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March Forth (2008, 38.29) ***/TT |
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| Oh No Seasons Song Traveling Feet Good Ones The Flood Inside Out Okay The Same |
Favorite Song Dog Stars Blue Sky Free Will Zone |
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The Brooklyn-based duo of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel's debut, 2008's March Forth, is something of a naïf of an album, switching between dark, mournful, folk-inspired material like opener Oh No or Good Ones and cheerful, childlike songs along the lines of Season Song or Favorite Song in roughly equal measures, a tactic that could all too easily split their audience between bedsit-dwellers and small children. Maybe that's the point?
Both members play Chamberlin, with distant string notes on Traveling Feet, distant string chords on Good Ones and Blue Sky, nicely upfront flutes on Okay and quite overwhelming strings on Dog Stars, although the cello on a few tracks is real. A somewhat schizophrenic release, then, that might not appeal to anyone much in its entirety. I can't entirely vouch for three of its possible Chamby tracks, either, but two in-yer-face examples is more than we usually get.
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Fearless (2005, 45.21) *½/½ |
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| Go Something to Say Don't Let it Pass You By Faith All I Can Do Believe it Solitary Madness Senang |
Master of the Game Way Down Inside Fearless Love for the Sake of Life Dreamer (Gussies Song) |
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Kane are a typical example of the worst kind of insipid modern 'rock'; Radiohead/U2 wannabees, wetter than Coldplay and Snow Patrol having a bitch-fight with a wet salmon. Fearless is their sixth album, so someone must like them; I believe they're huge in their home country, anyway. Best tracks? Don't be silly; look at the star rating.
I believe Reyn Ouwehand plays Mellotron, although not very much, with faint background strings on All I Can Do and flutes on closer Dreamer (Gussies Song), vocalist Dinand Woesthoff's tribute to his wife, who tragically died of breast cancer. Listen, you really, really, do not need to hear this album. I wish I hadn't. Absolute crud, with very little Mellotron. Avoid.
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Messages in Ether (1989, 39.31) ***½/TTTTInvocations of the UndeadThe Stirring The Vows The Carnage The Third Coming Bracelets Under the Double Moon |
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Kangaroo Kourt are an early Ventricle band, appearing alongside Mauve Sideshow, in other words, weird darkwave, full of atonal synths, creaking Mellotrons and banshee wails. Every Ventricle project is different, concentrating on a different aspect of their vision. In this case, it's arhythmic drones and dissonance, with a good deal of accomplished harp playing on Under The Double Moon that I haven't heard on any of the collective's releases before. The album as a whole is dark and mystical, quite certainly the effect the musicians were after; job done.
Mellotrons-a-plenty here, which is pretty good going when you think that any meaningful third-party maintenance of their machine must have been of historical interest only, although Dave Kean's Audities Foundation was probably setting up shop around the same time, on the right side of the Atlantic for them. All four parts of Invocations Of The Undead are stuffed with the thing, with cellos and warbling choirs on The Stirring, string section and church organ on The Vows, and are those 'Tron sounds effects I can hear? The Third Coming features what sounds like an on/off mix of the string section and organ, assuming they're next to each other on the relevant tape frame. Dusty Lee seems to care not that the M400 wobbles around like a seasick orchestra; there are those who have it that it sounds better that way (hi, Tim), and who am I to argue? OK, I could, but in this case, its inherent unmaintained instabilities merely add to the overall effect, which could well be lost with a fully-functional machine.
Wow - what a rollercoaster ride. Messages in Ether is definitely at the more listenable end of the Ventricle spectrum, certainly compared to the highly dissonant Steeple of Fyre, which isn't to say that they're exactly easy listening, unless you're of the opinion that Coil have wussed out in recent years. It wouldn't be true to say this album was recorded on nothing but Mellotron, but side one can't be far off it, giving the album four Ts overall and making this well worth a purchase, assuming you can actually find a copy.
See: Mauve Sideshow | Angel Provocateur | Steeple of Fyre | Torn Curtain
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Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun (1973, 40.25) ***/TTTT |
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| Ballad of the Chrome Nun Fat Flowers of the Night Walkin' Your Mind Has Left Your Body Across the Board Harp Tree Lament White Boy (Transcaucasian Airmachine Blues) |
Fishman Sketches of China |
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Apparently named for David Crosby's nicknames for Kantner and Slick, Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun is a decidedly watered-down version of Jefferson Airplane, then in the last throes of dissolution, just before the dodgy Jefferson Starship rose from the ashes like a rather slick phoenix (pun intended). The material's a bit anodyne, to be honest, although it's immeasurably better than later Starship stuff, particularly from the '80s.
David Freiberg's Mellotron is used fairly extensively, with background strings on Fat, and a much more upfront part on Flowers Of The Night, ditto Across The Board, while Harp Tree Lament adds flutes to the ubiquitous strings. Six out of ten tracks is pretty heavy usage, and it's rarely hidden away in the mix, so top marks on the 'Tron front and recommended for that, at least.
See: Jefferson Airplane | Jefferson Starship
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Nightbird (1974, 41.21) **/TTT½Ode to LifeVodka and Caviare Epitaph Listen to the Falling Rain Life and Me Love is Life Night Bird Happy He |
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The Kaplan Brothers were apparently a Chicago-based lounge act, effectively, who freaked out completely and recorded this bizarre attempt at a concept album. I'm, well... really quite lost for words over Nightbird; cheesy easy listening music shoehorned into a pseudo-progressive format just makes it sound like the progenitors of this piece of lunacy ingested far too much brown acid at Woodstock, and never quite got over it. The weirdest part of the album is track three. Yes, it's that Epitaph; if you've ever had a yearning to hear King Crimson played in a lounge stylee, well, here's your chance. Listen To The Falling Rain mixes nursery-rhyme lyrics with a brief burst of Grieg's Hall Of The Mountain King, although the rest of the album is outstanding only in its mediocrity.
I've no idea who played the Mellotron on the album, but he/she deserves a medal; it's splattered all over the place, played expertly and frequently at speed. Opener Ode To Life features strings, oboe (?) and female choir, with more strings, including a relatively speedy arpeggiated part on Vodka And Caviare, with one of the quickest 'Tron parts I've ever heard on their bizarre take on Epitaph. Most of the rest of the use is strings, although those choirs rear their ugly heads again on a couple of tracks.
I'm torn between giving this album one star for being complete rubbish, or the full five for its sheer chutzpah, so I've compromised on a rather measly two. This is possibly the weirdest album I've sat through over the last few years, although as listening experiences go, I've encountered an awful lot worse. At least Nightbird made me laugh in places, which is more than I can say for a few things I've run into... I can't honestly recommend this on musical grounds, but should you run into a copy cheap, it's probably worth it for the laugh and for its well over the top Mellotron.
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Electric Picnic (1999, 48.21) ***/T½ |
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| Picnic Sä Oot Niin Kaunis Tänään Meno Mielessä Piruntyttö Sä Oot Cool Hölmö Nuori Sydän Lomalle Meksikoon Kuinka Kauan Vielä? |
Pikku Josephine Sananen Mä Jäin Kiinni Asfalttiin Koko Keittiö Rokkas |
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Jukka Tapio Karjalainen is a Finnish Dylanesque singer-songwriter, operating since the early '80s under several different band names, who (perfectly reasonably) prefers to work in his own language. 1999's Electric Picnic was his third release as J Karjalainen Electric Sauna and something like his fourteenth studio album overall, a diverse offering with roots in rock'n'roll and country that could easily hail from 1975, if not '65; the bluesy Meno Mielessä actually reminds me of Nazareth, never a fashionable name to drop. While most tracks trundle along well enough (if in a language few non-Finns speak), the ultra-repetitive Pikku Josephine could probably have been quietly dropped.
Pekka Gröhn plays Mellotron, with a flute melody on opener Picnic, a weird, choppy string part on Lomalle Meksikoon that could almost be organ, but isn't and nutsoid flutes on closer Koko Keittiö Rokkas that seems to be in competition with a typically rhythmic Wurlitzer part. I can't imagine many non-Finnish speakers being too interested in this, to be honest, while I'm not even convinced that the Mellotron's real, although you never know.
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Titles (1982, 34.11) ***½/½Tribal DawnLost Affections in a Room Passion in Moisture Weather the Windmill Saviour, Are You With Me? Trust Me Sensitive Piper Blue |
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Mick Karn (née Andonis Michaelides) released his first solo album a year after Japan's final gasp, Tin Drum (****), and effectively carried on in a similar vein, with sparse instrumental textures overlaid with his ever-present hiccupping fretless bass. Although this is technically 'relaxed' music, Karn's bass work gives it a weird sense of edgy urgency, although the juxtaposition seems to work well enough. Difficult to pick out 'best' pieces, as despite the gaps between tracks, the album works better as a unified whole, or rather, two unified wholes (?). Side one is instrumental, while side two is more 'song' based, featuring Karn's quite acceptable singing, although he lacks David Sylvian's Bowie-esque tones. Probably a good thing.
Very little Mellotron on the album; Karn puts some female choirs (?) onto Trust Me, but they almost have that 'Fairlight' sound about them, to be honest. As a result, avoid on the 'Tron front. If, however, you're a fan of Japan's quite unique thing, but you've never run into this before, give it a go. Oh, and one bonus track on the CD, but I haven't heard it. Tragically, Karn died on January 4th, 2011, finally putting to rest any more 'Japan to reform' rumours.
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Cruzential (1996/97, 44.04/52.43) **½/½ (T½) |
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| Vote 4 Dick Taid Stand Prawn's Blues Bring Back Superman Travelogue Could We Kill Fred? Dring Star in My Movie |
Gloom Beamed Lollypork Stomp Victoria Bag of Flash & Thyme |
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The Good Life (1999, 49.45) ***/TTT |
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| Mom in Love, Daddy in Space Make it Grand Lampshade Graceland It's OK Now Miss You New Year's Eve Mudbath |
Gorgeous Kiss Me Goodbye |
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Home Dead (2001, 34.15) **/TUndisturbedHome Dead The Ghost of No One Miss You (Slight Return) Just a Phase Mom in Love, Daddy in Space (opiate version) Gorgeous (opiate version) |
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Kashmir had the misfortune to call themselves Nirvana when they formed in 1991, clearly not having heard of the British band of the same name, never mind (ho ho) Seattle's finest, already one album into their brief but meteoric career. They entered a Danish 'battle of the bands'-style contest, DM i Rock, in '93, having the bad luck to find themselves up against Tim Christensen's mighty Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, although they still secured a contract with the local branch of Sony, releasing their debut, Travelogue, a year later.
They followed up with '96's Cruzential, a slightly unfocussed effort, veering between the 'alt.rock' of much of the album, the DML-alike Bring Back Superman, alt./psych crossover Dring and mournful acoustic closer Bag Of Flash & Thyme. The album certainly has its moments, but far too much of it's lost in a Seattle-wannabee haze of quiet/loud. Just to confuse the issue, it was reissued the following year with two extra tracks, both singles from that year, italicised in the tracklisting above. Mads Tunebjerg plays Mellotron on the original release, with background strings on Travelogue, another entrant in the 'title track to the previous album' stakes (see: Zeppelin's Houses Of The Holy on Physical Graffiti, amongst others), but nothing obvious on Dring, despite a credit, while Kasper Eistrup adds it to both of the 'new' tracks, with background strings on Stand and nicely upfront flutes and strings on Gloom.
Three years later, Kashmir became one of the slew of Danish pop/rock acts to be produced by Tim Christensen, post-DML. 1999's The Good Life, is a perfectly respectable and fairly cheese-free collection of songs, although few of them are especially memorable and even fewer have even a hint of the power of Zeppelin's namesake epic. Saying that, closers Gorgeous and Kiss Me Goodbye both have their epic moments and little here makes you wish they'd left it in the can. Christensen also plays keys (along with Floyd's old live keys man Jon Carin), including Mellotron, with strings all over opener Mom In Love, Daddy In Space, Gorgeous and Kiss Me Goodbye, background choirs on the actually-rather-good It's OK Now and both on New Year's Eve, making for a nicely 'Tron-heavy effort, as you'd expect when Tim gets his teeth between the bit.
Despite being the length of a short '70s album, 2001's Home Dead is classed as an EP, containing remixes of three tracks from The Good Life and four new tracks of post-rockish intent, none of which really stand out in any way. Henrik Lindstrand plays Mellotron, with cellos and some of the best-recorded 'Tron vibes I've ever heard on Miss You (Slight Return), although Christensen's Mellotron parts on the original versions of Mom In Love, Daddy In Space and Gorgeous are missing.
So; The Good Life isn't bad as the style goes; certainly better than most of the guff thrown out (up?) by similar British and American bands, with plenty of definitely real 'Tron to boot, although Cruzential is rather less so and Home Dead really isn't worth the effort. Sort-of worth hearing.
See: Tim Christensen
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Le Pop (2008, 40.27) ***/T |
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| Overture A Bar in Amsterdam Tea With Cinnamon Hey Ho on The Devil's Back Virginia Clemm Le Pop Der Kapitän Wading in Deeper |
Play My Darling, Play To the Sea Mother Superior Ain't No Thang |
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Katzenjammer are an all-female Norwegian quartet, whose music reflects its members' interests in various folk forms, including Balkan and French chanson, amongst other styles. They win extra Planet Mellotron brownie points for using a contrabass balalaika onstage, which really has to be seen to be believed. Their debut album, 2008's Le Pop, sounds like the above, with a noticeable sea-shanty influence thrown in, making for a raucous, fun album that I can imagine going down well at, oh, a pirate party, maybe? I shall inform the Pirate Party UK, or possibly Mad Cap'n Tom.
The Mellotron's played by Anne Marit Bergheim and our old friend Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, with strings on Virginia Clemm and Der Kapitän, although nothing that overt, sadly. This is actually well worth hearing - I almost gave it ***½ - although not for its (real?) Mellotron use.
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Angels' Waltz (2003, 68.31) **½/TAngels' WaltzAdi Shakti Guru Guru Wahe Guru Bolo Ram Ra Ma Da Sa Bhaja Man Mere |
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Sada Sat Kaur is American, although her original name seems to be lost in the mists of time. Born in the late '40s, a brief scene in Woodstock caught her attention, leading to her becoming a convert to Sikhism, although it took a chance meeting with producer Jeremy Toback for her to consider actually recording her take on that culture's sacred chants at the relatively advanced age of fifty-six. Said debut, 2003's Angels' Waltz, bears vague comparison with many Christian albums, in that it's more about a form of worship than the actual music per se; thankfully, it's far better than said tragic excuses for albums, which isn't to say that it's necessarily a wonderful listen.
Each track on the album seems to be based around a different instrument (bottleneck guitar on Adi Shakti, piano on Guru Guru Wahe Guru, pedal steel on Ra Ma Da Sa and Bhaja Man Mere), the opening title track heavily featuring Zac Rae (Macy Gray, Lisa Marie Presley, many others)'s Chamberlin, with a string part running right through the twelve-minute piece. Generally speaking, if long-format, repetitive, trance-inducing Indian music with a Western bent floats your boat, you may well love this, although the rest of us should probably approach with caution. Kaur has made one more tape-replay record, 2005's Shashara, which I'll review when I get to hear a copy.
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Poogy in a Pita (1974, 33.06/42.33) **/T |
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| Natati La Cha'yay Moshe Ken, Moshe Loh Ochel Ta'Tzipornayim L'amour et la Vie Sookar Ba'Teh Hora He'achzoot Ha'Tamnoon Ha'Iter Shir Ha'Mechiron |
Shir Mecha'ah Ha'Balada Al Ari Veh'Derchi [CD adds: Im Haya Li Lev Zahav Hora Tnoo Lich'yot Hafsakat Chashmal] |
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For some utterly unknown reason the perfectly well-named Kaveret ('beehive') opted to ridiculously rename themselves Poogy when they played abroad, clearly in the mistaken belief that it would travel better. 1974's Poogy in a Pita was their second album (of three), containing (as with many Israeli albums of the period) folk-influenced pop, with a slightly unwelcome 'comedy' edge that was only ever going to work for Hebrew speakers.
Vocalist Danny Sanderson and keyboard player Yonatan (Yoni) Rechter play Mellotron, with flutes and background strings on Ha'Balada Al Ari Veh'Derchi (The Ballad Of Arivederchi), although that would appear to be your lot, with nothing extra on the CD's bonus tracks. I think you'd have to be seriously into Israeli pop to really get anything out of this album; I'm sure it does what it does well, but from a Western European viewpoint, it's almost impossible to tell. One decent 'Tron track, anyway.
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My Sportin' Life (1973, 37.27) **½/TMoonshine (Friend of Mine)Nobody Lives Here Anymore Drift Away Heroes and Devils My Sportin' Life Easy Evil Giles of the River Dance to My Song Sing With the Children |
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Born in Germany, Joachim Fritz "John Kay" Krauledat moved to Canada in his teens, becoming vocalist with the future Steppenwolf in 1965, playing with them, on and off, up to the present day. After the original band's dissolution in 1972, Kay began a solo career, releasing two albums before the band reformed for 1974's truly appalling Slow Flux. The second of these, 1973's My Sportin' Life, must've horrified Steppenwolf fans, being essentially a country album, the only recognisable track being his version of Dobie Gray's soft rock classic Drift Away (believe me, you know it when you hear it), while the one sop here for Steppenwolf fans is lengthy blues-rock closer Sing With The Children.
Someone, possibly famed 'Wrecking Crew' member Larry Knechtel, plays a tape-replay instrument on Giles Of The River, with a pseudo-orchestral string part that may or may not be the result of a relatively limited budget. Generally speaking, unless you're a fan of that soft rock/country crossover thing, you really aren't going to like this very much, although it's perfectly well done, so with a sole Mellotron/Chamberlin track, I'd have to advise you against.
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See See the Sun (1973, /52.56) ****/TTT½ |
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| Reason for it All Lyrics Mouldy Wood Lovely Luna Hope for a Life Ballet of the Cripple Forever is a Lonely Thought Mammoth |
See See the Sun [CD adds: Still Try to Write a Book Give it a Name] |
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Kayak [a.k.a. Kayak II] (1974) ****/TTT½AlibiWintertime Mountain Too Rough They Get to Know Me Serenades Woe and Alas Mireille Trust in the Machine His Master's Noise |
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Royal Bed Bouncer (1975, 38.16) ****/TT½ |
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| Royal Bed Bouncer Life of Gold (You're So) Bizarre Bury the World Chance for a Lifetime If This is Your Welcome Moments of Joy Patricia Anglaia |
Said No Word My Heart Never Changed |
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The Last Encore (1976) ***½/T½ |
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| Back to the Front Nothingness Love of a Victim Land on the Water The Last Encore Do You Care Still My Heart Cries for You Relics From a Distant Age |
Love Me Tonight/Get on Board Evocation Raid Your Own House Well Done |
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Starlight Dancer (1977, 42.37) ***/T½ |
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| Daughter or Son Starlight Dancer Want You to Be Mine Letdown Irene Golddust May Turn the Tide |
Dead Bird Flies Forever Sweet Revenge Where Do We Go From Here? |
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Along with Earth & Fire, Kayak were the Netherlands' chief exponents of progressive pop, or maybe song-based progressive rock; no real epics, but mostly interesting song structures. Like all such, they shifted further towards the mainstream by the late '70s, but their first few albums are definitely worth hearing. See See the Sun is classic Kayak, with proggier material like Mouldy Wood rubbing shoulders with more mainstream fare such as Lyrics (a hit in the Netherlands, I believe). Incidentally, this particular song leads to some confusion, with some copies of the album stating 'includes Lyrics' on the sleeve, only for you to find out it both doesn't and does, all at the same time.
Although most of the keys were played by Ton Scherpenzeel, when the band bought their Mellotron, it was decided that vocalist Max Werner (nicknamed 'Werlerofzoiets', meaning 'something like Werner') would play it most of the time, in between his vocal duties. I think I'm right in saying that Werner actually started life as a drummer, then shifted across to the mic when they realised he had the best voice in the band. Anyway, in an interview I saw with Scherpenzeel a few years ago, he said that they'd hoped their 'Tron would make it sound like they were being backed by an orchestra; of course, it 'just' sounded like they were being backed by a Mellotron, and once they got their heads round that fact, they ran with it. See See the Sun has track-by-track credits, although you don't need them to hear Werner's upfront 'Tron strings on six of the nine tracks. None of them stand out particularly from the others, but the 'Tron use is good all round, making this well worth it on the Mellotron front.
Confusingly, Kayak is actually their second LP, and is every bit as good as their debut, with more classically-influenced songwriting, particularly Wintertime. Mountain Too Rough reminds me of their countrymen Trace, in places, although their first LP only came out the same year. It's actually a more 'progressive' album than its predecessor, with two of the band's longest tracks in They Get To Know Me and Trust In The Machine, so this may be a good place to start for the confirmed proghead. There's a bit of change on the 'Tron front, with a solo flute part in the lengthy-ish They Get To Know Me, which is also the album's Mellotronic highlight, with some superb strings closing the song. Woe And Alas also has a great string part, with the other 'Tron tracks still having quite overt use.
Royal Bed Bouncer's opening title track is probably the catchiest thing the band (or rather, Scherpenzeel) ever wrote, not to mention one of their wittiest lyrics, particularly as they were writing in their second language. Nothing much over the five-minute mark here, but the songwriting's still well up to scratch, if possibly just a touch more mainstream. Werner's Mellotron is noticeably further in the background, though, although it's still present on half the tracks, with the most overt use on Said No Word; watch for the real strings on a couple of tracks, though.
The Last Encore carries on the work of its predecessors, although things are definitely more mainstream this time round; more, and shorter songs, although there's still some interesting tracks here and there, notably Nothingness, with its excellent vocal arrangements, and Relics From A Distant Age. Even less Mellotron (this time played by both Werner and Scherpenzeel), although Do You Care features choir, and there's what must be 'Tron brass on Get On Board, both for the first time on a Kayak album, but once again, some of the strings are real.
Starlight Dancer still has its moments, though Kayak's onward march to mainstream acceptance continued apace. In other words, although their style hadn't changed that radically since See See the Sun, most of the 'progressiveness' seems to have been knocked out of them somewhere along the line. About the best track is the instrumental, Irene, leaving the bulk of the material merely average, although there's nothing as hopeless as The Last Encore's Love Me Tonight/Get On Board, which is a blessing of sorts. Very little Mellotron this time, although Irene has a symphonic strings part, and Dead Bird Flies Forever has a decent enough strings intro, leaving the album's 'Tron highlight as closer Where Do We Go From Here?, with a solid strings backdrop.
So; if you like the sound of their style (there are hints of Yes, amongst other influences), I'd unreservedly recommend Kayak's first three albums, both for music and 'Tron, but tread carefully after that. By the way, beware of rogue sleeve art; I'm sure I've seen copies of Starlight Dancer with the same sleeve design as The Last Encore. Or is it the other way round? Either way, take care you don't buy the wrong album, as the US version of Starlight Dancer is almost completely different to the European edition.
Kayak playing Wintertime in 1975; note the unusual stage setup, with Werner playing the Mellotron while singing lead.
See: Ton Scherpenzeel | Max Werner
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Crimson & Blue (1993, 69.40) **/T |
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| Shouts of Joy World of Mine Everywhere I Look Love Divine Reunion of Friends All There is to Know When Will I Ever Learn to Live With God |
Stone Eyes I Will Be There Don't Pass Me By John the Revelator Doin' Nothin' Nothing But the Blood |
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Even more CCM from Nick Hewitt.
This threatened to be terrible. Phil Keaggy, as well as issuing his own albums, also appears as a session musician/singer on innumerable other albums by a wide variety of other artists. These, in turn, are of quite variable quality, ranging from average down to toe-curling, knuckle-chewing, gut-stirring, vomit-inducing crap. This, however, is tending towards the average, but with an additional dose of plagiarism.
I don't think Mr Keaggy knows WHAT he is, if you have to attach titles of genre to an individual musician. Listening to this, you can quite clearly hear a number of styles that makes you think, "Hey, that's Cream", on Don't Pass Me By, John The Revelator and Doin' Nothin. It gets worse on Love Divine as it's so like The Beatles' All My Lovin', and the fact that Reunion Of Friends has also got both We Can Work It Out AND Hello Goodbye in it must also be pointed out. It is possible that Keaggy simply re-worked that style of music into the CCM canon and hoped that no one noticed. WRONG!
To be fair, Phil Keaggy IS trying to be different from other CCM artists. The trouble is, on the strength of this opus, he's doing it by copying other people's/bands' styles. This probably only works if no one spots it, but if you get reviewed by a confirmed train-spotter like me, then you're heading for a bit of a mauling. But I'm not going to do that. Well, not much! He does make a genuine attempt to 'do his own thing' and to be a bit inventive, which is where Keaggy gets most of the asterisks in his rating. Applying the Beatles and Cream styles to CCM is new to me, but I don't profess to listen to a great deal of CCM. I only hear what my wife puts on the stereo (which is where this review copy came from). He, and whatever musicians he has around him at the time, performs competently, if not spectacularly. As well as 'copying' the styles noted above, the rest of the material is mid-paced 'rock', if I must apply some sort of comparison. He makes an attempt at something a little 'harder' on Shouts Of Joy, but it quickly loses any doominess and reverts to something a little happier, which seems a little self-contradictory. One nice experiment is a large chunk of Hendrix-esque solo rhythm guitar on Nothing But The Blood, which surprisingly works. You, however, may regard this as sacrilege. Fair Do's!
Mellotron, on the tracks noted above, is supplied by John Painter, a.k.a. John Mark Painter, who has played 'Tron under the latter appellation. (See Susan Ashton's eponymous album) It is used so sparingly on World Of Mine you can barely hear it. It's a different kettle of fish on I Will Be There, where it's part of the background rhythm. It's subtle and, in my view, effective, considering the slight C&W tinge present in the song.
It's CCM, so don't touch it. Similarly, there's not enough 'Tron in it, so please leave it alone!
| Nick Hewitt |
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Under the Iron Sea (2006, 50.21) *½/T½ |
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| Atlantic Is it Any Wonder? Nothing in My Way Leaving So Soon? A Bad Dream Hamburg Song Put it Behind You The Iron Sea |
Crystal Ball Try Again Broken Toy The Frog Prince |
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If you're British, there's no way you'll have been able to avoid Keane; super-successful, bland-as-shit posh-boy trio whose horrible, lifeless music seems to define popular taste in the first decade of this century. Under the Iron Sea is their second album, after 2004's multi-million-selling Hopes & Fears, and while popular opinion seems to be erring on the side of 'it's their best work', I have to ask: "So what's their worst, Daddio?" This is fucking awful. No, it really is; flaccid, faux-emotional, hand-wringing nonsense of the most girly kind, suffused with Tom Chaplin's whiny voice and infuriating vocal lines. I've nothing against gentle music, but this isn't gentle; it's turgid pap. No wonder they're so bloody popular; they're shit.
Instrumentally, of course, Keane are unusual in mostly eschewing guitars in favour of piano, and not any old piano, but a Yamaha CP70 electric grand, of the kind ubiquitous in the late '70s and '80s, before the rise of sampled pianos. Keyboard player/main writer (so it's his bloody fault) Tim Rice-Oxley also gets some other vintage stuff on here, not least the harmonium on Hamburg Song, although I suspect most of the album's string sounds are generic modern ones. An online interview confirmed the Mellotronic rumours re. the album: Rice-Oxley played a machine in the New York studio where they worked on four tracks. Anyway, what we get is distant strings on opener Atlantic, slightly more obvious ones on A Bad Dream, major (male?) choirs on The Iron Sea (an instrumental, it's easily the album's best track) and more choirs, right at the end of closer The Frog Prince.
God, this is horrible. Despite a surprising four 'Tron tracks, there's no way I would recommend this to anyone but my worst enemy, and even then, I'd think twice. I have, in fairness, given lower star ratings, as the sort-of title track drags this up infinitesimally, as do a couple of the instrumental sections, but overall, it's vile. I knew this lot would repel me, and they do. Very, very nasty.
See: Mt. Desolation
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Destination (2002, 54.48) *½/0 |
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| I Love it When We Do Love Won't Work (if We Don't Try) If Tomorrow Never Comes Come Be My Baby Lovin' Each Day My One Thing That's Real Time for Love Blown Away |
As Much as I Can Give You Girl Pickin' Me Up Joy and Pain We've Got Tonight The Long Goodbye I Got My Heart on You |
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I'm not really sure what to say about Ronan Keating; he's Irish, he sings, he used to be in '90s boy-band wonders Boyzone. Did you know, by the way, that their name had already been used, by a dodgy fifth-rate bunch of Duran copyists in the '80s? Did you care? I believe there was an out-of-court settlement, which is possibly slightly unfair, as the creators of the '90s band had almost certainly never heard of the '80s one. Well, I mean, had you? Anyway, Keating's second solo album, 2002's Destination, is exactly what you'd expect, being lifeless mainstream pop aimed at little girls with too much money. There are no highlights.
Rick Nowels (of the horrible Dido fame) plays Mellotron, as, I believe, does Greg Kirstin, although I'll be buggered if I can hear it anywhere. The background strings on As Much As I Can Give You Girl? Who knows? Anyway, a rubbish album of glossy, empty pop, with not a Mellotron in sight. Avoid.
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Live at Sunrise Studios (1976, 32.57/72.21) ****/TTTT |
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| Ouverture Finale Our Power Zugabe [CD adds: Chinese Dragon Hwrklnzg Honey Moon |
Improvisations Intermezzo Two Souls in Space Feelings Without Name] |
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Kedama were a one-shot instrumental Swiss progressive trio whose sole release, Live at Sunrise Studios, was presumably the cheapest way they could find of getting their music to the listening public. I think it's probably proof that I should never try to review something after a single listen, especially in the progressive field! I started by saying that I didn't think it stood up too well now, but after only a second listen, I'm beginning to appreciate its worth. Their style was essentially complex, slightly Crimsonesque progressive, but with less of the lushness than Crimson could conjure up on a good day. It's less strong melodically, but with plenty of genuine power, particularly on Zugabe.
There's a fair bit of 'Tron use from keyboard man Richard Rothenberger on the original album (tracks 1-4), with strings all over Ouverture and Zugabe, and flute parts on Finale and Our Power. The bonus tracks are almost as good, particularly Honey Moon, with swathes of strings over a driving bassline, and Chinese Dragon, where they come over all Gentle Giant, both from their unreleased second album from 1977. Two Souls In Space, one of the two tracks from their first session in '73 features a solo Mellotron string part to die for; Black Rills have done a fantastic job on this reissue, and seeing as how a vinyl original (only 200 pressed) will set you back several limbs, this CD really should suffice.
I have to say, I really rather recommend this, although the sound quality on the bonus tracks occasionally leaves a little to be desired. There's a fair whack of Mellotron on board, and the music stands repeated listening. Best Swiss prog band, maybe? Buy.
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Y'Know Wot I Mean? (1975) **/TCrazy LoveAlmost Eighteen Nightmare Fighting in the Streets Bad Boys I Promise You Someone to Love My Love The Profit on Ecology |
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John "Speedy" Keen (don't want to know how he got his nickname, thanks) is best known as writer of Something In The Air for his band, Thunderclap Newman. Y'Know Wot I Mean? was his second solo album; sadly, it's not great; mid-paced, middle-of-the-road rock with the obligatory rock'n'roll number. And a bit of Mellotron. Only a bit, mind you; Someone To Love is a rather drippy ballad with some 'Tron strings thrown in. Definitely a 'don't look too hard for this one' sort of record, I think.
STOP PRESS: Sad to say, Speedy Keen died on 29th March 2002; forgetting the above album, he'll be remembered for his work with The Who, Thunderclap Newman, The Heartbreakers and Motörhead, among others. R.I.P.
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The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (2002, 59.54) ****/T |
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| Begin Where We End The Man Without a Soul Hanging Over My Head All Your Love Will Stay Technicolor Big Blue Sky The Final Hour Time Will Take You Today |
The World Where I Still Live How Do You Really Say Hello? Circumstance The Fog Has Lifted |
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Powerpop god Tommy Keene (he released his first album in 1982) survived a two-album spell on Geffen in the late '80s to become an elder statesman of the genre by the 2000s. 2002's The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down is his seventh studio album, full of exactly the kind of 'B' band (Badfinger, Beatles etc.)-influenced material you'd expect, which is no bad thing. Original? Not really, but since when was a current album in an old style going to have much originality about it? I didn't spot any actual rip-offs, although The Man Without A Soul opens with the cheeky line, "I think I've lost that loving feeling", but homage is expected, right? The album's personal highlight has to be the sixteen-minute The Final Hour, which rocks like a bastard, still amazingly sounding like powerpop despite its prog length, other goodies including opener Begin Where We End and Hanging Over My Head.
Wilco's Jay Bennett plays keys, including Mellotron, with background flutes on Big Blue Sky, strings on The Final Hour and both sounds cropping up on The World Where I Still Live, though nothing especially obvious, explaining the low T rating. Overall, this is a fine album that can only improve with age, its Mellotronic contributions being neither here nor there, really. Buy anyway.
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I Died Today (1996, recorded 1966-74, 69.36) **½/TT½ |
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| I Died Today Hippy Happy Land The Graveyard Rock This Our Senators Tahiti The Hump Dance General Custer's Story Remains Legend Do the Pig |
T.V. Love Waiting for the High Tide I am a Real American Don't Throw My Love Away I've Been Hurt So Many Times Space Dreamed Too Long Woke Up Too Late The Music Man From Mars |
Do the Turkey In the Stillness of the Night The Flitting Firefly Elmer-21-Century Hop First Comes the Rain Gardenia Somebody Else Just Runnin' Wild Cloud Nine |
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Ecstacy to Frenzy (2004, recorded 1966-74, 74.39) **/TShome Howe Jehovason Plays - (version one)Beat of the Traps Little Rug Bug Ecstacy to Frenzy Shome Howe Jehovason Plays - (version two) |
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Saucers in the Sky (2005, recorded 1966-74, 72.56) **½/T |
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| Lettuce and Lace You Only Want to Hurt Me Magic in Her Eyes Saucers in the Sky My Living Doll Sawdust Here Comes the Judge A Soothing Dream, But... Don't Be a Dope |
The Merry-Go-Down Go Go Girlie Winds of March Do Me Mister Buddy It's Raining Cancel My Order for Love Lost Vein of Love Telephone Call Get on My Honda, Rhonda |
Exotic Woman Los Angeles City Lights It Means That You Love Me Gloria Move Along Surfing Girl Ravens Next Time Ship for Home |
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My Pipe Yellow Dream (2011, recorded 1966-74, 42.26) **½/TT |
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| My Pipe Yellow Dream Baby, I'll Give it to You You Don't Have to Alibi Bury Me Deep Choo Choo Train Tired of Waiting Surfing Along Deep Velvet |
America the Not So Beautiful Search Out Your Soul, American Love Opens the Door Red Sports Car There's a Party Going on The Watchin' Man O Jesus My Savior |
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Many of you may well be au fait with what has become known as the 'song-poem' genre, or 'send us your lyrics'; ads in the back pages of magazines promising fame and fortune if you pay some dubious bunch a pile of cash to set your lyrics, however appalling, to music. Rodney Keith "Rodd Keith" Eskelin is the undisputed emperor of this twilight world, despite (or possibly because of) his death in 1974; a talented (if flakey) musician, he slipped into the song poem industry in the '60s, producing some of the least terrible work you'll hear in a genre known for its utter awfulness.
1996's I Died Today is a compilation of what must be but a tiny fraction of his song-poem work, originally released under a wide variety of names. Most are sung by Keith, a couple are even written by him, making me wonder how they fit into the genre, but they all have one thing in common: a relentless, melodramatic cheesiness, designed to appeal to the kind of egomaniacal, taste-free idiots who availed themselves of his services. The overriding musical 'style' on offer here is a kind of pre-psych '60s thing, somewhere between bad early '60s pop and lounge, apparently often first takes and surprisingly musical, all things considered. Since the music's almost universally terrible, the only real way to judge these is on their lyrical content, which (rather improbably) makes Keith's title track the 'best' thing here, a piss-your-pants funny tale of a guy surviving a car crash while his hobo hitchhiker dies, letting his family claim on his 'double indemnity', thinking the hobo's him. Sheer genius. Other mirthful efforts include Irene Walker's Hippy Happy Land (clearly a lady on the verge of breaking out of society's straitjacket), Susan Howard's General Custer's Story Remains Legend (kill all injuns) and Brother Curtis Joyner's split-your-sides I Am A Real American, intoned to perfection by Keith.
So why is this nonsense here? Keith often used a Chamberlin (model unknown) in the studio, substituting it for any number of expensive session musicians. To be honest, it's not always easy to tell where you are or aren't hearing it on the album, so it might be best to take my claims of heavy Chamby use with a pinch or three of salt. Various orchestrations almost certainly emanate from the machine, but the Chamberlin highlight is the instrumental Elmer-21-Century Hop, pitting Chamby guitar (and vibes?) against flutes and saxes in a surprisingly decent mélange of tape-replayism.
Eight years on and Tzadik decided to issue another collection, the grammatically-challenged Ecstacy to Frenzy. Very different to its predecessor, it consists of a mere three song-poems, the rest of the full-length disc being clogged up with two versions of Keith's rambling Shome Howe Jehovason Plays, each over half an hour of tootling organ and clearly drug-fuelled, improvised 'lyrics'; I know Keith used psychedelics heavily, but is this entirely necessary? I suppose fans of the man will be ecstatic (pun intended) to hear his working methods in action, assuming you can apply that description to these jammed-out messes. Of the song-poems, Little Rug Bug and the title track (doubtless how it was spelled originally) contain Chamby flutes, saxes, clarinets and possibly harpsichord in varying measures, making for decent Chamberlin demo discs, if nothing else.
A mere year later, Roaratorio released Saucers in the Sky, a return to the format of I Died Today, featuring no fewer than twenty-six song-poem horrors for our delectation (?), more amusing efforts including Here Comes The Judge, Keith hamming it up for all he's worth, the naïvely anti-drug Don't Be A Dope, Cancel My Order For Love and the frankly bizarre Ravens. Not an awful lot of obvious Chamby, with strings on opener Lettuce And Lace (another piece of classic ludicrousness), brass on Don't Be A Dope, what sounds like various guitar, woodwind and female vocal tapes on Move Along Surfing Girl and background strings on Ship For Home.
2011's (currently) vinyl-only My Pipe Yellow Dream is more of the usual, 'featuring' another selection of deluded idiocy (Surfing Along is particularly lyrically poor, even by the genre's rock-bottom standards), often treated with far more respect than they really deserve by Mr Eskelin, a man who clearly took great pride in his work, come what may. The jewel in the crown is the creepy, racist America The Not So Beautiful, a nutsoid, bigoted tract superbly intoned over a cheesy pseudo-orchestral backing, including an almost certainly personal-to-the-author section regarding the lack of promotion opportunities for manual workers, doubtless tackled with heavy irony by Keith. Quite jaw-dropping. A few obvious Chamby tracks: Deep Velvet has 'are they?/aren't they? woodwinds, although the flutes sound Chamberlinic, strings all over the insane America The Not So Beautiful and, more obviously on religious rant Search Out Your Soul, American and Love Opens The Door and brass and various woodwinds on Red Sports Car.
I'm sure Keith's fans will accuse me of a lack of a sense of humour with regard to his work, to which I say: not at all. Some of I Died Today's contents had me doubled up with laughter, but I'm afraid I have trouble taking Keith's undoubted major talents seriously, mainly due to the horrible, dated setting in which he used them. Writing music to the lyrical tosh he was sent is a skill all its own and compared to some of the horrors I've encountered (the funniest, by some way, being John Trubee's deathless Peace & Love, better known as Blind Man's Penis, although it was done as a prank), so kudos to Mr. Eskelin for that. His early death was undoubtedly tragic - the jury's still out on whether it was entirely accidental (he fell from a freeway bridge), drug-fuelled, or suicide (or any combination of the above) - but at least there seem to be untold hours of what he considered his musical prostitution to, er, enjoy. Oh, and with only a handful of obviously Chamberlinic tracks over all of these albums, I wouldn't especially bother on that front.
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Roots Can Be Anywhere (1981, 44.24) ***/½Kabaka ShakaMiel Masai Aie Little Mary Joe Roots Can Be Anywhere Lady Jive Unless We're Gonna Change it Tribute of Love Coconut Rock |
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Roberta Kelly is an American soul singer popular in the disco era, although it's now been three decades since she's released a full album. Her fourth album, 1981's Roots Can Be Anywhere, contains an intriguing mix of funk, soul and the then-emergent 'world' styles, the latter particularly evident on the title track, while Unless We're Gonna Change It points towards a more '80s sound, for better or worse. Kelly's stunning voice is the glue that holds this rather disparate record together, making it a shame that she never really made the transition into the new decade.
Jim Taylor plays Mellotron, with a deep choir part on Unless We're Gonna Change It, although that would seem to be your lot. So; a surprisingly decent album from the genre/period, although, generally speaking, soul/funk/disco records are nothing if not impeccably-played. Next to no Mellotron, though, so don't put too much effort into tracking this one down.
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Little Bruises (1995, 48.59) *½/½ |
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| Standing in Love (the Still Point) Brother Heart An Inexperienced Man Wasted Little Bruises Ophelia Drowning She Said... Shadowman |
These Are the Days (Born Under Twins) My Lady Soul |
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Gary Kemp, now a successful actor, was guitarist and songwriter-in-chief in the horrible Spandau Ballet, which, I suppose, makes him the 'talented one'. God help us. His lone solo album, 1995's Little Bruises, is as bland a pop album as you could possibly wish for (or not), not helped in the slightest by the dismal cod-Celtic warblings on several tracks. Highpoints? Don't be silly, although the sneaky Bowie lyrical quote in the title track ("Always crashing in the same car" indeed...) at least made me laugh, though, admittedly, not for long. Frankly, this album made me lose the will to live; almost every track is at least a minute too long, except Brother Heart, which would probably be improved by being deleted losing a good three minutes, which is even more painful than it sounds.
Ed Shearmur allegedly plays Mellotron, although it's near-on impossible to say where. The background strings on the title track? Who knows? I'll highlight the track, but I could as easily be wrong as right. I suppose I should watch what I say here; Kemp rose to actorly fame playing the insanely violent Ronnie Kray in 1990's The Krays, so maybe I should expect some 'eavy to turn up wiv a shooter sometime soon. I look forward to it.
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Twinkling NASA (1986, 42.15) ***½/TTwinkling NASABurning Days Flying Ship part 1 Elliptic Orbit Explorer 1958 ALFA Boctok Prelude Flying Ship part 2 Florida |
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Kennedy's only studio album, Twinkling NASA, sounds quite unlike most Japanese prog, although it does have more than its fair share of bad '80s synths, as did just about everything from that era. There's a fusion influence at work here (listen to Explorer 1958 ALFA), though it's far from overriding and remains precisely that: an influence. Other than that I find this album quite difficult to describe; energetic instrumental prog with some ripping guitar and synth work, reasonably complex 'song' structures... Will that do? There's even a sampled rhythm track on Boctok, with which the band play along with vigour, so there's no way you could accuse them of living in the past.
After a couple of tracks that made me think the album's 'Mellotron' tag was a misnomer, Flying Ship Part 1 rocks up with a full-on strings part, alongside the generic '80s synths. I've no idea of the player's identity, to be honest, as I haven't yet learnt enough Japanese text to even translate phonetically, and it appears to be a different person to the one who played on the far more easily available live album, Kennedy!, a year later (now available on Musea). Y'know, you're really not going to find this at all easily, until/if Musea should choose to add it to their release schedules, which appear to be almost entirely random where reissues are concerned. As a result, pick it up should you chance upon a copy (or indeed, a copy), but not for its fairly minimal Mellotron use.
