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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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N.Æ NHU Nagisa Ni te Yael Naïm Nanook of the North |
Naomi Narnia Johnny Nash Chris Neal |
Nebelnest Nebulosa Nektar Willie Nelson & Leon Russell |
Nervous Nessie Netherworld Neuschwanstein |
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Aerolit (1974, 38.19) ***½/TTTCztery Ściany ŚwiataPielgrzym Kamyk Daj Mi Wstążkę Błękitną Smutny Ktoś i Biedny Nikt |
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Katharsis (1975, 33.35) ***½/TTT½Odkrycie Nowej Galaktyki (Sen Triumfalny)Mleczna Droga (Podróż ku Krańcom Nieskończoności) Planeta Ziemia (Siła Przyciągania, Brama w Obłokach, Lądowanie, Pejzaż Ziemi, Zachwyt, Zwiastowanie) Fatum (Niewzruszone Prawo Przemijania) Pieczęć (Reprodukcja Biologiczna, Walka o Byt, Próżność i Euforia Uprzywilejowanych) Z Listu do M. Próba Ucieczki (Nadzieja w Komunikacji Kosmicznej) Katharsis (Wieczna Tęsknota Duszy - Prowrót w Rejony Centralnej Galaktyki) Epitafium/Pamięci Piotra |
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Idée Fixe I (1976, 40.51) ***/TT½QSS I/Pytanie o Naszą SkromnośćLarwa/Wszechcywilizacjl Społeczny Blues Moja Piosnka W Poszukiwaniu Żródła Chłodna Ironia Przemijających Prejzaży Marmur Biały Egejski Błekit Stracency/Z Wypraw Nie Tylko Krzyżowych Laur Dojrzały |
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Idée Fixe II (1977, 36.30) ***/TIdącej Kupić Talerz Pani M.Białe Góry Legenda Scytysjska QSS II/Nawoływanie Credo Pochwała Pracy/Promethidion - Fragment Burza i Kolory Tęczy |
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N.Æ. ('Niemen Aerolit', I believe) were essentially a fairly short-lived vehicle for Polish keyboard whizz Czeslaw Niemen, before he went back to releasing albums under his own name. All of these LPs contain an accomplished jazz-rock/prog crossover, with little to display their east European origins, apart from the Polish vocals. Whether or not you'll like them is largely dependent on how you feel about fusion; I'm pretty ambivalent, allowing myself to be swayed by the reasonable amounts of Mellotron on them.
Aerolit's opening track, Cztery Ściany Świata falls halfway between fusion and prog, with plenty of 'Tron strings to carry it along, with more of the same on Kamyk and Daj Mi Wstążkę Błękitną although the latter slips into dodgy Rhodes-driven jazz in places. Smutny Ktoś I Biedny Nikt is probably actually the most adventurous piece, musically, with hints of avant-prog in its stop-start structure. From what little I can make out from the titles, Katharsis looks like it's some sort of SF concept album, but that's really only a wild guess. It's more 'out there' than its predecessor, with more synth experimentation, which can't be a bad thing. No Mellotron until Planeta Ziemia, with some flutes in the intro, before shifting into an almost solo strings part, with some squiggly synth over the top, while Fatum is practically a Mellotron solo. Gorgeous. After a lengthy 'Tronless period, closer Epitafium/Pamięci Piotra finishes things off nicely with some more of those strings.
The two volumes of Idée Fixe (later compiled as, I think, a triple-LP set with an album by a Niemen associate) carry on in a similar vein to their immediate predecessors, with a mixture of weird jazz-rock and tedious fusion. The drummer is obviously technically good, but mind-numbingly boring, ditto the guitarist, but every now and again the band pull a rabbit out of the hat and do something death-defying and completely unexpected. As you'd expect, the 'Tron tracks on both albums tend to be the best, with some excellent discordant strings on QSS I/Pytanie O Naszą Skromność and Stracency/Z Wypraw Nie Tylko Krzyżowych, plus flutes on Laur Dojrzały from Vol.I, then more flutes, with strings towards the end, on the lengthy part 2 of Credo, Burza I Kolory Tęczy on Vol.II.
I don't seem to have described the music very well, but if you're into the further reaches of prog/jazz, go for it, both for music and Mellotron. By the time you read this, a six-CD box of Niemen's work should be available, containing all the above releases, although I believe one of his albums irritatingly didn't make the cut. Incidentally, there's a couple of 'Tron tracks each on Niemen's solo albums Mourner's Rhapsody from '74 and Postscriptum from '79, plus Chris Haley informs me that there was a seven-track EP included with Idée Fixe II, which includes another three. Many thanks, by the way, to Andreas Kneip for providing both recordings and cover scans.
As a sad postscript, Niemen died of cancer in January 2004, a few weeks before his 65th birthday.
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NHU (1978, 39.21) ***½/½Na Terra do Verde ChanA Titritada Friky & Alexo Doente Hay un Tren A Trancas e Barrancas |
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From Galicia/Galiza, in the north-west of Spain, NHU were a psychedelically-inclined progressive outfit who released just the one eponymous album at the height of Spain's late-flowering prog scene. Its organ-heavy sound hasn't dated that well, to be honest, though the material's good; like so many progressive albums, there are no bad tracks per se, only varying levels of 'fairly good'. Unlike many of their contemporaries, there's absolutely no flamenco influence in NHU's sound whatsoever, their style being more early-'70s post-psych, but if you're a Spanish prog devotee, don't let that put you off. Highlights? Hard to say, although opener Na Terra Do Verde Chan catches the ear quite nicely.
The unknown organist plays Mellotron strings, briefly but forcefully, on Hay Un Tren, although that seems to be your lot on the 'Tron front. So; a good album without being at all outstanding. Put it on your 'prog wants' 'B' list.
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The Same as a Flower (2004, 50.39) ***/T½The Same as a FlowerThreads of Souls River A Light Wife Bramble Beyond the Grass After a Song Hope |
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Dream Sounds (2005, 41.41) ***/TThe True WorldAnxiety Me, on the Beach The True Sun |
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Nagisa Ni te ('On the Beach') have been fêted for some years now as psychedelia's Next Big Thing, meaning that when I finally heard them, I was a little underwhelmed. They're basically the duo of Shinji Shibayama and Masako Takeda, who provide the male-female vocal dynamic, plus whoever else they need to realise their vision. Their music is probably best described as a modern take on 'weird folk', or the acoustic end of late '60s psych, complete with rather iffy vocal and instrumental intonation, unfortunately. There's Mellotron credited on 1999's The True World and 2002's Feel, which I'll review when I get to hear them.
Their sixth full album, 2004's The Same as a Flower, has its moments, but a great deal of it's rather dreary, sad to say; maybe its rather downbeat approach can be seen as 'transcendent' if you're in the right frame of mind? It's mostly one-paced (slow), with little development of musical themes, concentrating more on its lyrical content, I suspect. Takeda plays Mellotron, while Shibayama plays Chamberlin (I've no idea where the band sourced one, assuming it's real), with lush strings and obvious brass (complete with key-click) on the lengthy Bramble and flute and strings at the end of After A Song. My guess is that the instruments were added in one take, played together by the duo, which would probably mean that the strings are Chamby and the brass and flute, 'Tron.
The following year's Dream Sounds is a slightly different proposition, featuring just four tracks over its forty-minute length, one of them 'side-long', in vinylspeak, although it's more a collection of disparate bits than a 'proper' piece, to be honest. Said track, The True Sun, deviates from their usual template a few minutes in, when the drums and lead guitar kick in, although the pace remains as funereal as ever. Shibayama on Mellotron this time round, with strings on Me, On The Beach and The True Sun, although less vibrantly than on The Same as a Flower.
So; I can't comment on their earlier work, but these two albums will probably appeal to those with a high tolerance for fractured, folk-influenced psychedelia and out-of-tune vocals. While both feature some nice Mellotron/Chamberlin work, neither is essential on that front. I don't believe there's any tape-replay on their latest outing, 2008's Yosuga, but I'll review their earlier 'Tron albums when I get hold of copies.
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Yael Naïm (2008, 51.48) **/T |
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| Paris Too Long New Soul Levater Shelcha Lonely Far Far Yashanti |
7 Baboker Lachlom Toxic Pachad Endless Song of Happiness |
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Although born in France, Yael Naïm moved to Israel as a child, later moving back to Paris, where her eponymous second album was written and recorded, sung variously in Hebrew, French and English. It should really be titled Yael Naïm & David Donatien, I suppose, as her percussionist and musical partner actually gets a co-credit on the sleeve. She had the very good fortune to have New Soul chosen by Apple to advertise one of its products, giving her massive exposure in the English-speaking market that she could never have managed without this boost. Yael Naïm has its less irritating moments, but they're few and far between, I'm afraid; no one track offends, but their cumulative effect is enough to make the listener begin to lose the will to live.
Naïm plays Mellotron on the album, with a nice little flute part on New Soul and what sounds like a variably-tuned recorder-type thing playing over 'Tron flutes on Naïm's rather odd cover of the immensely talented Britny Spears' Toxic. This is all pretty dull; to accuse it of blandness would be far from unfair, but many millions of people love this kind of safe singer-songwriter stuff, so what do I know?
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The Täby Tapes (2001/4, 37.37) ****/TTT |
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| Reaching the Shores of Arlanda Karin Boye's Grave Israel and Palestine - a Solution Nanook's Ark Phonecall St George and the Dragon Näsby Park Hey Fragile |
Where Will You Go? Nanook and the Beast The Explorer Forget it Jenny, Love is Just a Privilege for the Rich |
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Änglagård's Mattias Olsson's latest project, Nanook of the North, specialise in (you guessed it) slightly melancholy pop with a retro sort of sound and twin male/female vocals (see: Reminder, Geller et al.). The band are named after the 1922 film, an early filmic attempt at understanding other cultures rather than just wiping them out, and have been favourably compared to Björk in various online reviews. Unless I'm entirely mistaken, The Täby Tapes crept out as long ago as 2001 as a cassette-only release, although the CD took another three years to appear. The above scan gives little idea of the sumptuousness of the packaging; pictures of some of the grottier areas of Stockholm (?) in midwinter are overlaid with layers of translucent 'tracing paper' containing lyrics etc., knocking your standard CD booklet into a cocked hat (so what exactly is a 'cocked hat' anyway, and why would you wish to knock anything into it?). The album has some highly eccentric lyrics in places; what's all that stuff in Reaching The Shores Of Arlanda about "Mattias, play your omnichord", anyway? The odd stuff just adds to the album's appeal for me; who wants 'normal'? Well, most people, I suppose, but I can still dream, can't I?
Anyway, the mysterious "Nanook" (not Mattias, for what it's worth) plays 'Tron throughout, with the most overt parts being the flutes on Nanook's Ark, Phonecall and St George And The Dragon, the strings on Where Will You Go? and a brief choir part on Nanook And The Beast. Mattias assures me that there are also various vibes and 'Tron piano parts, not to mention the oboe in Hey Fragile. Apparently, the 'distant orchestra' on Nanook's Ark comprises multiple 'Tron overdubs, including flutes, strings, cello, oboe, vibes, church organ and choir, amongst others. Anyway, the album itself is probably not for prog fundamentalists (you know who you are), but if you've heard and liked any of the man's other projects, you'll probably like this.
See: Änglagård | AK-Momo | Geller | Molesome | Pineforest Crunch | Reminder
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Aquarium (2006, 47.57) **½/TT |
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| Personal Big Bang Gone Another Bite of the Apple Perfect Day in Hell Relax She Said Anything Can Change Nothing |
Needle on the Record Just a Habit How Many Loves Sorry Mister Please All I Need I am Here |
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Naomi isn't a person, but the German electro-pop duo of Bernd Lechler and Nico Tobias, whose third album, 2006's Aquarium, combines mainstream pop, hip-hop and R'n'B, with an unexpected hint of psych thrown in. Apparently, their first two albums relied more on instrumental work, but this time round it's songs all the way, for better or worse. To be honest, I've heard a lot worse in this vein, which is why it doesn't get a lower star rating, although it's hardly what I'd call essential listening.
I've no idea who plays the Mellotron - either member of the band or an outside musician? Anyway, we get faint strings and flutes on Gone, with much more upfront flutes and choirs on Another Bite Of The Apple, volume-pedalled strings and flutes on Relax She Said and finally, more of those flutes on All I Need. Amazingly, it actually sounds fairly real, although I'm not sure what that means any more, as the clones get better every year. You don't really need to hear this, but it does feature a surprisingly amount of the ol' 'Tron.
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Aslan is Not a Tame Lion (1974, 36.32) ***/TTTYou'd Better Believe itMuddy Ground The Juggler Agapé To a Fountain Miracle of Birth In the Forest Boogie for Narnia Living Water |
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Narnia were a one-shot female-fronted UK outfit, operating in the lightweight, folky end of the progressive spectrum, with a Christian bent to a few tracks, notably Miracle Of Birth and In The Forest; hardly surprising, given their whole C.S. Lewis thing, I suppose. I don't personally find the music especially enthralling, but if you like the quieter, simpler type of '70s stuff, you may be into it.
Keyboard man Peter Banks (no relation to the ex-Yes/Flash guitarist) plays Mellotron on four tracks, with solid strings throughout their cover of Tom Paxton's You'd Better Believe It and Muddy Ground, with flutes and strings on Agapé and To A Fountain, making this quite a 'Tron album, on the quiet. As I said, don't expect anything wildly exciting, but it's all competent enough, and the Mellotron stuff's worth hearing.
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I Can See Clearly Now (1972, 34.10) ***/TTT |
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| Stir it Up That's the Way We Get By Guava Jelly (It Was) So Nice While it Lasted Ooh Baby You've Been Good to Me You Poured Sugar on Me I Can See Clearly Now Comma Comma |
We're All Alike How Good it is The Fish and the Alley of Destruction There Are More Questions Than Answers |
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My Merry-Go-Round (1973, 37.18) **½/½ |
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| My Merry-Go-Round Nice Time You Better Stop (Messing Around) Gonna Open Up My Heart Again Ooh, What a Feeling Love is Not a Game Loving You Yellow House |
(Oh Jesus) We're Trying to Get Back to You Salt Annie Ginger Tree |
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American Johnny Nash was the acceptable face of reggae in the early '70s, which isn't to dismiss his place in its history; indeed, he helped The Wailers out in the late '60s after visiting Jamaica and recorded enough Bob Marley songs to help him on his way. Of course, Nash was, at heart, a soul singer, and a bloody good one, but he's known to this day for his incursion into the world of reggae in the '70s.
I Can See Clearly Now is best known for its catchy title track, but most of the album's material is pretty much on a par, including four Marley compositions. John "Rabbit" Bundrick plays keys on the album, including Hammond, MiniMoog and, of course, Mellotron, with flutes and strings (under real recorder) on Marley's Stir It Up and orchestral-ish strings on every other highlighted track, sounding very much as if it was used as a string section substitute, rather than as an instrument in its own right.
Nash's follow-up, the following year's My Merry-Go-Round, waters the reggae down to the point where it's pretty much a soul album played on the offbeat. Little of the material matches the best of its predecessor, opting for slushy ballads instead of statements of (admittedly fairly bland) intent like Stir It Up or The Fish And The Alley Of Destruction. No specific credits again, but a 'thanks' to Rabbit makes me heavily suspect he plays keys this time round, too. Most of the strings are real this time (bigger budget?), but it's definitely 'Tron on Loving You.
Johnny Nash seems lost in the early '70s, despite his timeless voice and major role in the propagation of reggae, probably as his material sounds determinedly lightweight these days, in comparison to the biggest Jamaican names. Anyway, loads of Mellotron on I Can See Clearly Now, very little on My Merry-Go-Round, which may or may not affect your decision re. purchase.
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Winds of Isis (1974, 41.39) ***½/TTTTPreludeInto the Valley of the Ancients - a Glimpse of Isis Full Moon Lightning - the Field Test Ritual Eternal - Initiation of the Searcher The Legend From the Castle the Winds Arose... Through the Corridors of Time, Including the March of the Undead - Temptation to Turn Back Carnival of the People - a Brief Respite Nightmare - Isis Unveiled Dance of the Astral Shadows - Beyond the Point of No Return Flight From the Unknown Ashes to Ashes |
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These days Chris Neal seems to be mainly a composer of film scores, but three decades ago, he produced one of Australia's first symphonic progressive albums. Winds of Isis is instrumental, with more than a hint of psych-throwback to it, and an unusual melodic approach, quite possibly influenced by his interest in film music and probably Hollywood musicals, too. He's more of a keyboard player than anything else, although he plays most of the instruments on the album, proving himself a capable guitarist and drummer. He lists all equipment on the back cover, which reads like a wish-list of mid-'70s keys and effects, using various Mu-Tron devices from the States, through which he sticks just about everything in sight.
Neal's Mellotron work is well over the top, with every track heavy with very raw-sounding 'Tron; don't expect a two million buck production here... He lists choir/cellos/strings, and uses all but the cellos extensively, usually in great chordal slabs stomping all over whatever else is going on at the time; almost the first sound you hear on the album is choir chords, and he only ever lets up for a couple of minutes or so before slapping some more on. I've had to guess which parts of side two's The Legend contain 'Tron, as there's no timings for parts, so apologies if they're wrong.
All in all, a good, if unusual prog release, with very healthy doses of Mellotron, so if you don't object to something a little different, I can heartily recommend a purchase. I've no idea if Neal produced anything else in the progressive field; there seem to be several Chris Neals who've made their mark somewhere down the line, including an Abbey Road engineer, a modern country artist and a Mike and the Mechanics collaborator (collaborators usually get shot, don't they?), so Web research is extremely difficult. Anyway; worth the effort. Buy.
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Nova Express (2002, 46.53) ****/TTTTBlackmailStimpy Bar Redrum Cinema 1920 Nova Express |
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Zepto (2006, 46.14) ***½/TT½Pillars of BirthMajnuns The Old Ones The Thing in the Walls Fabric of Reality De Thriumpho Naturae Do What Thou Wilt Station 9 |
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Nebelnest (or, as they seem to prefer, NeBeLNeST) released their first, self-titled album in '99, using Mellotron samples. An excellent record, sitting firmly in the Crimson/Anekdoten camp, it's a mixture of improvs and arranged pieces, well worth hearing. Three years on, they followed up with Nova Express, on Cuneiform (amusingly spelt 'CuNeiFoRM' on the spine), where the band have noticeably tightened up their style, although the overall sound remains the same. This is wild, frequently improv'd music which whips up an impressive sonic maelstrom, with all four musicians pushing themselves to the limit; I hear distinct comparisons with Britain's Guapo whose new album is, coincidentally, also out on Cuneiform.
Keyboard man Olivier Tejedor wrote to me to confirm their Mellotron use on the album, although they used samples of some sounds, too. The choirs, cellos and flutes are played via a Kurzweil, but the strings, string section and vibes (strange combination!) are 'real', with particularly powerful strings on the excellent Stimpy Bar. For the record, there are more strings on Redrum, string section and strings on the title track and what must be vibes on Cinema 1920, although they're played at the sort of speed you wouldn't normally associate with the instrument. The flute samples turn up on Nova Express, sounding remarkably realistic, I have to say, although the few seconds of 'cellos' right at the end of the album are a bit manky.
All in all, an excellent album, well worth shelling out your hard-earned for, with plenty of real 'Tron action. Mellotron highlight? Probably the choppy pitchbend work on Nova Express, where Tejedor goes completely off the rails, to the point of possibly being guilty of 'Tron torture. There's a pic of him playing their M400 on their site, although it's written in Flash, and is a complete bitch to navigate. The 'Tron is also incredibly hard to spot, being painted black and shot against a black background; watch for the shot of Tejedor sitting behind an undistinguished black box, facing the camera and wearing yellow slippers (!).
Three years on, and Zepto is, essentially, more of the same, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good because it's a good sound, and bad because it seems the band haven't progressed very much in seven or eight years. I'm sure they'd argue that they have, but to the casual observer, Nebelnest and Zepto really aren't that different, with all three of their albums being semi-improvised instrumental jazzy Crimsonesque stuff with more than a dash of RIO. Fabric Of Reality is the one track where they step outside the box, being a quiet, if unsettling piece, dominated by Tejedor's deliberately screechy violin glissandos, and no Mellotron. Assuming Tejedor's using the same setup as on Nova Express, there are 'Tron strings on most tracks, with the odd flute sample thrown in and what I take to be his string section tapes on Majnuns, although I couldn't hear the vibes anywhere.
So; Nebelnest may possibly be beginning to hit the law of diminishing returns after three albums, although all three are perfectly good. Their debut may just be the best of the lot, but if you want real 'Tron, you'll want both Nova Express and Zepto.
See: Sampledelica! | Bob Drake
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Nebulosa (1977, 43.21) ***½/TT |
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| Dagen Gryr Strezz-Rock Mörka Tankar Digital Det Vackra Folket Undergång Ensam Nödrop |
Mittpelarna Tryckvåg Ödestrand Verklighetsflykt Apokalyps |
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Nebulosa were your typical prog one-off from the '70s, Swedish division this time, rather than the usual Italian. Nebulosa is a reasonable enough album, although the band seemed to have trouble deciding what exactly they wanted to play, making for a slightly disjointed end product. Even in Sweden, 1977 wasn't exactly the height of the progressive movement, either, so it's not especially surprising the band didn't get to record again. Much of the album's material is actually very good, with the near-seven minute Undergång being a highlight, although the white-boy funk of Nödrop and Mittpelarna really don't work in the context of the rest of the album.
Thomas Kascó's Mellotron doesn't rear its head until the choirs on track four, Digital, after which he can't seem to stop using it for the next few tracks, with particularly heavy use on Undergång, with an almost constant strings backdrop, plus flutes and choirs. Faint flutes on Verklighetsflykt are the only other use on the album, but with three 'Tron-heavy tracks, this is borderline 'worth it for the 'Tron' territory. A reasonably good album, which appears to be available in a limited edition with a 'hand-painted sleeve', which appears to be a splash of paint in various colours over the design you can see above, which isn't quite the same thing.
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Journey to the Centre of the Eye (1971, 42.51) ****/TTT |
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| Prelude Astronaut's Nightmare Countenance The Nine Lifeless Daughters of the Sun Warp Oversight The Dream Nebula The Dream Nebula Part II It's All in the Mind |
Burn Out My Eyes Void of Vision Pupil of the Eye Look Inside Yourself Death of the Mind |
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A Tab in the Ocean (1972, 36.19) ****½/T½A Tab in the OceanDesolation Valley Waves Cryin' in the Dark King of Twilight |
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Down to Earth (1974, 36.57) **½/T½Astral ManNelly the Elephant Early Morning Clown That's Life Fidgety Queen Oh Willy Little Boy Show Me the Way Finale |
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Nektar are often mistakenly lumped in with the German progressive scene, or, more bizarrely, 'Krautrock'. A British band, they, like many of their contemporaries, found an audience in Germany; unlike their contemporaries, they effectively emigrated, signing to the prestigious Bacillus label and recording there too. Journey to the Centre of the Eye is proto-spacerock, with the layers of delay effects and tripped-out lyrics that the emerging genre demanded. It tells the story of an astronaut intercepted by aliens and shown a better way to live. Or something. An obvious drug metaphor, the plot borrows heavily from Clarke/Kubrick's recently-released '2001: A Space Odyssey', although the lyrics can probably be dismissed, the music being the more important half of the equation. There's several tracks of 'Tron, played by both keyboard man Allan "Taff" Freeman and bassist Derek "Mo" Moore, to good effect. All the tracks run into each other, and without a lyric sheet I've had to guess at which tracks contain 'Tron; apologies for any mistakes.
Nektar's next album, A Tab in the Ocean, blatantly continued the drug theme of its predecessor; the band have admitted that they found many of their ideas while tripping, and this album's title was inspired by the idea of lacing the world's oceans with acid. Ahem. It's a great album in that spacerock/prog crossover region, especially the side-long title track, although the only 'Tron to be heard is on final track King Of Twilight, a more straightforward rocker (relatively). Amusingly, this song was covered on a b-side by Iron Maiden a decade later, showing their prog roots for all the world to see. I'd stick with the original, if I were you...
Their third release was the rather self-indulgent double Sounds Like This, much of which was jammed live in the studio, and sounds like it. They went back to a more heavily-arranged style for the excellent Remember the Future (beware the crap remixed CD!), following that with the rather inessential Live at the Roundhouse. For their sixth album, they dug out the Mellotron again; sadly, Down to Earth is one of the worst albums of their career, carrying none of the band's sonic trademarks, and being based around a rather naff 'circus' concept for no particularly good reason. Hawkwind fans often obtain copies for Robert Calvert's cameo as the ringmaster, but I have to say the album as a whole is a great disappointment, and the 'Tron use is sparse and uninteresting to boot.
So; A Tab in the Ocean's a definite musically, though not for the 'Tron, Journey to the Centre of the Eye's a definite for the 'Tron, though not so much for the music, and Down to Earth isn't a definite for anything. Nektar's best non-'Tron work are the aforementioned Remember the Future and the superb Recycled (****½), presumably recorded as an apology for Down to Earth.
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One for the Road (1979, 57.36) ***/TTT½ |
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| Detour I Saw the Light Heartbreak Hotel Let the Rest of the World Go By Trouble in Mind Don't Fence Me in Wild Side of Life Ridin' Down the Canyon |
Sioux City Sue You Are My Sunshine Danny Boy Always Summertime Because of You Am I Blue Tenderly |
Far Away Places That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) Stormy Weather One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) |
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Outlaw country, eh? So when is the most conservative musical force on earth not the most conservative musical force on earth? When it's not sanctioned by the Nashville Mafia, and/or it's by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings or Johnny Cash, who (non-)coincidentally all recorded together in the '80s as The Highwaymen. "So, this is outlaw country, yeah?" "Yup". "But it sounds just like ordinary country!" "Yup". "The most conservative musical force on earth!" "Yup". Actually, Willie Nelson's 1979 collaboration with Leon Russell (himself no stranger to the world of C&W), One for the Road, is less straight country than a double album of standards, some of which are performed in a country style, but with enough stylistic variation to ban it outright from the Grand Ole Opry, which, admittedly, doesn't take much. Heartbreak Hotel is taken at a fair country-rock lick, although I'm afraid I can't hear it without thinking of Spïnal Tap, while Wild Side Of Life sounds little like either the '20s original or Status Quo's ripping version from a couple of years earlier. You Are My Sunshine and Danny Boy are immediately recognisable, and Summertime hints at other interpreters' jazzier takes, leaving us with an album that's less Nashville and more, um, Vegas?
Uncredited as always, it seems likely Russell used his Chamberlin on the album, probably to save money hiring an orchestra; even when it stands alone in the pleasingly sparse mix, it still tries to hide in the corner, having little of its British cousin's brashness. Strings on all highlighted tracks, plus what sounds like vibes on Danny Boy and solo sax on Summertime (listen to the fast run), with a mélange of sounds on several tracks, doing a passable job of aping an orchestra; this is why the Musicians' Union wanted them banned... Top Chamby track? Probably Tenderly, where for a few brief moments, it actually sounds like tape-replay rather than some ersatz pseudo-orchestral emulator. Of course, Willie & Leon clearly didn't want the Chamby to sound like a keyboard, so its refusal to 'make that Mellotron sound' could be seen as a triumph, not a failing.
So; a vaguely countryish album by a country legend, aided and abetted by someone who isn't a country legend, but possibly should be. This is definitely more Willie's album than Leon's, although the latter gets a couple of lead vocals, and I'm sure the arrangements are largely his, not to mention all the keyboard work. Believe me, this isn't an album for the rock fan in your life, but nor is it yer typical country workout, either - not a pedal steel in sight. It would get a higher 'T' rating, but the Chamby sounds so much like real strings in places (although it isn't) that it just doesn't have 'that tape-replay sound'. Like Mr. Russell cares. Both participants are still going strong at the time of writing, and although they never collaborated again, One for the Road went gold at the time, so maybe they didn't want to jinx it by attempting a repeat performance?
See: Leon Russell
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About Everything (2000, 58.56) ***/T |
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| Dying Each Day Best Days Granny Ate the Buttons Waters May Run (Troublesome & Deep) Bulldog Sophie Red Shark Reach Out for Love |
7 in the Morning 48 Hours Rougher Ground Where is the Summer |
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Nervous released one album, Son of the Great Outdoors, in 1996 to little acclaim, then spent many months in '98 working on the follow-up for Grapevine, About Everything (or Nervous About Everything, I suppose). By this time, they had ex-Cardiac Bill "William D." Drake on board, who rang me up and asked if they could use my Mellotron. Well, you don't tend to say 'no' to anyone involved with Cardiacs (well you don't, do you?), so I duly delivered it to the basement studio they'd had rented for them, where it stayed for several months, alongside a bevy of other analogue gear, including a Wurlitzer, a late-period Hammond and Leo Sayer's old Rhodes Suitcase 88. My poor 'Tron was ailing at the time (this was just before it broke down completely during the recording of the Spratleys Japs album), and I believe they sampled it at some point, so I've no idea how many of the 'Tron tracks here are 'real', and how many are samples, so I'll treat them all as real.
What I don't actually know is whether or not this album ever obtained a proper release; I've had a 4-track promo for a while, then found this full-length version for a quid recently, sans inlay, so the image is the promo's sleeve with the 'promo' bit removed. Maybe there never actually was a cover? As a result, the 'release date' info is no more than an educated guess, either. I'm afraid to say the album itself is not fantastically interesting (sorry chaps), being country-flavoured pop, however unlikely that sounds coming from a London-based outfit. The songs aren't bad, but it looks like we'll never know how they would've fared in the marketplace. The one track that really leapt out at me was Bulldog, which turned out to be The Beatles' 'Hey Bulldog' anyway.
Bill played my 'Tron on a good few tracks during the sessions, but I suspect most of them ended up on the cutting-room floor (I believe there were 30+ on the go at one point). The very first sound you hear on the album is an introductory flute part, kept up right through Dying Each Day, and it's possible there's more 'Tron buried in the mix; the choirs on Waters May Run (Troublesome & Deep) only really become apparent at the end of the song. Various string parts throughout the album sound like samples, but who knows? Anyway, your chances of actually running into a copy of this are fairly slight, I'd have thought. If you do, don't pay too much, but it's at the very least an interesting curio.
See: Cardiacs
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Head in the Sand (1979, 39.45) **½/½Too Much MoneyLooking in Your Eyes A Song of War Lightning Stars Spanish Singer Unreal Body It's a New Day Dawning Head in the Sand |
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Nessie's first album, The Tree (**½) is a distinctly average set, being rather cheesy nearly-prog, languishing in an unfortunate slough of despond somewhere between symphonic prog and mainstream pop/rock. Head in the Sand starts off as if it's going to be a better proposition, despite the appalling vocals (anonymous as all four members are credited; very sensible too), but by track four it's descended into tedium, Lightning Stars being dull pop-boogie. It gets worse, but you probably don't need the gory details.
Henri Leruth is credited with 'Tron, although all the strings are produced by an over-loud string machine. There's a definite (male voice?) choir chord pedalled in near the beginning of opener Too Much Money, and some very background choirs on Looking In Your Eyes, but that really seems to be it. Nessie are one of those obscure bands that collectors are on the lookout for, but I can tell you now; this is not a long-lost prog gem, it's tediously mainstream, with the merest glimmer of interest on about two tracks. Avoid.
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In the Following Half-Light (1981, 44.04/54.31) ****/TTT½ (TTTT)Too Hard to ForgetSon of Sam Straight Into Infinity Maybe if They Burn Me Isle of Man A Matter of Time Sargasso I-II-III [reissue CD adds: Cumulo Nimbus] |
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Despite forming in 1975, it took Netherworld until 1981 to release their only album, In the Following Half-Light; the usual story of not getting the breaks when prog was popular, then soldiering on for years before finally releasing a self-funded LP, now highly collectable. Their sound is rather like a more American Genesis, with a few 'later' influences creeping in here and there, possibly comparable to an updated Lift. No one track is especially outstanding, but the overall effect is excellent, although Netherworld were never really going to be frontrunners.
Randy Wilson played Mellotron on most tracks, mostly strings, with male voice choir on Sargasso. Good use throughout, particularly on Isle Of Man and A Matter Of Time, with those strings right at the front of the mix. I've seen a quote from the band where they remark on what they called their 'God Sound', which was a mixture of 'Tron strings and choirs, though I don't actually hear any audible evidence of it here. Given their one M400, they couldn't have produced it live, either; maybe it was more concept than reality. Incidentally, the only reason the album doesn't get a higher 'T' rating is the rather background 'Tron use on the album's earlier tracks.
Anyway, before the album's reissue by those wonderful Musea people, Greg Walker's Syn-Phonic label in the States released a double-vinyl compilation in 1992, Past-Present-Future (right), which gathered together tracks from eight bands (two per side - hoorah!), some of which remain otherwise unreleased over a decade later. Netherworld's contribution was the slightly disjointed Cumulo Nimbus, which seems to consist of three different tracks with gaps in between, tied together by a 'thunder' sample (in pre-sampler days, of course). It takes a while for the 'Tron to kick in, but when it does, it's with full-on choirs, far more in-yer-face than anywhere on ...Half-Light. This had been added to the Musea CD, bringing the disc up to nearly an hour.
On their website, the various ex-members sound hopeful that more unreleased material will be unearthed at some future stage. Let's hope so; Netherworld were a good band, if not timelessly classic, and more of this stuff would be most welcome. In the Following Half-Light is definitely worth the purchase, and Past-Present-Future's worth picking up if you can find a copy (I don't even own one myself). Worth the effort.
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Battlement (1978, 39.05) ***½/TT½Loafer JackIce With Dwale Intruders and the Punishment Beyond the Bugle Battlement Zärtlicher Abschied |
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If I had a pound for the number of times I've seen Neuschwanstein described as 'exactly like Genesis; a complete clone', etc. etc... Well, excuse my ears, but I really can't hear it; Battlement's a pleasant enough album, but even after several plays the first band I think of when I put it on is Marillion. OK, so it predates them by several years, but the essentially fairly simple song structures, washes of string synth and tortured vocals remind me of none other than Aylesbury's finest (?). Good news if you like Marillion; however... To be absolutely fair, from other reviews I've read, the CD was completely remixed, and apparently sounds more like Genesis as a result. By the looks of it, they messed about with the cover art too; the original LP is far less 'yellow' than the scan I downloaded from the 'Net.
I'm probably being a little harsh here, but I wouldn't want anyone to rush out to buy it on my recommendation expecting a symphonic classic; I seem to be in a minority on this one, but it sounds more like proto-neo-prog (new category, anyone?) than yer full-on '70s thing to me. None of the tracks stand out especially, although there's some nice Mellotron here and there from keyboard player Thomas Neuroth; again, nothing to write home about, but the choirs in the oddly-titled Intruders And The Punishment are particularly effective, and there's some nice string swells in places.
Pleasant enough, but I really wouldn't put it at the top of your 'wants' list.
