Okinawa  (1974,  40.47/73.55)  ***½/TT (TT½)
		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

Vitamin OHO  (1991, recorded 1975,  39.35)  ****/TT½ Seldom Bought Hyphenate Ice-less Lemon Flowers No Fewer Days Fwombat Lois Jane Hogshead Nocturnal Recurrence Tinker's Damn

	Ecce OHO!  (1998, recorded 1974-5,  42.44)  ***½/TT
	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]

	Recollections (1974-1976)  (2002, recorded 1974-76,  73.07)  ****/TTT½
	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

Current availability:

• Okinawa/Vitamin/Ecce: Little Wing (Germany)
• Recollections: ?

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's 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 two unreleased albums, Crucifixion Lust: 4-Track Demos and Dream of the Ridiculous Band, both reviewed here. In actuality, every track on the latter has been released commercially (it's not often you'll use any derivation of the word 'commercial' where OHO are concerned), although pulling them all together into a cohesive whole could be difficult.

Official site

Oasis  (UK)

	(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

	Standing on the Shoulder of Giants  (2000,  47.51)  **/TT½
	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

	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]

	Don't Believe the Truth  (2005,  47.19)  ***/T½
	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

Current availability:

• All titles: Big Brother

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.

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.

Official site

Ocean  (Germany)

Melody  (1981,  39.14)  ****½/TT½ Ocean Katrin 7 to 8 Melody Wild Pig Slow & Chromatic Melody Bass Bolero

Current availability:

• Not on CD

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.

Ocean Colour Scene  (UK)

	One From the Modern  (1999,  40.54)  **½/T
	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

Current availability:

• Island

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.

Official site

Octopus  (Germany)

The Boat of Thoughts  (1977,  35.29)  **½/T The First Flight of the Owl Kill Your Murderer If You Ask Me The Delayable Rise of Glib We're Losing Touch The Boat of Thoughts

Current availability:

• On CD, label unknown

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.

Omega  (Hungary)

	Omega  (1973,  34.29)  ***½/T½ Everytime She Steps in After a Hard Year Delicate Sweep Parting Song The Bird The Lying Girl White Magic Stone
	Omega III  (1974,  32.21)  ***/T½ Stormy Fire Spanish Guitar Go on the Spree Remembering Everytime She Steps in Live as Long as Just a Bloom I Go Away Fancy Jeep
	Omega 8: Csillagok Útján  (1978)  ***/T Nyitány Égí Vándor Léna Légy Erős! Metamorfózis I Bíbor Hölgy Csillagok Útján Metamorfózis II Finálé

Gammapolis/Omega 9  (1979,  41.53)  ***½/T Dawn 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

Current availability:

• English titles: Bellaphon (Germany)
• Hungarian titles: Mega (Hungary?)

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 and Omega III were their first and third Western albums, although both are based around their fourth and fifth Hungarian releases. Omega'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, but the next album I own is Omega III, sounding rather more straightforward than Omega. Spanish Guitar and Remembering are the two relevant 'Tron tracks, both more reflective pieces with extra added Mellotron strings, this time from bassist Tamás Mihály, but there's nothing here in the epic vein of 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...

I don't own The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky, but I can confirm that '76's Time Robber/Omega 7: Idõrabló (***) is 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 bunfight. Camper than the Village People. 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.

Top fan site

Fan site

The Onion Band  (UK)

	Funny Old Business  (1997,  55.58)  ***½/T½
	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

Current availability:

• Band site

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.

Official site

Orange Humble Band  (Australia/US)

	Humblin' Across America  (2001,  52.40)  ***½/TT
	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

Current availability:

• Laughing Outlaw (Australia)/Half a Cow (US)

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.

Orange Wedge  [a.k.a. Wedge]  (US)

No One Left But Me  (1974)  ***/T Love Me Death Comes Slowly Comfort of You Keep on Livin' One Night Lover Meathouse Shuffle The Gate

Current availability:

• Little Wing (Germany - vinyl only?)

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 all the tracks I have on my version, plus as many again. Much of the album is rather average hard rock, although it definitely has its moments, not least the lengthy Death Comes Slowly and The Gate.

The latter is the only Mellotron track, assuming this is actually their second album, and not some mismatched compilation. 'Tron strings, from OHO's Mark O'Connor, well in the background, although the initial rather minor part is expanded into quite major orchestration later in the song (another long one), giving the album a full T. Well, this doesn't seem to be too easy to get hold of, and I'm not sure anyone's put it on CD, but it 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, one OK 'Tron track.

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