A Perfect Day (alongside what sounds like real strings), with possible other bits towards the end of the album. So; if a powerpop oom-pah (or possibly oom-pah powerpop) album sounds like it might be your bag, you've just discovered the leader in a genre of one. If you just like the idea of a quirky, intelligent pop album, you also can't go too far wrong, although its (probable) tape-replay use is too minimal to be worth it on that front alone.
See: The Grays
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Vietato ai Minori di 18 Anni? (1973, 44.00) ****/TT½SpecchioCome Vorrei Essere Uguale a te Il Ritorno del Signor K Via Larga Gil Vangelo? 40 Gradi No! |
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Vietato ai Minori di 18 Anni? is apparently Jumbo's second album containing Mellotron, although I haven't heard the first, DNA. In many ways, it's a typically Italian progressive album of the time, with experimental sections rubbing shoulders with more traditional melodic parts, covering a gamut of styles over its course. Hard to pick out highlights, but opener Specchio and Il Ritorno Del Signor K are particularly good.
Aldo Gargano plays Mellotron on two tracks: Gil is probably the album's most experimental piece, including vaguely dissonant 'Tron strings fading in and out of the mix, 40 Gradi is slightly more straightforward, with similar 'Tron use coming in fairly late in the song, while No! has even more strings, possibly doubled with cellos. Vietato... is a good album, if not actually a classic, although its 'Tron use is relatively limited. Buy anyway.
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Magazine (1998, 41.16) **½/½ |
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| Not Today Violent Dreams Come Out Clean Cathedrals All Those Days Are Gone Body Parts My Guitar B-13 |
Habit Say Goodnight Close Your Eyes |
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Jump, Little Children apparently started life in the early '90s as an American-Irish outfit, slowly allowing the former to take precedence over the latter, largely in the form of so-called 'alternative' rock. The end result, at least on their third (and only major-label) release, 1998's Magazine, is a rather unappealing combination of US indie and powerpop, veering towards the indie end of things. It's not a terrible album, but its few semi-decent songs (Cathedrals, the vaguely witty My Guitar) are largely overshadowed by the dreary and generic likes of Violent Dreams and Say Goodnight.
Mainman Jay Clifford is credited with Mellotron, along with string arrangements, meaning the only place the presumed M400 is even slightly audible is on Say Goodnight, with what I take to be strings under the real ones. Pointless. It could be elsewhere, too, but it really isn't the most audible instrument used on this record. Overall, then, a dullsville album from a dullsville band, with next to no obvious Mellotron. Just don't.
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Magic Circles (2009, 26.14) ***½/T |
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| Barber Shop Revolver Big Black Mouth Sir Eugene Maddog Daisy Sketches of Sound Getting High Rolling Desperate |
Better Than You Living in the Park |
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The June are a current Italian psych outfit, in the full kaftans'n'sitars sense of the word. Name an early psych-era recording trick and The June will use it. Backwards guitar? Check. Kinks-ian harmony vocals? Check. Short, smart songs with great hooks? Check. To be perfectly honest, most of the songs sound pretty similar to one another, although ultra-psych opener Barber Shop lays the sitars on thickly enough to stand out from the crowd.
Chris, surname unknown, plays Mellotron, with fairly minor flute parts on Revolver and Daisy, assuming it's actually real. This is such a short record, many bands would label it an EP, but I believe The June are treating it as a full release. Short but sweet. Not much Mellotron, but that's not the reason you need to hear this.
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Battersea Power Station (1969, 38.20) ***/T |
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| Total War Circus Days Imagination My Ship Miss Lizzie So Embarrassed Freak in Playtime |
I'm Drowning White Light By the Tree |
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Junior's Eyes' chief claim to fame seems to be that most of the band played on David Bowie's first 'proper' album, Space Oddity, as did a session keyboard player who guested on their lone album, Rick Wakeman. A rather lesser one is that they have to be the inspiration behind the track of the same name from Ozzy Osbourne's last album with Black Sabbath, 1978's Never Say Die. Did the two bands share a bill in 1969? Perfectly possible, although they were from different areas of the country.
I've seen Battersea Power Station described as 'underrated', but I can't say I'm convinced, I'm afraid. It's not a bad album, but with far too many tracks like the meandering By The Tree, or the sub-Stray (although actually predating them) Playtime, it has difficulty justifying its tag as 'a lost psych classic' or somesuch. Side one's seven tracks form one linked sequence of songs, some of which work better than others, with Circus Days probably being the highlight, with the first few holding together fairly well, although they drift off a little by the end of the side.
Mellotron on one track, with Rick adding MkII strings to My Ship, although it's not the most essential use ever; certainly not a patch on the part Rick added to Space Oddity itself, but then, Tony Visconti wasn't producing here. However, although I'm not sure about recording dates, this could actually be Rick's very first recorded 'Tron track, making it of historical importance, at least.
Anyway, the recent Essential CD issue adds loads of bonus tracks, including both sides of all their three singles (including one rumoured to contain 'Tron); I shall re-review when I get to hear a copy. This isn't really any sort of lost classic, although it does have its moments; one for the hardened psych fan, I think.
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Rehearsals for Departure (1999, 36.39) ***½/T |
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| Ohio Tragedy Curbside Honey Baby Eyes for Windows Letters & Drawings Love the Same Saturday |
Tornado Rehearsals for Departure |
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Damien Jurado is a Posies associate who would, in a fair and reasonable world, be a household name. However, we live in an unfair and unreasonable world, where shysters like, oh God, I can't even remember their horrible names (although Daniel Powter springs to mind), become famous and sell loads of records, while genuine artists struggle. You could say, "But isn't that always the way?", but genuine talent sometimes shines through. Maybe that was in the past. Anyway, Rehearsals for Departure is Jurado's second album, full of wonderfully mournful vignettes like opener Ohio, Eyes For Windows or the title track; even on the rare occasions when it picks up the pace, it still sounds sad.
The Posies' Ken Stringfellow plays Mellotron (presumably his own band's rare MkV), with flutes on Letters & Drawings and a few notes on the Saturday, although the strings on Love The Same are real. So; a worthwhile effort from someone struggling for recognition. You're unlikely to buy this for its Mellotron content, but do him and yourself a favour and buy this album.
See: Posies
