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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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Madden & Harris Made in Sweden Madison Dyke Madonna |
Madrigal Màelstrom Maestoso |
Lois Maffeo & Brendan Carty Magik Dayze Magma |
Magnet Magnum Taj Mahal |
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Fools Paradise (1975, 42.29/48.47) ****/TTT½ |
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| Wishes Fools Paradise Part 2 The Wind at Eve Margaret O'Grady I Heard a Man Say O'Weary Brain Cool September |
Fool's Paradise Children of Ice Will You Be There E.I.E.I.O. End Game [CD adds: Remember Me A Simple Song] |
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Sydney-based Dave Madden and Peter Harris (Madden was Harris' guitar student) have remained completely underneath the prog radar until recently, when their sole album, Fools Paradise [sic.], was reissued on the Korean M2U label. The duo had released a single, Remember Me, in 1974, releasing the album the following year, in a pressing rumoured to be only a few hundred copies. It's a lovely piece of folk/prog, largely consisting of gentle acoustic numbers like The Wind At Eve or I Heard A Man Say, with the only real blip being O'Weary Brain, a jaunty, piano-led song, slightly out of place with the gentle melancholy of most of the other tracks.
Multi-instrumentalist Harris played all the album's keyboards, including Mellotron on a few tracks. There's a beautiful string part on opener Wishes, with a more background one on The Wind At Eve, before something very interesting (well, I thought so) on Margaret O'Grady: male voices in the background, revealing themselves to be Mellotronically-generated at one point. However, this isn't your standard 8-choir, or even the standalone male voices; it has far more of the sound of the infamously not-very-good 16-voice Teddy Taylor, or 'TT' choir. Which Australian Mellotron-owning band had the TT choir? The also Sydney-based Sebastian Hardie, that's who. I can't prove it, but... Anyway, more of those voices on part three of the side-long title track, E.I.E.I.O, and another upfront string part on the closing section, End Game. Maybe surprisingly, the CD's bonus tracks (both sides of the single) also feature Harris on 'Tron strings, and as you're exceedingly unlikely to find the original vinyl, I'll include them in the album's 'T' rating.
All in all, a very good album indeed; top marks to M2U for resurrecting this obscurity and making it available to the sort of audience it should've had first time round. This just proves that, like Quarteto 1111's criminally still-unreissued Onde Quando..., there are almost certainly many classic Mellotron Albums from the machine's heyday out there still waiting to be rediscovered, even if this one 'only' features it on five tracks. This is decidedly worth picking up, though probably more for the music than the 'Tron, though the latter certainly isn't to be sniffed at. Recommended.
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Made in England (1970, 39.03) ***/TWinter's a BummerYou Can't Go Home Mad River Roundabout Chicago, Mon Amour Love Samba Blind Willie Little Cloud |
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Made in Sweden can probably be considered that country's first genuinely 'progressive' group, although Made in England (a.k.a. Mad River) was actually their fourth album in three years, and the first to head in a progressive direction. Saying that, it's more late-period psych than anything, with various influences popping up here and there (notably the jazz/blues of Blind Willie) and I have to admit I don't find it as riveting as some online reviewers, although it's by no means bad. The first few tracks are probably the best, before the band heads off into various musical cul-de-sacs and loses its way slightly.
Bassist Bo Häggström doubles on piano and Mellotron (guitarist/vocalist/main man George Wadenius also doubles on piano and organ), although there's only one 'Tron track here, with some great MkII strings/brass mix pitchbend work on jazzy opener Winter's A Bummer. The upshot of this is; Swedish proto-prog, well-played, not much Mellotron. Your choice.
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Zeitmaschine (1977, 36.53) ***½/0First StepCooking Time of an Egg Next Conceptions Zeitmaschine |
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What appears to be Madison Dyke's sole release, Zeitmaschine (Time Machine, of course), is a bit of a mish-mash of styles, veering between hard rock, prog and ambient German stuff, often within the same track. It's difficult to pick out any one track as particularly superior to any other, although the side-long title track may just have the edge over the rest, with some nice flute work from vocalist Burkard Rittler. Actually, a passable comparison, at least in their more drifting moments, would be Novalis, although they're by no means a clone.
Now, both Rittler and guitarist Jürgen Baumann are credited with 'Mellotron', but all I can hear is swathes of string synth; the only thing that stops me dumping the album straight into Mistaken ID is the two credited players. Maybe it's just buried in the mix? Maybe they had some custom string synth tapes made up? Maybe they thought it would sell more records to prog fans?
Anyway, not a bad album, though a bit run-of-the-mill in places, but bugger-all 'Tron, at least to my ears.
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CDS (1999) **½/T½ Beautiful Stranger |
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The quite remarkably talent-free Maddy recorded this lightweight piece of fluff for the second Austin Powers film, with the production assistance of the extraordinarily fashionable William Orbit, I believe. Along with the upbeat melody, it's got an irritating synth hook which she echoes in that appalling nasal whine she does so well. You may have guessed that I'm not her biggest fan, but I approached this with a (relatively) open mind, and was comprehensively defeated. I'm told the flutes are from a Chamberlin; they certainly sound like some form of tape replay, but I've no idea who plays it, even if it's genuine. Anyway, nice warbly flutes wandering in and out of the song, quite upfront in the mix, which makes a nice change, but I wouldn't go out to buy it on those grounds, if I were you.
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School of Time (1977, 39.54) ***½/TThe SeekerMad King's Dynasty Across the Past The Old Clock School of Time The Ghost Dear Mister Fantasy |
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Madrigal's School of Time is a bit of an oddball release, to be honest; after the hard-rock-with-clever-bits of The Seeker, hearing anything especially progressive seems unlikely. However, Mad opens with an intricate vocal arrangement, adding keyboards to the mix, while King's Dynasty rips Queen off something rotten, notably the Killer Queen cop on the chorus. Vocals are in (accented) English throughout, which is rare for a French band, so they must have had one eye on the international market, for all the good it did them. The rest of the album carries on in similar vein, switching between styles in what is actually a rather refreshing manner, given how genre-specific most bands are these days.
Next to no Mellotron, to be honest, with a fairly full-on choir part on Across The Past, with strings sounding like a 'Tron/string synth mix. More string synth and real flute on The Old Clock, but that seems to be it on the 'Tron front. Yet again, you're not going to find this that easily, although copies do crop up on various sites, not least eBay. Do you want it? Well, how badly do you need a 'not bad, not great' semi-progressive late-'70s French album? It's an interesting listen in places, certainly, but one for the hardcore proghead only, I think.
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Màelstrom (1973, 37.03/50.10) ***½/TTTT |
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| Ceres In Memory The Balloonist Alien Chronicles Law and Crime Nature Abounds Below the Line |
[CD adds: Opus None Genesis to Geneva] |
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Add Màelstrom to the ever-expanding list of obscure US prog outfits who never got anywhere, despite being rather good. I believe Màelstrom did actually gain a release at the time, unlike many of their contemporaries' recordings, but it had disappeared into the mists of time until recent CD reissue (hooray!). The band's sound actually owed quite a bit to The Moody Blues in places, who I believe were absolutely massive in the States in the early '70s. Saying that, there are traces of ELP here and there, not to mention the more 'generic' progressive sound prevalent at the time. The band were never destined to be frontrunners, to be honest, although Màelstrom is a decidedly worthy effort, if not exactly the next Yes.
The Mellotron was played by both Roberts Owen and Mark Knox, and it has to be said, they used it to rather delightful excess, with only In Memory escaping. As you'd expect, most of their use is in the strings area, although the odd burst of choir here and there makes a nice change, especially for the time, and there may be some cellos, too. The album does sound a bit dated for the time, to be honest, but it's worth a listen for the music, and definitely for the 'Tron.
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One Drop in a Dry World (2004, 51.25) ****/TTT |
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| The Bells, THE BELLS! Blood & Bones A Waiting Game It's U Souk One Drop in a Dry World A.N.S.S. The End of the Road |
Explorers 2 a.m. The Starving People of the World All Thank You for Your Time Carpet |
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Grim (2005, 54.32) ***½/TT |
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| Coming Soon to a Cinema Near You Through a Storm Love is... A Lark That's the Price You Pay The Iceman Cometh Hebden Bridge Loot |
Harp + Carp Birds Location, Location, Location Abendrot Overture: Marsch Burleske Pas de Deux Scene from a London Flat |
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Those of you who've been paying attention will realise immediately that there's a Woolly Wolstenholme (ex-Barclay James Harvest, of course) connection to Maestoso, it being the name he's using for his current band, including guitarist Steve Broomhead from his early'-80s lineup. After his various trials and tribulations over the last decade or more, in many ways it's a miracle that Woolly's managed to release anything at all, never mind an album as good as One Drop in a Dry World, so it must've been particularly galling for him that so few tickets were sold for his comeback UK tour that he only ended up playing one date (London, natch), and that to a half-empty club.
Anyway, the album: while having some stylistic components in common with BJH, in many ways it's more typically symphonic prog than that band ever were, probably in keeping with Woolly's own influences, which have much in common with his bête noir and former collaborator, The Enid's Robert John Godfrey. The highlight is probably the exceedingly excellent title track, with its rich key changes and full-on 'Tron, but several other tracks all do the job, particularly the opening one-two of The Bells, The Bells!/Blood & Bones. It's sometimes hard to tell where Woolly's using the 'Tron (more echoes of BJH, then), even though he's now using an M400, although it's pretty obvious on most of the highlighted tracks above. 2 a.m. is another Mellotronic highlight, although I'm in two minds as to whether or not there's actually any on Souk at all. So; an excellent return to form, after (deep breath) BarclayJamesHarvestThroughTheEyesOfJohnLees' relatively anodyne Nexus from a few years ago, and the rather low-key live album from the tour, Revival.
Maybe surprisingly, a mere year later, Grim arrives. While possibly not as good as the previous year's effort, it's still a fine album, with neo-classical grandeur (Abendrot, Overture: Marsch Burleske), eccentric 'tell it like it is' lyrics (The Iceman Cometh, Scene From A London Flat) and folk-influenced whimsy (Loot, Harp + Carp), although it seems to lack the highlights of One Drop. A reasonable helping of Mellotron, although (guess what?) it's not always easy to tell when it is or isn't being used. The parping Through A Storm features the strings, albeit in a supporting role, with nothing else obvious until the choir (and strings?) on Hebden Bridge and choirs on the oddly-titled Harp + Carp. There are places on the album where it's hard to tell if the cello parts are Mellotronic or not, but they certainly sound like it on Location, Location, Location. More choirs on Abendrot, though the orchestrations on Overture: Marsch Burleske sound sampled. So; another decent album from Woolly and crew, if not quite the equal of its predecessor.
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The Union Themes (2000, 31.04) ***/TThese PartsBeing Blind How I Came to Know Best Believe You Love Your Wounds Hollow Reed Give Faith Con Job Handwriting Monument |
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Lois Maffeo has been around since the late '80s; amusingly, an early band was called Courtney Love, after a certain housemate of hers (!). Although she has spent much of her time in the '90s on her Lois project, The Union Themes is a collaboration with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, and is a gentle, acoustic singer-songwriter album. I have to admit I'm not blown away by it, though I suspect the deficiency is in myself, not Lois. I'm sure it does what it does very well; it just doesn't click with my personal taste in this area.
Lois sings and plays acoustic guitar and flute, with Canty covering most of the rest of the instrumental spectrum, including Mellotron. Sadly, it's only to be heard on one track, with a little orchestrally-arranged string part in the middle of Being Blind, making a whole T slightly generous, to be honest. It's difficult to recommend this album to fans of 'standard' singer-songwriter fare, but some of you are going to go for it. Not worth it for the 'Tron input, though.
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Volume 1 (1978, 73.20) ***½/TTT½ |
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| Mean Metal Men Black Lightning Nobody Can Stop Me Now Leavin' Ain't So Easy Hollywood Highway Blues Red Honey To the Stars |
Sea Me Home UFO/Calling All UFO's For the Ones We Love Rush (Comment) Intergalactic Warrior Traveller Future Roads You're Shinin' Bright Again |
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Magik Dayze were US keyboard whizz Charles Thaxton's (now recording with his solo project Char-el) previous outfit to Galileo II, with a similar mission statement, i.e. keyboard-heavy intelligent hard rock, with a distinct Rush influence apparent, along with other US/Canadian bands of the time, notably Frank Marino's Mahogany Rush and Pat Travers. The quality of the material isn't always upheld, to be honest; Leavin' Ain't So Easy and Highway Blues are both nearer MOR than rock, but opener Mean Metal Men is fantastic, despite the title, and there's plenty of other good stuff on offer. There's also an early version of Thaxton's excellent Future Roads, re-recorded by Galileo II a few years later.
As with the Galileo II CD-R, Volume 1 isn't an album as such, more a collection of demos recorded over a three-year period, available direct from Charles' website, although the sound quality on this disc is better, despite the recordings being older. There's plenty of Mellotron to be heard, mostly strings and choir, though I'm sure I heard brief bursts of both flute and brass at various points; as with Galileo II, Thaxton's use is good without being overbearing, fitting the hard rock format pretty well.
It's good to hear some decent 'Tron playing in this style of music; most similar bands of the era stuck to organ and synths, if they used keys at all. I wouldn't try to claim that this is a 'classic', but there's enough good material to make a purchase worth the effort if '70s US hard rock's your bag, with a considerable bonus on the Mellotron front.
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Attahk (1978, 38.08) ***½/TThe Last Seven Minutes (1970-71, phase I)Spiritual (Negro Song) Rindë (Eastern Song) Liriïk Necronomicus Kanht (In Which Our Heroes, OURGON & ĞORĞO Meet) Maahnt (The Wizard's Fight Versus the Devil) Dondaï (To an Eternal Love) Nono (1978, phase II) |
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By the late '70s, Magma were moving away from their pure zeuhl stylings, with more of drummer/main man Christian Vander's first love, jazz, creeping in. Attahk is still an endearingly bonkers album, though, with the band's trademark operatic vocals, singing in their own language, Kobaïan, and two bass players (presumably needed to replace the incomparable Jannik Top), credited with 'earth bass' and 'air bass'. Magnificent, if not quite as 'out there' as earlier triumphs like Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh (****½).
Apart from lead vocals, drums, percussion and pianos, Vander also plays Chamberlin on one track, Dondaï (To An Eternal Love), with flutes on the intro and a short strings part near the end. I've no idea a) where he found a Chamberlin in France (the album was recorded at the infamous Chateau Herouville) and b) why a Chamberlin, not a Mellotron? We'll probably never know. Anyway, not a lot of Chamby, but a pretty good album if you're into the style.
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On Your Side (2004, 49.36) ***/T |
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| Everything's Perfect Last Day of Summer Where Happiness Lives On Your Side The Day We Left Town Nothing Hurts Now Lay Lady Lay Overjoyed |
I'll Come Along My Darling Curse Smile to the World |
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The Tourniquet (2005, 40.39) **½/TT |
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| Hold on Duracellia The Pacemaker Believe All You Ask Deadlock Fall at Your Feet Blow By Blow |
Miss Her So Jaws |
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Norway's Magnet essentially consist of singer-songwriter Even Johansen, and while On Your Side is his first album under that name, his solo debut, Quiet & Still, appeared in 2000, although I've no idea whether or not it has any Mellotronic involvement. So, what does Mr. Johansen sound like? Melancholy intelligent pop with an Americana influence, basically, despite being Scandinavian, although I have to say, after the first few tracks I found it starting to drag. You find yourself willing him to up the pace a little, but he never does, with his tedious take on Dylan's Lay Lady Lay being the album's nadir. On the Mellotron front, the only 'definite' I can hear is some nice upfront flutes on Everything's Perfect (no 'buried in the mix' problems here). It's perfectly possible there's more, particularly on the strings front, but I'll be damned if I can tell. Incidentally, it seems there's a 14-track version of the album available, but I'm reviewing the 11-track one, so you never know, there may be more 'Tron on the missing tracks. Maybe.
Johansen released his follow-up, The Tourniquet, a year later, and if anything, it's even more indie-schmindie than its predecessor, although he throws the odd Beach Boys harmony in to throw you off the scent. One famous guest, with Jason Falkner, now long ex-of the sainted Jellyfish who, although he played guitar in that outfit, plays mostly drums here. I have to say, this didn't grab me at all, I'm afraid; too whiny, too indie, too dull. Sorry. Johansen plays all the album's credited Mellotron, with uncredited flutes on Hold On (in fairness, Johansen is credited with 'all playing'), with more upfront ones (credited) on Believe and Deadlock, especially the latter. A final uncredited flute part on probably the album's best track, Blow By Blow, possibly from either Falkner or Jørgen Træen instead of Johansen, and that's yer lot.
So; two OK, not great, albums, very little 'Tron. Your choice.
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7" (1975) ***/T Sweets for My Sweet Movin' on |
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Kingdom of Madness (1978, 39.35/78.25) ****½/TTT (TTT½) |
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| In the Beginning Baby Rock Me Universe Kingdom of Madness All That is Real The Bringer Invasion |
Lords of Chaos All Come Together [expanded CD adds: Sea Bird Stormbringer Slipping Away Captain America |
Sweets for My Sweet Movin' on Master of Disguise Without Your Love Find the Time Everybody Needs Kingdom of Madness (alternate)] |
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Magnum II (1979, 39.32) ****/TT½ |
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| Great Adventure Changes The Battle If I Could Live Forever Reborn So Cold the Night Foolish Heart Stayin' Alive |
Firebird All of My Life |
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Magnum Live (EP, 1980, 18.47) *****/TAll of My LifeGreat Adventure Invasion Kingdom of Madness |
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Marauder (1980, 35.50) *****/TTIf I Could Live ForeverThe Battle Foolish Heart In the Beginning Reborn Changes So Cold the Night Lords of Chaos |
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Invasion (1986, recorded 1982) ***½/TSoldier of the LineReborn Sacred Hour Spirit Changes All of My Life Invasion Kingdom of Madness Runaround Sue |
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Vintage Magnum (1986, recorded 1977-83, 40.28) ****/TT |
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| Back to Earth Hold Back Your Love Long Days Black Nights Lonesome Star Everybody Needs Changes (remix) All of My Life (live) Kingdom of Madness (live) |
Invasion (live) Great Adventure (live) |
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Archive Magnum (1993, recorded 1974-82, 44.39) ***/T½ |
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| Sea Bird Stormbringer Slipping Away Captain America Master of Disguise Without Your Love Find the Time Everybody Needs |
Kingdom of Madness Lights Burned Out The Word True Fine Love |
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Forming in the early '70s, Magnum (led by guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin and vocalist Bob Catley) released one-off single on CBS in the mid-'70s, their odd version of the Searchers' Sweets For My Sweet, which flopped, despite (maybe surprisingly) featuring keys man Richard Bailey on Mellotron, with string interjections alongside real flute. Unlike many of their contemporaries, they weathered the storm of punk, getting a feature story in much-missed UK music weekly Sounds a good year before the so-called 'NWOBHM' movement took off. Their eventual debut, Kingdom of Madness, is a superb album, sounding like nothing so much as a UK equivalent of Styx, but with more balls; a British take on Pomp, if you like. Or even if you don't. Although it doesn't really reproduce their onstage power, the album's production highlights their many-layered approach, with a largish array of keyboards including, of course, a Mellotron. Magnum were probably the first band I ever saw use one on stage, although they never exactly overdid it, ending up by hauling one around for a few chords at the beginning of one song. Odd.
Anyway, Kingdom of Madness features it on four tracks on side two, although I can think of several other places it would've fitted perfectly; it's that sort of music. Bailey chooses to mostly use strings on the album, to considerable effect, although he never plays the 'Tron for more than a few bars at any given time. Subtlety is the order of the day, and it isn't until album closer All Come Together that he switches to the choirs. Much of the album's material was played a good deal heavier on stage, Lords Of Chaos being an example; the funky guitar and phased clavinet on the studio version being replaced by an all-out sonic attack live. Musically, the best bits of the album are probably opener In The Beginning and the sublime link after the laid-back acoustic strumalong Universe, where a short acoustic guitar/flute duet lurches into the title track via strategic placement of tape echo. Marvellous.
The following year's imaginatively-titled Magnum II has a slightly disappointing production, but is home to some great material, most of which formed the bulk of the set they were still touring the following year. Again, four Mellotron tracks; Changes was their attempt at an AOR hit, but good for all that, with some understated choirs on the intro, a trick they repeated for live set-opener If I Could Live Forever. Stayin' Alive and Firebird were the two tracks they chose not to perform live, probably a good move in the case of the former (another AOR attempt), and a probable necessity for the latter, possibly the most complex piece of music on the album. Both feature choirs, though, as always, with a degree of subtlety from which many other bands could've learnt.
Presumably as a stopgap, Jet released the Magnum Live EP in 1980, featuring four highlights of their set, including some searing 'Tron strings at the end of All Of My Life. Before they knew it, the rest of their set crept out as Marauder, with one of the worst sleeve designs ever, a fuzzy, blurred take on the rather crap mailed fist of the EP's cover. However, the music's wonderful, so we'll forgive the label. Although the subtlety of the studio productions are lost, the band's sheer live welly makes this album essential, although there's only a couple of bursts of 'Tron. The intro to Changes does the same as the studio version, but more so, and the end of Lords Of Chaos has some great strings pitch-bend. A recent CD reissue of the album apparently includes the four EP tracks, but I don't know if the whole album's been re-sequenced to reinstate the correct set order or not.
That was effectively that for studio 'Tron, but a rather poorly-recorded live album from '82, Invasion, leaked out a few years later, with the band supporting (I believe) labelmate Ozzy Osbourne in the States. It's worth it for live versions of a couple of Chase the Dragon tracks, but the only 'Tron is a brief burst at the beginning of, yet again, Changes. All Of My Life substitutes string synth for the 'Tron; understandably, given the instrument's famed eight-second note limit... Vintage Magnum is no more or less than a sensibly-compiled 'non-album tracks' LP, including all of the Live EP on side two, and the remixed single version of Changes, with far more prominent choirs.
Archive Magnum promised a great deal, but couldn't really deliver, proving that outtakes are often what they are for a good reason. Four 1974 tracks show a disturbing trend towards soft-rock territory, and the four Kingdom of Madness leftovers don't really gel properly, and wouldn't have enhanced the original release if included. The only Mellotron to be heard here is on Without Your Love, a rather insipid piano ballad with some orchestral-style strings and overpowering drums. Lights Burned Out, from '79, is an early version of a track not officially released until 1982's Chase the Dragon (****), and is probably the last studio Magnum recording featuring their 'Tron, with some strings laid over the piano again. Although subsequent keyboard player Mark Stanway not only used it live but also played it on sessions (notably with Stampede), it seems he never used it in the studio with Magnum. Shame.
In 2005, Castle/Sanctuary (by this time owners of Magnum's back catalogue) released expanded versions of all their early albums, although their criteria for track inclusion seems slightly odd; the contents of Invasion, Vintage... and Archive... being spread over the various discs depending on where you'll find the track's original version. If you think this is a rather strange approach, you're in good company. Or at least mine. Anyway, the only one of the above albums I've purchased so far in its expanded edition is Kingdom of Madness, so alongside the original album, you get nine of Archive...'s twelve tracks, plus, as a proper unexpected bonus, both sides of Sweets For My Sweet (reviewed above). I shall get hold of the other reissues as and when, but work on the basis that none of the later early (if you get my drift) albums are available any more.
So; all Magnum's early albums are excellent, including Chase the Dragon and The Eleventh Hour from the early '80s, and On a Storyteller's Night has its moments, but I really wouldn't touch any of their later AOR-slanted material with a bargepole, to be honest. Kingdom of Madness and Magnum II are probably their best for the 'Tron, but it was never central to their sound, so don't expect any full-on Mellotron Classics.
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Phantom Blues (1996, 48.01) ***½/0 |
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| Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes Cheatin' on You The Hustle is on Here in the Dark Fanning the Flames I Need Your Lovin' Ooh Poo Pah Doo Lonely Avenue |
Don't Tell Me What am I Living for? We're Gonna Make it Let the Four Winds Blow (You've Got to) Love Her With Feeling The Car of Your Dreams |
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Henry St. Clair "Taj Mahal" Fredericks is by no means a typical black American bluesman, being a full generation younger than most of the big names, and having formed his first band while at university, the attendance of which should, in the eyes of many, disqualify him from the genre altogether. Thankfully, those of a more open-minded persuasion have taken him to their hearts as a far more 'authentic' proposition than the rather anodyne Robert Cray, despite his frequent forays into other world musics, not to mention his more recent flirtations with the American mainstream.
1996's Phantom Blues is still chiefly blues, funnily enough, and is apparently effectively a covers collection, though I can't say I recognise any of the titles myself. Best track? Fanning The Flames is a searing, slow blues with some killer guitar work from the man, and overall, I feel the slow tracks are better, though there isn't one dog here. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any of Jon Brion's credited Chamberlin, either, yet again; what is it with this instrument? Do producers want to have it in the credits for some sort of retro cool, as long as they don't have to hear the damn' thing?
Anyway, a fine modern blues album, but don't expect to hear any tape-replay.
