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.

Smashing Pumpkins  (US)

	Siamese Dream  (1993,  63.40)  **½/T
	Cherub Rock Quiet Today Hummer Rocket Disarm Soma Geek U.S.A.	Mayonaise Spaceboy Silverfuck Sweet Sweet Luna

	Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness  (1995,  121.41)  **/T
	Mellon Collie and the   Infinite Sadness Tonight, Tonight Jellybelly Zero Here is No Why Bullet With Butterfly Wings To Forgive Fuck You (an Ode to No One) Love	Cupid De Locke Galapogos Muzzle Porcelina of the Vast Oceans Take Me Down Where Boys Fear to Tread Bodies Thirty-Three In the Arms of Sleep 1979	Tales of a Scorched Earth Thru the Eyes of Ruby Stumbleine X.Y.U. We Only Come Out at Night Beautiful Lily (My One and Only) By Starlight Farewell and Goodnight

	The Aeroplane Flies High  (1996,  136.00)  *½/T
	Bullet With Butterfly Wings ...Said Sadly You're All I've Got Tonight Clones (We're All) A Night Like This Destination (Unknown) Dreaming 1979 Ugly	The Boy Cherry Believe Set the Ray to Jerry Zero God Mouths of Babes Tribute to Johnny Maquis in Spades	Pennies Pastichio Medley Tonight, Tonight Meladori Magpie Rotten Apples Jupiter's Lament Medellia of the Gray Skies Blank	Tonite Reprise Thirty-Three The Last Song The Aeroplane Flies High   (Turns Left, Looks Right) Transformer The Bells My Blue Heaven

CDS  (1997,  17.05)  **½/TT½ The End is the Beginning is the End The Beginning is the End is the Beginning The Ethers Tragic The Guns of Love Disastrous

	Adore  (1998,  78.59)  *½/T
	To Sheila Ava Adore Perfect Daphne Descends Once Upon a Time Tear Crestfallen Appels + Oranjes	Pug The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete Annie-Dog Shame Behold! The Nightmare For Martha Blank Page

	Machina: the Machines of God  (2000,  72.58)  *½/T
	The Everlasting Gaze Raindrops & Sunshowers Stand Inside Your Love I of the Mourning The Sacred and Profane Try, Try, Try Heavy Metal Machine This Time	The Imploding Voice Glass and the Ghost Children Wound The Crying Tree of Mercury With Every Light Blue Skies Bring Tears Age of Innocence

Current availability:

• All albums: Hut/Virgin
• The End is the Beginning is the End: Warners

I suppose my chief problem with the Smashing Pumpkins is one of pretentiousness; now, I realise that lays me open to multiple charges of hypocrisy, being a major prog fan, but I'm actually of the opinion that a good progressive band is rarely actually pretentious, because they are playing and writing within their limits. As for the Pumpkins... Exhibit A: album titles - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Machina: the Machines Of God (That is NOT a translation of 'deus ex machina'!). Exhibit B: song titles - Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Behold! The Night Mare; need I continue? I rest my case, M'lud.

Their second release, 1993's Siamese Dream is rather less wanky, being a sort-of grunge (remember that?) album, which apart from its rather self-important lyrics works well enough, although I can't honestly say it's my kind of thing. Mainman Billy Corgan has an extremely irritating voice, although he generally keeps it in check here, and I'm struck by how good drummer Jimmy Chamberlin is (listen to the intro to Silverfuck), which explains why he's done so much session work. The material doesn't really engage me, I'm afraid, though at least half the tracks work on the pure energy level, particularly in the drumming department. As far as Corgan's Mellotron usage goes, I've read that various tracks are full of the thing, but all I can hear is some fairly full-on strings (and flutes?) on Spaceboy, although both Disarm and Luna have either real or fake strings, too.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Hmmm, hmmm and hmmm again. What on earth possessed Corgan to think that would be a good title? Ludicrously pretentious, it gives the impression that whoever came up with it isn't half as bright as he'd like to think he is, as does the later Machina: the Machines Of God. The album itself is fantastically overblown; think 'grunge Queen' and you might be getting close, although with not a trace of that band's legendary sense of humour. This impression is intensified by the titles for the individual discs: 'Dawn to Dusk' and 'Twilight to Starlight'. Even more hmmm. Its worst crime, though, in my book, is that a great deal of it is very dull and it's appallingly over-long. Millions of record-buyers would argue that point, but I found myself losing the will to live as I staggered onto the second disc (sadly not literally). I can't really find any highpoints, to be honest, although there are a handful of Mellotron tracks. The title track is easily the best of these, being a two-ish minute piano piece with some lovely 'Tron strings, but neither Cupid De Locke or Galapogos have particularly worthwhile use, with very average strings in both. There may be other 'Tron use on the album, but if so, it's well-buried, so don't go out of your way for this one. No, I mean it.

The Aeroplane Flies High is a five-CD EP set, consisting of the CD singles from Mellon Collie, and is absolutely interminable. There are some covers scattered amongst the original numbers, but nothing I know, so I can't knowledgably converse on the subject. What I do know is that the 23-minute Pastichio Medley is the sort of thing that has inspired mass murder, and most of the rest of the material is pretty awful, too. I thought I'd got away without having to review it, until The Last Song, which is a relatively reasonable acoustic number, with some nice 'Tron strings. Please don't buy this record.

The End Is The Beginning Is The End, is a non-album single used in one of the Batman films, grouped together with another three similar-sounding tracks on an EP, all with a very distinct 'soundtracky' feel to them, and a common musical motif running through all four tracks. the title track is notable for the thick, soupy Mellotron choirs on the intro and dotted throughout, and was that strings and flutes in the verse? The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning has more choirs, as does The Guns Of Love Disastrous, making this the band's premier 'Tron release, and probably just about the best thing they've done musically, too.

Adore is more of the same (d'you get the feeling I'm just going through the motions here?), although the Mellotron makes an appearance or two. Tear is probably the album's best track, with a beautiful 'Tron string line that reminds me of Crack the Sky, for some unknown reason, then Pug has a few really ordinary string chords, although compared with the dirges that fill the bulk of the horrendously overlong album, it's quite good. Machina: the Machines of God is slightly more energetic, though no more listenable, although Glass And The Ghost Children (there's another one for Exhibit B) has some decent enough 'Tron flutes and strings. Some semi-buried strings on The Crying Tree Of Mercury, and that's it.

So... What the hell is it with this band? Why are they so inexplicably popular? If there's a whinier, moanier vocalist around than Billy Corgan, I've yet to hear them, and the vast majority of their material is irritating post-grunge nothingness, but millions wept into their beer when they split in 2000. Corgan's formed a new outfit, Zwan, but after a pain-filled hour-plus listening to their sole album (thankfully, I believe they've now split), I couldn't hear any Mellotron. As far as the 'Tron's concerned on the above, I'd say there's a short CD to be made of the stuff worth listening to, with a fair chunk of it being from the End is the Beginning EP; in other words, borrow the CDs and burn your own disc. Oh, and I don't believe there's any Mellotron on their first b-sides etc. collection, 1994's Pisces Iscariot (Exhibit A); right now, I really don't feel the need to borrow a copy for serious scrutiny, or in fact, any at all.

Official site

The Smell of Incense  (Norway)

	All Mimsy Were the Borogoves  (1994,  53.20)  ****/TT½ Alice Faerie Emerald Fancy Christopher's Journey (The Smell of) Interstellar Overdrive Witch's Hat Shrine
	7"  (1994)  ****/T½ The Smell of Incense A Visit With Ashiya

	Through the Gates of Deeper Slumber  (1997,  49.54)  ****½/TTTTT
	A Floral Treasury   Overture   The Song of the Winter Aconite Fairy   The Song of the Nightshade Fairy   The Song of the Queen of the Meadow Fairy   Epilogue Columbine Confused	A Word in Season From the Third Hemisphere   Atlantis   Kraken   Slumber   Kraken (Slight Return)

Current availability:

• All Mimsy Were the Borogoves: out of print
• The Smell of Incense/Through the Gates of Deeper Slumber: September Gurls (Germany)

Until I heard them, I was under the impression that The Smell of Incense were 'just another Scandinavian prog band'. Not a bit of it. They mix'n'match influences from all over, but are most easily described as 'psychedelic', whatever you take that to mean. Some of the members had known each other since the mid-'70s, unbelievably, and after putting out various odd releases in the '80s as Famlende Forsøk, they put the SoI together in the mid-'80s with a remit to be as 'psychedelic' as possible, with the intention of recording an album of '60s psych classics.

Somewhere along the line, however, they started writing their own material, ending up with the compromise that is All Mimsy Were the Borogoves (Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky', of course). Of the seven tracks on board, they ended up with three covers (The Kinks' Fancy, The Incredible String Band's Witch's Hat and a heavily customised version of Pink Floyd's Interstellar Overdrive), plus another three where they put their music to someone else's lyrics (Faerie Emerald, from Edmund Spenser's 'Faerie Queen', Christopher's Journey from A.A.Milne's 'Winnie the Pooh' and a late-'60s Peter Hammill poem, Shrine, previously not set to music).

The band obviously refuse to use any equipment produced later than, say, 1972, with the end result being a marvellously 'authentic' late-'60s album. Well, nearly. Mellotron choirs didn't exist until 1972, but who's arguing when they sound this good? Their only wholly 'in-house' number, Alice, has some very background 'Tron strings, but the flute melody and strings on Faerie Emerald are right at the front of the mix, with background choirs. More choirs on Christopher's Journey and Shrine, although Interstellar Overdrive is more of a trippy organ jam, different enough from the original to justify the band's collective co-writing credit. Incidentally, the 'Tron (it seems they own one) was played by 'Han Solo', one of several nom-de-plumes used by the band, for reasons best known to themselves.

The band have released a handful of singles, in various formats, all of which consist of covers of obscure psych classics. 1994 brought their version of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's The Smell of Incense (wondered where they'd got their name), backed with HMS Bounty's A Visit With Ashiya ('67 and '69 respectively). As I've heard neither track in its original version, comparisons are not so much pointless as impossible, but they both sound pretty damn' good here, with some 'Tron strings and a smattering of choirs on the 'b'.

They followed it, three years later, with Through the Gates of Deeper Slumber, which had shifted right up to, er, about 1973, taking on prog influences to add to the all-pervading psych. Their remit this time round, it seems, was to put music to the writings of various mystical writers, those being Mary Cicely Barker, Michael Moorcock, Lord Dunsany and Robert E.Howard. Opening track, A Floral Treasury, is 25 minutes long, working its way through several sections and feels, including a near-dance part (that's contemporary, not country...). The songs are all excellent, with killer hooks inserted all over the place, particularly on A Word In Season, so don't get the idea that this is just another pseudo-psych effort favouring style over substance. The Smell of Incense have both... Apart from the music, Through the Gates... is stuffed to the gills with Mellotron; not only strings/flutes/choir, but an unidentified woodwind instrument, more than once, and what sounds like it may be one of the various 'orchestra' sounds near the beginning of the first track. They often use two sounds at once, but I've no idea what their Mellotronic setup is, so no news on how they reproduce(d) it all live. 'Trons not only by Han Solo, but Mickey Moog as well, this time.

After doing a bit of online research, I've discovered that The Smell of Incense have actually produced a handful of singles/EPs, some split with other Scandinavian bands, some of which are even still available. However, I'm reluctant to splash out ten Euros for something that may not be up to the standard of these albums, and which may or may not contain Mellotron, but I'll try to track them down at some point for review. Sadly, the band seem to be lying dormant at the moment, but maybe they'll rear their pointy little heads again at some point, and grace us with more of their wonderfully retro psych grooves. Please? And while they're about it, maybe Borogoves could be reissued, and a compilation of their singles tracks would be nice, too.

Note: since writing the above, I've heard all of their single/compilation tracks (thanks, chaps!), and while all are excellent, the only 'Tronnic one is reviewed above. Expect a new album shortly...

Band history

Smile  (UK)

Ghost of a Smile  [a.k.a. Gettin' Smile]  (1982/97, recorded 1969,  20.49)  ***/½ Earth Step on Me Doin' Alright April Lady Blag Polar Bear

Current availability:

• Pseudonym (Netherlands)

Smile's mini-album has a rather confused history. They were a London-based three-piece at the tail end of the '60s, who just happened to include one Brian May on guitar, and one Roger Taylor on drums, along with bassist/vocalist Tim Staffell. If the last name looks at all familiar to you, it'll probably be from the writing credits on the first Queen album, where he co-wrote Doin' Alright, also to be found here, although he also played with ex-Mott the Hoople Morgan Fisher's Morgan project. As far as anyone can work out, they only ever recorded six tracks, which remained unreleased until the early '80s, as Gettin' Smile, when a Japanese label stuck them out, presumably in a somewhat unauthorised manner (I actually saw a copy of this, and stupidly didn't buy it). It appeared again in '97, this time (of course) on CD as Ghost of a Smile; there appear to be two different versions, with the Dutch Pseudonym issue being relatively official, and the other (Italian?) one being a poor-sounding boot, although it adds both sides of Freddie Mercury's 'Larry Lurex' single from '73. Incidentally, don't bother with that particular rarity - I Can Hear Music is a poor version of the Beach Boys' song, and the b-side isn't much better.

So, what's it like? A bit of a mixed bag, actually; the proverbial 'curate's egg', even. Smile admit to being influenced by Cream, although this only shows up here on Blag, with the other songs presumably being rather unrepresentative of their live sound. Earth (b/w Step On Me) was actually a single, but it's hardly surprising it didn't exactly set the charts alight, although it's a decent enough song. Actually, the one reason you'd really want to get this is to see the roots of Queen; not only did they record Doin' Alright, but Step On Me has some signature May guitar harmonies, already in place even then, and Blag's obviously curtailed 'jam' section contains bits of what would end up as Brighton Rock, five years and three albums later. As for the Mellotron (very possibly played by May), there's a bit of background string work on Earth, but as great 'Tron work goes, it's deeply inessential, to be honest.

So; this is actually quite essential for fans of early Queen, if only to see from whence they came. The rest of you should probably pass swiftly by; this is no long-lost psych classic, although it does have its moments. Your decision, methinks.

Elliott Smith  (US)

	XO  (1998,  44.46)  ****½/T½
	Sweet Adeline Tomorrow Tomorrow Waltz #2 (XO) Baby Britain Pitseleh Independence Day Bled White Waltz #1	Amity Oh Well, Okay Bottle Up and Explode! A Question Mark Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands I Didn't Understand

CDS  (1999)  ****/TTTT Baby Britain Some Song (alternate version) Bottle Up and Explode (early version)

	Figure 8  (2000,  52.15)  ****/TT
	Son of Sam Somebody That I Used to Know Junk Bond Trader Everything Reminds Me of Her Everything Means Nothing to Me LA In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach) Stupidity Tries	Easy Way Out Wouldn't Mama Be Proud? Color Bars Happiness Pretty Mary K I Better Be Quiet Now Can't Make a Sound Bye

	From a Basement on the Hill  (2004,  57.54)  ****/TT
	Coast to Coast Let's Get Lost Pretty (Ugly Before) Don't Go Down Strung Out Again Fond Farewell King's Crossing Ostriches & Chirping	Twilight A Passing Feeling Last Hour Shooting Star Memory Lane Little One A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free

Current availability:

• All titles: Dreamworks

Elliott Smith sits firmly in the 'intelligent pop/singer-songwriter' category. I think XO was his first 'produced' album, as against independent label low-budget efforts (which is no criticism), and features a full band on some tracks. The material is absolutely excellent, and in a more sympathetic musical climate Smith would undoubtedly be massive, but the current lowest common denominator approach means that he's unlikely to break through properly; why have quality when you can make do with quantity? He's obviously soaked up the best, most intelligent pop of the last 40 years (Beatles, Beach Boys, XTC et al.) and regurgitated what he's learnt in a highly pleasing fashion. The inimitable Jon Brion plays Chamberlin and vibes on a handful of tracks, with faint strings on Waltz #1 and more upfront ones on Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands, but the standout Chamby track is Bottle Up And Explode!, with a wonderful arranged string part. If anything, the demo version on the 'b-side' of the second issue of Baby Britain is even better, with Smith himself playing a cranky-sounding (presumably) Chamberlin.

Smith followed up two years later with Figure 8, another collection of marvellous songs, and while I suspect it's probably as good as its predecessor, it almost certainly needs a good few plays for its charms to become as apparent as those of XO. No-one's credited with Chamberlin this time round, so I assume it's Smith himself playing it (I presume it's Chamby, anyway). As far as I can hear, there's major strings on Everything Means Nothing To Me, cellos on Easy Way Out, brass and strings on Wouldn't Mama Be Proud? and brass under real strings on Can't Make A Sound (hear that key click!), and I'm still not sure about the solo mandolin part at the end of Happiness. Anyway, possibly a better Chamby album than its predecessor, and the jury's still out on whether or not it's as good musically.

After his tragic suicide in late 2003, From a Basement on the Hill will probably be Smith's last album (er, DUH!), unless there are enough odds'n'sods in the vaults to make another one. Well, what can I say? More of the same, material easily as good as on its predecessor, why would you kill yourself if you were this talented? Stupid question, I know, but... Less Chamby than before, and what there is seems to be buried deeper in the mix, with the glaring exception of the totally-in-yer-face repeating string part on Twilight. Distant flutes on Pretty (Ugly Before) and Don't Go Down, and barely audible strings on Strung Out Again, and that's your lot.

So; three fantastic albums by an immensely talented and already sorely-missed man, with some reasonable Chamberlin use to boot. And Billy Corgan's still alive? R.I.P, Elliott.

Official site

Greg Sneddon  (Australia)

Mind Stroll  (1975,  30.38)  ***/T½ Mind Stroll Winter Take it Slow and Easy A Spell of Destruction Minuet in E Concerto for Two Handed Plectrum Madman

Current availability:

• Japanese counterfeit CD

Decent biographical information on Greg Sneddon is hard to come by; suffice to say that he's still performing today, thirty years after the release of what I presume was his debut album, Mind Stroll. A keyboard player of some repute, Sneddon used a handful of other musicians on the album (not least a singer), playing multi-keys himself, although I'm afraid to say the end result's a little anodyne; the composition has its moments, but overall has far too much of a 'soft-rock' vibe about it. Full-on symph this is not. The two longer compositions, the title track and Madman are probably the best, but there's something lacking in this album; it doesn't even touch Aussie prog masters such as Sebastian Hardie or Aleph.

Ignore online references such as 'lots of Mellotron' with regard to this record; only two tracks I can hear, with polyphonic flutes on Winter and orchestrally-inclined strings on Take It Slow And Easy, which doth not a 'Tron album make. This now seems to be available on some dodgy far-eastern bootleg CD, but I really wouldn't pay over the odds for it, if I were you. Amusingly, after searching for it in three major Australian cities, I finally found a copy for A$15.00 in almost the last shop I went into in Perth which we'd almost overlooked, although I've since seen a copy going online for A$100. Possibly pay the former; do not pay the latter.

Something Corporate  (US)

	Leaving Through the Window  (2002,  67.00)  **½/½
	I Want to Save You Punk Rock Princess I Woke Up in a Car If You C Jordan The Astronaut Hurricane Cavanaugh Park Fall Straw Dog	Good News Drunk Girl Not What it Seems You're Gone Globes & Maps [bonus tracks: Little Walking By]

Current availability:

• MCA

The ironically-named Something Corporate seem to be classed as pop-punk in some circles, although they apparently prefer the ludicrous description 'piano rock', given that the piano isn't that prominent on their debut album 'proper', 2002's Leaving Through the Window. To be honest, they just sound like any other indie (US division) outfit to me, but what do I know? A few tracks up the energy levels a little, notably Hurricane, but the whole still resembles a (more) lightweight Green Day for most of its vastly overlong duration. So maybe it is 'punk'? Oh, and it features a string section on most tracks, just in case you were still harbouring any thoughts that they might challenge The Damned or the Pistols or something. Pah.

Good old Patrick Warren turns up and does his usual thing, i.e. Chamberlin on one track, in this case Globes & Maps. Now, given the album's ubiquitous string section, what's the point in getting someone to play an instrument that sounds almost exactly like strings? I know the Chamby can be alarmingly realistic, if sympathetically arranged and recorded, but I really don't think you'd know you weren't hearing real strings if it didn't say so. Pointless. Actually, that's a good description of the whole album: pointless.

Somnambulist  (US)

	Somnambulist  (1996,  55.40)  ****/TTTT Frotus Conqueror Worm Return of the Son of Civilization Globos Formas Para Mañana Pinocchio Multum in Parvo Prometheus' Lament Torquemado Unlearning Folds of Red
	The Paranormal Humidor  (2001,  54.30)  ****/TTT½ In the Mindwarp Pavillion Pathos of Least Resistance Destroy...She Said Infant Troy Built Helen Died and Gone Paranormal Humidor

Current availability:

• Both titles: The Laser's Edge (US)

Somnambulist are one of the growing number of new bands (many of them American) who have largely (though not entirely) rejected the advances made in keyboard technology since the '70s, while using more modern guitar tones than their predecessors, giving an interesting old/new hybrid sound. They mix'n'match pretty well, with all sorts of influences making themselves apparent (Genesis, Crimson and Van der Graaf spring to mind), while avoiding directly copying anyone's style; in fact, while not really sounding anything like them, Spock's Beard are in at least vaguely the same field. I'd imagine they'd appeal to almost anyone who's into '70s-styled prog, while probably not alienating the neo crowd either.

There's much Mellotron (from Jody Park) on Somnambulist, with only one track free of tape tyranny, mostly strings, often used quite sparingly and with considerable taste. Saying that, the string intros to both Frotus and Conqueror Worm leap right off the disc at you, and there's particularly heavy use on Prometheus' Lament. Actually, this is a superb album; another one where the first listen didn't really sink in, but subsequent plays have made its excellence apparent.

It took the band five years to come up with their second album, The Paranormal Humidor, leading many observers to think they'd split up. It's a worthy follow-up to their debut, with just a touch of neo-ism creeping in, notably on Troy Built Helen, though they redeem themselves with the gorgeous melody on Pathos Of Least Resistance (v.droll, chaps). Mellotron use largely as per Somnambulist, almost all strings, although I'm not totally 100% convinced it's real; some lengthy notes here and there, and is that portamento I hear creeping into the sound on the title track? Then again, an overdub trick with a mono synth would give the same impression, so I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, two fine albums and loads of (hopefully real) Mellotron. All prog fans need apply now.

Official site

Alan Sorrenti  (Italy)

Aria  (1972,  40.37)  **½/½ Aria Vorrei Incontrarti La Mia Mente Un Fiume Tranquillo

Current availability:

• Mellow (Italy)

I'm not at all sure how to describe Alan Sorrenti's music, at least on his debut album, Aria (which is a chiefly vocal work, unlike the hapless Glenn Danzig's instrumental Black Aria... Twat...). Mind you, I say 'vocal' only in the sense that there's a good deal of vocalisation on the album; I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'singing' per se. I wouldn't actually go as far as to call it a very pleasant noise, either, although I'm sure it has its aficionados; sadly, I am not among them. 'Screeching and wailing' would seem to be a reasonable description of his style; maybe he was being theatrical. Or something. Anyway, the music isn't too bad, all things considered, being a fairly laid-back kind of proto-prog thing, with the side-long title track being the best effort here, but Sorrenti's tortured tones actually made me switch the damn' thing off halfway through my second listen, which isn't a good sign.

On the bright side, there's a little Mellotron from Albert Prince, with a few string chords on Aria, and a brief burst of flutes on La Mia Mente, but we're not talking the most indispensable use ever, to be honest, and when you realise you have to listen to that voice to hear a few seconds of average 'Tron use, it's enough to make you, er, go somewhere else. So; bit of a let-down, really. Some of you may be able to handle Sorrenti's dulcet tones, but many of you won't. To be on the safe side, don't bother.

Soul Asylum  (US)

	Let Your Dim Light Shine  (1995,  49.46)  **½/½
	Misery Shut Down To My Own Devices Hopes Up Promises Broken Bittersweetheart String of Pearls Crawl	Caged Rat Eyes of a Child Just Like Anyone Tell Me When Nothing to Write Home About I Did My Best

	Candy From a Stranger  (1998,  45.18)  ***/0
	Creatures of Habit I Will Still Be Laughing Close See You Later No Time for Waiting Blood Into Wine Lies of Hate Draggin' the Lake	New York Blackout The Game Cradle Chain

Current availability:

• Both titles: Columbia

Minneapolis natives Soul Asylum had already peaked commercially by the time they released Let Your Dim Light Shine in '95, after '92's huge-selling Grave Dancers Union. I believe their earlier sound was more 'punk', in a Hüsker Dü kind of way, but I'm afraid this is no more than a lacklustre 'alt.rock' effort, more like an alternative to rock, to be honest. Joey Huffman plays organ, piano and Mellotron, with the latter only on closer I Did My Best, with a subtle flute part that enhances the song slightly, though not enough to make it especially worth hearing. Nothing to write home about indeed...

Three years on, Candy From a Stranger appeared, and while it manages to be less tedious than its predecessor, Jon Carin's credited Mellotron appears to be entirely inaudible, unless anyone out there has sharper hearing than my good self (distinctly possible). So; unless 'alt.rock' (aargh!) is your bag, go somewhere else. No, really. Oh, and I'd love to know why the rather risible Cult decided to use their name for a song title. Is it a quote from something?

Official site

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