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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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Spirit of Christmas Split Enz Spontaneous Combustion |
Spooky Tooth Spratleys Japs |
Spring Rick Springfield |
Bruce Springsteen John Squire |
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Lies to Live By (1974, 41.06) ****/TT½ |
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| All the Wrong Roads Stay Dead Lazarus Voice in the Wilderness Graveyard Face All is Light War Story Ballad of Jack Boot Requiem - War's Peace |
Factory Where the People Are Made Everything's Under Control Beyond the Fields We Know Prelude (I Don't Know Where I am) Thermopylae Heaven's Lost In Closing |
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The Spirit of Christmas were a later incarnation of Canadian outfit Christmas, with the psych/prog of Lies to Live By following the hard rock of Heritage, as the band defied their label's entreaties to be more commercial. It was actually recorded in 1973, but became tied up in the legal system for a year, only eventually receiving a limited release on an indie label, Daffodil. It sounds oddly dated, even for '73, but that doesn't stop it being pretty damn' good, falling somewhere inbetween the late-'60s sound and the Yes/Gentle Giant school of thought. War Story and Beyond The Fields We Know are probably the best tracks on the album, although Factory is full-on choppy prog mayhem, for those of you for whom nothing is too complex.
There's actually less of band leader Bob Bryden's Mellotron than I'd been led to expect, although I can't tell if the occasional cello part is 'Tron or real. Assuming the latter, there's 'Tron strings on the second part of War Story, and fairly extensive use on the closing Beyond The Fields We Know, both strings and flutes, probably on parts b-d, although it's hard to tell exactly. To sum up, despite being a little dated, Lies to Live By is a good album, with reasonable Mellotron use, though don't go paying a fortune for an original.
![Split Enz, 'Mental Notes [Aussie version]'](images/splitenz-mentalaus.jpg) |
Mental Notes [Aussie version] (1975, 44.23) ****½/TTT |
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| Walking Down a Road Under the Wheel Amy (Darling) So Long for Now Stranger Than Fiction Time for a Change Maybe Titus |
Spellbound Mental Notes |
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![Split Enz, 'Mental Notes [UK version]'](images/splitenz-mentaluk.jpg) |
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Mental Notes [UK version, a.k.a. Second Thoughts] (1976, 42.13) ****/TT½ |
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| Late Last Night Walking Down a Road Titus Lovey Dovey Sweet Dreams Stranger Than Fiction |
Time for a Change Matinee Idyll (129) The Woman Who Loves You [UK vinyl adds: Mental Notes] |
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Dizrythmia (1977, 40.23) ****/½Bold as BrassMy Mistake Parrot Fashion Love Sugar and Spice Without a Doubt Crosswords Charley Nice to Know Jamboree |
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Frenzy (1979, 45.32) ***/T |
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| I See Red Give it a Whirl Master Plan Famous People Hermit McDermitt Stuff and Nonsense Marooned Frenzy |
The Roughest Toughest Game in the World She Got Body, She Got Soul Betty Abu Dhabi Mind Over Matter |
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Beginning of the Enz (1979, recorded 1972-75?, 29.56) ***½/TSplit EndsFor You 129 Home Sweet Home Sweet Talking Spoon Song No Bother to Me Malmsbury Villa Lovey Dovey Spellbound |
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A-Reefer-Derci!: Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne (1976, 12.07) ****/½[Split Enz contribute]Amy Lovey Dovey Time for a Change |
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Split Enz are by far and away the best-known band to have come out of New Zealand. Oh, except for Crowded House, of course, who rose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the Enz in the mid-'80s. I don't know what the Enz's image was like early on; they released several local singles, collected on Beginning of the Enz in 1979, but by the time of their debut, Mental Notes, they had concocted a bizarre visual mixture of, well, make your own mind up. Probably the most disturbing looking band ever (Slipknot? I think not...), the Enz made music to match, with a sound redolent of Zappa, Genesis, pre-war music hall and many other diverse influences. Live shows from the time apparently started with a surreal intro tape, as the band acted out a 'toyshop coming to life' scenario, slowly jerking into position behind their instruments before launching into the first offbeat piece of weirdness of many. God, I wish I'd seen 'em...
Mental Notes lives up to the promise of their image, although it isn't exactly instant; this is music that requires a bit of work, but rewards the persistent listener manyfold. Under The Wheel is a lengthy, complex piece that throws all the band's disparate influences into the melting-pot, complete with a largish helping of Eddie Rayner's 'Tron strings. In fact, there isn't a bad track to be heard on the album, with Stranger Than Fiction being the jewel in the crown, with its insistent string-synth melody lodging in your brain, along with a brief Mellotron flute part. Time For A Change is also recommended on both musical and Mellotronic grounds, and... Look, just buy this album, OK?
The following year, the Enz decamped en masse to the UK, recording their first international release with Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera producing. Now, despite Roxy using a fair bit of Mellotron over the years, not to mention Manzanera himself on his first solo album, there's rather less to be heard here than you might expect. I've actually played the ex-Enz 'Tron, although I don't know whether they bought the machine in NZ (or Australia), or purchased a new one when they came to Britain. It has the most peculiar tape frame, with one of the best attempts I've seen at maximising the number of sounds; each tape set is split at key 22, with violins/flutes/cellos on the lower sections, and brass/boys' choir/mandolins on top. They also used real mandolin, so I suspect the Mellotron version was only used live, but as with so many of the 'lesser-known' sounds, it's often difficult to tell.
Anyway, as you can see, the album was titled Mental Notes in Europe (and presumably, if it was released there, America), but to avoid confusion at home, the Antipodean version was called Second Thoughts, although with Mental Notes itself removed from that version, the two albums only have four tracks in common, all of which were re-recorded. For anyone interested in the band, this album should probably be regarded as a companion to their debut, rather than as a totally different release. There are differences in the re-recorded tracks, but all five songs not on their debut are well worth hearing, with some excellent 'Tron strings and choir on opener Late Last Night.
Listening to these albums again, I'm struck by just how much Split Enz inhabited a sort of twilight world where Noël Coward and Genesis tried their damndest to write hit singles together; even the lyrics have a certain 'tea dance' quality to them, and Rayner's piano work sometimes sounds like he paid his dues playing for elderly ladies amongst the faded splendour of a genteely decaying pre-war Palm Court somewhere. Er, I'm rambling, aren't I? Anyway, I mean that as a compliment; listen to The Woman Who Loves You to see what I mean. Incidentally, if you listen (not too) closely, you'll hear a distinct influence on UK mavericks Cardiacs and yes, I have confirmed that one...
A curio from this era is the A-Reefer-Derci!: Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne various artists effort, with three live tracks from the tail end of '75, supposedly also available on the impossible-to-find Oddz and Enz compilation. Not that you'll track a copy of A-Reefer-Derci! down that easily... All worth hearing, of course, although the only 'Tron in sight is a few string notes under Rayner's string synth on Time For A Change.
By Dizrythmia (a succinct description of their music's effect on the human body?), Split Enz weren't becoming more mainstream, exactly, but had begun to move away from their overtly progressive influences, correctly sensing that they weren't the route to fame and fortune in the late '70s. It's still a great album, and extremely quirky, but the songs are shorter and the arrangements tighter; the seeds of their subsequent pop career had been sown, and the days of their unique image were sadly numbered. Standout tracks include My Mistake and Crosswords, ranking among the band's best, though be warned; if you can get the chorus of Crosswords out of your head after one hearing, good luck! When I first heard this album, I recognised My Mistake, presumably from hearing it something like twenty years earlier... Anyway, it's extremely hard to tell, but I can only positively identify Mellotron on one track here; album closer Jamboree has a tiny burst of strings, so you won't be buying this one for its 'Tron content...
I didn't think there would be any progressive influences left by Frenzy, and I was pretty much right. The picture on the front of the band in normal garb is no surprise at all; they couldn't keep their image up forever, and mainstream appeal beckoned. However, the album's perfectly good, with the Enz having shifted into 'intelligent pop' mode, especially Mind Over Matter and the Farfisa-driven I See Red, which only appears to be on later copies of the album. The only obvious 'Tron track here is The Roughest Toughest Game In The World, with some fairly upfront choir, but most of the keyboard work is on polysynth by this time, like most of their contemporaries. I presume the band's work shifted into straight pop territory after Frenzy, and I rather doubt if they used their 'Tron again, but I've been proved wrong before...
As previously mentioned, Beginning of the Enz (not to be confused with The Beginning of the Enz, a later compilation) came out in '79, gathering up pretty much all of the band's early singles from '73/'74, although the sleevenotes on my CD give no indication as to the origin of the other tracks. Demos? Anyway, the early band had a more acoustic sound than their later incarnations, but the songs are instantly recognisable as the Enz, when they were still known as Split Ends. Three of these tracks were reworked on their first two albums; Spellbound, Lovey Dovey and 129, re-titled as Matinee Idyll. Spellbound is the album's sole 'Tron track, with a different arrangement to its later version, including not only more Mellotron, but a more interesting part. It's difficult to recommend this as a 'Mellotron Album' for one track, but pick it up if you see it at a reasonable price.
Split Enz headed quite determinedly for the mainstream in the early '80s; I haven't heard their later albums, though I suspect they're probably worth hearing if you like intelligent, well-played pop. After they split, later member Neil Finn (younger brother of original member Tim) formed the phenomenally successful Crowded House, noted Chamberlin users themselves. Anyway, buy Mental Notes, Second Thoughts (a.k.a. the UK Mental Notes, of course) and Dizrythmia for some superbly odd sort-of progressive rock, but only the first two for their Mellotron content. Approach later albums with caution if you're a dyed-in-the-wool proghead, but fans of great songwriting apply here. By the way, some of the Australian Mushroom CDs are appallingly packaged, with mis-spelt song titles and little information of any kind, but they're probably your best bet, and seem to've been widely exported. There's an expensive '1970s Box' floating around, including some unreleased material, but I've no idea whether it's still available or not, or indeed, whether there's any unreleased 'Tron tracks. Anyone else know?
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7" (1973) ***/T½ And Now for Something Completely Different! - Sabre Dance |
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Spontaneous Combustion were one of the many one-or-two-off progressive-ish bands from the early '70s, on Harvest, although to my ears they could just as easily have been on Charisma, Neon et al. I haven't heard either of their albums, so I've no idea if this single is at all representative of their sound; it's actually a rather so-so cover of the well-known Khachaturian piece delivered with such (speeded-up) aplomb by Dave Edmunds' Love Sculpture a few years earlier. This version slows it down and adds a bit of 'Tron strings (player unknown, I'm afraid) in the middle, then a really nice coda.
You're unlikely to find the original single at an affordable price, and I can't wholeheartedly recommend it anyway, but it's recently crept out on the Art School Dancing Harvest label compilation, and is worth hearing if you're going to buy the CD anyway.
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It's All About (1968, 37.48) ***½/TSociety's ChildLove Really Changed Me Here I Lived So Well Too Much of Nothing Sunshine Help Me It's All About a Roundabout Tobacco Road It Hurts You So Forget it, I Got it Bubbles |
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Spooky Tooth are one of the many psych-ish outfits who sprang up in the UK in the late '60s, although they achieved somewhat more longevity than many, although as far as I can work out, keyboardist/singer Mike Harrison was the only member to last the course. In many ways, It's All About is very much of its time, with the whimsical Love Really Changed Me sounding like it fell out of the previous year, complete with strange 'bubbling water' effects; think 'a rockier Traffic', and you won't go too far wrong.
Uncredited Mellotron on one track only, with some nice strings work on It Hurts You So, presumably from Harrison, though it could be the band's token American, Gary Wright, who went on to a reasonably successful solo career in the '70s. The band went on to release several more albums including a collaboration with Pierre Henry, split up and reform at least once, and write a song that would get Judas Priest into very hot water in a US court in the '80s. Backwards masking; yeah, right. Anyway, not bad album, one good 'Tron track.
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Pony (1999, 50.06) ****/TT½ |
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| Burnt Vessel Fanny Pony Sparrows Vine Oh Fear |
Cabinet Pond Don't You Ail, Flash the Sea to Steam |
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Well, Spratleys Japs are the nearest I've yet come to finding my way onto my own reviews pages (until Litmus, of course), and it's not that close... The story: summer 1998, and Tim Smith from the rather wonderful Cardiacs asks me if he can borrow my Mellotron. It had just been on loan to ex-Cardiacs keyboardist Bill Drake, and had started showing signs of incipient breakdown, but I drove it down to Tim's studio anyway. Within days it started playing up very badly indeed, eventually needing a complete motor board upgrade, but Tim loved the inherent wobbliness of the sound, and while playing around with it became inspired to write an album's worth of new material. The end result was Pony, featuring Tim's girlfriend Joanne Spratley and various other luminaries of Tim's acquaintance.
Like everything he's involved with, Pony has that unmistakeable 'Tim sound', with those strange Cardiacs scales, melodies and chord sequences. This is probably nearer to earlier offshoot The Sea Nymphs than Cardiacs themselves, with less of the mother outfit's manic energy, and more female vocal, although it's instantly recognisable as being from the same 'family'. Aside from my ailing 'Tron, there's lots of piano and fucked-up synth/sampler work to be heard, with less guitar than Cardiacs usually employ. Most of the 'Tron work is high strings in the background, until you get five minutes into Vine, when the whole band takes off, and the 'Tron's pushed to the front of the mix, duetting with what sounds like slide guitar, but could be almost anything. All four 'Tron tracks are good, though one of the album's highlights is the eleven-minute Cabinet, which would definitely have benefitted from some strings. Maybe it had broken down completely by that time...
They concurrently released an EP, Hazel, the title track of which, quite bizarrely, is none other than Fear from the album, re-titled. No, I don't know why, either. Anyway, both the album and the EP are available from All My Eye and Betty Martin Music, and are fairly essential for Cardiacs fans unaware of their existence. There's enough wobbly Mellotron to keep aficionados happy, too. Buy.
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Spring (1971, 40.16/57.56) ****/TTTTT |
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| The Prisoner (Eight By Ten) Grail Boats Shipwrecked Soldier Golden Fleece Inside Out Song to Absent Friends (the Island) Gazing |
[CD adds: Fool's Gold Hendre Mews A Word Full of Whispers] |
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Ah - proto-prog territory again. Spring's sole LP has assumed significance beyond its actual content as a 'Mellotron album' among fans of early progressive rock; it certainly is stuffed with Mark II; not just most tracks, but most of most tracks! Three band members are credited with playing it; vocalist Pat Moran, guitarist Ray Martinez (who went on to better-known things, I believe) and keyboard man Kips Brown, although with a single machine (even a regular dual-manual one), they can surely only have played it one at a time. This also doesn't account for how they might've played this material live; most of the way through opener The Prisoner, for example, the 'Tron strings are overdubbed with either flute or very clicky brass. Unless, of course, they'd had the left-hand tapes replaced with another set of right-hand ones, à la the Moody Blues; producer Gus Dudgeon's sleevenotes state "Everything on the album is exactly as it is on stage - with the exception of some over-dubbed acoustic guitar". Curiouser and curiouser...
Spring certainly gets some 'Tron in; apart from the two tracks where they managed to resist the temptation, the band slather it all over everything, mostly to good effect, it has to be said. The music is probably less interesting than I'd been led to believe, sadly; typical early progressive, just with Mellotron instead of organ, or indeed, anything much else, although Brown also sticks in the odd bit of organ and piano. So, to be brutally honest, a rather ordinary proto-prog album, but packed to the gills with 'Tron, justifying its 'Mellotron classic' tag. The original triple fold-out sleeve is gorgeous, but you're unlikely to find one, so I'd settle for the CD, although the bonus tracks are a bit unexciting. So-so album, 'Tron classic.
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Karma (1999, 49.30) **½/½ |
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| His Last Words It's Always Something Religion of the Heart Beautiful Prize Karma Shock to My System Free Prayer |
White Room In Veronica's Head Ordinary Girl Act of Faith Untitled ('Hey Maria') |
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These days, Rick Springfield is apparently considered the 'thinking man's AOR artist', though I'm not sure if that's a particularly enviable area to inhabit. Karma opens with an odd little piece devoted to his father, His Last Words, with various voices speaking about parental death over a muted backing, but after that, it's straight into what Mr.Springfield does best, i.e. extremely mainstream AOR for people who find Journey and Foreigner too heavy. This kind of music is loved by millions, but not me, I'm afraid. It's all done with impeccable 'taste', but its lame pop/rock glossiness is the sort of thing that makes me want to play Black Sabbath, VERY LOUD. I can't really pick out the tracks I particularly disliked, but I can say that His Last Words makes for an interesting diversion, and the untitled hidden track, usually known as Hey Maria, is slightly more interesting than the rest of the album, and also gets in a subtle reference to female masturbation.
As for the Mellotron, played by either Richard Shindell or Springfield himself (I'm not sure which), well, I can only hear it on one track, Prayer, with a brief flute part. As far as I can tell, all the rest of the strings are generic samples, although there may be more 'Tron hidden in the mix here and there. So; if you like AOR, you'll like Karma, and if you don't, you won't. That's it. Oh, and don't bother for the 'Tron, but I expect you'd already worked that out for yourself.
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The Rising (2002, 72.51) ***/0 |
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| Lonesome Day Into the Fire Waitin' on a Sunny Day Nothing Man Countin' on a Miracle Empty Sky Worlds Apart Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin) |
Further on (Up the Road) The Fuse Mary's Place You're Missing The Rising Paradise My City of Ruins |
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The Rising was Bruce Springsteen's first album to feature the full E-Street Band since the huge-selling Born in the USA, nearly 20 years earlier, and I'm glad to say, it's far more down to earth, with a noticeable lack of the cheesy synths that made Born... so painful. The Rising relies far more on good 'ol Hammond and piano, with orchestral backing on some tracks, and sounds like... a Bruce Springsteen album. I'm not quite sure what else I can say about it, really; if it's by Bruce Springsteen and it sounds like Bruce Springsteen, I suppose it has to be Bruce Springsteen, really. Songs about injustice, songs about ordinary, hard-working people - business as usual, then. That isn't meant to sound negative, either - Bruce is exceptionally good at what he does; it just doesn't grab me.
Roy Bittan is, oddly, credited with playing Mellotron, although Springsteen's never been known to use one before. Well, he doesn't appear to've used one again, going by the audio evidence; I've heard rumours of distant strings on Countin' On A Miracle, but I'll be buggered if I can hear them, just a regular string section. So; Springsteen fans need apply, the rest of us probably don't, especially if you were hoping to hear any Mellotron. Also, the album's hideously overlong; STOP filling CDs to near-capacity, please!
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Time Changes Everything (2002, 46.52) ***½/TT½Joe LouisI Miss You Shine a Little Light Time Changes Everything Welcome to the Valley 15 Days Transatlantic Near Death Experience All I Really Want Strange Feeling Sophia |
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Ex-Stone Rose John Squire loses no time on his solo debut, Time Changes Everything, in reaffirming his love of the '60s, although this isn't actually meant as a criticism (whaddaya mean, 'for once?'). His previous band, the Seahorses, put out one album, Do it Yourself (two 'Tron tracks) as long ago as 1997, so he's obviously opted to take a little time over this one, probably helped by releasing it on what appears to be his own label. If I'm going to be honest (I try, I try), I don't like Squire's rasp of a voice at all, but his songs are OK, if not exactly classic, and the sound of the album makes up for some of its musical failings. He's also resisted the temptation to stuff his new album full of songs fit only for b-sides or future 'rarities' compilations that everyone will buy and no-one will play, and has stuck to sensible 'vinyl' length.
John Ellis plays decidedly analogue, in fact, pre-synth keys throughout, and puts down some decent Mellotron work on several tracks. Opener (single, and probably best track) Joe Louis is smothered in strings, while Shine A Little Light features a semi-obscured flute melody, and Welcome To The Valley and Strange Feeling have polyphonic cello parts that sound highly Mellotronic. In case there's any doubt as to the veracity of the 'Tron, both Joe Louis and Sophia have pitchbent string parts, particularly the intro to the latter.
So; considerably better than expected, to the point where I found that three stars didn't quite suffice. Don't go expecting a full-on '60s recreation, but Time Changes Everything is a pleasant enough listen, if a little unengaging in places. The Mellotron work isn't bad, so if you see it cheap (as I did), it may just be worth picking up.
