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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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On With the Show (1973, 39.29) ***/TTWe Can Make it RightSummer Satisfaction Jubilee Morning Cassandra Roll Me Over Chicago Jungle Jiver Sweet Valentine Au Revoir |
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Slipstream (1974, 38.57) ***/TT½ |
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| Slipstream Endless Place Wild Love Another Hustler What is it All About? Freedom Silvery Moon Handy Mandy |
When the Sunshine Turns to Grey Earthquake in My Head So Glad You're Mine |
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7" (1975) ***/T½ Summer Love You Go Your Way (I'll Go Mine) |
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...In Concert (1975, 40.03) ***/TT |
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| Cassandra Wishing Well Another Hustler Jungle Jiver Do it Freedom Medley Can You Feel it You've Got the Gun You're All Woman |
Hound Dog Medley Au Revoir Goodbye |
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Mellotrons used:
Sherbet are remembered in Britain (if at all) for their sole UK hit, '76's Howzat, capitalising on the two countries' shared cricket heritage, but they'd been around in their homeland since the end of the '60s. They never pretended to be particularly 'rock', but their mainstream pop was actually rather good in places. 1973's On With the Show catches them before their unfortunate glam period, and is a perfectly competent mainstream pop/rock album of the time, with only side two's epic opener Chicago straying too far from the template. Keys man Garth Porter plays 'Tron on a few tracks, with flutes and strings (complete with tape-wobble) on Jubilee Morning, along with his seemingly ubiquitous Wurly, although the strings on Cassandra and the cheesy Au Revoir (clearly written as a concert closer) are real. More strings on Chicago, and flutes on the dodgy 'joke' track, Jungle Jiver, although that seems to be your lot.
On '74's Slipstream, their appalling new image knocks them back several steps in the credibility stakes; I mean, what were they thinking of? Australia's not exactly known as a haven for the less than totally masculine ('Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' aside) so, although I'm sure the band were as straight as they come, they look like a bunch of King's Cross (Sydney version) tarts on a girls' night out on the sleeve, particularly bassist Tony Mitchell and guitarist/main man Clive Shakespeare. Porter is credited with playing Mellotron on four tracks, although there's also clearly some polyphonic flute and cello work on Handy Mandy. Silvery Moon and When The Sunshine Turns To Grey feature some rather ordinary strings parts, but the album's opening salvo of Slipstream and Endless Place is very listenable, with a high, sustained string note being one of the first sounds you hear. Actually, the title track is quite excellent, with an almost proggy key change into Endless Place, making up for later sins such as Another Hustler. Plenty of 'Tron strings here, with a strange, muted part linking the tracks, plus some choir chords on the second track.
A quick diversion into single-land here, as their no.1 hit Summer Love (released March '75 at the end of summer, northern hemisphereites) featured a reasonable amount of Porter's 'Tron, in a 'substitute real string section' kind of way. A non-album track, it's available on various compilations.
As if to prove they were a 'proper' band, Sherbet's next release was ...In Concert, recorded in Sydney (the Opera House, no less) and Melbourne in front of thousands of screaming girls. The over-enthusiastic MC announces Sherbet as "Australia's number one rock'n'roll band"; um, correct me if I'm wrong, but hadn't AC/DC released at least one album by this point? The rear sleeve features a most fetching pic of vocalist Daryl Braithwaite in the most appalling red and white striped suit/red shirt combo, almost (but not quite) grabbing at his crotch. Lovely... The band could clearly play perfectly well, making a good job of Free's Wishing Well (a hit, I believe, when released as an unusual live single), with Porter getting a nice 'Tron part in, also reproducing Cassandra's studio string parts. You can hear him tuning up (on the flutes) at the beginning of the terrible Jungle Jiver, with a quick left-hand part later in the song (while he plays concert grand with his right), while a faint string part on their medley version of Can You Feel It wraps it up on the 'Tron front.
So; can I recommend these? Hmmm. On With the Show isn't too overtly poppy, while despite starting well, much of Slipstream is overly commercial, although I suppose that's what they did, so it seems a tad unfair to berate them for it. There's some decent Mellotron work on several tracks on all albums, so I think this one's up to you. I'm told there's some 'Tron on a single from '75, Summer Love, which can only be found on compilations; I'll confirm should I ever hear the track in question. '76's Howzat has detailed instrumental credits, but sadly, it's nowhere to be seen, so it seems that's your lot on the 'Tron front.
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Killandra (1998, 44.46) ***/½ |
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| Flow Mockingbird Woods Eternal Melancthe Windhaven Rowan's Song Wing Rider Gateways |
Killandra Dusk Dawn |
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Shine Dión are a female-fronted Norwegian folk outfit, bordering on new-age territory in places. After a 3-track EP in 1994, Berkana, it took the band another four years to come up with the full-length Killandra, containing two of the EP's three songs (although I don't know whether or not they're the same versions). It's all perfectly pleasant stuff, but reminds me more of Ritchie Blackmore's current project, Blackmore's Night, than anything more authentic.
Jørn Andersen guests on Mellotron and mandolin, but there's startlingly little 'Tron on the album, given that it apparently features on two of Berkana's three tracks. In fact, although there seem to be (synth-driven) ethereal choirs a-plenty, the only tracks I'd say are likely to contain 'Tron are Woods Eternal and Rowan's Song (the same as the Berkana tracks), both with some distant choirs.
You really couldn't call this a Mellotron Album by any stretch of the imagination, to be honest, but if you like the sound of ethereal folky stuff, you might just go for it. They're also supposed to use one on 2002's Wyn; I'll report back if I get to hear a copy.
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Shingetsu (1979, 43.36) ****/TTTOniThe Other Side of Morning Influential Street Afternoon - After the Rain Fragments of the Dawn Freeze Night Collector Return of the Night |
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Shingetsu Live, 25-26 July 1979, ABC Kaikan Hall Tokyo (2004, 67.33) ****/TT½ |
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| Oni Fragments of the Dawn The Other Side of Morning Influential Street Afternoon - After the Rain She Can't Return Home Night Collector Reddish Eyes on Mirror |
Voyage for Killing Love part 2 Return of the Night |
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Shingetsu ('New Moon') were a relatively early Japanese progressive outfit, along with Ain Soph, as the '70s scene in their country was more psych than prog (Cosmos Factory, Far East Family Band), and most of the known Japanese bands were active during the '80s. As a result, their influences are wholly from the '70s, making Shingetsu one of the best Japanese progressive albums, bar none. Genesis are an ever-present influence, although they're an awfully long way from being a clone, despite their seeming lack of any noticeable local input into their sound, aside from the Japanese vocals. Oni is a particularly strong opener, although there isn't actually a bad track here, which is more than you can say for many of their successors.
Keys man Akira Hanamoto uses the usual 'boards, with decent helpings of Hammond etc., plus Mellotron on several tracks. The flute solo on Oni actually fooled me into thinking it was real for a minute, before it speeds up, with Hanamoto playing one of the fastest Mellotron parts I can remember hearing. There's one more flute part on the album, and cellos on Fragments Of The Dawn, with everything else being standard strings, used well, although there's some string synth to be heard, too.
In 1994, Japanese progressive label released three Shingetsu-related albums, including their debut on CD for the first time. The other two were a live effort, Akai Me No Kagami and an archive release containing unreleased material as Serenade/Shingetsu. However, 25 years after the event, those wonderful Musea people have unearthed another previously-unreleased live tape from soon after the album's release, and it's really rather good. The sleeve lists ten tracks, though there's only nine sequenced on the disc, but it seems the discrepancy is in the otherwise unreleased 20-minute Reddish Eyes On Mirror/Voyage For Killing Love Part 2. The music is everything you'd expect of prime Japanese progressive; highly melodic and (I suspect) very theatrical, they took the lush symphonic sound of Genesis and Camel and ran with it, adding elements from their own culture, as does most good progressive rock.
Reasonable amounts of 'Tron on board from both regular keys man Akira Hanamoto and guest second keyboardist Takashi Kokubo (left), with flute and string parts on lengthy opener Oni and cellos and faint choir on Fragments Of The Dawn, although there's rather lesser use on the other highlighted tracks. It's perfectly possible that there are more backing strings, but it's rather difficult to tell amongst the mélange of keys layered throughout many tracks, including two different string synths.
So; if big, lush symphonic prog is your bag, I can wholeheartedly recommend these, although Haruhiko Tsuda's restrained guitar work isn't going to be to all tastes.
See: Serenade/Shingetsu | Makoto Kitayama with Shingetsu Project
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In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster (2005, 38.57) ***/T |
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| Goretex Weather Report REDRUM Romani Perdurabo Aleister Explains Everything 31=300=20 (it is By Will Alone I Set My Mind in Motion) |
Where Death Comes to Cry The Smoking Dog Magazine RWRK You Can Try the Best You Can |
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Shining are a Norwegian prog/avant-garde troupe, some of whose members have also played with Jaga Jazzist. 2005's In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster is their third album, and I were to tell you that it's not the easiest listen ever, I wouldn't be lying. Influences include the more out-there regions of jazz, French chanson (no, really), the RIO of Henry Cow et al. and even the occasional burst of more 'mainstream' prog.
Despite two credited Mellotron players (Jørgen Munkeby and Morten Qvenild), there's very little obvious 'Tron on the album, although the choirs on 31=300=20 (It Is By Will Alone I Set My Mind In Motion) are pretty real-sounding, which is nice. So; one for those of you who feel that Slapp Happy are boringly normal, or Univers Zero sound like Genesis. Not much obvious Mellotron, but it's hardly the album's stand-out feature, anyway.
See: Jaga Jazzist
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VI / Klagopsalmer (2009, 50.32) ***/T½Vilseledda Barnasjälars HemvistPlågoande o'Helga Plågoande Fullständigt Jävla Död Inuti Ohm - Sommar Med Siv Krossade Drömmar och Brutna Löften Total Utfrysning |
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Shining (nothing to do with the Norwegian band, above) seem to be the kind of death metal band that gives the genre a bad name, allegedly glorifying suicide and self-harm, although I remain slightly sceptical without seeing translated lyrics; 'moral panics' are easy to whip up, and bands like this are ideal candidates for vilification. Going by their sixth album, VI / Klagopsalmer (Hymns of Lament), they play the kind of highly proficient thrash/'technical' metal beloved of a certain kind of young man who needs to get out more. The album actually has its moments, not least the surprisingly tasteful middle part of Ohm - Sommar Med Siv and the whole of the desolate, acoustic Krossade Drömmar Och Brutna Löften, although a surfeit of death grunts and impeccably-played but totally derivative riffs tend to spoil the overall effect.
Unusually for him, Norway's premier 'Tron-merchant, Lars Fredrik Frøislie (Wobbler, White Willow, a million others), plays with a Swedish band this time round, adding Mellotron and celeste to the album. We get choirs on Vilseledda Barnasjälars Hemvist and flutes and strings on Plågoande O'Helga Plågoande, although the cellos in lengthy closer Total Utfrysning are real. You probably don't need this for its Mellotron use, but for relatively tuneful black metal, you could do a lot worse.
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Rough Dreams (2002, 43.15) **/½ |
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| Wagers Gone Too Far After the Prince and the Showgirl All Because You Told Me So Thundercats Snake Eyes Stealing Home John, 2/14 |
Reseda Casino Ten Minutes Queen-Sized Tomb Flycatcher |
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Shivaree apparently make much of their Southern background, but I can't say it has that much effect on their sound, at least to my ears. Going by their second album, 2002's Rough Dreams (apparently unreleased in the States), they play a slightly gothic (note: not Goth) kind of indie, with the improbably-named Ambrosia Parsley (which almost certainly means it's her real name) doing her slightly odd, childlike vocal thing. Y'know, you're either going to like this or you're not... Half measures are unlikely.
Danny McGough is credited with Chamberlin, but on an album that also has a credit for 'string arrangements', you know you're in trouble. The one place I think I can hear it is on Stealing Home, with some strings that actually sound tape-generated, although I wouldn't actually bet anything very important on it. Generally speaking, this irritated the fuck out of me, and probably will you too, unless you're a fan of the band who's Googled their way here. Next to no Chamby either, so I really wouldn't bother.
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Brand New Knife (1996, 46.43) ***/T |
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| Explosion! Wind Your Spring The Perfect World E.S.P. Loop Di Loop Wonder Wine Magic Joe Fruits & Vegetables |
Tower of the Sun Keep on Rockin' Frogphobia Buddha's Face One Week |
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Shonen Knife's schtick seems to be cutesy girly pop-garage punk, Japanese style; note the two different sets of overly-cute girl-dolls-with-guitars pictured on the sleeve of their fifth album, Brand New Knife (ho ho) for proof. They're actually very good at it (the pop-garage punk, that is), although I'm surprised at how relatively laid-back the album is; long way to go before Destiny's Child territory, mind... My favourite track? Has to be closer One Week, chiefly for its ridiculously cutesy-pie lyrics. Sample:
| Thursday, I drive to a toy shop And I buy a Barbie doll |
Guitarist/vocalist Naoko Yamano plays 'Melotron', with a brief string part on The Perfect World, although that's your lot. So; an album that should make all but the most curmudgeonly smile, at least once or twice, although it's somewhat thin on the 'Tron front. Despite rumours, no 'Tron on their follow-up, '98's Happy Hour, although the material's as good, with the added bonus of a great version of Daydream Believer. Incidentally, it seems there's a track on their second effort, 1990's 712, called Blue Oyster Cult; it seems to be about getting food poisoning. Right...
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Île de Fièvre (1978, 38.21) ****/TT½Île de FièvreLe Sang des Capucines Choral Himogene Lierre d'Aujourd'hui Laocksetal |
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Shylock were one of several rather good late-'70s French progressive bands who all missed the boat as punk arrived, despite signing to CBS France. Their first release, Gialorgues (****) is an excellent instrumental album, probably marginally superior to Île de Fièvre, in fact. King Crimson were a major influence on the band (guitarist Frederic L'Epee even played a black Les Paul while sitting down), though you wouldn't believe it to hear this album's title track; symphonic in a Genesis vein, this is a lengthy synth-heavy piece, strong on melody and very different to the rest of the album. Didier Lustig's Mellotron use is very sparse here, with just a few string chords creeping in towards the end of the piece.
From Le Sang Des Capucines on, Shylock turn more towards their prime influence and become rather more dissonant, although Choral on side two is precisely what it says on the packet, with some layered 'Tron choirs and strings (Didier actually mailed me to confirm the latter). The album's closing piece, Laocksetal spends several minutes being very Crimson before the Mellotron strings enter, but not in an especially Crimson-like manner, closing the album with a series of repeating chords.
Île de Fièvre's an excellent album, if slightly derivative, although the fractured funk of Himogene shows where the band may have headed if they'd stayed together. Sadly, after arguments with the record company and the rejection of their third album, they split in 1979. I really can wholeheartedly recommend both albums on musical grounds, although this isn't a full-on 'Tron classic. Top marks to Musea for rescuing these.
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The Firelit S'coughs (2001, 37.08) ***/T |
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| Listening to Sound 3 Hours Matamoros Who Wrote the Night? Right Eye, Left Eye The Sighting Felsenmeer Unanimal |
Sink the Town Berthode Offshore Candlelight Lipstick |
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Sicbay are a bassless Minneapolis-based outfit whose members have all graduated from other bands, obviously feeling happier with their current style. Which is? Um, sort of punky something-or-other; sorry, I'm not really up on what they're doing, but it's both energetic and tuneful, which can't be all bad, not to mention the obvious Cardiacs influence on 3 Hours. I've no idea why their debut album is called The Firelit S'coughs, but I'm sure it means something to someone.
Guitarists Dave Erb and Ed Rodriguez both play Mellotron, with strings on Who Wrote The Night? and a typically 'Strawberry Fields'-style flute part on Right Eye, Left Eye, although that seems to be it. So; not one for you progheads (no, really?), or particularly for the Mellotron enthusiast, although two fairly decent 'Tron tracks make this worth hearing if you run into a copy. Incidentally, thanks to Marina for providing my review copy. Don't suppose that Cardiacs influence had anything to do with it, Marina?
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Got What We Want (2002, 37.21) ***½/TT |
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| Don't Want You Back Be Like Normal Sorry Revisited It'd Be Nice (To Have You Around) One and Only Got What I Want Last Chance Everyone's a Poet |
Sick and Tired Sweet Little Woman Nobody |
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The Sights are more often than not described as 'rock'n'roll', probably more because they come from Detroit than because it's entirely accurate. OK, some of their second album, 2002's Got What We Want is defiantly rock'n'roll (One And Only, the title track), but at least as much of the record is more the heavy end of powerpop than anything (It'd Be Nice (To Have You Around), Last Chance), proving their adaptability, while Be Like Normal has some of that '77 punk energy about it, while maintaining its tunefulness.
The album's keyboards are, unusually, played by the drummer, one Dave Shettler, with a bit of Hammond, plus Mellotron on two tracks, with seriously full-on string parts on opener Don't Want You Back and Sorry Revisited, intense enough to give the album a full two Ts. So; one for powerpop fans who'll scream if they hear one more McGuinn-ian 12-string, with some worthwhile 'Tron work.
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Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (2008, 55.40) ****½/T |
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| Goddledigook Inní Mé Syngur Vitleysingur Góðan Daginn Við Spilum Endalaust Festival Suð í Eyrum Ára Bátur |
Illgresi Fljótavík Straumnes All Alright |
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Sigur Rós are the kind of band for whom the term 'transcendental' was invented; they construct giant edifices of sound, almost invariably major-key, using analogue keyboards, bowed guitar and an invented language, Vonlenska, or Hopelandic (people often assume, wrongly, that they're singing in Icelandic). They made their name through several enigmatically-titled releases, somehow merging 'melancholy' and 'triumphalism' into the kind of music that many prog fans have gone ga-ga about, although their appeal is, startlingly, far more mainstream than that, or they wouldn't have a career.
Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust ('with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly') is generally regarded as the point at which Sigur Rós cheered up, although, of course, nothing's ever that simple. While certainly more upbeat than their previous output, it's still quite unmistakeably Sigur Rós, a couple of tracks pushing the ten-minute barrier, although I believe most of it's sung in Icelandic, with one song in English. Careful, chaps... Essentially, though, it's every bit as good as everything else they've done, just a little more optimistic, and rumour has it that their next release will be more low-key, anyway.
Somewhere along the line, the band discovered the Mellotron; I suspect it might've been sooner had they not been isolated in Iceland, a country not known for its Mellotronic activity. The last I heard, they're ordering a new M4000 from Streetly Electronics, but haven't been able to decide what sounds they want in it... They borrowed an M400 for the recording of Með Suð..., adding strings to Fljótavík, although there are several other places on the album it could be, but apparently isn't. Although you'd think keyboard player Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson would've played it, I believe it was actually drummer Orri Páll Dýrason.
So; another wonderful Sigur Rós album. Bastards. Very little Mellotron, mind, but I'd like to think that when they finally get their M4000 sorted out, they might use it a little more. A weird postscript: my girlfriend (yes, I have one) and I went to see the band on tour, then got a call from Mellotron HQ a couple of weeks later: would we like to lend them mine for a DVD shoot at a major gig? Er, whadd'ya think? We belted back up to London and hauled it up to Alexandra Palace, a grand old gothic pile on a hill staring out across the city. We got it soundchecked, then it was hidden under a black sheet until they played Fljótavík, at which point it was produced to minor cheers (!), Orri reprising his studio part on the string section. Wait for the DVD, boys'n'girls...
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Silver Sunshine (2004, 42.10) ****/TT |
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| Velvet Skies I See the Silver Sunshine Trinkets Way Up in the Big Sky Nightmares If I Had the Time Greenfield Park Girl |
When She Wakes Tomorrow Miranda May Merry Go Round |
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A Small Pocket of Pure Spirit (2005, 26.59) ****/T½144,000Waiting for the Sun She's the Reason Another Day Hiroshima Never Again [bonus track: Winter Witch (home demo)] |
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Silver Sunshine are a new psych outfit from San Diego, with a day-glo time machine set for 'back', although their retro textures occasionally sound more like previous '60s-influenced bands than the real thing. Who cares, though, when they make a noise this glorious? Despite being Californians, they freely mix the US and UK wings, so the Strawberry Alarm Clock rub shoulders with Love, then Pink Floyd and the Kinks take a bath together. Backwards cymbals, backwards entire mixes, phasing, voice-through-Leslie, you name it, they do it. The lyrics are, of course, ridiculous, but isn't that the point? Conor Riley and Kayo Mitsuishi play the Mellotron, with occasional strings and high-in-the-mix cello on opener (and best song?) Velvet Skies, a more obvious string part on their 'theme' song, I See The Silver Sunshine and major flutes and cellos on the balladic Nightmares, although I can't hear anything obvious on Miranda May.
The following year's A Small Pocket of Pure Spirit is a worthy successor to their album, although I'm not sure why they didn't wait until they had an album's-worth of material. While the songs are uniformly excellent, Another Day is an awful lot too White Album for its own good, although Hiroshima Never Again ups the ante with its instrumental intensity. 'Tron from Conor Riley and Richard Vaughan this time round, with flutes and strings on Waiting For The Sun and, surprisingly, flutes on the 'bonus track', a home demo of Winter Witch, alongside a real one.
So, a thoroughly derivative and bloody brilliant album, with an equally good and marginally less derivative EP. Not bad 'Tron, either. Buy.
n.b. Silver Sunshine have now morphed into the vastly more rocking Astra, although so far, the only material available is on download from their MySpace page.
See: Astra
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Black Leather Mojo (2001, 47.29) ***½/T |
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| Sonic Shake Divine Imperfection Anyway But Maybe Girls Are Better Than Boys Brain Sugar (Whatever Happened to) Rock'n'Roll Girls The Monkey Zoo |
Too Many Hippies (in the Garden of Love) Inside Out I Wanna Be New Church of the Broken Hearted Take it All Why Don'tcha |
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The clue's in the name; SilverGinger 5 are another Ginger side-project, when he's not wrestling with trying to keep a Wildhearts lineup drug-free, not to mention himself. As with everything he does, seemingly, Black Leather Mojo is an album of catchy pop songs played through a distortion box on 11; think: Cheap Trick with attitude. While this isn't 100% my bag, it seems to be more than competent at what it does, and should probably have sold many more copies than it undoubtedly did.
The reason this is here is that my Mellotron was used on it. Ginger's a huge Cardiacs fan (good man!), and got Tim Smith to produce it, who brought in his old mucker Bill "William D." Drake to play keyboards. Tim rang me and I asked if I could bring the ol' M400 down, and (as I've said somewhere else around here), you don't say no to Tim... Credited with 'piano and organ', Bill actually sticks the 'Tron on a couple of tracks, with strings on (Whatever Happened To) Rock'n'Roll Girls, then lovely 'Strawberry Fields'-style flutes, and choirs on Church Of The Broken Hearted.
So; you're by no means all going to like this - I'm still not sure if I do - but it's well done, and far more exciting (remember that?) than most modern metal releases, of whatever type. Not much 'Tron, but nice to finally hear my own machine on CD again.
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Mothertongue (1997, 43.25) ***½/TT |
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| 2000 Slumber Away Whale Merry Go Round Through the Gates of Morning Bright I'm Over You Sulphur Redrum |
Wilson (I Can't Get You Out of My Head) If She Says Suffering Jesus Tidepool |
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Difficult to know quite how to describe Simmer's music; sort of indie-ish, but somehow better, with material that, in places, beats yer standard indie-mongers hands down. Maybe being Dutch helps, not having the manipulative UK music press (or what's left of it) breathing down your neck the whole time. Anyway, songs like Slumber Away and Through The Gates Of Morning Bright make Mothertongue a decent enough listen, although if you're not into modern guitar pop you probably aren't going to go wild about this.
On the Mellotron front, from guitarist Theo de Jong, the excellent Slumber Away has a string melody following the guitar line, until the rest of the band drops out, leaving the 'Tron playing solo for eight bars, reiterating at the end of the song. Fantastic! The strings on Redrum are almost inaudible, but the upfront 'Tron on Suffering Jesus makes up for it, leaving their use restrained but effective. All in all, it's a bit of a shame Simmer seem to have disappeared; well, this album is seven years old at the time of writing, and I can't trace anything else by the band. Anyway, those of you into the indie thing may well like this, although the 'Tron use isn't essential.
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Something in Between (2007, 46.22) ***/½ |
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| Don't Mind Me Hold You Today New Scratches We'll See Long Road Cloudy in L.A. Down Tonight Hey |
Blues on a Sunny Day Go Easy on Me All the Time I've Got |
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Stephen Simmons is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, so it comes as no surprise to learn that there's a distinct country influence in his music. Saying that, it's a long way from Grand Ol Opry schmaltz, for which we have to be grateful, although sometimes the Nashville in Simmons rises a little too close to the surface, as on Down Tonight. The album's probably better lyrically than musically, to be honest, which is probably the way with a lot of country music, but it's far from offensive, although it has a faint air of 'heard it all before' about it.
Richard McLaurin is credited with Mellotron, amongst other things, but the album's strings all sound real, leaving nothing but vague, background flutes on Blues On A Sunny Day, one of the album's better tracks. If you don't dig country (I bet most country people don't say 'dig'), you're not going to go for this, but it does its job well, despite a near-complete lack of any Mellotronic involvement.
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Harper Simon (2009, 30.18) ***/T |
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| All to God Wishes and Stars The Audit Shooting Star Tennessee Ha Ha Cactus Flower Rag All I Have Are Memories |
The Shine Berkeley Girl |
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Harper Simon (presumably named for his mother, Peggy Harper) is Paul Simon's first child, born in 1972, and despite working as a musician since his teens, has taken until 2009 to release his eponymous solo album. Unsurprisingly, it's not a million miles away from something his dad may have recorded in the '70s, with the addition of several country tracks, recorded with a crack team of Nashville sessioneers, although the bulk of the short album falls into the singer-songwriter bracket. To be honest, I can't say I found it particularly engaging, but what do I know? It seems to do what it does well enough, although its popularity is unlikely to match most of dad's records, with the possible exception of Songs from Capeman (cue unwarranted snigger). Actually, is it unwarranted? We're talking about the man who copyrighted the ancient folk tune Scarborough Fair, learned from Martin Carthy during Simon's British sojourn in 1965.
Er, anyway... Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto) plays (real?) Mellotron flutes on The Audit, although the strings sound real, while Patrick Warren adds his usual Chamberlin, with irritatingly real-sounding flutes and strings on Ha Ha. Overall, then, a decent enough effort, actually quite timeless (always a good move), although unlikely to excite anyone very much, including tape-replay enthusiasts.
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7" (1967) *****/TTT Kites Like the Sun Like the Fire |
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7" (1968) ***/TT For Whom the Bell Tolls Sleep |
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7" (1968) ****½/TTT½ Part of My Past This Story Never Ends |
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7" (1968) ****/TTT Thinking About My Life Velvet and Lace |
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Part of My Past (2004, recorded 1966-69, 151.18) ****/TTTT |
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| I See the Light It is Finished Reservations You Need a Man Day Time, Night Time I've Seen it All Before Medley: 60 Minutes of Your Love/A Lot of Love Love Get Off My Bach There's a Little Picture Playhouse What is Soul Teacher, Teacher Amen Who Cares |
Kites Like the Sun Like the Fire For Whom the Bell Tolls Sleep Part of My Past This Story Never Ends Thinking About My Life Velvet and Lace We Are the Moles (part 1) We Are the Moles (part 2) Broken Hearted Pirates She Gave Me the Sun The Eagle Flies Tonight Give it All Back Stained Glass Window Please Come Back |
Light on Dark Water What in This World What Cha Gonna Do Don't Make it So Hard (on Me Baby) Kindness Castle in the Sky Loneliness is Just a State of Mind Laughing Boy From Nowhere You Can't You See Now Rain |
Something in the Way She Moves I'm Going Home Medley: 60 Minutes of Your Love/A Lot of Love Love Get Off My Bach There's a Little Picture Playhouse Day Time, Night Time I See the Light What is Soul Teacher, Teacher Amen Who Cares Reservations |
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'Simon Dupree' (an entirely fictitious individual) and his Big Sound were in fact a Portsmouth-based soul/R'n'B band formed around the mid-'60s, led by the three Shulman brother, Derek, Ray and Phil. They played the obligatory hundreds of gigs a year, covering well-known US soul numbers to crowds of sweaty revellers up and down the country, and doubtless made a decent living for a while. Their sole album proper (excuse the pun), 1967's Without Reservations was presumably the cream of their current stage set, and correspondingly is of little interest to all but UK '60s soul fans, to be honest.
Like so many of their contemporaries, though, their management caught the whiff of joss-sticks and patchouli on the air and insisted they reinvent themselves as a psychedelic combo. The band hated the idea, but went along with it, producing a cast-iron psych classic in Kites. Recorded at Abbey Road, they experimented with various exotic instruments, including the studio's new Mellotron, heard to superb effect on the track (played by Eric Hine, I believe). Even without it, the record would be wonderful, complete with Japanese (or is it Chinese?) poetry recited by an oriental-sounding female in the middle eight, wind chimes, gongs, you name it really. I can't believe I only first heard this a few years ago; it completely sums up its era, every bit as well as Strawberry Fields or Nights In White Satin. Wonderful.
The band released another five singles before their eventual demise, or six if you count the one credited to The Moles, with variable Mellotron content. For Whom The Bell Tolls was a minor hit (their only other one), but while good, with reasonable 'Tron strings, it's nowhere near the standard set by Kites. Part Of My Past is vastly better, and should, by rights, have been huge; mucho 'Tron flutes this time round. Thinking About My Life is excellent, too, if 'Tron free, although its equally good b-side (why wasn't this a single?), Velvet And Lace, has some great 'Tron string work. Although it's not relevant here, particular praise must go to the rather jolly Broken Hearted Pirates, from early '69, which I would guess was a paean to the pirate radio stations, though that's no more than speculation.
As far as I can work out, although their last recording session was in October '69, the band must have effectively dissolved by then, with the Shulmans reinventing themselves without managerial 'help', recruiting some extra members and becoming '70s prog gods Gentle Giant, themselves minor-league Mellotron users. But then, you knew that already, didn't you?
Various compilations slipped out across the years, including Kites, from the early '80s, which is particularly pointless, consisting of all their r'n'b material plus the Kites and Bells a- and b-sides. Avoid. Finally, in early 2004, over 35 years after the event, a comprehensive roundup of the band's career was announced. Part of My Past appears to be sequenced in chronological order of recording, opening with their first three singles a's and b's, followed by the remainder of Without Reservations. The rest of disc one comprises their subsequent singles, starting with Kites and including both sides of The Moles' single. The last eleven tracks on disc two are the original LP, sequenced correctly, which leaves 16 tracks which appear to be previously unreleased. I believe a second Dupree album was recorded in 1968, provisionally titled Once More Into the Breach Dear Friends, but remained unreleased after their post-Kites singles flopped, so it would appear that this less-legendary-than-it-deserves 'lost' album has finally surfaced.
Highlights of the previously-unheard material are the brilliant, melancholy Please Come Back, What Cha Gonna Do (an early version of Part Of My Past) and Castle In The Sky, but to be honest, most of the first half of disc two (which starts with Stained Glass Window) is excellent, although the quality drops off a little after Laughing Boy From Nowhere (where the 'Tron part may possibly be played by Elton John). On the Mellotron front, most of the relevant tracks have the typical Mark II strings'n'flutes, but the excellent What In This World is splattered with brass, and the even better What Cha Gonna Do opens with a killer polyphonic flute part, with loads more during the song, not to mention the seriously upfront strings part on Don't Make It So Hard (On Me Baby). Just about every highlighted track above features loads of Mark II, making this something of a 'Tron-lover's delight, especially considering how unexpected the unreleased tracks are. OK, you may be thinking "Only 13 tracks out of 55?", but when you consider that 11 of those are duplicates, and at least 25 of the 55 are deeply inessential, it starts to look rather more worthwhile. I shall be compiling my own single-CD of everything from Kites to somewhere around Something In The Way She Moves, which should cut the crap fairly decisively.
So; any previous compilations are rendered utterly redundant by the excellent Part of My Past, which I urge you to buy at your earliest convenience. The only reason it doesn't get a higher star rating is its high level of track redundancy, although I'm all in favour of releasing bands' entire oeuvres, and you can't have it both ways, can you? So, the boring stuff's boring, but the brilliant stuff's, er, brilliant, with stacks of wonderful Mellotron work. Buy. Or, if you're still a bit wary, track down Kites and hear what you've been missing.
Bassist Pete O'Flaherty's site
See: The Moles | Gentle Giant
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Ceinwen (1995, 53.34) ***½/TTT½Hey!Under the Seal A Bedtime Story Devonian Forest Pilgrim's Progress B.A.J.S. Radio Kadazan |
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Despite their being Swedish and existing in the '90s, I can't say I know an awful lot about Simon Says. Various online interviews confirm that they started as the brainchild of bassist/keyboard player Stefan Renström and vocalist Daniel Fäldt, recording their debut, Ceinwen, before they were in a position to play live. They turned down most of the gigs they were offered, and were put on the back-burner after a while, as life overtook various members. Seven years later, after working on an electronic project, Renström realised he'd written enough Simon Says-style material for a new album, and after tracking Fäldt down, reformed the band, releasing Paradise Square in 2002 (reviewed here). Both albums are reasonable progressive releases, with occasional inspired moments, although lacking the spark of the best Swedish bands of the '90s (and no, I'm not talking about The Flower Kings...).
The problem with Simon Says' keyboards is that, alongside a (confirmed) real Mellotron and what almost certainly isn't a real Hammond, lurk some digital things Whose Name We Dare Not Speak. Actually, I've heard an awful lot worse use of modern synths, not least dodgy Swedes Manticore, and as for Italians the Romantic Warriors, let's not even go there... Anyway, as far as Renström's 'Tron use goes on Ceinwen, the strings are murky, the choirs murkier, but the choir chord at the end of A Bedtime Story does the 'Mellotron ripple', shifting inversions to sustain the sound, as if to prove its veracity. Strings all over Pilgrim's Progress, plus the unmistakable rasp of the low cello notes, which are in fact a double bass (don't ask). Flutes in B.A.J.S. Radio, which means they had two tape frames (again confirmed), with more strings in Kadazan, making this actually quite a passable Mellotron album.
Anyway, a fairly good album, without being at all outstanding, with really quite decent 'Tron work, although the band seem to be obscure enough that you may have trouble tracking this down.
See: Sampledelica!
