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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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Okinawa (1974, 40.47/73.55) ***½/TT (TT½) |
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| Laughing Duva Hyphenate Iceless Horse Remorse Parts & Ponds Ain't Life Dumb? A Frog for You Hogshead Manic Detective Brown Algae is Attractive |
Plymouth Ascendants The Salient Sickle Sucker Hairy Bag Fast Bananas The Unfortunate Frankfurter Vendor Last Dance Fill the Sheet The Still Nite (sic) Dance of the Ivy Dog Gotta Write a Poem |
The Insipid City of York Board Organ (edit) The Continuing Story of Cragwheel the Corpse, part 2 Lemon Flowers Corrective Shoes Pale Hippo Sorry Chess is Boring The Plague |
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Vitamin OHO (1991, recorded 1975, 39.35) ****/TT½Seldom BoughtHyphenate Ice-less Lemon Flowers No Fewer Days Fwombat Lois Jane Hogshead Nocturnal Recurrence Tinker's Damn |
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Ecce OHO! (1998, recorded 1974-5, 42.44) ***½/TT |
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| On Motion of Motion The Plague Per Ipsum Here Come(s) the Oysters Maiden Voyage Duva [live] |
Rock Song (a.k.a. We Never Wanted This) Cragwheel Hogshead [live] |
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Recollections (1974-1976) (2002, recorded 1974-76, 73.07) ****/TTT½ |
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| Tinker's Damn Parade/Charade The Salient Sickle Sucker The Three Lez Lee Hyphenate Ice-less No Fewer Days Nocturnal Recurrence |
The Plague Dance of The Ivy Dog Fwombat Albumblatt Ms Mouse Snow Lady pt II Naming OHO The Hand Over Isaac's Head |
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According to their website, OHO (from the initial three members' initials: O'Connor/Heck/O'Sullivan) coalesced around 1973, releasing the rare-as-rocking-horse-shit Okinawa independently a year later, losing a fair bit of money in the process. It's more than a little off-the-wall, with a vein of dark humour running through most of the lyrics (sample: "They buried her mother today"); it's probably a rather overworked comparison, but I detect some distinctly Zappa-esque nuttiness, with fewer knob gags. OK, none. I'd swear blind that Akron's finest, Devo, heard the middle section of The Continuing Story Of Cragwheel The Corpse somewhere down the line, and there's any number of other bits here that remind one of later acts, most of whom can't possibly have heard OHO. Mark O'Connor plays Mellotron, with The Salient Sickle Sucker managing some rather un-'Tronlike strings, although the choirs give the game away. The other highlighted tracks feature the string sound again (string section?), with a more upfront part in Gotta Write A Poem, though it's certainly not one of the album's chief components. A 1995 reissue of the album, on five 10" EPs (!), adds another 15 tracks, a few of which turn up on Vitamin OHO (italicised in tracklisting above). Minor extra 'Tron, with faint choir and strings on Hyphenate Iceless, choir on Lemon Flowers and strings on Sorry.
Many years and many lineup changes down the line, not to mention an eponymous 1989 album, Vitamin OHO was released on Germany's Little Wing of Refugees label, and seems to be the first of several attempts to collate the band's somewhat disparate history. Compared to Okinawa, it contains fairly straightforward material, although that has to be taken in the context of OHO, so we're not exactly talking top 30 stuff here. Actually, several of these tracks are exemplars of interesting song-based progressive (notably the fabulous Tinker's Damn), making it all the odder that the band are so little known in progressive circles. It's actually quite difficult to work out what's going on here, Mellotronically speaking; the band had clearly bought some form of string synth which wasn't a Solina, which I believe can be heard on Hyphenate Ice-less, but are those Mellotron choirs on Lemon Flowers? And strings on No Fewer Days and Fwombat? Definitely brass on Lois Jane, and plenty of strings on Tinker's Damn, a song written after seeing Genesis in 1974 as mentioned on the band's site - clock the opening lyric: "Tales and nursery crymes [sic], fill my head this hour...". Cheeky buggers. Incidentally, I can't hear Nocturnal Recurrence on my copy, although assuming it's the same version as on Recollections below, it seems to have some slight Mellotronic input.
Some years on again, 1998's Ecce OHO collects more odds'n'sods together, including several live tracks that don't add that much to the band's legend, to be honest. Not bad, just not that amazing, either. A couple of the studio tracks are especially worth hearing, but overall, this is a rather lesser collection than its predecessor. On the 'Tron front, I think that's strings on The Plague, and it definitely is on Per Ipsum and Here Come(s) The Oysters, and probably on Maiden Voyage, with an unexpected few seconds of choir on the live version of Hogshead, meaning they used it on stage, if only occasionally.
2002's Recollections (1974-1976) is something of a grab-bag of previously released and unavailable material, thrown together in a random fashion. Several track titles will be familiar to you from the above albums (although at least one, Hyphenate Ice-less, is a different version), while Lez Lee was not only the b-side of 1975 single Seldom Bought (on Vitamin OHO above), but would also have been on an unreleased album from 1976, Dream of the Ridiculous Band (although I've no idea if it's the same version), along with Parade/Charade, Albumblatt, Ms Mouse, Snow Lady Pt II and The Hand Over Isaac's Head, which only leaves a few unreleased album selections still unavailable. The Three is a medley of Seldom Bought, Lois Jane and Hogshead, as performed live, and Naming OHO is a studio mess-about. Apart from the previously-available tracks, there's a little Mellotron on Parade/Charade, with some upfront strings on Lez Lee, strings on Ms Mouse and choir on The Hand Over Isaac's Head. Actually, you couldn't get much more of a full-on OHO 'Tron album if you tried, could you? So; heavily recommended for both music and Mellotron.
Well; took me a little while, but I got through 'em! Okinawa's good, but hard work, Vitamin OHO and ...Ridiculous Band are more straightforward (sort of), Ecce OHO is definitely odds'n'sods, and Recollections is possibly your best starting point. More Mellotron than expected across the board, although an awful lot of it doesn't actually sound that Mellotronic. Maybe it isn't? I'm confused.
As a footnote, OHO's Jay Grabowski very kindly sent me their entire works on CD, including the unreleased Crucifixion Lust: 4-Track Demos and Dream of the Ridiculous Band, reviewed here.
See: Unreleased | Dark Side | Food for Worms
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(What's the Story) Morning Glory (1995, 50.18) **½/T½ | |
| Hello Roll With it Wonderwall Don't Look Back in Anger Hey Now! Swamp Song Excerpt Some Might Say Cast No Shadow |
She's Electric Morning Glory Swamp Song Excerpt Champagne Supernova |
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Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000, 47.51) **/TT½ |
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| Fuckin' in the Bushes Go Let it Out Who Feels Love? Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth is Little James Gas Panic! Where Did it All Go Wrong? Sunday Morning Call |
I Can See a Liar Roll it Over |
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Heathen Chemistry (2002, 47.53) **½/TT | |
| The Hindu Times Force of Nature Hung in a bad Place Stop Crying Your Heart Out Songbird Little By Little A Quick Peep (Probably) All in the Mind |
She is Love Born on a Different Cloud Better Man [Untitled] |
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Don't Believe the Truth (2005, 47.19) ***/T½ |
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| Turn Up the Sun Mucky Fingers Lyla Love Like a Bomb The Importance of Being Idle The Meaning of Soul Guess God Thinks I'm Abel Part of the Queue |
Keep the Dream Alive A Bell Will Ring Let There Be Love |
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Dig Out Your Soul (2008, 45.48/91.02) ***/TT (TTT½) |
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| Bag it Up The Turning Waiting for the Rapture The Shock of the Lightning I'm Outta Time (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady Falling Down To Be Where There's Life |
Ain't Got Nothin' The Nature of Reality Soldier on [Bonus disc adds: Lord Don't Slow Me Down The Turning (Jagz Kooner Remix) Boy With the Blues Falling Down (Chemical Brothers remix) |
The Shock of the Lightning (Jagz Kooner remix) I Believe in All To Be Where There's Life (Richard Fearless production) The Turning (alt. version #4) Waiting for the Rapture (alt. version #2) The Shock of the Lightning (Primal Scream remix)] |
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Now, I'm afraid to say that I'm not exactly the best person to review Oasis albums; I dislike the band quite intensely on various grounds, not least Noel Gallagher's deeply plagiaristic writing style and their insistence on invariably slumping to the lowest common denominator. They may very well be a 'great singalong band', but where's the integrity? Where's the passion? This is 'writing to a formula' in action; nick a bit of Beatles/Kinks/anyone else from the late '60s/early '70s, stick an insanely catchy hook onto it (to be fair, the difficult bit, even when it's someone else's), sell millions.
Oasis debuted in '94 with Definitely, Maybe, selling zillions of albums and singles, before following it with (What's the Story) Morning Glory, which 'hardcore' fans maintain isn't of the same standard. it's all much of a muchness to me, I'm afraid, although by this time Noel had discovered the Mellotron, doubtless from the Beatles, Kinks... (yawn). Possibly their best-known use is the cellos on major hit Wonderwall; that's the one with the whiny vocal on the chorus - oh, that doesn't help much, does it? Far more memorable than it deserves to be, for a demo of 'Tron cello, Wonderwall actually does the job, although it irritates somewhat. If you listen closely, you can hear the C# 'Tron tape 'choke' as it reaches its eight-second limit at the end of the song, proving the cellos aren't real. The if anything even more irritating Don't Look Back In Anger (catchier chorus) has similar 'Tron work, although I think Hey Now!'s strings are samples; listen to the long, long sustained note at the end. The jury's still out on Cast No Shadow, too, with the string part not having quite enough of that 'Mellotron sound'. Incidentally, the 'Tron is played by both Noel and other guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, later to depart; I can only assume they play on one track each, but without individual track credits it's impossible to say.
There's supposedly some 'Tron on stupidly overlong album number three, Be Here Now (**), but I'll be fucked if I can hear it. While I don't like their first two efforts, I can see why people do, but the same doesn't apply to this one; hardly any memorable tracks, and everything's at least two minutes too long (who said 'or maybe six'?). Avoid. The idiotically misquoted Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (what, just one of them?) is marginally better, and at least features a good bit of the old 'Tron, though whether Noel's converted Mark II FX machine or his new Mark VI (or both) is unknown.
Opening instrumental Fuckin' In The Bushes at least has a bit of life to it, and the lack of Liam improves it no end, as does a touch of 'Tron female choir, while first single from the album, Go Let It Out has a slightly 'Strawberry Fields'-style flute part (big surprise there, then). Little James is spectacularly awful, being Liam's first writing contribution to the band, although I suppose it's quite sweet that it's about his baby son. It's still shit, though, and even the female choir part can't resurrect a dog like this. Gas Panic! has a vocal melody recycled from Don't Look Back In Anger, proving Oasis have descended (?) to ripping themselves off, and its rather average 'Tron strings and cello parts don't really help, I'm afraid, and finally, Sunday Morning Call has yet more of those female voices, helping not one jot in elevating it above the utterly dispensable. So, more 'Tron than its once-removed predecessor, but Standing on the Shoulder of Giants sucks hideously and, in my humble opinion, should've been drowned at birth. Not that I wish to come off the fence, you understand...
2002 brought Heathen Chemistry, loathed by the critics, although it sold in reasonable quantities, as usual. The material's the usual faint echoes of early Oasis glories, stretched out to unfeasible lengths to no good purpose, although there's nothing as bad as Little James, thank Christ. Opener The Hindu Times has some faint 'Tron strings played by Paul Stacey, and without any individual credits for band members, I have to assume that Noel plays the rest. I thought second single Stop Crying Your Heart Out had 'Tron strings on it, but it turns out they're real, just arranged to sound like a Mellotron... She Is Love and Born On A Different Cloud both have regulation flutes, but aren't really classics of the genre, while Better Man seems to have some background strings and upfront brass, which I presume is tape replay, as no brass section's credited. Now, I thought bands had grown bored with leaving a lengthy gap after the last listed track, before the 'mystery hidden track' at the end; I mean, it was fresh when Nirvana used it on Nevermind, ten years earlier... Anyway, the CD length given above is minus the gap, and would you believe, the hidden track's about the best thing on the album? And it's got some nice 'Tron flutes. Put it out as a single and confound everyone, you buggers...
Three years on, another Oasis album. And would you believe it, Don't Believe the Truth (why do they use those bloody titles?) is actually halfway decent? OK, we're not talking classic here, but it's the first Oasis album that hasn't made me want to gnaw my arm off, which has to be a recommendation (of sorts). They even manage some semi-decent lyrics this time round, with several witticisms in Mucky Fingers that Noel would never have written a few years earlier. Not so much 'Tron this time round, with background strings on opener Turn Up The Sun, and absolutely full-on flutes and strings on the big ballad and final track, Let There Be Love, complete with tape wobble, just in case you thought they'd wimped out and used samples. That would appear to be it, although there are a few other background keyboard sounds that could be their converted MkII FX machine.
Never the hardest-working of bands, at least in a studio setting, it's taken the band another three years to spit out another strangely-titled record, Dig Out Your Soul and it's, er, another Oasis album, basically. It has reasonable stylistic variety ((Get Off Your) High Horse Lady sounds oddly like it could fit onto David Gilmour's 1978 solo album), and it's a long way from their 'six hits per album' days, but if you come here looking for something new from the Gallaghers, you're going to be disappointed. The lyrics (and the sleeve design) are the usual mess; I mean, "A magical mystery"? Sly quote or stupid rip-off? One thing's for sure; in the world of Oasis, you just never know. Mellotron strings on opener Bag It Up and I'm Outta Time, probably from Noel, with Kula Shaker's Jay Darlington playing a particularly nice string part on Falling Down. There are several 'Tron extras on the box set's bonus disc, to the point where it overshadows the album proper. Apart from a repeat of Falling Down's string part, there's strings on the Jagz Kooner remix of The Turning and the alternate version of Waiting For The Rapture, with flutes on Liam's Boy With The Blues.
So; none of Oasis' Mellotron work is exactly 'classic', although Wonderwall has become quite iconic, and the cello work is pretty good. If you've got a real yen for the female choirs, get Standing..., but otherwise it's all a bit of a waste of time, to be honest, with an honourable discharge for Don't Believe the Truth and bits of Dig Out Your Soul.
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Melody (1981, 39.14) ****½/TT½OceanKatrin 7 to 8 Melody Wild Pig Slow & Chromatic Melody Bass Bolero |
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Ocean were a deeply obscure outfit, nothing to do with the French metal crew (whose eponymous '81 debut looks like it was made by a bunch of 19 year-olds). The German version produced a mini-masterpiece in Melody; entirely instrumental, it's (funnily enough) intensely melodic, with slight ELP and Focus influences, with much piano, although they suddenly lurch into a jazz feel on Melody Bass, sounding slightly out of place. Their, er, 'theme song', Ocean, is an absolutely fabulous classically-inspired piece that'll have all you '70s prog fiends salivating like rabid dogs, and the rest of the album's almost as good. Why is this so bloody obscure?
Their Mellotron use (from Mike Hoffman) is slightly odd, as they seem to use synth strings, except for a high string melody line on Wild Pig. Otherwise, it's choirs (Katrin, Wild Pig and Slow & Chromatic) and flutes (7 To 8 Melody), with especially good use on Slow & Chromatic. Although the 'Tron use isn't its best feature (while not being at all bad), if you see a copy of this, BUY. Incidentally, mucho thanks to my long-time info-finder Joe Ellis for providing the pics.
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One From the Modern (1999, 40.54) **½/T |
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| Profit in Peace So Low I am the News No One at All Families Step By Step July Jane She Got Excavated |
Emily Chambers Soul Driver The Waves I Won't Get Grazed |
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Ocean Colour Scene are, to my ears, one of the many wannabes Oasis have thrown up in their wake; I mean, they even (almost) file next to them on this page... The music is very much in the same area, which should tell you all you need to know about OCS; mostly mid-paced modern indie stuff with rather overwrought vocals and terrible lyrics. Sorry, not my bag at all.
One From the Modern is their fourth album, and in keeping with their mentors, they elected to use a Mellotron on a couple of tracks. Profit In Peace has a tiny burst of 'Tron flutes, played by producer Brendan Lynch, and Families has some more overt strings, uncredited, but probably played by Steve Cradock. That's it, really; if you like UK indie you'll probably like it, and if you don't, you won't. One plus point for the album is its length; rather than try to fill the CD up, OCS have recorded a 'regular' length record, maybe so that it could also be released on vinyl without the usual messing about. Anyhow, don't buy for its Mellotron content.
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For the Boatman (2008, 55.53) ***½/TTT½LandingTrenchFever Freedom of Mind Imaginary Time Silent A Wayfarer's Travel The Warning Light Stays on Boatman The Big Sky |
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Oceana Company seem to've got themselves labelled 'prog', but to my ears, they're more 'modern rock' than anything; you know, that hard rock/indie crossover that's so popular at the moment. Think Oceansize, but better. Their debut, 2008's For the Boatman, isn't a bad album by any means, better tracks including opener Landing and lengthy, trance-like closer The Big Sky. I'm not sure what's going on with the weird science fiction stuff on The Warning Light Stays On/Boatman, mind, but that's obviously how the band want it...
Vocalist/guitarist Matthijs Herder doubles on (genuine) Mellotron, to the point where it's pretty much his main instrument. The album opens with, essentially, the same Mellotron string chord that starts Crimson's Starless, carrying on throughout the track, with choirs and flutes on Freedom Of Mind, strings and flutes on Imaginary Time and Silent, a brief burst of choirs on The Warning Light Stays On and considerably more so on Boatman. Overall, then, not one for your symph enthusiast, but enough prog moments to just about make it worth hearing for the aficionado, with plenty of Mellotron.
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The Boat of Thoughts (1977, 35.29) **½/TThe First Flight of the OwlKill Your Murderer If You Ask Me The Delayable Rise of Glib We're Losing Touch The Boat of Thoughts |
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I should've known, as soon as I saw the Sky label. Sky appear to be the haven for second-division German prog outfits (so how come Eloy got a major deal?), i.e. the ones Brain didn't want. I've listened to The Boat of Thoughts several times, and it resolutely fails to impinge itself onto my consciousness in any way whatsoever; the compositions are poor, the playing merely competent, and the sound is pretty low-budget, too. Jennifer Hensel's vocals are too high in the mix and, frankly, pretty awful, while Pit Hensel's guitar work is utterly generic and average. It picks up slightly on the title track, which at least has a bit of energy to it, but it's hardly inspired.
Werner Littau uses a (presumably borrowed/hired) Mellotron on a couple of tracks, to no particular effect; Kill Your Murderer has a few ungainly slabs of strings, although The Boat Of Thoughts itself is slightly better, with some decent enough string block chords, but this is a very long way from 'classic' status. You know, I really hate having to be so harsh to a well-meaning progressive outfit, but Octopus are just so mediocre that I don't feel I can recommend this at all. Saying that, the following year's An Ocean of Rocks (**½) is even worse. However, if you're big on the 'German prog sound', you may get something from these albums; just because I've failed to doesn't mean that you will. Just don't go spending loads of money on them.
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No Place So Far (2001, 43.11) *½/T |
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| Janie's Garden Only You No Place So Far Your Love Will Get Me There Hold on the Jesus There You Are Bigger Some Things Never Change |
Damaged Goods For Me There is No Fear in Love |
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I'd already listened to the first two or three tracks of Erin O'Donnell's fourth album, No Place So Far before I clocked that she's a CCM artist, and I already hated what I heard. I'm saying this to deflect imaginary-but-potential criticism of the anti-Christian bias on this site; yes, this is god-bothering crud, but I hated it before I realised. Why is it that this stuff is mostly utterly, utterly awful? I know the message comes before the medium, but couldn't they make just a little effort on the medium side? Hang on, you're not allowed to say 'medium' to a Christian, are you? They might think you're talking about spiritualism and get all upset. Out of interest, did you know that references to reincarnation were removed from the Bible early on, along with a load of other inconvenient stuff? Anyway...
This really is a very nasty album indeed. Slushy, schlocky, insipid, not to mention wholly unoriginal; Some Things Never Change nicks Boston's More Than A Feeling riff, in a really lightweight kind of way (don't start - the original rules). Blair Masters plays Mellotron, with Glenn Rosenstein on Mellotron and Chamberlin (are Jewish people allowed to play on Christian albums? Just wondering), with what sounds like Chamby strings on Only You, recognisable Mellotron flutes on the title track and fainter ones on For Me, although the source of the strings on closer There Is No Fear In Love is difficult to determine for certain. It's more than possible there's more tape-replay hidden away in the mix, particularly the Chamby, but as so often, it's impossible to tell.
The chances of my usual readers buying this shite are about as close to zero as it gets; not only is it resolutely horrible, but the tape-replay input is pretty minimal. If there was a god, I'd pray to Him to stop people making awful records in His Holy name (or is that Name?).
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Another Rosie Christmas (2000, 50.00) **/T |
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| Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree Nuttin' for Christmas Winter Wonderland Merry Christmas From the Family Face of Love Ay Ay Ay it's Christmas Spread a Little Love on Christmas Day The Bells of St. Paul |
Silver Bells I'm Gonna E-Mail Santa Christmas Auld Lang Syne The Prince of Peace Rosie Christmas Because it's Christmas (for All the Children) |
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Rosie O'Donnell is one of those US comedians (or comediennes, if you insist) who mean diddly-squat on the other side of the Atlantic, but are household names in their own country. She's actually a bit of a liberal star, being outspoken on the kinds of issues that make American conservatives see red, if you'll pardon the pun, which doesn't excuse Another Rosie Christmas. I'm glad to say I don't need to listen to its predecessor, as one was bad enough, thank you very much. OK, it has its amusing moments, not least the Dixie Chicks and O'Donnell collaborating on a trailer-trash piss-take, but generally speaking, it's awful. You want details? It's a Christmas album. I rest my case.
Patrick Warren does his usual Chamberlin thing; I'm not under the slightest illusion that the estimable Mr. Warren actually enjoys most of his sessions. Or maybe he does? It's easy to focus on your part of the jigsaw without feeling the need to pass judgement on the whole picture. Anyway, he adds strings and flutes to Winter Wonderland and strings to the bizarre Christmas Auld Lang Syne (can you hear The Bard spinning in his grave?), but that appears to be it. No, you don't want or need to hear this album. End of story.
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Skin Tight (1974, 41.03) ***/T½Skin TightStreakin' Cheek to Cheek It's Your Night/Words of Love Jive Turkey Heaven Must Be Like This Is Anybody Gonna Be Saved? |
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Skin Tight was the Ohio Players' seventh album, and their breakthrough into the mainstream. Their fat funk sound had been making waves for years, but it took a label change to Mercury to give them that all-important hit album. As with many funk outfits in the pre-disco mid-'70s, the Players allowed themselves to stretch out a bit on vinyl, with all six tracks on the album jammed out to one extent or another. I really don't feel qualified to comment on the music, as it seriously isn't my bag, but it seems to be good at what it does, particularly on the funkier, more uptempo tracks.
Although he isn't credited with it, vocalist/keyboardist Billy Beck plays Mellotron on a couple of tracks, with a pseudo-string section-style part on It's Your Night/Words Of Love, leaving the album's Major Mellotronic Moment for Heaven Must Be Like This, with string, flute and cello parts, all heavily reverbed and doing their best not to sound like a Mellotron. So; another unexpected 'Tron album from the funkier end of the spectrum, if not the heaviest use of the machine you'll ever hear.
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O2 (1997, 43.32) ***/TTTUntitled No.1Untitled No.2 Untitled No.3 Untitled No.4 Untitled No.5 |
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Ohm were a space-rock/psych outfit, featuring analogue keys enthusiast Doug Ferguson (also of Yeti). The first of their three albums, 1997's O2, is a fairly startling piece of work, full of the kind of sonic exploration that so many late '60s bands promised, but were ultimately unable to deliver (did I hear anyone say Jefferson Airplane?). Its two chief instrumental components seem to be synths and woodwind; not the commonest combination, but not the commonest band, either. None of the tracks are actually titled, which, while slightly irritating, at least dispenses with the 'what do we call instrumentals?' problem. This is far from easy listening, but isn't that a good thing?
Ferguson's first Mellotronic outing on the album comes several minutes into the first track, with a relatively lush string part underpinning the real violin, with massively pitchbent strings on track two. The choirs make their entry well into track three, reiterating on five, while four features some serious flute, string and choir action, although it's the most major use on the album. I'd vaguely expected more Mellotron than we actually get, but this is still pretty good on the 'Tron front, although more for track four than anything else.
There are another two Ohm albums, both almost certainly containing Mellotron, '99's Voices and 2001's Raw Ohm, although I've no idea how I'm going to get to hear copies. Ferguson tragically died in early 2002, signalling the end of the project, although Yeti have carried on. O2 is a fairly out-there album, but aren't you lot fairly out-there yourselves? Worth hearing, then, although most of its Mellotron work is fairly subdued.
See: Yeti
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So Long Harry Truman (1975, 34.40) **½/T½ |
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| So Long, Harry Truman Quits Rainbow Girl The Delta Queen The Kid/The Last Days Covered Wagon It's Been a Good Day Fiddler's Jamboree |
Steel Guitar Hard Times |
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Danny O'Keefe seems to be known more for his songwriting than as an artist in his own right, having had his songs recorded by a pantheon of major names, not least Judy Collins, Willie Nelson and Elvis. His fourth solo album, 1975's So Long Harry Truman, features most of the then-lineup of The Eagles on a few tracks, just prior to their massive breakthrough with Hotel California, along with Linda Ronstadt, which probably gives you some idea of what it sounds like. Yup, country-lite, although Covered Wagon and Steel Guitar are more rock'n'roll and The Delta Queen is a sort-of Sinatra-era ballad, leaving closer Hard Times (ironically Eagle-free) as the kind of country-rock epic that band had already made their own (think: The Last Resort).
John Boylan plays most full-on Mellotron strings on Rainbow Girl, plus an uncredited part on The Kid/The Last Days to actually pretty good effect. You're unlikely to want to hear this too badly unless you're already a fan of O'Keefe and/or his songwriting, although it has its moments, principally Hard Times and the Mellotron work.
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Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See (2002, 46.09) ***½/TRedKansas City Lady Liberty My Bad Days Westfall Happy Hearts Dead Dog Song Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas Okkervil River Song |
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Down the River of Golden Dreams (2003, 45.57) ***½/T½ |
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| Down the River of Golden Dreams It Ends With a Fall For the Enemy Blanket and Crib The War Criminal Rises and Speaks The Velocity of Saul at the Time of His Conversion Dead Faces |
Maine Island Lovers Song About a Star Yellow Seas Too Far to Reach |
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Black Sheep Boy Appendix (2005, 24.41) ***½/TTMissing ChildrenNo Key, No Plan A Garden Black Sheep Boy #4 Another Radio Song A Forest Last Love Song for Now |
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The Stage Names (2007, 41.46/46.40) ***/½ |
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| Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe Unless it's Kicks A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene Savannah Smiles Plus Ones A Girl in Port You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man |
Title Track John Allyn Smith Sails [bonus track: Love to a Monster] |
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The Stand ins (2008, 40.12) ***/T |
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| Stand ins, One Lost Coastlines Singer Songwriter Starry Stairs Blue Tulip Stand ins, Two Pop Lie On Tour With Zykos |
Calling and Not Calling My Ex Stand ins, Three Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979 |
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Okkervil River are a newish Americana band, originating in New England but based in Austin, Texas. They seem to have had multiple lineup changes in the decade they've been together, leaving just one original member, chief songwriter etc. Will Sheff. Where they win out over the likes of Ryan Adams is in their authenticity and their wind-blasted sound, all picked banjos and ghostly keyboards and strings. Something that might put some listeners off is Sheff's voice, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a slightly less hysterical Waterboys mainman Mike Scott at times, although he knows how to tone it down when he has to.
Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See is their first full album, defining their sound nicely, with Kansas City's pedal steel contrasting nicely with the wonky brass of Lady Liberty and Westfall's mandolin. The material covers a wide variety of country-related styles sympathetically and without dipping into the Nashville schmaltz barrel at any point. Just one Mellotron track (from Sheff), with some wonderfully out-of-tune flutes on opener Red that almost sound like recorders.
Down the River of Golden Dreams is, somehow, slightly less appealing than its predecessor, though not enough to dock it any stars. One instrumental feature of note is Sheff's increasing use of the Wurlitzer, with several tracks featuring its percussive tones. New keyboard player Jonathan Meiburg adds Mellotron flutes to It Ends With A Fall and the wonderfully-titled The Velocity Of Saul At The Time Of His Conversion, although with credited cello and viola, I suspect all string parts are real.
Black Sheep Boy Appendix is a follow-up EP to the Mellotron-free Black Sheep Boy, showcasing a broadening of the band's sound, with the almost-ambient Missing Children and the rocky No Key, No Plan standing out. Mellotron from Alice Spencer this time round, with flutes on No Key, No Plan and, for the first definite time, strings on Black Sheep Boy #4, although other string parts sound real.
2007's The Stage Names is a typically 'themed' Okkervil release, possibly musically less exciting but better lyrically than its predecessors. Opener Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe is good, but sounds like a Waterboys outtake, while Unless It Kicks has an almost Stones vibe about it, an influence that seems to be cropping up with greater frequency in Okkervil's work. Incidentally, John Allyn Smith Sails is probably better known to you as Sloop John B; an American folk song, the Beach Boys appropriated it back in '66. Mellotron from Meiburg and Scott Brackett, although I've no idea why it took two of them to play the almost-inaudible strings on Unless It's Kicks, only becoming apparent right at the end of the song, unless there are more parts hidden away. With several strings players credited, it seems the rest of the album's strings are real, and they sound like it, too.
The following year's The Stand ins is the second part of The Stage Names, originally conceived as a double; note how the two covers, here handily juxtaposed correctly, form a larger picture when placed one above the other. Sadly, the same problem applies to this album as to its 'first part', in that it's, well, less interesting than their earlier work. Some individuality seems to have been lost and the songs are less quirky, but maybe that's just my personal prejudices coming into play. Saying that, Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed On The Roof Of The Chelsea Hotel, 1979, is inspired by failed US glamster Jobriath (BWC being his real name), who died in 1983, decades before any possibility of musical rehabilitation. Three 'Tron players this time, Brackett, Justin Sherburn and Brian Beattie, with strings that don't sound particularly genuine on Starry Stairs, Blue Tulip and Calling And Not Calling My Ex, which probably means they are. It's possible that any of these three are, in fact, something else, and that other parts are, in fact, Mellotron, but by this point in the band's career it seems rather hard to tell.
To sum up, Okkervil River seem to have become more mainstream as time's gone along, with not only less interesting material, but also less obvious Mellotron use than on their earlier albums. Recommended? Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See and Down the River of Golden Dreams, and maybe Black Sheep Boy Appendix (probably Black Sheep Boy, too, although I haven't heard it), all three for their songs and the latter two for the Mellotron, too.
See: Roky Erickson
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Other Eras...Such as Witchcraft (1997, 46.25) ***/T |
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| Drain the Lake Three Rings T.I.O.N. Cross the State Selopan Flames Grow Tall Poblecito Spur Eye |
Pontiac Settle Down Diamonds or Coffeecake Broken Science Fair |
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Old Hickory are a classic Mellotronic case of 'if I'm not told, I'll never know'; no tape-replay credit in the CD booklet, no (previous) online references... Actually, I was not only told by one of the band, but sent a copy for review, despite their non-existence for over a decade, which is above and beyond the call of duty. In the words of contemporaneous reviewers, every song on 1997's Other Eras...Such as Witchcraft sounds different to every other, or in the band's words, 'Flaming Lips meets Pavement with a bit of Nirvana', if that helps at all. Going by their name, they sound like they should've played prime Americana, but Pontiac's probably the only track that even partially fits that description. Common threads running through the album include songs with melodic intros that switch into a kind of post-grunge after about thirty seconds (Three Rings, Cross The State, Flames Grow Tall), occasional Neil Young-influenced guitar parts (notably on Broken) and (presumably) Jason Coile's overly 'rock'n'roll' vocals, which probably don't help to describe the music either.
Michael Marqueson played producer Sylvia Massy's Chamberlin (M1?), with flutes and cellos on Selopan, cellos on Flames Grow Tall and strings on Pontiac, although I wouldn't call it a defining feature of the album's sound. As you can see, I've found it rather difficult to convey the band's sound in cold print, but if the influences to which they admit appeal, you stand a good chance of liking this, too. Not much Chamby, but nice to hear it used on a non-mainstream pop album, for once. Incidentally, thanks to Scott Matz for going to so much trouble to get me a copy of the album.
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Too Far to Care (1997, 46.24) ***/T |
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| Timebomb Barrier Reef Broadway Salome W. TX Teardops Melt Show Streets of Where I'm From Big Brown Eyes |
Just Like California Curtain Calls Niteclub House That Used to Be Four Leaf Clover |
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The grammatically-challenged Old 97's formed in 1993, releasing something like seven studio records to date. Fronted by the charismatic Rhett Miller, they're one of the better alt.country bands around, although without the psychedelic edge of, say, The Jayhawks, they're unlikely ever to appeal to a wider audience. 1997's Too Far to Care is their third effort, and while a respectable enough album, it fails to ignite in the way you hope it might, possibly being just a touch too trad for its own good.
Wally Gagel plays Mellotron, although the background strings on Salome seem to be the only place it crops up. Overall, then, a perfectly good alt.country album, but not the most exciting thing you'll hear in the genre, with very little Mellotron to boot.
See: Rhett Miller
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Salvation Blues (2007, 36.55) ***/T |
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| My Carol Clifton Bridge Poor Michael's Boat National Express Salvation Blues Keith Winter Song Sandy Denny |
Tears From Above Look Into the Night My One Book Philosophy |
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Mark Olson was a founding member of The Jayhawks, leaving in 1995 to become full-time carer for his wife, Victoria Williams, an MS sufferer. He made several albums her as The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, in a much more traditional country vein, an approach he's carried over to his first proper solo album, 2007, Salvation Blues. There's no point trying to call this 'alt.country' or similar; the only thing that stops it being mainstream country is a traditional, non-schmaltzy Nashville approach, which is what makes it listenable, rather than dreck. I'm not saying "I love this album"; I don't, but it does what it does well, making me unwilling to give it a hard time for doing something I don't particularly like.
Zac Rae plays Mellotron and Chamberlin, with what sounds like Chamby strings on National Express, Keith and Sandy Denny, plus what I take to be Mellotron cellos and possibly flutes on the latter. Overall, then, a new country album from pre-schmaltz days, which probably means that most 'country' fans won't buy it and with very little tape-replay work, I doubt if you will, either.
See: The Jayhawks
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Omega (1973, 34.29) ***½/T½Everytime She Steps inAfter a Hard Year Delicate Sweep Parting Song The Bird The Lying Girl White Magic Stone |
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200 Years After the Last War (1974, 35.57) ***½/TTSuiteHelp to Find Me 200 Years After the Last War You Don't Know |
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Omega III (1974, 32.21) ***/T½Stormy FireSpanish Guitar Go on the Spree Remembering Everytime She Steps in Live as Long as Just a Bloom I Go Away Fancy Jeep |
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Omega 8: Csillagok Útján (1978) ***/TNyitányÉgí Vándor Léna Légy Erős! Metamorfózis I Bíbor Hölgy Csillagok Útján Metamorfózis II Finálé |
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Gammapolis/Omega 9 (1979, 41.53) ***½/TDawn in the City (Hajnal a Város Felett)Lady of the Summer Night (Nyári Éjek Asszonya) Rush Hour (Őrültek Órája) Return of the Outcast (A Száműzőtt) Start Gammapolis (Gammapolis 1) The Man Without a Face (Arcnélküli Ember) Silver Rain (Ezüst Eső) Gammapolis 2 |
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Omega's origins, like so many of their Western contemporaries, go back to their days as a beat group in the early/mid-'60s, eventually catching up with their British and American mentors in the early '70s, becoming a bit of a catch-all heavy/progressive outfit. It must have been incredibly difficult to operate behind the Iron Curtain at that time; I would guess that they were at least partially state-sanctioned - allowed to exist as 'proof' that the Hungarian regime was hip and 'with it, man', and didn't really torture dissidents to death in underground cells. This is no slur on the band; in fact, all respect to them for having the courage to follow their muse under such harsh conditions. They certainly managed several things denied to most other East European outfits, not least owning decent equipment, the chance to sing in English and record and release albums in the West.
There was immense confusion (at least in this household) over their catalogue; their domestic and foreign releases frequently bore little relation to each other, with tracks from several different Hungarian LPs being grouped together randomly on each Western album, until the two halves of their career reunited (musically, at least) with 1976's Time Robber/Omega 7: Időrabló. However, the excellent discography to be found at Gammapolis.de, a fan site better than many official ones, has helped set things straight. Just to add to the confusion, the musician credits on Omega reverse all the names, though I think I've sorted this one out. Also (groan), a 1975 album also called Omega, also released on their German label, Bacillus (along with Nektar) is actually a compilation of tracks from the previous three English-language releases. I think. Aaargh!
Anyway, Omega was their first Western album, based around their fourth and fifth Hungarian releases (as was the following year's Omega III). It's actually a damn' good album, if a little derivative, with more than a hint of Uriah Heep to their sound, especially in the Hammond department; in fact, Parting Song finishes with a circular riff that has more than a touch of Heep's July Morning about it. Maybe they thought no-one would notice. The album opens with a solid rocker, Everytime She Steps In, but swiftly moves into proggish territory, with some nice Mellotron strings from keyboard man László Benkő enhancing After A Hard Year. After some more undistinguished hard rock on side two, the album ends with minor epic White Magic Stone, with some slightly shrieky 'Tron strings (quick! Down an octave!) and another circular riff. Without meaning to sound patronising (although I expect I do), Omega's a good album given the various restrictions that must've been placed on the band.
They followed up with 200 Years After the Last War, a mixture of re-recorded English-language versions of tracks from Omega 5 (a.k.a. Szvit) and Omega 6: Nem Tudom a Neved. It's one of the proggiest efforts in their canon, although the blues section in the otherwise excellent side-long Suite is possibly slightly unnecessary. The three shorter tracks on side two are all good, but fall short of 'excellent'. Bassist Tamás Mihály plays 'Tron this time round, with strings on Suite (there's a particularly nice solo part about twelve minutes in, after the aforementioned blues part) with more of the same on the title track, making this the band's best 'Tron album, although that isn't really saying that much.
Omega III is, unsurprisingly, the band's third English-language album, sadly rather more straightforward than its immediate predecessors. Spanish Guitar and Remembering are the two relevant 'Tron tracks, both more reflective pieces with extra added Mellotron strings, from Mihály again, but there's nothing here in the epic vein of Suite or White Magic Stone; in fact, only one track tops the four-minute mark and, for reasons best known to themselves, they reprise the rather average Everytime She Steps In from Omega. The only other particularly worthwhile track is the short proggy effort, I Go Away; as you might expect, Fancy Jeep is somewhat less progressive...
'75's The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky (stop laughing) and the following year's Time Robber/Omega 7: Idõrabló (***) are bereft of anything at all 'Tronlike. '78's Skyrover/Omega 8: Csillagok Útján has one credited, but it's pretty well back in the mix. Not that it's exactly the first thing you notice about the album; I mean, have had a proper look at that sleeve? Have you?? Oh. My. God. It's... I don't know what to say, actually; it's been known to reduce grown men to tears of laughter (not least myself). I know Communist Eastern Europe was behind the times, but had they no idea of the concept of camp? This sleeve is camper than Freddie Mercury and Boy George having a bitch-slapping contest. Camper than the Village People's dance routines. Camper than... oh, you get the picture. Musically, it's averagely proggy, without being outstanding in any way, with the odd track thrown in from a different genre (Metamorfózis I's hard rock), but it isn't really their finest hour. None of the Mellotron use is particularly obvious, although it presumably provides the high strings on Légy Erős! and Bíbor Hölgy.
Now, due to the Hungarian/rest of world situation I mentioned earlier, I managed to purchase both versions of their 1979 opus, Gammapolis/Omega 9 on the same European record-buying trip, which was a little excessive, if unintentional (see sleeves above to understand confusion). Interestingly, the tracklisting in the Hungarian version (in a different order, fact fans) translates the titles into both English and Russian, so I presume their sales in the then USSR were quite reasonable. The Hungarian track order seems to make far more sense, beginning the album with the Start/Gammapolis 1 pairing, and ending with Gammapolis 2, nicely bookending the record, so I've no idea why they had to mess with it for Western consumption by swapping each side's opening numbers.
Anyway, in the intervening years, it seems Omega had learnt to vary their material a little more, though not necessarily for the better, with much of side 1 being too mainstream for its own good, with an unfortunate sub-disco beat on Return Of The Outcast. Saying that, Dawn In The City is a decent enough longer, proggy opener, with more of their ubiquitous 'Tron strings (I'm not entirely sure they had any other sounds on their machine, assuming they actually owned one, which I'm beginning to doubt...), and both parts of the title track and Silver Rain are quite excellent. Gammapolis 2 still reminds me of Uriah Heep, and I think we should draw a discreet veil over The Man Without A Face... Incidentally, I think the paintings of the band in their full stage splendour should have been quietly dropped, as they make them look like rejects from a gay night at New York's Studio 54 (assuming there was any other sort). I'm all for a bit of a stage show, but please, chaps... [You might've guessed that I got these before Omega 8, or I may not've been quite as shocked...]
Omega are still in existence today, though they must be getting on a bit; the picture in Omega shows what looks like a bunch of guys in their thirties, though I suspect trends in early-'70s facial hair didn't help. I remember reading a live review from the mid-'80s, by an amazed British journalist who couldn't believe how much of a phenomenon Omega were in their own country. He remarked that they seemed to cover all bases, playing hard rock, progressive, pop, disco, you name it, with the audience going wild whatever they played, but I saw a similar response in Belgium watching the reformed Machiavel a few years ago; maybe European audiences have more 'loyalty' to their favourite bands, whatever you take that to mean. Who knows. Anyway, I gather there's Mellotron on several more of their '70s albums; I'll report back when I get hold of copies. Anyway, while Omega and Gammapolis are actually pretty good, if a tad patchy, I can't recommend any of these as Mellotron albums as such. Borrow them from a mate (assuming you have a mate who owns several Omega albums) and make a compilation.
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Funny Old Business (1997, 55.58) ***½/T½ |
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| High Germany Dirty Old Town The Green Fields of France Dennis Murphy's/John Ryan's The Curragh of Kildare The Oak and the Ash Mist Covered Mountain/Out on the Ocean Change at Thorpe-le-Soken |
The Ballad of Cursed Anna The Old Armchair The Rights of Man The Warlike Lads of Russia King of the Swingers Down Where the Drunkards Roll The Blackbird and the Thrush |
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The (Celebrated) Onion Band have been around since the mid-'80s, playing folk gigs in Essex and Suffolk pubs, and seem perfectly happy with staying at that level, as far as I can work out. Funny Old Business is their fifth, and to date, latest release, though without writing credits, I'm not sure how many (if any) of the songs are band originals. Dirty Old Town is Euan McColl, Down Where The Drunkards Roll is Richard Thompson, King Of The Swingers is from 'The Jungle Book', while several of the others are by that most prolific of songsmiths, 'Trad. Arr.', but I really wouldn't like to say for many of them. Will you like this album? Do you like English folk? Then you'll like it. Apart from the occasional keyboard interjection, it's endearingly authentic, right down to Pug Rayner's 'oo-arrr' vocals.
Speaking of keyboards, bizarrely, the band own an M400, with eight tape frames, and have used it on two previous albums, 1988's Now There's a Thing...! and '90's Entirely Made of Wood. I'm told that Funny Old Business's producer, John Robert Peel, was rather unkeen on the Mellotron, for his own, twisted reasons, and as a result it's not only used sparingly, but buried so far down in the mix that the first point at which I realised there was some on High Germany was on the final chord, with some faint strings. Change At Thorpe-le-Soken (which sounds like their own composition) opens with some 'Tron sound FX, which leaves the quite audible strings and flutes of The Ballad Of Cursed Anna and some more faint strings on the jig, The Rights Of Man.
I hear dark rumours that the band have a stash of tapes made over the years, many featuring their 'Tron rather prominently. So, where are they, chaps? For that matter, it's now six years since you've released anything, according to your own site. Activity, please! Anyway, as I said above, if you like English folk of the more raucous variety, you'll probably like this lot, although it's pretty low on Mellotronic input.
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Feeling the Space (1973, 45.28/55.58) ***/T½ |
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| Growing Pain Yellow Girl (Stand By for Life) Coffin Car Woman of Salem Run, Run, Run If Only A Thousand Times Yes Straight Talk |
Angry Young Woman She Hits Back Women Power Men, Men, Men [CD adds: I Learned to Stutter/Coffin Car (live) Mildred, Mildred] |
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Yoko Ono needs no introduction, I hope; Feeling the Space was her fourth solo album proper (i.e. without John) and is a smack in the face for those who claim that she can neither write nor sing, as she tackles both disciplines with aplomb. It's an album of radical feminism, in an age when lower wages for women, constant sexist remarks and rape within marriage were actually considered acceptable, as against now, when they still happen, but are slightly more frowned-upon. Angry Young Woman and Women Power are the album's apotheoses, referencing abortion and other fundamental feminist issues in a way few (any?) artists did at the time. Musically, it's all pretty much as you'd expect; middling early '70s rock with few outstanding features, although closer Men, Men, Men is an amusing jazz pastiche, featuring John's ironic two-word cameo as the album's last moment.
John's keyboard player, Ken(ny) Ascher, plays Mellotron, with strings and cellos on opener Growing Pain (although the flute's real) and Coffin Car, although that would seem to be your lot. Incidentally, I believe it was during the recording of this album that the (hired-in?) M400 was unofficially borrowed by Martin Mull's keyboard player, Keith Spring, who used it to surprising effect on one track on Mull's otherwise below-par Normal. So; an album that's probably more 'interesting' than 'a must-have', although it's a very long way from Yoko's primal scream stuff of a few years earlier. Perfectly listenable, two decent 'Tron tracks.
See: John Lennon
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Night Blooms (2009, 47.43) ***½/TTHeavenmanBetter Days Ahead Skinnydip By This River Three Sleepers Honeybee Beach House Flicker Girl The Last Rose of Summer |
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The Opium Cartel are a White Willow mainman Jacob Holm-Lupo side-project, more in the indie/weird folk crossover field than his main band's progressive area. Their 2009 debut, Night Blooms, is a fascinating, if slightly inconsistent album, with male and female vocals on various tracks, the latter probably working better overall. While most of the material sits most comfortably within the above description, the eight-minute Beach House is a jammed-out psych/prog classic that could have lasted much longer without outstaying its welcome, while opener Heavenman and closer The Last Rose Of Summer are probably the most successful takes on the band's main style.
The album is practically a Scandinavian Mellotron Gods sampler (excuse the phrase), with not only Holm-Lupo, but current White Willow, Wobbler and others keys man Lars Fredrik Frøislie and celebrated Änglagård/AK-Momo/Pineforest Crunch etc. etc. dude Mattias Olsson all on various 'Trons in various studios across the region. While it's impossible to say who actually plays what, opener Heavenman is thick with tape-replay, with a rather stark cello line morphing into flute chords and back again, while Three Sleepers sounds like 'Tron cellos, despite the presence of a real one on the album, with possible faint strings in there somewhere, although they're more likely to be Mattias' Optigan or Orchestron. More of those unidentified strings on Beach House, along with some background choir (Orchestron again, or maybe Roland Vocoder?) Definite 'Tron flutes and strings on Flicker Girl, although it's more than possible that various odd sounds have been inserted here and there, flying under by 'Tron radar. I'm sure the participants will gleefully correct me once this review's on the site...
Despite a lower 'Tron content than expected, Night Blooms is a good album within its genre, although many fans of the various contributors may be slightly disappointed at its lack of progness, which is really rather missing the point, to be honest. Worth hearing, especially Beach House.
See: White Willow | Änglagård | Wobbler
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Humblin' Across America (2001, 52.40) ***½/TT |
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| Vineyard Blues What's Your Crime? On Our Way Back Home Any Way You Want it One Hour's Lonely Play Better Just Fake it Listen Up! Annie Run Run Run |
The Ballad of Gospel Sam Can You Imagine Freewheelin' Skyway Believin' Crescent City Ball Park Theme The Way She Moves Come Try This |
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The Orange Humble Band seem to be some vague kind of 'powerpop supergroup', if you can imagine such a thing, at least on their second (and last to date) album, 2001's Humblin' Across America. Aussie band leader Darryl Mather played with the Lime Spiders, Ken Stringfellow is chiefly known as top Posie, while guitar/keys man Mitch Easter, despite having played with many bands, is best known for his production work with R.E.M.. Not to be outdone, Big Star drummer Jody Stephens was a band member, while their sometime producer (and Mellotron player), Jim Dickinson, plays piano on one track.
So; does it sound like an amalgam of The Posies, Big Star and Jellyfish? Of course it does; do you have a problem with that? The album is split into three 'mini-suites', with tracks 1-5 subtitled Humblin' (Across America), 6-9, A Southern American Small Music Revue, and the remainder End Revue. The three parts all have different musical emphases; music biz legend Spooner Oldham plays various keyboards on most of the album, so it's hardly surprising that the second 'suite' takes a more countryish turn than the other two, although I'm still not sure what it's all about.
As far as the album's tape-replay goes, Easter plays Chamberlin on several tracks, with a beautifully arranged string part on opener Vineyard Blues and a much shorter one on One Hour's Lonely Play. Almost inaudible strings on Can You Imagine, a sustained string note (studio trickery, I suspect) on the short instrumental Crescent City Ball Park Theme, and a 'proper' string part in closer Come Try This to finish things off nicely.
So; an intriguing record, in some respects. I'm sure there's a lot more going on here than would appear on the surface; the dreaded 'concept' album? My personal preference would've been for less of the country-influenced stuff, but they didn't ask me, so there it is. Passable Chamby work, though little that really stands out, to be honest. If you're into the powerpop/alt.country crossover area, though, you could do an awful lot worse than pick this up.
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Circling the Sun (2005, 34.07) ***½/TTT |
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| Something in You California Blue Circling the Sun So Right I Don't Wanna Shine Long Cold Summer What's it Like Mary Jo? Tonight Changes Everything |
Boy in Space How Green the Grass |
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California's The Orange Peels seamlessly cross the (admittedly rather narrow) divide between pseudo-late '60s psych and 'sunshine pop', coming across as the bastard offspring of Jellyfish, if I may use such a coarse adjective to describe a band with such a sunny musical disposition. Their third album, Circling the Sun wins on several fronts, being short enough not to outstay its welcome (hurrah! At last!), with no compositional fluff and excellent performances from all concerned. Best track(s)? Hard to say on a first listen, but opener Something In You is one of the strongest on the album, setting the listener up nicely for the rest of the record.
Mellotron on most tracks from Allen Clapp and Bryan Hanna, opening the album with strings and flutes on Something In You, with faint flutes on California Blue and (semi-)orchestral strings on the rest of the highlighted tracks, making this a surprise Mellotronic treat, assuming it's real, of course... So; a cheerful, summery modern psych album that's well worth hearing, with plenty of 'Tron work to boot. Recommended.
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No One Left But Me (1974, 34.21) ***½/TTS.P.Hungary Man No One Left But Me Dream Whisky and Gin People The Gate |
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There seems to be a little confusion over Orange Wedge (who were, confusingly, also known as Wedge)'s catalogue; one source quotes an eponymous album in 1972, followed by '74's No One Left But Me, and there's a Japanese vinyl-only 2-LP set that covers what appears to be all the tracks from both albums. 
Much of No One Left But Me is rather average hard rock, although it definitely has its moments, not least opener S.P., Dream and The Gate.
Three Mellotron tracks, from OHO's Mark O'Connor, with brief string parts on S.P. and Dream (although the male voices here sound real), leaving the nearest the album gets to major 'Tron use being the strings on lengthy closer The Gate, well in the background, although the initial rather minor part is expanded into quite major orchestration later in the song. This seems to be more one for the collector than the dedicated obscure hard rock fan, although maybe subsequent listens will reveal the album's charms to me. Not bad, not great, some passable 'Tron.
