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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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Non Stop Dancing 77 (1977, 43.18) *½/T |
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| Run Back to Mama/Don't Go Breaking My Heart/Dancing Queen Horoscope/Silver Bird Getaway/Play That Funky Music/Heaven is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac Howzat/Dance Little Lady Dance Beautiful Noise/Monza I Only Wanna Be With You/School Days |
Disco Duck/Bump de Bump Yo Booty/New York Disco/Devil Woman Jeans on/More, More, More/In Zaire Daddy Cool/Money, Money, Money/Sweet Love Feel the Shelter/Dream Weaver Shake Your Booty (Shake, Shake, Shake) |
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Do you believe I actually bought this album? Well, do you? I did. Jesus shit, I've finally crossed the line, haven't I? I mean, the godawful Harris Chalkitis was bad enough, and I laughed my arse off when I heard about this one, but then I stumbled across a copy in an ultra-cheapo Aussie record shop, and it was 'only' AU$2.00... Oh well, it gives me a(nother) chance to tell one of my favourite jokes:
Q: What's the difference between a bull and the James Last Orchestra?
A: The bull has the horns at the front and the arsehole at the back...
Boom boom! Actually, that's really unfair, isn't it. Isn't it? I dunno - Last is so far beyond all normal conceptions of good taste that he exists in a world of his own devising, where playing ultra-naff light orchestral versions of current hits actually sounds like a good idea, not some sort of sick musical joke. Non Stop Dancing 77 appears to be the 18th in a series of biannual releases, presumably distinct from all the other albums Last releases, or at least did at the time. The format is: medleys of current hits, sung by a small vocal group backed by a regular rock band and brass section, frequently with strings. This volume in the series features a certain Peter Hecht on synth/Rhodes/Clavinet/Mellotron; correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Hecht play in Lucifer's Friend? Ahem... 'Tron also played by 'Hansi', a.k.a. Last himself, though I've no idea whether he'd ever used one before, or ever did again.
Musically, this album seems to be the height of pointlessness; piss-weak abbreviated versions of not-that-good recent chart entries, presumably German, American and British, although Last toured/tours right across Europe, as well as in the UK and US. Despite the crowd noises that crop up here and there, I suspect this is a studio album; wouldn't he use a string section if it was, though? Oh, who knows. Suffice to say that it isn't even duff enough to be really funny, succeeding only in irritating. Funnily enough, it's the mostly unison male/female vocals that really get on my nerves, even more than the steady disco beat and the largely awful material. This is about as lightweight as it gets, but then, that's the point, isn't it?
I actually expected more Mellotron than this, given that it's being used as a string section substitute, but on side one it's only to be heard near the beginning, on the Don't Go Breaking My Heart/Dancing Queen medley, while side two gets Money, Money, Money/Sweet Love (more Abba...). Apart from the minimal 'Tron, Hecht does some groovy Moog stuff on In Zaire (wasn't that Hamilton Bohannon? God, my brain's full of useless shit...), and a funky bit of Clav work in Cliffy's Devil Woman (wait till I find a copy of Cliff's Mellotron album cheaply enough... Stop press: got it...), but, well, it's like polishing a turd, isn't it? I'm not even sure why I bother.
Well, this is drivel, but it's pretty harmless drivel, all things considered, although I sincerely hope I never need to listen to it again. And as for that cover... Unlike, say, the ridiculous Candlewick Green, it isn't even smothered in enough Mellotron to make it a 'Tron curio, so, just on the remote chance you might (well, I did...), DO NOT buy this album.
Fuck me, it's a British fan site. Run away!
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Alone on a Stone (2001, recorded 1973-76, 54.41) ***/½TerenceLife Without Rules Alone on a Stone Fools When August Breaks Fly Mirage Kings Return Theme From Chance |
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Last Straw hailed from that very un-rock'n'roll outpost, the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, renowned for being about twenty years behind the mainland at any given time. Kissing Spell have seen fit to exhume nearly an hour of the band's demos from the early '70s and give them a release as Alone on a Stone, although, unsurprisingly, the sound quality is rather inconsistent. Sadly, the quality of the music is also somewhat variable; there are some excellent moments, but all too often the band jammed songs out to eight or nine minutes for no especially good reason. Best tracks? Probably the first two or three, before the full-on sub-Wishbone Ash guitar work kicks in.
Keyboards on some tracks; these were recorded at several different sessions over a course of three or four years, and I doubt if the band's lineup remained consistent. I think the strings on Life Without Rules and the title track are a string synth of some description, but it's definitely 'Tron on Terence, played by musician unknown. You get a couple of string chords and a couple of choir chords, and that's it for the album, so don't go spending loads of money on this for the 'Tron.
So; not bad, not great. Probably worth putting out, although it'll only ever be a curio, really. 'Of its time', I think.
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Passio Secundum Mattheum (1972, 34.42/39.06) ***½/T½ |
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| Introduzione Il Giornio Degli Azzimi Ultima Cena Getzemani Il Processo I Testimoni (1° parte) I Testimoni (2° parte) Il Pianto |
Giuda Il Re Dei Giudei Il Calvario Il Dono Della Vita [CD adds: Mese Di Maggio] |
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Latte e Miele (Milk and Honey)'s debut album, Passio Secundum Mattheum, is probably also their best, with all the invention that we've come to expect from Italian progressive of that era. It appears to be a concept album, with several pieces by Bach, and lyrics apparently taken from the gospels, which figures given the title. It veers wildly between styles in places, keeping the listener guessing as to what they'd do next (Il Pianto to Giuda is a particularly striking contrast), but without ever moving so far as to lose sight of their core sound. As with so many progressive albums, this will probably take several plays to appreciate properly, so in one playing it's difficult to pick out highlights, although the churchy Hammond on Il Calvario stands out.
Oliviero Lacagnina's Mellotron takes a bit of a back seat to his Solina, which provides all the string parts; as a result, the 'Tron seems to be (very unusually) used almost entirely for brass parts, of all things. I wasn't entirely sure that's what I was hearing until Getzemani, where a 'stabby' part reveals the sound's source, at which point I had to go back to see if I'd missed any on earlier tracks. The only other Mellotron I can hear is a polyphonic flute part on Il Dono Della Vita, despite drummer Alfio Vitanza's credit for flute. The choir, incidentally, appears to be real.
So; a strong album, well worth hearing, although odd enough on the 'Tron front to be probably not worth hearing on that front. Incidentally, the CD's bonus track is a weak single from two years later, which could well have stayed in the vaults, to be honest.
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This World is Not My Home (2005, 35.21) ***/T |
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| Day Like Any Nightingale Leaving Never Been Sadder Innocent Girl Take 'Em or Leave 'Em Last Night |
Set it Down This World is Not My Home We Went Sailing |
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Amy LaVere's debut album, 2005's This World is Not My Home, straddles the folk/country divide slightly uncomfortably, tending to veer between the styles, rather than blending them in the manner of possibly her greatest forebear, Johnny Cash. It's not a bad album, but highlights like opener Day Like Any or Never Been Sadder are often overshadowed by the rather ordinary country numbers that litter the record.
Paul Taylor's credited with various things, including Mellotron, which finally appears on Set It Down, with strings wobbly enough to be real, making a nice change. Overall, then, a passable effort with a handful of really good tracks, but with next to no 'Tron, you're probably best off going elsewhere.
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Under My Skin (2004, 40.52/47.03) **½/½ |
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| Take Me Away Together Don't Tell Me He Wasn't How Does it Feel My Happy Ending Nobody's Home Forgotten |
Who Knows Fall to Pieces Freak Out Slipped Away ['Bonus' tracks: I Always Get What I Want Nobody's Home (live acoustic)] |
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Avril Lavigne is known mainly (to me, at least) for her irritating worldwide hit, Sk8er Boi (aaargh!), and appears to have two major, multi-million selling albums to her credit. She seems to align her self with 'punk', but is reported to have never heard of the Sex Pistols, or heard the Ramones, making her claims more than a little suspect, although, in fairness, she was born in 1984, making it all ancient history to her. She's romantically linked to a member of Sum 41, a thoroughly faceless so-called 'punk' outfit, completely interchangeable with Blink 182, or any other current band with a number in their name. Above all else, she reminds me of her awful countrywoman Alanis Morissette, although I'm aware that's a lazy comparison. Tough.
Under My Skin is unlikely to appeal to many people over the age of 20, so it was a foregone conclusion I'd hate it. If it had even the tiniest sliver of originality, or just vaguely attempted to sound like nothing else, rather than everything, I might be able to cope with it. As it is, it's a thoroughly professional record, with no obvious redeeming features whatsoever, although I don't feel justified in giving it an even lower star rating. As for the 'punk' bit, half the tracks are piano ballads; not something I recall hearing from the Ramones or the Pistols. Patrick Warren plays Chamberlin on it, but all I can hear is cellos (assuming they're Chamby) on Fall To Pieces and Slipped Away, although some of the album's string parts could possibly be tape-replay, too.
So; a bloody waste of time. Avoid if you're out of your teens (or indeed, old enough to have sired one. Or anything).
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Marc Lavoine (2001, 51.53) ***/T½ |
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| Le Pont Mirabeau Passent les Nuages J'aurai Voulu Je Ne Veux Qu'elle Mucho Embrasse-moi Chère Amie (Toutes Mes Excuses) N'oublie Jamais Paris |
Deux Guitares au Soleil Ma Jonque est Jaune J'ai Tout Oublié Ma Solitude.com Elle a les Yeux Revolver... |
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Marc Lavoine is a French singer whose background is more chanson than le rock'n'roll, at least going by his eighth, eponymous album from 2001. OK, it has a few programmed beats thrown in for the sake of modernism, but take the contemporary touches away, and this could've been made in the mid-'60s. Lavoine duets with several female vocalists, although the only one I've heard of is Françoise Hardy, I'm afraid. The material's almost above criticism; it's French popular song, and it does what it does, like it or not.
Uncredited Mellotron flutes on opener Le Pont Mirabeau from Jean-François Berger, although the credited Mellotron on Ma Solitude.com is slightly confusing. Are those MkII rhythms? Is that MkII guitar? If so, is an actual MkII being used, or is it all samples, including the aforementioned flutes? I'll leave Marc Lavoine here until/if I find out otherwise, but don't put too much money on its veracity.
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Stižemo (1978, 35.07) ***½/½Noč u PakluKo Sam Ja? Intro-Mental Poslije Svega Top Hit Lista Ljubav |
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Laza i Ipe were keyboard player Laza Ristovski and drummer Goran Ipe Ivandic, both ex-Bijelo Dugme, who made just the one album together, Stižemo, with the help of various friends. Recorded in London, it's a late example of symphonic progressive, and could easily have been made three or four years earlier; that's a compliment, by the way. Vlatko Stefanovski's guitar work is pretty ripping, and Ivandic's sister Gordana provides a fair chunk of the vocals, along with Goran Kovacevic; in fact, the musicianship's excellent all round - particular praise must be given for Ristovski's keyboard work. There's quite a bit of variety on the album - maybe too much; the heads-down boogie of Top Hit Lista is entirely unnecessary, although given its title, it's quite possible it's meant to be a joke. The rest of the material veers between the balladic Ljubav and the almost Who-like Noč u Paklu, with most tracks erring on the side of the quiet as against the loud, making Top Hit Lista that much more of an anomaly.
Most of Ristovski's keyboard work is standard Hammond, piano and synth, with some string synth on Ko Sam Ja?, although he gets some Mellotron in on one track, the mid-paced Poslije Svega, with a string part behind the build-up in the middle of the song. So; once again, you're not going to find this too easily, but for the dedicated collector, it's actually worth the effort, although I don't hear too much local influence on the music, sadly. Worth it if you can find it. Incidentally, Ristovski also played Mellotron on a mid-'80s solo album, Roses for a General, and allegedly also on two Smak albums from the mid-'70s, though I can't verify the latter.
See: Laza Ristovski
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Le Notti Difficili (2003, 44.54) ***/T½SolitudiniIl Babau Il Sogno Della Scala Equivalenza |
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LaZona are the latest Fabio Zuffanti (Finisterre, Hostsonaten, La Maschera di Cera, Zuffanti/Heward) side-project, whose sole album to date, Le Notti Difficili, is best described as post-rock, marking a distinct change in approach from his usual symphonic progressive stylings. But is it any good? Matter of opinion, I suppose; as someone who doesn't hear this kind of stuff too often, it neither excites nor utterly bores me, although it probably tends more towards the latter. Long, drifting tracks of mild instrumental dissonance, with trombone interjections, sounds like it's tailor-made for the prog fan, but the reality is rather less interesting, sadly, although I'm sure it conforms to the 'rules' laid down by Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the like. Basically, I'd have thought that if you like the style, you'll probably like this. Conversely...
Zuffanti sidekick Agostino Macor plays Mellotron on Il Sogno Della Scala and Equivalenza, largely consisting of multiple repetitions of basic string chord sequences, serving mainly to give us an idea of how Godspeed et al. might sound if they used a Mellotron. This really isn't the most exciting use you'll ever hear, but then, nor is it the most exciting music you'll ever hear, either, so it's fairly fitting. To sum up; this is post-rock, not prog, and the Mellotron use isn't exactly innovative. Up to you, really.
See: Finisterre | Hostsonaten | La Maschera di Cera | Zuffanti/Heward
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Sur la Terre Comme au Ciel (1979) ***/TTTChevaliers de l'UniversÊtre Avec Vous Jardin de Crystal Sur la Terre Comme au Ciel L'Étranger Traverser la Nuit Entre Ciel et Terre |
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Michel le François seemingly only released one album before the '90s, 1979's Sur la Terre Comme au Ciel, which comes across as a bit of a stylistic mish-mash, to be honest. It starts well enough, with Chevaliers De l'Univers, which reminded me of Starcastle, oddly enough, which must mean it sounds quite a bit like Yes, I suppose. Être Avec Vous, however, is a fairly sloppy love song sung by a female vocalist, before the album swings back to prog, then proto-AOR, balladry, hard rock... It doesn't seem to be able to decide what it wants to be; diversity's fine, but this doesn't even sound like the same band half the time, but then I suppose that's often the nature of solo projects.
Anyway, there's a fair bit of Mellotron on the album, with five out of seven tracks smothered in strings and choir, although little of the use stands out as exceptional, to be honest. So; a reasonable 'Tron album, but a bit ropey on the musical front, with only two tracks (Chevaliers De l'Univers and Jardin De Crystal) that really count as 'progressive'. Don't spend a fortune.
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Atras do Porto Tem Uma Cidade (1974, 29.46) ***½/TT½ |
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| De Pés No Chão Yo No Creo Pero Tratos à Bola Menino Bonito Pé de Meia Mamãe Natureza Ando Jururu Eclipse do Cometa |
Círculo Vicisio Tem Uma Cidade |
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Rita Lee was, of course, vocalist with acclaimed Tropicalia outfit Os Mutantes, although she'd moved on before their sole Mellotron album, 1973's oAeoZ. Atras do Porto Tem Uma Cidade was her third solo effort, featuring a mixture of styles, with the funky pop of opener De Pés No Chão contrasting sharply with the rock'n'roll of Tratos à Bola or the brief, heavy instrumental Tem Uma Cidade.
The album's up to the minute gearwise, with a heavy Clavinet presence, with a good helping of Hammond and Moog, plus the obvious. Lee herself plays Mellotron strings on the album, with a part drifting in and out of Yo No Creo Pero, some great volume-pedalled chords on Mamãe Natureza and more background work under real flute on Ando Jururu and on Círculo Vicisio, although the strings on Menino Bonito are real.
Atras do Porto Tem Uma Cidade is perfectly good at what it does, which isn't to say you're going to like it; just don't go expecting Os Mutantes and you shouldn't be too disappointed. Decent Mellotron use, too, as against so many albums of the era who stick it in the background on one track. Lee allegedly used Mellotron on a couple of recent releases (reviewed here), but they both appear to contain samples, to no-one's great surprise (well, are you surprised?).
See: Sampledelica! | Os Mutantes
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A Major Fancy (1977, recorded 1972-73) **½/0Untitled No.1 - HeritageChild of the Universe Kes (a Major Fancy) Untitled No.2 Sweet Faced Jane Witburg Night Long Ships/Link Piece Untitled No.3 |
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John Lees was, of course, guitarist and sometime singer with Barclay James Harvest, who obviously felt, a few years into their career, that he had enough leftover material to record a solo album. Said record was duly knocked up around 1972/3, then stuck on the shelf due to obscure and idiotic record company politics, to finally emerge long after the event, in '77. Good year for soft rock, that. Actually, it probably was a good year for soft rock, what with the global success of such as Fleetwood Mac and ELO, though Lees was to see little of their sales figures. A Major Fancy would just about have passed muster in the early '70s, though it's no more dynamic than the work of his day job, but by the end of the decade it was a Record Out Of Time, and the cover pic of the slightly pudgy artiste in his best woolly jumper wouldn't have done an awful lot to sell it to Clash fans.
Sadly, the material is pretty insipid, not that BJH were ever the most raucous of prog bands, or even the most prog, for that matter. Child Of The Universe was rerecorded by BJH for '74's Everyone is Everybody Else, but nothing else here will be familiar. A quick note at this point to congratulate the hapless sleevenote writer, one Don Hurley, who elected to utilise purple prose such as 'there are very few writers who can inject such nerve-shattering thrust into their lyrics and deliver them with such crushing force', or 'he will spit out lyrics that cut like a machete'. 'Nerve-shattering thrust'? 'Crushing force'? All in his woolly jumper, no doubt. It hardly needs to be said that Lees does no such thing, and A Major Fancy is a pretty wussy effort all round, to be honest. In fairness, it isn't actually offensive, but it couldn't really be said to impinge itself on the consciousness very much at all, and gives the air of being slightly unfinished, with no fewer than three tracks being titled, er, Untitled, although one of them also has a title. Right.
In all honesty, by the time I got to the album's sole 'Tron track, the decisively-titled Untitled No.3, I'd rather lost interest, not helped by what appears to be a total lack of Wally Waller's 'Tron anyway. Incidentally, my copy of the album is on Harvest's Heritage reissue imprint, but I suspect that's how it originally appeared, due to its already-several-years-old status on its release. Side one is pressed fractionally off-centre, too, giving Untitled No.2 the vague impression of being played on a set of steel drums, so all expense spared, it seems. Buy? I really wouldn't...
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Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins (1968, 28.59/33.04) ***/TTTSide OneSide Two [CD adds: Remember Love] |
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Mind Games (1973, 40.46) ***½/T |
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| Mind Games Tight A$ Aisumasen (I'm Sorry) One Day (at a Time) Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple) Nutopian International Anthem Intuition Out the Blue |
Only People I Know (I Know) You Are Here Meat City |
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Walls & Bridges (1974, 40.57) **½/½ |
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| Going Down on Love Whatever Gets You Thru the Night Old Dirt Road What You Got Bless You Scared #9 Dream |
Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox) Steel and Glass Beef Jerky Nobody Loves You (When You're Down and Out) Ya Ya |
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Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins is technically Lennon's first solo album, although it was credited to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I say 'technically' (or maybe 'album'), because very little of it consists of what most people would regard as 'music' at all; it's a highly experimental work, containing much found sound and wailing from Yoko, along with snippets of speech, electronic drones, an upright piano and... John's MkII Mellotron, in its only known recording role, at least at the time. The 'music' is comparable to Lennon's soundscape on the White Album, Revolution 9, and should probably be judged using the same criteria.
It's an interesting listen, with several amusing moments, not least John muttering something about a 'fucking tin opener' on side one. I believe the album is officially split into twelve tracks, but with no track divisions, it's impossible to work out what's what. The 'Tron turns up on both sides, with various left-hand manual rhythms coming into play, and much messing about on the right-hand manual, with strings and organ being subjected to some extreme pitchbending measures, notably about eight minutes into side two. I can't realistically recommend this as a musical listening experience, but it's a fascinating glimpse into Lennon's rather fractured state of mind at the time. Not forgetting the cover... A full-frontal nude shot of the pair upset an awful lot of people, thus having the desired effect, while allowing me to show a picture of John Lennon's knob. Worth it for its oddness, and some quite revolutionary Mellotron work. The CD's bonus track, incidentally, is the b-side to Give Peace A Chance.
After the Beatles' final split in 1970, all four members went all-out to prove that they didn't need the others by sticking out stacks of solo albums, of rather variable quality although, amusingly, Ringo was (briefly) the most successful. John took a few albums to find his feet, finally getting it right on his second proper post-Beatles release, Imagine in 1971. Love it or loathe it (I'm staying out of this one), it sold shitloads, and the title track still tops 'greatest ever song' polls. It seems there was supposed to be some Mellotronic input to the album, with the Moody Blues' Mike Pinder being drafted in to play the thing, no doubt working on the basis that you might as well get the best. However, the 'Tron he was supposed to play (presumably John's) wouldn't work properly (don't tell me, not maintained...), so he ended up merely bashing a tambourine. Andy Davis from the marvellous Stackridge was also supposed to play some guitar on it, but blew the session out as the band had a gig. And which would he remember more now? And doesn't he know it?
Paul McCartney was the only ex-member to use the Mellotron on a regular basis in his solo career, although John used the odd bit on a couple of albums, the first being 1973's Mind Games, from his regular keyboard man, Ken Ascher. It's the first thing you hear as you put the needle down/press 'play', a high string part lurching straight in on the title track, and although the track's smothered in it, it's not the greatest use you're ever going to hear, to be honest. One Day (At A Time) has a flute part, and what might be a couple of choir chords, though it's hard to tell, while there's some background strings on I Know (I Know), which, going by the lyrics, seems to be a semi-retraction of the 'sentiments' expressed on Imagine's How Do You Sleep?, regarding the breakdown of his personal and professional relationship with Paul.
Lennon followed Mind Games with Walls & Bridges, made during his so-called 'lost weekend', otherwise known as the 18 months when he swapped Yoko for May Pang (what was it about him and oriental women?). The album has its fans, but I can't say I'm among them; soul-influenced mainstream '70s rock is never going to thrill me overmuch, and there's little here that either floats my boat or even makes me think that anyone would bother listening to it now were it not by John. Elton John guests on two tracks, but I'd be lying if I said he livened proceedings up to any noticeable extent, although he was responsible for John's last live appearance at Madison Square Garden a few months after the album's release, after winning a bet. Ken Ascher is credited with 'Tron, again, this time on just one track, Bless You, on which you can just about make out some background strings if you listen really closely.
Well, Two Virgins is surprisingly listenable, in a completely-off-the-wall kind of way, and has some very interesting Mellotron work to boot. However, I couldn't really recommend either Mind Games or Walls & Bridges as top Mellotronic experiences, to be honest, although Mind Games itself is fairly full-on. Not for all you progheads out there, shall we say.
See: Beatles | Paul McCartney | George Harrison | Ringo Starr
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Help Yourself (1991, 58.29) **½/T |
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| Rebel King Saltwater Get a Life Would You Maybe I Was Wrong Help Yourself Listen Other Side of Town |
New Physics Rant Take Me Home Imaginary Lines Keep the People Working |
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John's elder son spent a few years as a critics' darling, before it finally dawned on them that he was nowhere near as talented as his dad. He was unfortunate enough to rise to prominence in the '80s, complete with that decade's appalling production values, and a misplaced faith in the power of the Studio As Musical Salvation. Help Yourself consists largely of run-of-the-mill pop/rock, with uptempo stuff like Get A Life contrasting with balladry such as Take Me Home, although most of the material is resolutely mid-paced and unchallenging.
The only Mellotron on the album (player unknown, although it may well have been producer and past 'Tron-user Bob Ezrin) is on Saltwater, a horrendous rip-off of his dad's inimitable Strawberry Fields Forever, with a cheesy synth-flute intro that's far too close to the original for comfort. The 'Tron strings sound wobbly enough to be real, but Lennon's motive for its use has to be questioned, assuming he actually had any say in the decision. You might have gathered that I'm not very keen on this album, although I believe it did well enough when it came out. One 'Tron track isn't enough to make a purchase worthwhile, although since Saltwater was released as a single, it might be worth grabbing if you should run into a second-hand copy anywhere.
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Into the Sun (1998, 49.08) **½/T |
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| Mystery Juice Into the Sun Home Bathtub One Night Spaceship Photosynthesis Queue |
Two Fine Lovers Part One of the Cowboy Trilogy Wasted Breeze Sean's Theme |
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I'm sure you all know perfectly well that Sean Lennon is the only offspring of John and Yoko's decade-plus together, born in New York in 1975, so I won't bother mentioning it. 1998's Into the Sun is his first solo album, made while personally and musically entwined with Cibo Matto, making it hardly surprising that some of their retro-cheesiness rubbed off on the record. Lennon's fondness for Brazil's Os Mutantes is also fairly apparent in places, although the album seems strangely anodyne in comparison to that outfit's Tropicalia-influenced psychedelia. Sadly, Lennon's voice is something of an irritant on the album, largely 'cos he sounds almost exactly like his dad (listen to Queue), despite being (technically) American. Some (many?) of you love John's voice. Some of us don't.
Lennon apparently used a mixture of real 'Tron and samples on the album. Why? Why not use all real? Anyway, the difference is fairly easy to spot: the quiet flutes on opener Mystery Juice are probably real, while the strings on Queue almost certainly aren't, leaving the cellos on closer Sean's Theme, which sound genuine. Overall, this album fails on several fronts, although I'm sure it has as many admirers as detractors. Two probably real 'Tron tracks don't make it worth getting, though, the same going for the bulk of the material. Disappointing.
See: Cibo Matto
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Iceberg (1973, 46.11) ***½/½ |
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| Razor Blade and Rattlesnake I Just Can't Win Lisa Nothing is Happening Looking for a Man A Hard Way to Live Broken Ovation Jesse |
Ten Thousand Takers The Ghost of Musket Flat Crosby (Second Class Citizen Blues) 7171 551 |
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Erstwhile Man guitarist Roger "Deke" Leonard's first solo album, Iceberg, is an odd mixture of styles, like many similar efforts, where an artist writes a disparate collection of songs that aren't suitable for their parent band, then sticks them all together on one record. To quote the Mighty Boosh, "I think it is perhaps something to be saved for your solo project". Stylistically, the frenetic hard rock of Razor Blade And Rattlesnake, the rock'n'roll of I Just Can't Win, the country balladry of Lisa and half a dozen other styles all rub shoulders, seemingly getting on quite well together, despite their differences.
Full credits give the game away on the Mellotron front (doubtless the Rockfield machine, where the album was recorded), with Deke himself playing it on the electric folk instrumental The Ghost Of Musket Flat. Now, before I put the album on, I guessed we'd be getting either a 'Strawberry Fields'-style flute part, or some quavery strings. Wrong. Under the track's real violin you can just about hear... trombones. I think. You can only really hear them at the very end of the track, and I can't really say they especially enhance it in any meaningful way. Oh well.
This probably isn't an album for your average Man fan, as it only occasionally sounds much like them (notably on Broken Ovation, and 7171 551, later to become a Man classic, of course), but hardcore fans probably need to own a copy, along with its successor, the following year's 'Tron-free Kamikaze. Just don't bother for the Mellotron, OK?
A quick footnote: why has my French UA LP got 7171 551 listed as '2138920716' on the label? Is this some Gallic in-joke - a girlfriend's phone number, maybe? I thought French numbers had eight digits. Whatever.
Another quick footnote: Deke is pictured standing in front of a Bristol Fighter on the sleeve, and the album's called Iceberg. For the follow-up, he was apparently keen on being pictured in front of an iceberg, while calling the album Bristol Fighter. Why do people drop these great ideas? It's like the follow-up to 'A Fish Called Wanda', 'Fierce Creatures' (yawn), which was originally going to be called 'Death Fish II'. Why, I mean, WHY, change something so perfect?
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Improvised Waves (2005, 64.57) ***½/TTTTArpeg TwoAs the Water Recedes... Flute and Piano Track 1 |
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Ken Leonard and Jimmy Moore are two of the East Coast's major Mellotron luminaries; Ken is intimately involved with MONEYPIT (Mellotron enthusiasts' meetings - don't ask), while I believe Jimmy has something to do with Streetly Electronics. In late 2004, they decided to hook up to record some improvised electronic music, heavily featuring the Mellotron. The end result (released the following year) is Improvised Waves, with four pieces spread over slightly over an hour, mostly recorded live in the studio. Three of the pieces are pretty much as you'd expect, improvised EM with loads of Mellotron, although Flute And Piano does exactly what it says on the tin, being a highly melodic Mellotron flute/piano duet.
Moore plays most of the Mellotron parts, although Leonard adds some on Arpeg Two, with lots of string section, the occasional flute line and some background choirs. Flute And Piano is fairly obvious, while the other two tracks (including the 26-minute As The Water Recedes...) stick mainly to the string section and the odd flute part. The reason this 'only' gets four Ts is that the Mellotron work is, unsurprisingly, rather vague, as is most of the music, although it must be featured on at least two thirds of the album's length.
This is available from Ken's site (above), should you wish to indulge in the duo's indulgence. Despite its unsurprising lack of structure, this is far better than most modern EM albums, with their computer-driven, sample-triggering nonentitieness (well, it's a word now), and worth hearing for fans of the genre, or anyone who wants to hear loads of Mellotron.
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Faces Down (2001, 53.11/57.18) **½/T |
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| Dead Passengers You Know So Well Sleep on Needles Suffused With Love Side Two Modern Nature Virtue and Wine On and Off Again |
No One's Gonna Come All Luck Ran Out Things You Call Fate [US bonus track: Rosebud] |
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Sondre Lerche is a Norwegian singer-songwriter who crosses over into the mainstream pop market, going by his debut, 2001's Faces Down. It's not that it's an inherently unpleasant album, but its irritating cheerfulness, disguised as misery (well, I know what I mean) becomes an irritant after a few tracks. If the album has a best track, it's probably opener Dead Passengers, but chances are that's only because the irritation hasn't kicked in yet. Worst? Possibly Modern Nature, largely because it's a duet with the entirely tuneless Lillian Samdal, whoever she may be, or the neverending Things You Call Fate that closed the original release, simply because it's over nine minutes long, for no good reason.
Producer H.P. Gundersen plays Mellotron on a couple of tracks, with flutes on You Know So Well and Virtue And Wine, both alongside real strings; nice to hear, but I couldn't honestly say it enhances the album that much. So; heartfelt Norwegian pop, anyone? Didn't think so.
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Power Hôr (2007, 62.17) ***/TBlack Forest HammPowerwhorses Loadbath Irreversible |
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Lesbian are so-named because (excuse me if I misquote), "All the cool names had gone" and because it, "Evokes pure, sexually-charged freedom", which certainly shows some insight into the lesbian demi-monde, I have to say. I've seen Power Hôr (with or without the ˆ) described as 'a run through the history of heavy metal' or somesuch, but to my ears, it's merely a modern progressive/death release, written by guys who listened to Iron Maiden a little too much in their youth. The album's four pieces ('songs' seems a little inadequate) average out at around fifteen minutes apiece, moving through vast, distorted soundscapes, punctuated by the occasional (and really, really unnecessary) 'cookie monster' vocal. Please don't do that again, chaps. It's ridiculous and not the slightest bit threatening. It's certainly 'progressive', but it's also a real grind (pun intended) for the non-faithful, but then, Lesbian are directing their energies at their core audience, while the rest of us can go fly a kite.
Mellotron from Steve Moore, with background strings on Powerwhorses, Loadbath and Irreversible and possible flutes on Loadbath, but as to whether or not it's real... It's all low in the mix, and while it adds to the album's atmosphere, it isn't ubiquitous enough to be one of its defining features; I'm reminded of Trettioåriga Kriget's mid-'70s use in a hard rock setting, for some reason. So; long, slow and noisy, with minimal Mellotron, real or otherwise. yes for the metalhead, no for the rest of us.
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Go! (1997, 35.11) ***/T |
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| I Got Time Because of You Anchor Find You Dead Veda Very Shining Co-Pilot Go! Sparklegirl |
Alouette & Me I'm a Fool Disappear |
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Letters to Cleo are another in a seemingly endless list of American female/female-fronted pop/punk bands, this time from Boston. Going by their third album, 1997's Go!, they don't do anything especially original, although the bitter Alouette & Me impresses both musically and lyrically in comparison to the rest of the album. Anchor is probably the best of their punkier material, but little of it's anything to really write home about.
Guitarist Michael Eisenstein doubles on keys, with Farfisa on a few tracks and Mellotron on Sparklegirl, with upfront strings in a couple of places. So; perfectly ordinary pop/punk with only one track that stands out in any way. Maybe not.
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Black Sun (1978, 38.24) ***½/T |
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| Nuit Lunaire Requiem pour un Astronaute Soleil Noir Adagio pour un Poète Les Plaines de Feu Fleur de Lit Le "Blue Bar..." La Chasse |
Romance de Garnison Dernier Bal Les Géographes Un Homme dans la Nuit |
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If this Claude Léveillé is the one to whom I keep finding Internet references, he was born in 1932 and has released over 30 albums, though I can't actually find any cross-reference to 1978's Black Sun. A really rather good all-instrumental progressive album, it doesn't fit fully into any of the usual convenient categories, although loosely 'symphonic' isn't a million miles off the mark. While keyboard-led, Léveillé was quite happy to throw other instruments into the mix, with both violin and sitar on the 'title track', Soleil Noir, and a decidedly funky guitar part on Le "Blue Bar...". Overall, the composition is good, if not outstanding, with plenty of strong melodies to hold the interest over repeated playings, especially in the 'awkward' instrumental field.
By the last track, Un Homme Dans La Nuit, I was firmly convinced this was another Mellotron non-starter, when suddenly that unmistakeable 'Tron string sound surged up through the mix. The bulk of the album's strings are clearly string synth, but that obvious 'Tron part made me reappraise the rest of the album, finding more of the same on Le "Blue Bar...". So; the handful of copies I've found listed on the Web are all expensive, though you may find one cheaper, especially if you're in the Québec region. It's definitely worth hearing for the prog fan who thinks he has it all, though not for the Mellotron.
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Leviathan (1974) ***½/TTTT½ArabesqueAngela Endless Dream Seagull Angel of Death Always Need You Quicksilver Clay |
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7" ( 1974) ***½/T½ Why Must I Be Like You I'll Get Lost Out There |
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Leviathan were actually less a full-on prog outfit than a progressive hard rock act, and while none of the material on Leviathan particularly stands out, it's a good album of its type. Like so many US prog(-ish) outfits, they had a hard time getting signed by anyone, never mind a major, so it's fortunate for us that this album's actually available at all. Leviathan opens with some heavy-duty 'Tron strings, getting the album off to a good start, then, well, doesn't let up for the next forty minutes. This is a serious Mellotron Album, with John Sadler's 'Tron all over everything; mostly strings, but a couple of affecting flute melodies, too. It's difficult to pinpoint highlights, but the flutes on Always Need You are especially good; in fact, the only thing that stops it getting the full five Ts is a lack of 'Mellotron Moments' comparable to, well, all the classics.
It turns out (thanks, Mark) that Leviathan also released a non-LP single the same year, Why Must I Be Like You c/w I'll Get Lost Out There. The A-side's an average hard rocker, but the flip is more of a slow-burner, with plenty of those 'Tron strings, including an outrageous pitchbending section towards the end. Shame these tracks weren't added to the CD of the album, really...
So; good but not great, but if you like huge dollops of Mellotron splattered all over everything (hi, Gary), this album's yer man. The single's not bad, too, but you're not exactly going to find it easily.
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Now in a Minute (1996, 45.46) *½/0 |
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| Without Love Mother I Love You Always Forever Nothing Ever Changes Simone Love & Affection Agenais Fools Paradise |
Lights of Life Silent World I Love You Always Forever (Philly Remix) |
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Donna Lewis is what Kate Bush just might've been like had she been really, really shit. I'm sure she's a lovely lady an' all that, and I know full well she's very talented, but her debut album, 1996's Now in a Minute, is barfworthy drivel. How can I describe this? Why bother? OK, here goes anyway: soul-lite crossed with appalling balladry and the aforementioned Kate B's worst moments. There are no best tracks.
Although Harvey Jones is credited with 'Mellotron flutes', I suspect you'll need sharper ears than mine to hear them. Maybe they pitchbent them up until they were out of the range of human hearing. Maybe they're just really low in the mix. Maybe you could think about not even attempting to hear this album if you know what's good for you.
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Echo [U.S. Version] (2009, 58.31) **/T |
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| Happy I Got You Love Letter Can't Breathe You Don't Care Outta My Head Brave My Hands |
Alive Don't Let Me Down Fly Here Now Broken Lost Then Found Stone Hearts & Hand Grenades |
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For those of you who've been hiding in a cave in Tora Bora for the last few years, Leona Lewis won the 2006 British X Factor, by dint of being a fairly decent singer; given that most of the voters are teenage girls, she did doubly well to win against the hordes of useless-but-pretty boys that seem to clog up the show. Like I give a shit. The whole media circus is a horrible feeding frenzy of fake dramatics (though very real emotion, at least on the part of the contestants) and pure, capitalist-to-the-core money-making from that vampire of the music biz... OK, I'll shut up now.
Lewis has actually lasted to a second album, 2009's Echo, making it look like a distinct possibility her career may have some longevity, and good luck to her. She hasn't got the greatest soul voice in the world, but I've heard a damn' sight worse, although the album's pretty anodyne, possibly excepting the electro of Can't Breathe, although it's not exactly Front 242. For some strange, no doubt income-generation-related reason, the album's been heavily re-jigged for the American market, including two songs not on the UK version. One of these is You Don't Care, with apparently real Mellotron flutes all over the thing (played by track producer Ryan Tedder and recorded at Abbey Road, fact fans), to passable effect, but hardly something to make the 'Tron fetishist splash out, to be honest.
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Schock (Transfert-Suspence-Hypnos) (1976, 30.42) ***½/TT½ |
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| The Shock L'Altalena Rossa Transfert/Hypnos/Transfert La Baia La Cantina/The Shock Tema di Marco/Tema di Marco 2 L'Incubo Transfert 3 |
Il Fantasma Suona il Piano Transfert 4/Tema Di Marco 2 |
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Given that the misspelled Schock (Transfert-Suspence-Hypnos) (it should be Shock) is a mid-'70s Italian horror film soundtrack, it should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone to hear that Libra had a Goblin connection, although they were a long way from being the same band. You'd be forgiven for thinking they were, mind you, as their dark, frequently near-atonal music parallels Goblin's quite eerily, involving inventive synth patches and dissonant Mellotron choirs, amongst other musical pointers. Allesandro "Sandro" Centofanti's innovative keyboard work is probably the album's most outstanding quality, although the musicianship is excellent throughout; opener The Shock is a killer bass/drums/Hammond/synth workout, while guitarist Carlo Pennisi contributes some excellent acoustic playing on L'Altalena Rossa.
Centofanti's 'Tron strings open the album, with some of the loudest choirs I've ever heard within the first minute, clearly mixed way up from the part that precedes them. Transfert/Hypnos/Transfert features church organ tapes, although it's hard to tell whether the strings on the track are 'Tron or, er, something else. More choirs on Tema Di Marco, with choirs and cellos on L'Incubo, along with more of those 'are they or aren't they?' strings, although that seems to be it, sadly.
So; another excellent Cinevox release, unleashing more Italian horror onto the outside world. Libra were a good little unit, going by the evidence here, although their first two albums, recorded for Motown, of all labels, are apparently best avoided if you don't like The Funk. Can't comment on them, but Schock is quite essential for Goblin fans and horror film buffs generally.
See: Goblin
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Baba Yaga (1999, 49.32) ****/T½ |
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| Loki Iriandia Astra Aja Baba Yaga Old Larry January Ritual |
Inoque Wackidoo W |
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Annbjørg Lien released her first record in 1983, at the age of twelve (!), but was in her late teens when her first album appeared. Lien sings and plays the Hardanger fiddle, the hardingfele, so it's no great surprise that her music is heavily informed by Nordic folk, although it has many contemporary touches, both instrumentally and in the arrangements. Baba Yaga is only her second album under her own name, and is an appealing combination of folk melodies and rock instrumentation, without doing that 'folk metal' thing that seems to have taken off in the region recently. It's difficult to pinpoint standout tracks, although Wackidoo may appeal to progheads, with its blatant ELP homage, on top of the album title's Pictures at an Exhibition reference.
Bjørd Ole Rasch plays Mellotron, with background strings on the title track, a polyphonic flute part at the end of Old Larry and choirs on Ritual, although all sound a little murky. Real? Who knows? Anyway, an excellent little album, though not especially on the Mellotron front. Worthwhile.
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No Name Face (2001, 55.23) **/½ |
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| Hanging By a Moment Sick Cycle Carousel Unknown Somebody Else's Song Trying Only One Simon Cling and Clatter |
Breathing Quasimodo Somewhere in Between Everything |
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I've seen Lifehouse compared to Crowded House and even, God help us, Nirvana. Er, huh? The former wrote transcendental pop, the latter transcendental rock. Lifehouse write third-rate indie drivel, held together by Jason Wade's annoying voice and clichéd vocal melodies. Transcendental nothing. Their debut, No Name Face, starts (almost) promisingly with their first hit, Hanging By A Moment, although the song becomes an irritant after a couple of plays. The album takes a serious dip after this, rapidly becoming bogged down in mid-paced pop/rock pointlessness, guaranteed to appeal to a certain type of teenager, and equally guaranteed to piss off anyone who's heard any music made before 1998.
Session bloke Marcus Barone plays Chamberlin on Trying, with some strings alongside real ones, and maybe some flutes hidden in the mix, but as usual with this type of album, it's not exactly major use. So; avoid. Clichéd, self-important rubbish.
![Lift [US], 'Caverns of Your Brain'](images/lift-caverns.jpg) |
Caverns of Your Brain (1990, recorded 1974, 36.56) ****½/TTTTSimplicityCaverns Buttercup Boogie Trippin' Over the Rainbow |
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Louisiana-based Lift (not to be confused with the East German crew [see below]) recorded their sole LP in 1974; it was bootlegged soon after as Caverns of Your Brain, although the band had planned to title it Simplicity. It finally received a proper release on Greg Walker's Syn-Phonic label in 1990, but with side one divided into two tracks, although it was originally conceived as one. Although the original title would've been better, the album was already known by its bootleg title, so that's how it remains. Keyboard player Chip Gremillion (thanks for all the info, Chip) played an M400 on the album sessions (over three days!), with 'mixed strings', choir and brass; a similar setup to Tony Banks, fact fans.
The music is firmly in the Yes/Genesis mould, with upfront Ricky bass, and tons of organ and Mellotron. All four tracks are excellent, but Caverns is maybe a fraction better than the rest, with some seriously epic 'Tron work towards the end. Buttercup Boogie is, essentially, a prog boogie number (!), with a smattering of 'Tron brass, and Trippin' Over The Rainbow is outrageously close to Genesis' Apocalypse In 9/8, but in 6/4, and done well, so Marillion comparisons are invalid. Think of it more as a cheeky homage than a rip-off. Chip's Mellotron work is superb throughout, so top marks on all fronts, really.
Lift recorded more material over the '75/'76 period, this time using Chip's Chamberlin and Orchestron. One track, Perspectives, came out on the Syn-Phonic sampler Past, Present and Future, but all four tracks are now available, along with the original album material, as Moments of Hearing (review forthcoming). Chip sold his M400 in 1979, but has recently reclaimed his Chamberlin and Mellotron M300 for future use. Hooray! So; buy Moments of Hearing immediately. Excellent stuff.
