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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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Robbie Robertson Claudio Rocchi Rock'n'Roll Worship Circus |
Rocket Scientists Rockfour Rogue Element |
Rolling Stones Romantic Warriors |
Andrew Douglas Rothbard Rousseau |
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Music for the Native Americans (1994, 54.30) ***/½ |
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| Coyote Dance Mahk Jchi (Heartbeat Drum Song) Ghost Dance The Vanishing Breed It is a Good Day to Die Golden Feather Akua Tuta Words of Fire, Deeds of Blood |
Cherokee Morning Song Skinwalker Ancestor Song Twisted Hair |
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The half-Mohawk Robbie Robertson (The Band, of course) was asked to compose some music for a TV series about the Native American people, releasing the results as Music for the Native Americans. It's an intriguing mixture of authentic chants and drumming with modern instrumentation, although Robertson over-eggs the pudding on most tracks, laying down too many contemporary keyboards, not allowing the real voices on the record enough space. The sleevenotes are actually more interesting than the music, painting a grim picture of the incalculable damage caused by the 19th-century white American to an ancient and traditional way of life; all the more tragic given the state of the 'red man' now, not to mention how similar damage is still being wrought across the world.
Unfortunately, in his efforts to make Native American music palatable to 'Western' ears, Robertson seems to have created a new and not entirely welcome genre: Native American AOR. Although some of the musical backing is sympathetic, much of it is deeply unnecessary, knocking a whole star off the album's rating. The album's presence here is explained by the Chamberlin on opener Coyote Dance, played by Bill Dillon, with some faint choirs hidden amongst the plethora of programming, a.k.a. don't get too excited.
So; that rarity, a pop or rock album that gives a voice to the Native American - pity it isn't a little better, although I feel rather churlish for running it down. Anyway, very little tape-replay, so don't bother on that account.
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Volo Magico n.1 (1971, 36.22) ***/½Volo MagicoLa Realta' Non Esiste Giusto Amore Tutto Quello Che Ho da Dire |
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Ex-Stormy Six bassist Claudio Rocchi released his second album, Volo Magico n.1, in 1971, playing contrasting styles on opposite sides of the LP, with a side-long jammed-out piece on the first side, and three more straightforward singer-songwriter tracks on the reverse. This is actually only borderline progressive, to be honest, with Volo Magico being more late-period psych, and none of the shorter tracks having enough complexity to really qualify. However, none of them are bad at what they do, although it all sounds a bit trippy to my ears, and probably won't appeal to your average fan of the Italian '70s progressive scene.
There's a little Mellotron on Volo Magico, though there's a slight possibility it's real strings. Either way, it only turns up twice during the lengthy piece, with a short chordal section each time, so we're not exactly talking essential listening here. There's also some unidentified woodwind on the closing ballad Tutto Quello Che Ho Da Dire (probably the album's best track), but it's almost certainly real. So; OK album, mediocre 'Tron, not really for progheads at all. And for what it's worth, yes, there was a Volo Magico n.2, although its main title was La Norma del Cielo.
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A Beautiful Glow (2003, 38.20) **½/½ |
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| A Beautiful Glow Love Colour Blessed Tune (We Will Sing Forever...One Day) Gift of Cool Morning Glory New Wave Revolution Scary Drifter |
All I Can Do Great Big Love Loveliest Bride |
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The Listening (2004, 23.58) ***/½The Listening(untitled) I Love the Rain Like I Do The Way That Love is Made Dead Man |
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It isn't hard to deduce, looking at the tracklisting of their fourth album, A Beautiful Glow, that the Rock'n'Roll Worship Circus are that most grisly of things, a Christian rock band. I was actually expecting something far more insipid than I got, although a handful of tracks are fairly barfworthy; the bulk of the album's your typical modern US indie record, with quite a punky edge, surprisingly, though we ain't exactly talking The Ramones... The worst thing about the record, as you might expect, is the putrid God-bothering lyrics; I mean, how many times can you keep repeating the same few meaningless platitudes and have them mean anything? It's all so... one-dimensional. Anyway, tell me something: if they all believe this stuff so implicitly, why do they need to keep reaffirming it? Aren't they sure?
Anyway, getting away from the lyrical content (please...), boss man Gabriel Wilson plays Mellotron, amongst other things, with a cello part on Blessed Tune (We Will Sing Forever... One Day) and what I presume is a phased string line in Loveliest Bride, after the real string part earlier in the song.
So; if only it wasn't for their hideously conservative 'message', the Rock'n'Roll Worship Circus might be quite listenable - tracks like the Byrds-alike Morning Glory are quite (musically) acceptable, but the hardcore Botherer lyrics will ensure that this stays in the Christian community, rarely escaping to the real world outside. Incidentally, have you seen 'Christian' spelt 'Xian'? Makes 'em sound like some ET species from a recent SF novel - 'bout right, really... Anyway, two 'Tron tracks, but nothing you can't live without, ditto the music. Your life will actually be enhanced if you never hear the lyrics, so do yourself a favour and steer clear.
The following year's The Listening EP catches the band at the cusp of becoming The Listening, having had some lineup changes and a shift in musical style. The punky edge has gone, to be replaced by more ambient textures, although in practice, that means they now sound a bit like Pink Floyd, notably on the guitar solo in I Love The Rain. No specific Mellotron credit for keys man Josiah Sherman; definite strings in Like I Do, though whether they're real or not is another matter. So; musically better, and barely noticeable lyrics make this a major improvement on its predecessor, although still not worth it for the 'Tron.
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Brutal Architecture (1995, 64.51) ***/TT |
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| Dark Water part one Wake Me Up Copernicus Brutal Architecture Nether Dark Water part two The Fall of Icarus Resolution |
Rainy Days and Pastel Grays Millennium 3 Mariner |
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Oblivion Days (1999, 52.18/62.36) ***/TT |
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| Dark Water part three: Neptune's Sun Aqua Vitae Oblivion Days Archimedes Banquo's Ghost Space: 1999 Escape Compass Variation |
Break the Silence Dark Water part four: Heavy Water Wake Me Up (live) |
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Progfest 2000 (2001, 21.57) ***/T[Rocket Scientists contribute]Dark Water/Earthbound Aqua Vitae In the Flesh?/Oblivion Days |
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It seems Rocket Scientists are the band that have facilitated keyboard virtuoso Erik Norlander's rise to prominence in the progressive scene over the last decade or so. 'So what do they sound like', I hear you ask? Hmmm. A rather un-dynamic form of prog with 'melodic rock' touches? What was once upon a time known as 'techo-rock/metal', before the rise of the dance scene? Not especially complex progressive rock, essentially, with plenty of great playing, but not so many great tunes, which seems to be enough for many people, sadly.
Brutal Architecture is their second album, after '93's apparently quite mainstream Earthbound, and while it isn't bad, nor is it really that good, to be honest. There are some nice moments, not least the opening Dark Water Part One, but far too much of the material just drifts along without getting around to changing key, or often even tempo, reinforcing the impression of an AOR outfit who decided to tart their sound up a bit for a new audience. Norlander's wife Lana Lane sings backing vox on a couple of tracks, but that really isn't going to endear the album to me, I'm afraid. Mellotron strings on a handful of tracks, notably Wake Me Up and Mariner, but slightly inessential stuff, really.
After a live, doubtless 'Tron-sampled effort, '98's Earth Below and Sky Above, '99 brought the third Rocket Scientists album proper, Oblivion Days; more of the same, to be honest, with the title track probably being the strongest thing here. One amusing addition to the album is a version of the title theme to Gerry Anderson's Space 1999, taken at a ripping pace, ending up being one of the best tracks on the album. Mellotronically-speaking, Aqua Vitae has not only string washes, but a typically 'Strawberry Fields'-style chordal flute part, while the other highlighted tracks all feature more or less 'Tron strings, although the album's Japanese studio bonus track, Compass Variation, is the only one on either of these albums to feature any 'Tron choir. Sampled 'Tron strings on the Jap-only live Wake Me Up, but that doesn't count.
I knew these albums were going to be a bit dull, which is why they're been sitting in my 'review' pile for so long; they're not 'rubbish', not by any means, but nor are they especially interesting, being far too mid-paced, by and large, with the uptempo parts slipping into metal stylings far too easily. As with so many albums recorded in the CD era, they're also much too long (although the US domestic release of Oblivion Days is actually rather shorter), although it could be argued that with several years between releases, you're actually getting less music than you did from a typical '70s band. The difference is, a 40-minute listen doesn't (usually) feel like an endurance test, but once you get over 50 minutes, it'd better be bloody good, or the attention really does begin to wander. Well, it seems that Norlander has put the band to rest in recent years, as nothing's appeared since Oblivion Days, which isn't to say he won't resurrect them at some point in the future. Both these albums have passable amounts of Mellotron (although Norlander doesn't actually own one), but they're really only three-star efforts at best.
By the way, the band have three tracks on Progfest 2000, with Mellotron on Aqua Vitae and Oblivion Days, although none of the 'Tron use sounds especially authentic, and the tracks themselves aren't exactly that essential, either.
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Supermarket (2000, 42.37) ****½/TTT½GovernmentForest Woods Superman Wild Animals Powers (it All Comes to an End...) Route 66 Supermarket Oranges She's Full of Fears |
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One Fantastic Day (2001, 44.38) ****/TTT |
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| In a Blink Seatbelts Flowers Smell of Sweets One Fantastic Day Where the Byrds Fly President of Me Funny Paper/Money Maker |
Astronauts Automatic Man |
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Memories of the Never Happened (2007, 53.33) ****/TTT½ |
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| Glued Half & Half Because of Damaging Words No Worries Old Village House Dear Truth Goes Around It Ain't Easy (When You're Gone) |
Young Believer Corridors Lady Jette |
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I must admit I thought 'Rockfour' was a clever-clever pun on rocquefort, with their slightly cheesy late-'60s sound, but I'm reliably informed it means 'four people who play rock music', which is slightly less interesting. Oh well. They're that rarest of things, an Israeli psych-prog outfit (!) who released three Hebrew-language albums before switching to English for 2000's Supermarket and the following year's One Fantastic Day, with a compilation with one extra track, Another Beginning, available worldwide. Although the band don't own a Mellotron, they've used Zohar Cohen's M400 and ex-Pink Floyd black Mark II.
Supermarket is absolutely excellent; great songwriting, with a sort-of updated early Floyd sound with other stuff thrown in. It's rare to hear any psych-influenced stuff these days that doesn't sound like pure pastiche, but Rockfour get the right balance between tribute and innovation, with a gift for memorable melodies that many (most?) bands would kill for. Of course, the instrumentation's spot-on, too, with a raft of Rickenbackers and various vintage guitars. And the Mellotrons. Noam Rapaport slaps female choirs and strings all over Government, with upfront flutes and strings on Superman and Wild Animals, while Mark II brass mixed with M400 choirs boosts the title track, with heavily layered strings on closer She's Full Of Fears. Superb.
Their follow-up, One Fantastic Day, is almost as good as its predecessor, and may well prove to be its equal given enough plays. Rapaport sticks plenty of 'Tron on again, with considerable quantities of strings and choir on several tracks, President Of Me being the album's Mellotronic highlight, closely followed by Automatic Man, although all highlighted tracks have enough to make them worth a listen. What am I saying? The whole album's excellent, 'Tron or no 'Tron. A compilation released worldwide, Another Beginning, is pretty good, although as with any similar release, good stuff's going to get left off. The title track is exclusive to the album, and keeps up the quality, even if it's 'Tron-free.
I haven't heard 2003's odds'n'sods effort For Fans Only (one 'Tron track, apparently), and the following year's
I'm keen to hear the Hebrew albums, too (which translate as The Man Who Saw it All, Return to the Snail and Rockfour Live), although I get the impression that none of them have any 'Tron content. As for their English-language efforts, I can wholeheartedly recommend Supermarket, One Fantastic Day and Memories of the Never Happened, although you don't really need Another Beginning.
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Premonition (2004, 67.57) ****/TTTT½Beyond CerberusTropospheric Propogation Rainbow Runner Falls the Shadow |
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Rogue Element are a new UK electronic duo comprising Jerome Ramsey (keys) and Brendan Pollard (er, keys). The proud owners of two Mellotrons, it's hardly surprising that they're splattered all over their debut, Premonition, along with a raft of other gear, both analogue and digital, the highlights of which are an ARP Odyssey, a Solina string synth and some modular equipment. Of course, the question to which you all want the answer is... do they sound like Tangerine Dream? Of COURSE they sound like Tangerine Dream, but don't let that put you off; most EM seems to sound like either the Tangs or Klaus Schulze anyway, the chief criteria being "do they do it well?" Well, I can report back to say, "Yes!", they do it excellently, thank you very much. As with all genres of the past, there's very little left to say in this kind of music, but if you can come away from the album saying "I enjoyed that", I'd say that's worth a hundred experimental outfits all producing wank of the highest order. But then, I would.
Yes, it's 'Berlin School'. Yes, each piece starts with a drone section before the step sequencer kicks in. Yes, there's a little distorted guitar lead. No, I don't care that it's all been done before. From what I've heard, Rogue Element are up there with r.m.i. in the UK electronica stakes; apologies to the other current British outfits I haven't heard. Of course, it helps that both bands a) use Mellotrons and b) seem to use very little computer equipment; I was bored to tears by some Euro EM bunch a few years ago who just stood in front of linked PCs playing digital synths along to some pre-programmed rubbish, assuming they were actually playing at all. Organic would seem to be the watchword, and the only way to achieve that is to actually play your bloody instruments in real time. You try sequencing a Mellotron. Yeah, there's loads of sequenced parts on this album, but it's all a million miles away from the kind of programmed dreck that clogs up the racks and gives the genre a bad name. Er, rant over. Anyway, it's difficult to pick out particular Mellotronic highlights here, although the heavy strings presence followed by a marvellous polyphonic flute part in the middle of Falls The Shadow may qualify.
As for the album's Mellotron use, well, how much more 'Tron could you desire? OK, they resist the temptation to play the things non-stop, but every track features dirty great slabs of the things, not only strings, choir and flutes, but brass (don't know which) and, I'm told, some original Tangs sound effects tapes (r.m.i. own at least one original Tangs frame, too). All in all, a 'Tron-lover's delight, and one of the better electronic albums I've heard in quite some time. Buy.
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7" (1967) ***½/TTT½ We Love You Dandelion |
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Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967, 44.20) ****/TTTT½ |
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| Sing This All Together Citadel In Another Land 2000 Man Sing This All Together (See What Happens) She's a Rainbow The Lantern Gomper |
2000 Light Years From Home On With the Show |
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Beggar's Banquet (1968) ***/½ |
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| Sympathy for the Devil No Expectations Dear Doctor Parachute Woman Jig-Saw Puzzle Street Fighting Man Prodigal Son Stray Cat Blues |
Factory Girl Salt of the Earth |
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1967 hit the Stones unprepared for the sea-change about to happen to the music world; they'd been refining their raw R'n'B approach for the previous couple of years, writing songs that broke away from the pack, but psychedelia would be their (temporary) undoing. Or so the history books have it. The We Love You single and Their Satanic Majesties Request album are, to my ears, their greatest achievements. Dark, fucked-up psych; the antithesis of All You Need Is Love and Sergeant Pepper, and all the better for it. The Stones were doing drugs all right; doubtless the same drugs everyone else was doing, but after the unwanted attention they got from the law and the media they really weren't going to come on all 'peace and love', were they?
I think it's safe to say that you have to take We Love You with a largish pinch of salt. Yeah, sure you do, Mick; it's written all over your snarling vocal and Brian Jones' raw Mellotron brass interjections. This is what happens when The Summer Of Love® goes evilly wrong for all concerned. Then came Satanic Majesties...
To my knowledge, the Stones were as sincere as they were about anything with the album, but in places it comes across more as dark pastiche than genuine, especially on the 'hello flowers, hello trees'-style In Another Land. Saying that, it's excellent, particularly the classic 'Tron piece 2000 Light Years From Home, featuring one of the most in-your-face pieces of solo 'Tron strings ever. Brian Jones' Mellotron work is superb, albeit rather cranky, but then rumour has it that he'd never really played keyboards before, let alone a 'Tron. Apart from the ubiquitous strings, there's flutes (Sing This All Together (See What Happens)), brass, possibly saxes, maybe even sound FX, although I think the fast-Leslie Hammond on 2000 Man is real. All in all, a great album; experimental, outrageous, killer material (OK, you get the hook to The Lantern out of your head...). Highly recommended.
Like most of their contemporaries, the Stones went back to basics in '68, releasing Beggar's Banquet to the critics' and most of their fans' relief. Personally, I find it a rather dull affair after the previous year's experimentation (see: The Beatles' White Album), and apart from the infamous Sympathy For The Devil and Street Fighting Man, I can really take or leave it. There's an almost inaudible burst of Jones' Mark II on Stray Cat Blues, but it couldn't really be said that it enhances the song very much. I've been told by various people, not least Philip Johnston, that there are another two 'Tron tracks on the album, with some near-inaudible flutes on Jig-Saw Puzzle, and mandolins on Factory Girl, with the former definitely played by Jones, and the latter by either Jones, Dave Mason or Nicky Hopkins.
So; find We Love You on any greatest hits effort; buy Satanic Majesties immediately, for both music and 'Tron, but only bother with Beggar's Banquet if you're a fan. In my humble opinion, of course.
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Battlefield (1993, 58.33) **½/TT |
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| In Progress The Dreambreaker Open the Gates Ode to Romantic Warriors Battlefield You're My Life Coloured Shades of a Rainbow Montmartre |
Spread Your Wings Song to John March of the Heartknights Beyond the Landmarks |
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Romantic Warriors (from Chick Corea's classic fusion LP, of course) appear to have been a one-off project instigated by the Italian Vinyl Magic label's mastermind, Beppe Crovella, ex-Arti e Mestieri. The cover of Batttlefield is a hoot, especially if it's not supposed to be funny, which it quite clearly isn't. Note the oxen-drawn cart carrying the B3 and Leslie, not to mention the leading knight's strap-on synth controller (oo-er missus). I'm afraid the music isn't that great, either; the analogue and digital keys sit uncomfortably together, with plenty of Hammond, overlaid with cheesy digital brass and orchestral stabs. Current progressive bands seem to've learnt to mix the two with more subtlety.
Much of the album has a faux-ELP feel to it (with Emerson obviously being Crovella's chief influence), crossed with a rather dodgy Euro-neo-prog feel, giving rise to bad pseudo-AOR stuff like The Dreambreaker. A fair chunk of the album's instrumental, which at least spares us the female chorus, but gives Crovella full rein with the brass samples. The Mellotron can be heard on a few tracks; mostly strings with the occasional flute part (chiefly on the cringeworthy Song To John), swelling above whatever else is going on at the time, at least slightly detracting from the cheap digital-ness of the rest of the album. None of the use is exactly groundbreaking, and is invariably mixed with sampled strings or brass, but at least it's there. Strangely, the album's best track is kept till last, with Beyond The Landmarks being the most successful of Crovella's old/new fusion attempts (pun intended), but he sadly resists the temptation to put any Mellotron on the track.
Batttlefield is another of those albums I haven't played in a while that has deeply disappointed me on my return; I'm afraid to say it's far cheesier than I remember it, its only real saving graces being the playing and a few (a very few!) of the keyboard sounds. Oh, and the cover. Don't go too far out of your way.
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Abandoned Meander (2006, 43.47) ***/TT½ |
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| A Beginning Abandoned Meander Bull in the Dell Highuponlone Paraxute Dardevle Indigo Golden Calf |
Widowalk Lucien Rabbit Hole Tempeste Emerald Tendrils |
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Well, I don't quite know what to say about this one, really; I've read that it's the first in a five-album series, based on the 'Discordian law of fives'. OK, I'm lost already, proving that Andrew Douglas Rothbard is probably better educated than me. Said law apparently sonsists of the thesis, antithesis, synthesis, parenthesis and paralysis; I'm beginning to suspect a wind-up here, but I'm just not sure... Anyway, Abandoned Meander is his first solo album after spending the '90s playing in Slaves and Pleasure Forever (no, I don't know them either), and is a truly bonkers concoction of acid folk, twisted psych and general all-round insanity. I honestly can't find anything particularly useful to say about this, although other online reviewers have made a better job of it, so I think I'll just stick to its Mellotron content. Play safe.
Actually, I really can't work out whether or not the Mellotron here is real; the flutes at the end of Emerald Tendrils (and the album) sound pretty good, but the high-speed string part earlier in the song just screams 'sample!', though I've been wrong before... Anyway, assuming they're real, there's some subdued strings on Bull In The Dell and Paraxute, with a more overt part on Indigo. The cellos on Lucien and Rabbit Hole sound pretty real, and the aforementioned flutes and high-speed strings on Emerald Tendrils finish off nicely, assuming we're not talking M-Tron world here.
So; nuts folk/psych/something; if you like your acid deep-fried, you may just go for this. You never know, I may suddenly declare this a masterpiece in five years' time, when I finally get where Mr.Rothbard is coming from. Then again, I may not. Reasonable amount of Mellotron, assuming it's real, reasonable amount of samples if it isn't.
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Flower in Asphalt (1980, 37.13) ***½/T½SkylightGlockenrock Flower in Asphalt Le Grand Rêveur Entrée Fool's Fantasy Dancing Leaves |
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Rousseau, despite their name, were German (the name came from their admiration for the French philosopher), and played a typically German style of progressive rock; instrumental, not over-complex, but melodic. Not the sort of music that's going to make you leap out of your seat with amazement, but when you need to kick back, Flower in Asphalt is one of those albums that lets you relax and go with the flow. Apart from closer Dancing Leaves, none of the pieces far exceeds five minutes; the CD booklet says the band members were enthralled after seeing Camel, and it shows, though not in a bad way.
The keys were pretty standard for the time: piano, organ, synth, string synth and, of course, Mellotron, though I've no idea if the band actually owned the machine used on the album. I don't think I'll ever work out why there was such a reaction against the 'Tron string sound around this time; maybe because of the eight-second limit, which, admittedly, is far from ideal for the sort of Floyd-y, long sustained chords favoured by many bands, particularly in Germany. Anyway, Rainer Hoffmann's 'Tron use seems to be restricted to choir on several tracks (all the flute on the album is real), and doesn't amount to much more than block chords used to reinforce the more epic passages. Mind you, since when was that a problem? It's difficult to single out any particularly outstanding use, but the chords in Fool's Fantasy have an ethereal quality missing from the other relevant tracks.
Rousseau made another two albums, but both 1983's Retreat and '86's Square the Circle (which is pretty terrible, to be honest), are resolutely 'Tron-free. Don't come to Flower in Asphalt expecting to be blown away, but it's a decidedly pleasant album, although the Mellotron work is rather too low-key for my tastes.
