|
|
|
|
||
|
 |
 |
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.
|
L.A.M.F. Lady Lake |
Lamp of the Universe Landberk |
Lands End Mark Lanegan |
 |
Ambient Metal (2001, 77.15) ***/TT½YggdrasilLike a Motherfucker The Neolithic Goddess Whole Lotta Loki Yggdrasil 2 Eckstasis - Beyond Rome The Death of the Motherculture at Mona Mam Gymru, the Wailing Shamanic Fury of the Hoeurs and Druids and the Coming of the Romans |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
L.A.M.F. (yeah, yeah, Johnny Thunders...), are a seemingly one-off Julian Cope project which does exactly what it says on the tin; drumless, ambient metal. The end result basically sounds like a jammed-out metal album with the drums mixed out, although I'm quite sure that's how it was recorded. Like so many of the Drude's recent projects, this borders unlistenable in places, although it's a fascinating experiment in genre-splitting and no-one else has done anything similar... Oh, and spot the cheeky Deep Purple lift in the last track (Into The Fire, for what it's worth).
Three 'Tron tracks from Saint Julian, with church organ on opener Yggdrasil and overdubbed strings and choir on Like A Motherfucker and (very deep breath) The Death Of The Motherculture At Mona Mam Gymru, The Wailing Shamanic Fury Of The Hoeurs And Druids And The Coming Of The Romans, the latter with extra added pitchbend. Your tolerance for Cope's take on drone-rock may well depend on your fandom for his works in general; suffice to say, this isn't an easy listen, but should you be in the correct frame of mind (ahem...), I would imagine it does the business. Not all that much 'Tron, but you get a nice burst of church organ, for once.
See: Julian Cope | Black Sheep | Brain Donor | Queen Elizabeth
 |
SuperCleanDreamMachine (2005, 54.47) ****/TT½ |
|
| The Untold Want Children's Playground Be Still! Mum’s the Word Grow up! For Heaven’s Sake Mystery Spot The Untold Want Seen From a Train Die Maienfelder Furrga A Coign of True Felicity I Don’t Mind if I Do Too Far! Too Late! Already Bolder Proggers Were at the Gate! |
Children’s Playsong Stumped Doo Dah Damage Wet Sounds Ford Theatre No One Will Ever Know (Fare Thee Well) The Chief Radio Reminiscence Children’s Playground Revisited |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Lady Lake formed in the early '70s, releasing an album, No Pictures, in '77. After many years and lineup changes, they followed it up 28 years later with 2005's oddly-titled SuperCleanDreamMachine. It wouldn't be unfair to say it could be compared favourably with Camel, with maybe a hint of the obligatory Focus. Wholly instrumental, its chief melodic input comes from Fred Rosenkamp's Andy Latimer-style guitar work, solidly backed up by Leendert Korstanje's keys, including drummer Jan Dubbe's brother Berend's MkVI 'Tron, Hammond and Rhodes. Album highlights are probably the relatively short The Untold Want (sounds like a Spock's Beard title), which squeezes 12 parts into 14 minutes, and the album's second-longest track, Ford Theatre, although there are no clunkers, despite an occasional slight blues influence in Rosenkamp's guitar style.
The MkVI sounds so smooth it could almost be mistaken for samples in places, although it's definitely the real deal. A short string part somewhere towards the end of The Untold Want is bettered by the flutes in Wet Sounds and strings in No One Will Ever Know (Fare Thee Well), although the album's 'Tron highlight has to be Ford Theatre, with its full-on strings and choir parts, rising to a stunning crescendo at the end of the piece. All in all, this is a good, modern symphonic prog album, and what it might lack in originality, it makes up for with tasteful and imaginative playing, not to mention some nice Mellotron work. Worth a punt.
 |
Acid Mantra (2009, 53.36) ***½/TTLove EternalSearching for a Sign Astral Planes of Knowing Into Dhyanna Our Journey Freedom Universe Within |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
I believe Lamp of the Universe is essentially New Zealander Craig Williamson's solo project and with a name and titles like that, it should come as no surprise to any of you that he/they are psychotropic adventurers of the finest kind. 2009's Acid Mantra (yes!) is their seventh album, featuring more sitar than you can shake a rainstick at and mucho reverb-drenched (naturally) acid guitar, along with the trippiest lyrics this side of Steve Hillage's long-awaited '70s band reformation. Its one real fault is that it, er, 'goes on a bit'. I'm sure that's the Grateful Dead-esque idea, but if you're not smoking the same stuff as Mr. Williamson (or indeed, anything at all), it does sort of drag in places, docking it half a star.
Now, I know for definite of three Kiwi M400s, but I've no idea which (if any) Williamson used here, assuming it's real at all, of course. Anyway, he puts distant choirs on opener Love Eternal, although the flutes on Searching For A Sign are synthesized, and absolutely smothers closer Universe Within in strings, right through its eleven-minute length. Hurrah! Overall, then, a decent psych release, although maybe slightly impenetrable to anyone outside the field. Like he cares. One good 'Tron track and one mediocre. Worthwhile.
 |
Riktigt Äkta (1992, 42.29/45.15) ****½/TTTT½I Nattens TimmaSkogsrået Trädet Vår Häll Visa Från Kallsedet Undrar om ni Ser [CD adds: Tillbaka] |
 |
Lonely Land (1992, 50.52) ****½/TTTT½Waltz of the Dark Riddle (I Nattens Timma)The Tree (Trädet) Pray for Me Now (Skogsrået) Song From Kallsedet (Visa Från Kallsedet) No More White Horses You and I (Vår Häll) Lonely Land (Undrar om ni Ser) |
 |
One Man Tell's Another (1994, 47.58) ****½/TTTT½Time (Jag är Tiden)Kontiki Mirror Man You Are (Du Där) Rememberence Valentinsong Tell |
 |
Jag är Tiden EP (1994, 15.37) ***½/TTTJag är TidenMarie & Anna Du Där |
 |
Unaffected (1995, 59.41) ****/TTTTAfterwardsWaltz of the Dark Riddle You and I The Tree Rememberence Pray for Me Now Song From Kallsedet Undrar om ni Ser |
 |
Dream Dance EP (1995, 18.26) ***½/TTDream DanceAll Around Me Waltz of the Dark Riddle |
 |
Indian Summer (1996, 47.30) ****/TTT½HumanizeAll Around Me 1st of May I Wish I Had a Boat Dustgod Dreamdance Why Do I Still Sleep Indian Summer |
 |
Progfest '95 (1996, 16.10) ****/TTT[Landberk contribute]Kontiki Dream Dance Time |
Current availability:
Mellotrons used:
I'd really like to write about Landberk in the present tense, but I've had it pretty much confirmed that they've followed their countrymen Änglagård into oblivion. I spoke to their chief mover and shaker, bassist Stefan Dimle, in 1998, and he didn't say anything about a split, but they seem to have just quietly faded away, sadly without anyone really noticing. Maybe that was the problem. Anyway, Landberk are generally regarded as being the least-known of Sweden's early-'90s triumvirate of 'trad prog' bands, along with the aforementioned Änglagård and Anekdoten. All three bands started around the same time, and they all discarded the changes made to progressive rock in the '80s for a more 'fundamentalist' approach to the style (thank God); organs and Mellotrons are strictly the order of the day. Unlike Änglagård, Landberk's approach is relatively simplistic, relying more on the (slow) groove than complex instrumental interplay.
Their first album was originally released in its Swedish-language version, Riktigt Äkta, which they re-recorded in English as Lonely Land. These appear to be two entirely different recordings; the Swedish version plays flatter and has a rawer sound than the English, and both albums have different bonus tracks, making them both essential for the aficionado. I Nattens Timma/Waltz Of The Dark Riddle is something of a 'Tron classic; Mellotron flute (underpinned with cello) and vocal, with the 'Tron (played by Simon Nordberg, incidentally) switching to strings halfway through each verse, coupled with a haunting melody that could only be Scandinavian. The rest of the album carries on in a similar vein, although there are a couple of slightly more upbeat numbers; Landberk were nothing if not melancholy, to the point where they made their aforementioned contemporaries sound like quintessential party bands. Well, nearly. There are too many highlights to name, but the 'Tron strings on Undrar Om Ni Ser (redolent of Crimso's Epitaph) are really quite superb. One of the band's strengths was not overusing the 'Tron, although it would've been far too easy to have smothered the whole thing in it. Admirable restraint, and a great album.
Unlike previous efforts to 'do an English version' (PFM, Kraftwerk), Lonely Land works very well indeed, with Dimle and Nordberg's lyrics translating well, assuming they are straight translations; some of the titles certainly are. Aside from the slightly brighter sound, the album is very similar to Riktigt Äkta, to be honest, although the English lyrics put a different slant on the material for the English-speaker. The other chief difference between the two versions is the excellent cover of T2's No More White Horses, complete with the Mellotron missing from the original. The bonus track on the Riktigt Äkta CD, Tillbaka (a cover, apparently, though I don't know of whom), hasn't been re-recorded, so you really need both of these.
Now, I've been under the impression for some years that Landberk recorded their second album in Swedish, too, titling it Jag är Tiden, but after a lengthyish online search, I've come to the conclusion that every mention I've seen of this title actually refers to the 3-track EP they released in '94. One Man Tell's Another (sic), therefore, is the only version of their second album ever recorded, despite the Swedish-language EP versions of two of the songs. Noticeably more rhythmic than their debut, One Man is decidedly 'artier', both in sound and packaging, and marks the ascendance of Reine Fiske's guitar in the band's sound. There's still plenty of Hammond and Mellotron to be heard, but it sounds to me as if the guitar took precedence during the album's writing sessions, particularly in the rhythm department. Album highlights include Kontiki, Valentinsong and the sublime Tell, also the album's Mellotron classic, with a superb chord sequence in the 'chorus' and a fantastic conclusion where Nordberg holds a dissonant chord, then flicks the track selector across all three sounds until the tapes run out. In fact, the 'Tron work throughout is excellent (again), with Tell being only the tip of the iceberg. Superb. The Jag är Tiden EP is probably less essential, being Swedish-language remixes of two of the album tracks, with the fairly ordinary Marie & Anna being the only otherwise unavailable track. While not a bad song, it's the sort of track that would get itself lost about halfway through an album, and probably isn't worth splashing out a fortune for, although it has a typically nice 'Tron part.
Unaffected's a bit of an odd one; when I spoke to Stefan Dimle about it, he laughed and referred to it as a 'bootleg', although other people have refuted this, so it's difficult to know what to think. It sounds like a soundboard tape to me, with the vocals sometimes too high in the mix, and the sleeve lacks the professional sheen of the band's official releases, but it's been so widely available, unchallenged by the band, that I feel compelled to include it. N.B. Mauro Ranchicchio tells me that it was supposed to be given away free with issue #6 of 'Melodie & Dissonanze' fanzine, but the mag went under after issue #5. As the CD had already been mastered (and manufactured?), it was sold through shops instead, although it would appear that the band had no say in this state of affairs.
Anyway, the band are playing in front of small club audiences in Italy and Germany in early '95, with vocalist Patric Helje singing in both Swedish and English. Many of the songs are extended versions, giving the band room to relax and stretch out a little, making a change from the also valid 'straight copy of studio version' outfits. The one outstanding performance included here is the opener, a great, Mellotron-driven version of Van der Graaf Generator's Afterwards, from The Aerosol Grey Machine, the Peter Hammill solo project that somehow ended up as the first VdGG album. In fact, thinking about it, Van der Graaf are one of Landberk's more obvious influences, although without the shouty bits. Anyway, most of the rest of the songs are from Riktigt Äkta/Lonely Land, mainly with 'Tron parts intact, although strangely, neither Pray For Me Now or Song From Kallsedet have any Mellotron at all, with the band presumably preferring Nordberg's Hammond drones. Whether or not Unaffected is 'official' isn't that relevant, really, especially with the band having gone the way of all things, so, generally recommended.
The Dream Dance EP appeared in time for the band's 1995 Progfest appearance, previewing two of the tracks from the following year's Indian Summer. Actually, All Around Me is a different version, though not as different as the rerecording of the first album's Waltz Of The Dark Riddle, which utilises a string section instead of the original's Mellotron. Indian Summer itself continued Landberk's transition to art rock as against prog, interrupted by their eventual split. OK, I suppose it isn't that different to their first two albums, but there's a shift somewhere in their sound which suggests that they could, given time, have, er, 'progressed' away from progressive rock entirely. Now, there's an oxymoron for you. Bizarrely, I've seen an online review of this album that states 'no Mellotron, but more modern keyboards'. Hmmm. So what, exactly, is making the Mellotron sound on half the tracks? Of course there's Mellotron on it, although less than on its predecessors, and I don't hear anything more 'contemporary' than, er, a Hammond, to be honest. The 'Tron work is up to usual standards, although no one track leaps out at you and says 'I'm a classic'; a worthy addition to their oeuvre, however.
A final release containing Landberk's music is the official double CD of 1995's Progfest, titled, funnily enough, Progfest '95. As with Anekdoten's set from the previous year, it would be good to hear the whole of their set, but that seems rather unlikely now, so we'll have to make do with the three tracks on offer. Good run-throughs of all three, but nothing you haven't heard before, to be honest; sounds like the same Mellotron parts as the studio versions, too, but worth hearing if you were going to buy the set anyway.
So... What to buy? All three English-language studio albums, followed by Riktigt Äkta and Unaffected. You'll be hard-pushed to find either of the EPs now, but they're worth it if you've already got the other stuff. I wouldn't call this stuff exactly 'symphonic', but it should appeal to progressive fans with slightly more open minds.
 |
Terra Serranum (1995, 71.10) ***/TTTLife as We Know it...The Revolution, Like Saturn, Devours its Children For Reasons Unknown The Philosophy of Containers Terra Serranum A Castle, Mother, Nanny and a Warm Soft Bed Neptunes Last Tear Daura ...The End of Life as We Know it |
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Lands End were one of the earlier entrants into the, er, New Wave Of American Prog (NWOAP?), following hot on the heels of Magellan, Episode and Now, amongst others, all of whom were hanging onto '80s neo-merchants North Star's coattails. After a couple of demos, their first 'proper' album was '94's Pacific Coast Highway, quickly followed by Terra Serranum. Now, it isn't a bad album, but in all honesty, nor is it that good a one, either; reasonably complex material is sabotaged by simplistic neo-prog style chord sequences and frequently cheesy keyboard sounds. The album's epic, Neptunes Last Tear [sic], holds together for a while, but slumps into a morass of neo-prog clichés after a while, and would have been a great deal better heavily edited.
The band's site mentions the Mellotron, disproving my conjecture that it's early sample use; the only sound they use (from Fred Hunter) is some very wobbly strings, though, which sound like they've been put through some sort of pitch-shifting device. Anyway, there are a few chords in (deep breath) The Revolution, Like Saturn, Devours Its Children, (another deep breath) A Castle, Mother, Nanny And A Warm Soft Bed and Neptunes Last Tear, all completely upstaged by the fairly heavy string use on the title track and the (relatively) brief ...The End Of Life As We Know It.
I haven't heard '96's An Older Land, but '97's Natural Selection uses samples, and pretty ropey ones at that (reviewed here). So; Terra Serranum is OK, but pretty unadventurous for an album described by the band as, "We tried a bit too hard to be 'progressive'", but many of you may well like it anyway. Actually pretty good 'Tron use, even if it sounds like a dying animal in places.
See: Sampledelica!
 |
Field Songs (2001, 42.17) ***½/T |
|
| One Way Street No Easy Action Miracle Pill Hill Serenade Don't Forget Me Kimiko's Dream House Resurrection Song Field Song |
Love Blues for D She Done Too Much Fix |
|
Current availability:
Mellotron used:
Mark Lanegan broke into the foulness known as the 'music industry' by singing for Screaming Trees from 1985 to 2000, before finally bailing out and carrying on the solo career he'd been running concurrently since 1990. Since then, he's played with Queens of the Stone Age, The Twilight Singers, Isobel Campbell from Belle & Sebastian and no doubt others; a busy man. Field Songs is his fifth solo album, and like the other ones I've heard, is a minor masterpiece of mostly quiet, melancholic, Americana-influenced music from someone who understands the power of understatement. Of course, he knows how to rock out, too, but by and large, he seems to do that in band situations, appearing to prefer to keep his more personal material for his solo oeuvre.
It's difficult to pick out 'best' tracks, as pretty much everything here is good, and will doubtless reap further rewards should I ever find time to play them more often. There's nothing here with the raw power of Because Of This, the last song on 1998's Scraps at Midnight, although Fix (also the last song) has a shot at it, in a more restrained fashion. Mellotron on one track from Keni Richards, with a nice upfront string part on No Easy Action, although, sadly, that's your lot. If the thought of listening to several albums of what Pink Floyd memorably referred to as 'quiet desperation' sounds like your idea of fun, Mark Lanegan's made six to date, probably all as good as or better than Field Songs. But none of the others have any Mellotron.
See: Screaming Trees | The Twilight Singers
