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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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Kaipa Kantner, Slick & Freiberg Kaplan Brothers |
Mick Karn Kayak Phil Keaggy |
Ronan Keating Kedama |
Speedy Keen Kennedy |
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Inget Nytt Under Solen (1976, 39.55/76.47) ****/TT |
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| Skenet Bedrar Uppvaknandet Bitterheten Hoppfullheten Överheten Vilseledd Ömsom Sken Korståg Stengrodornas Parad Dagens Port |
Inget Nytt Under Solen [CD adds: Awakening/Bitterness How Might I Say Out Clearly The Gate of Day Blow Hard All Tradewinds Skenet Bedrar (live) Från det Ena Till det Andra] |
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Solo (1978, 50.47/69.34) ***½/T½ |
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| Den Skrattande Grevinnan Sen Repris Flytet Anar Dig Frog Funk Visan i Sommaren Taijgan Respektera Min Värld |
En Igelkotts Död Total Förvirring Sist på Plan [CD adds: Visan i Sommaren (live) En Igelkotts Död/Ömsom Sken (medley - live) Live in an Elevator (live)] |
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Kaipa are largely notable these days for being Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings' first band, when he was in his teens. They were actually really good in their own right, with Kaipa (****) being an excellent, if low-budget start to their career. On Inget Nytt Under Solen the band refined their influences and bought or hired in some new gear, including a Mellotron M400. They go straight for the jugular with their only side-long piece, the multi-part Skenet Bedrar ('It's Not What it Seems'), which works well, doing all the usual prog things, which I suppose makes them the most successful purveyors of 'mainstream' symphonic prog from Sweden at the time (they were actually on Swedish Decca). Plenty of other good material, too, including Korståg ('Crusade') and the title track ('Nothing New Under the Sun'). Hans Lundin doesn't actually use the 'Tron that much, but there's some gorgeous choir work on both Hoppfullheten and particularly Korståg, plus some rarely-heard M400 brass on Bitterheten and the title track. Highly recommended. Incidentally, the CD adds a live version of Skenet Bedrar, an outtake from their debut, and four English-language mixes of Inget Nytt tracks, which repeat the Mellotron parts from the originals, of course.
Solo turned out to be Kaipa's last progressive album. Having recruited a singer, the band wrote a bunch of shorter, though still progressive material, with largely their own sound, although a Focus influence is apparent in places, as with their countrymen Dice. It seems the band never owned a Mellotron, and the one they hired in for Solo (on Stolt's insistence) was in the last stages of terminal breakdown; the CD sleevenotes claim they only used it on Taijgan, which begs the question, "So what exactly is that on opener Den Skrattande Grevinnan?" Both tracks feature rich choir chords, making you wish they'd used it a little more extensively, but it obviously wasn't up to the rigours of, well, anything really.
In the months after the album's release, members started drifting away, leaving a pop/rock outfit led by Lundin, who released two final albums, 1980's Händer and the following year's Nattdjustid. Stolt's new band, Fantasia, also headed in a commercial direction, so avoid any of these albums, although Lundin released three albums of 'electronic progressive rock', whatever you take that to mean, in Tales, Visions of Circles of Sounds and Houses, but I've no idea what they're actually like. After the wasteland of the '80s, Stolt released a solo album, The Flower King (****) in 1994, quickly forming the band of the same name, who played the odd Kaipa song in early live sets. The Flower Kings are notable on this site for a) using both mine and my mate Gary's Mellotrons at different UK gigs, and b) crediting 'Tron on their albums while using samples. Tut tut.
The band reformed around 2001, but it seems highly likely that they're using samples, despite Lundin's insistence on crediting himself with 'Mellotron' (sound like someone else we know?). So; I'd recommend any of Kaipa's first three albums (all available on Musea), although Inget Nytt Under Solen probably has the edge on the others. Of course, the reformed band are now, inevitably, seen as a Flower Kings offshoot, though hopefully they'll persuade some listeners to go back and explore the band's past, although all of their recent albums are good, without being great. Oh, and Lundin also played fake 'Tron on Hagen's Corridors of Time in '01. Incidentally, anyone with the right contacts who wishes to hear what Kaipa sounded like live at the time should track down the Stockholm Symphonie bootleg, consisting of Kaipa/Inget Nytt material, with (a presumably hired in) Mellotron on a few tracks.
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Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun (1973, 40.25) ***/TTTTBallad of the Chrome NunFat 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.
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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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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 Anthony 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.
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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 one of 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. As with Earth & Fire, it's quite possible that Kayak used their Mellotron on later albums, maybe even into the early '80s, but as the material became more commercial, my interest waned. However, should I hear Phantom of the Night or Periscope Life, I shall review forthwith. 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 I've heard that the US version of Starlight Dancer is almost completely different to the European edition.
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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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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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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.
