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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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UFO Ultrasound Umajets |
Unified Theory Univers Zero Unwound |
Upp Midge Ure |
Uriah Heep Us3 |
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Force it (1975, 37.42) ****/TTLet it RollShoot Shoot High Flyer Love Lost Love Out in the Street Mother Mary Too Much of Nothing Dance Your Life Away This Kid's/Between the Walls |
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No Heavy Petting (1976, 35.23) ****/TNatural ThingI'm a Loser Can You Roll Her Belladonna Reasons Love Highway Lady On With the Action A Fool in Love Martian Landscape |
Current availability:
North London-based UFO started life as a bad space-rock band, releasing a couple of albums which only sold in Germany and Japan, but around 1973/4 they went through a series of guitarist changes, ending up with 17 year-old German wunderkind Michael Schenker, nicked from support act the Scorpions. I doubt if Schenker was actually responsible for the immediate stylistic change; I suspect the band had been wanting to head in a more mainstream direction anyway, and utilised young Michael's considerable talents to that end.
'74's Phenomenon (***) is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair, although it contains future classics Doctor Doctor and the mighty Rock Bottom. By the following year, the band had really got their act together, and Force it has nary a duff track on it, with no less than five songs finding their way onto their superb live double of a few years later, Strangers in the Night (*****). High Flyer is the album's ballad, with some Mellotron strings under Schenker's (melodic, as always) guitar solo. Producer Leo Lyons, from Ten Years After (non-coincidentally also on Chrysalis), brought in TYA's keyboard player Chick Churchill on keys; he adds some particularly effective 'Tron choir onto Between The Walls, a beautiful instrumental piece by the guitarist, presumably referring to the still-extant Berlin wall, segueing in from This Kid's.
The band brought in a full-time keyboard player, Danny Peyronel (from the Heavy Metal Kids) for their follow-up, '76's No Heavy Petting, a move which appeared to be only sporadically successful on stage. The album's pretty much as good as its predecessor, although fewer of the tracks became live favourites; talking of which, is the fantastic live b-side version of On With The Action ever going to be made available on CD? Anyway, I've only just decided that there's definitely Mellotron on the thing, with strings on Belladonna that I'm still not entirely sure about, and a definite (if background) choir part on Peyronel's Martian Landscape.
UFO kept the quality up through their next handful of releases, until Schenker left in 1978, and the band started their irreversible decline. They're still (technically) going today, back with Schenker (note: he's gone again), but their glory days are sadly long behind them. As far as Force it (dreadful pun!) and No Heavy Petting go, if you like UK hard rock, they're two of the five or six essential UFO albums, although 'Tron fans probably need not apply.
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Everything Picture (1999, 87.29) ***½/TTT½ |
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| Cross My Heart Same Band Stay Young Suckle Fame Thing Happy Times (Are Coming) Aire & Calder Sentimental Song |
Floodlit World My Impossible Dream Everything Picture |
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Ultrasound's roots lie in wonderfully eclectic Newcastle combo Sleepy People (now Blue Apple Boy, although the disappearance of their website doesn't bode well), via the short-lived Pop-a-Cat-a-Petal; vocalist Tiny Wood and guitarist/songwriter Richard Green played in both bands. Ultrasound took what they learned and applied it to late-'90s UK Indie, creating a crossover I can only describe as Indie/Prog, for its sins. They released a handful of singles (no 'Tron on the one I've heard, the slightly camp I'll Show You Mine) before their sole album, Everything Picture, after which they imploded. Tiny (guess what: he isn't) was last seen guesting with Blue Apple Boy, but the rest of the band's whereabouts are currently unknown.
My copy of Everything Picture is a double CD that says 'limited edition' on the cover; I believe the italicised tracks above aren't on the single-disc version (the timing is for the double only). Despite its sometime overt Indieisms, it's actually a pretty good album, although Tiny's vocal stylings can grate after a while; strange, since they didn't with his previous (and subsequent) bands. Oh well. Tracks lengths tend to veer between four and six minutes, with ambient links making them appear longer, apart from the title track, which is about six or seven minutes of song, followed by thirteen or fourteen of freeform noise, ebbing and flowing over its length. It's followed by nearly fifteen minutes of silence, with a short piano-led uncredited track at the end of the disc, à la some versions of Nirvana's Nevermind. I suspect this track is missing from the single-CD version, if it exists; the album length I've put above is minus the gap.
The Mellotron use is actually quite heavy; flute parts on Cross My Heart and Happy Times, and some excellent strings on Sentimental Song. There are more flutes on the song part of Everything Picture itself, then during the improv section, keyboard man Matt Jones utilises the strings superbly, particularly in the quiet section and then to the end. I believe Ultrasound bought an M400 from Streetly at considerable cost; I've no idea what's happened to it since the split, but hopefully it'll get itself passed on to a deserving case soon.
So; I have to recommend this, even to die-hard progheads. It's a good album, though 'great' eludes it, mainly due to the sometimes rather indifferent songwriting. Good record, good 'Tron. Don't spend a fortune, but pick it up if you see it at a sensible price (I did).
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Demolotion (1997, 57.57) ***½/½ |
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| Half Man Half Wrecking Ball Fly The Wannabees Mother No Mattress The Middle of Monday The Walls You Walk Through Girl Named God |
American Pipe Daphne's Disease Matador Skywriting Union Umbrella My Weary Eyes |
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The Umajets are basically ex-Jellyfishers Tim Smith and Roger Manning's next project, and while they've carried some of their alma mater's talent over to the new outfit, the overall impression I get of Demolotion (listed as 'Demolition' everywhere, of course - I had to look twice) is of a band trying desperately to be as good as their previous outfit, and not quite making it. The excellent Half Man Half Wrecking Ball starts things off well, but so-so efforts such as No Mattress or Girl Named God fatally compromise the album. Actually, with a bit of editing, this would've made a far better 40-minute record. It could even have been pressed on LP...
Manning is credited with Mellotron on The Wannabees, but unless those are flutes hidden somewhere in the mix, it's effectively inaudible. However, suspiciously Mellotron-like lines crop up on a few other tracks (notably Daphne's Disease), but aren't mentioned in the exhaustive track-by-track credits, so who knows? Overall, this falls into the 'good not great' category, I'm afraid, so unless you're a powerpop obsessive, I'd only really bother if you see it cheap.
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Unified Theory (2000, 48.15) **½/½ |
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| Cessna California Instead of Running Wither The Sun Will Come A.M. Radio Fin Self Medicate |
Passive Full Flavor Not Dead Keep on |
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Unified Theory (named for Einstein's final, unfinished work) grew out of an attempt to reform the ill-fated Blind Melon, after vocalist Shannon Hoon's senseless, drug-fuelled demise. Bassist Brad Smith and guitarist Christopher Thorn took on ex-Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen and an unknown frontman, Chris Shinn. Ex-Blind Melon and Pearl Jam? Whadd'ya reckon they sounded like, then? Pick an answer from the drop-down menu below:
Well, what did you pick? Either choice is correct. OK, maybe I'm being a tad unfair, but Unified Theory is a pretty bland record, with no obviously memorable material and a very generic sound. The band split up the year after its release, so it looks like they agreed with me. Mellotron? Thorn plays it, waiting until the album's dying seconds to put down a string line on Keep On, but it's hardly something you couldn't do without. So; Unified Theory: been and gone. No loss. Next.
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Ceux du Dehors (1981, 50.14) ****/TDenseLa Corne du Bois des Pendus Bonjour Chez Vous Combat La Musique d'Erich Zann La Tete du Corbeau Triomphe des Mouches |
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Univers Zero could easily be mistaken for a Crimson/Henry Cow influenced outfit, but I suspect it's more likely that they just listened to the same early 20th-century composers. Notably, however, there's no jazz in their sound whatsoever, or, for that matter, much actual rock. Ceux du Dehors is dense, difficult music, instrumental, with lengthy drumless passages utilising various members of the woodwind family. Suffice to say, Marillion it ain't. Thankfully. It's the sort of album that repays repeated plays, but unless you're already well into the avant-garde, don't expect to 'get it' first time.
Andy Kirk plays Mellotron on the two longest tracks, the appropriately-named Dense and Combat, although there's not an awful lot to be heard on either. A brief string part on the former and some flute chords on the latter, with possibly a few string chords, and that's it, although I'm sure I can hear some 'Tron strings on the improvised La Musique d'Erich Zann, which, for some reason, doesn't have any musicians' credits. So; a very good album, if slightly hard work, but not really one for the Mellotron fan.
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Leaves Turn Inside You (2001, 76.54) ****/TTT |
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| We Invent You Look a Ghost December Treachery Terminus Demons Sing Love Songs Off This Century One Lick Less |
Scarlette October All Over Summer Freeze Radio Gra Below the Salt Who Cares |
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Unwound, at least on their seventh album, Leaves Turn Inside You, are like a noisier version of Low, peddling a kind of very post-Velvets melancholy, that sometimes has little in common with 'rock' per se, which isn't to say they can't rock out at times. Is this what happens when a later-issue punk band discovers prog? Dunno, but it's pretty good, although at over 70 minutes (spread over two discs, oddly), it slightly outstays its welcome in places.
There's Mellotron on half the tracks, played variously by band member Justin Trosper plus Brandt Sandeno and Steve Fisk. Opener We Invent You has a nice string part, with cellos audible at the end, although Scarlette's strings and October All Over's flutes are somewhat sparser, and the ten-minute Below The Salt only has a few seconds of flute at the end of the piece. The album's 'Tron classics, though, are the major string use on Radio Gra and the strings and Mark II 'Tron rhythms on Who Cares, ending with the infamous Bill Fransen 'yeah!' which can also be heard on Lol Coxhill's A Series Of Superbly Played Mellotron Codas.
So; damn' good album, some excellent 'Tron work. Go for it.
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Upp (1975) ***½/TT½Bad StuffFriendly Street It's a Mystery Get Down in the Dirt Give it to You Jeff's One Count to Ten |
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After recording several albums with south coast blues-boomers Clark Hutchinson, multi-instrumentalist Andy Clark put Upp together in the mid-'70s, calling on the talents of none other than an uncredited Jeff Beck on their self-titled debut. Upp is a funny sort of record; very '70s, it's that mixture of soul, funk and blues that went out of fashion very quickly, assuming it had ever been in. The playing is fantastic, with Rhodes, clavinet and Moog work to die for, and (presumably) Clark has a fantastic 'soul shouter' voice, sounding more like a low-budget Isaac Hayes than a white kid from the south (coast). Not so sure about the material, but then, anything in the soul area is well outside my normal taste boundaries, unless it falls into the 'psychedelic funk' territory of Chairmen of the Board or Edwin Birdsong.
Clark plays background 'Tron strings on opener Bad Stuff and It's A Mystery, with a more upfront part on the, er, 'low down and dirty' Give It To You. Closer Count To Ten adds flutes to the mix, making for a couple of good 'Tron tracks, although I suspect that a lack of orchestral budget is the probable reason, rather than a love of the Mellotron for itself. Or maybe not?
In case you haven't spotted his name, Clark was poached by the excellent Be-Bop Deluxe after the release of Upp's second (and last) album, This Way Upp, which is apparently 'Tron-free. I believe he's still in the biz; in fact, my brother-in-law used to know him from the '80s south London blues scene, without having any idea of his lineage. Anyway, Upp seems to be pretty good at what it does, but if you're not into UK soul, you're unlikely to like the bulk of it, with the possible exception of the epic Give It To You. Decent 'Tron work on two songs, and background stuff on a couple of others, making this a passable 'Tron album, to my surprise.
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Pure (1991, 50.15) **/0 |
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| I See Hope in the Morning Light Cold, Cold Heart Pure Love Sweet'n'Sensitive Thing Let it Go? Rising Light in Your Eyes Little One |
Hands Around My Heart Waiting Days Tumbling Down |
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While it's convenient to break events of all kinds into decades, real life isn't that simple; in some ways, the '60s finished before the end of 1969, but in other ways dragged on several years into the '70s, which in turn finished around 1978 or 9. The same goes for the horrors of 1980s music; as late as 1993, many atrocious '80s production tricks could still be heard on records (see: The Rime of the Ancient Sampler for details...).
James "Midge" Ure, OBE, worked his way up through Slik and the Rich Kids before joining Ultravox for their fourth album, Vienna, who eventually dissolved, leaving him to his sporadically successful solo career. Pure appears to be his fourth solo album, and while not being the Full Duran, it still reminds the listener far more of the '80s than any other decade, despite being released in 1991, justifying my lengthy and tedious point above. This might be just about acceptable if the songs were any good, but with the exception of the fake-accordion driven Tumbling Down, they're not, and as a bonus, Ure's voice seems to've lost what little charm it ever had. There's credited Mellotron on Rising, from Josh Phillips Gorse (note: this man once played with the mighty Diamond Head), but it's totally inaudible amongst the wash of duff digital synths; I mean, why bother?
So; a dull album, horrible production, and inaudible Mellotron. Maybe not.
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Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble (1970, 40.25/50.49) ***½/TT½ |
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| Gypsy Walking in Your Shadow Come Away Melinda Lucy Blues Dreammare Real Turned on I'll Keep on Trying Wake Up (Set Your Sights) |
[CD adds: Bird of Prey (US album version) Born in a Trunk Come Away Melinda (unreleased version) Gypsy (extended version) Wake Up (Set Your Sights) (unreleased version) Born in a Trunk (unreleased version) Dreammare (BBC session) Gypsy (BBC session)] |
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Salisbury (1970, 38.45/45.25) ****½/T½Bird of PreyThe Park Time to Live Lady in Black High Priestess Salisbury [CD adds: Simon the Bullet Freak High Priestess (single edit)] |
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Return to Fantasy (1975, 40.37/57.49) **½/T |
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| Return to Fantasy Shady Lady Devil's Daughter Beautiful Dream Prima Donna Your Turn to Remember Showdown Why Did You Go |
A Year or a Day [CD adds: Shout it Out The Time Will Come Beautiful Dream (unreleased version) Return to Fantasy (edit)] |
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High and Mighty (1976) **/T |
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| One Way or Another Weep in Silence Misty Eyes Midnight Can't Keep a Good Band Down Woman of the World Footprints in the Snow Can't Stop Singing |
Make a Little Love Confession |
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The Lansdowne Tapes (1993, recorded 1969-71, 77.26) ***/T |
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| Born in a Trunk Simon the Bullet Freak Here am I Magic Lantern Why Astranaza What's Within My Heart What Should Be Done |
Lucy Blues I Want You Babe Celebrate Schoolgirl Born in a Trunk (instrumental) Look at Yourself |
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Uriah Heep have become an institution on the British rock scene; over thirty years in the business, with nearly as many albums. Notorious for their ever-changing personnel, they've kept the same lineup now for well over a decade, and have actually increased their public profile of recent years. Oddly enough, they've had two separate bursts of Mellotronic activity during their career, starting with the late-'60s pre-Heep outfit Spice. Their debut, Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble (a not very good pun on their Dickensian name) began as a Spice session, and ended as a Uriah Heep album, with organist Ken Hensley brought in fairly late in the proceedings. As a result, some of the keyboard work, including the Mellotron, was played by a session guy, Colin Wood; I believe Wood played on Come Away Melinda and Wake Up, with Hensley on I'll Keep On Trying.
Of the three tracks on the original release, I'll Keep On Trying has a little 'Tron flute, and Wake Up features quite a bit of strings work, but it's the album's big ballad, Come Away Melinda which really does the business. Starting with overdubbed flutes and strings, this is a marvellous piece of work; very emotive, and well worth anyone's time. Melinda wasn't a band original, and was recorded by several different people at the time, including the early post-psychedelic UFO. Heep themselves re-recorded it recently, sans 'Tron, of course... Irritatingly, a new version of the remastered CD has appeared recently, with loads more bonus tracks than the original. Funnily enough, I'd just been alerted to the fact that the US version of the album, released the following year and called simply Uriah Heep dropped Lucy Blues and added a remixed version of Bird Of Prey from the UK Salisbury, including some tasteful 'Tron overdubs on the chorus. There's also another stunning version of Melinda, definitely with Wood on 'Tron, almost certainly a Mark II, and a different mix of Wake Up (Set Your Sights).
Very 'Eavy's follow-up, Salisbury is an excellent album, particularly the 16-minute title track, the nearest Heep ever got to out-and-out prog, utilising woodwind and brass sections. It was only recently, however, that I noticed the bit of Mellotron that had crept onto the album; major acoustic guitar workout Lady In Black features a nice single-note string line throughout much of the song, and even more recently that I spotted the low-in-the-mix strings on Bird Of Prey, meaning that the US version isn't so different to the UK after all.
There was no more 'Tron to be heard on a Heep album for some years; not until, in fact, their slight return to form after the abysmal Wonderworld (**), '75's Return to Fantasy. After relatively long-term bassist New Zealander Gary Thain left under a cloud after an unfortunate on-stage electrocution incident (not the cause of his subsequent death, incidentally), he was replaced by recently ex-King Crimson man John Wetton, who brought one of Crimson's old M400s with him, which Heep magnanimously allowed him to play on one track each of the two albums he made with them. Why Did You Go is a rather lightweight countryish song, with some fairly nice strings, while Midnight, from the following year's High and Mighty is a rather average mid-paced rocker (like much of its parent album, it has to be said) with some flutes and strings in the middle. Neither album is especially strong, I'm afraid, although Return to Fantasy's title track is a real cast-iron classic, recently resuscitated by the band as their set opener. Good move, chaps.
In 1993, a fascinating CD appeared rounding up all the old Spice demos, The Lansdowne Tapes, including outtakes from Very 'Eavy. One of these, I Want You Babe, featuring Colin Wood again, is the only unreleased 'Tron track in the Heep vaults, it seems; it features a little flute, in a similar manner to Very 'Eavy's I'll Keep On Trying, but it's easy to see why the latter made their first album when the former didn't.
So, to sum up: the only Uriah Heep album even slightly worth buying for its Mellotron use is Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble, particularly the 2003 remaster, although their next few releases, Salisbury, Look at Yourself (****½), the magnificent Demons and Wizards (*****) and possibly The Magician's Birthday (***½) and Sweet Freedom (***½) are all worth hearing. None of the other three listed here are worth it for the 'Tron, or that much of the music, to be honest. The Lansdowne Tapes has some good moments, but one of the best, Born In A Trunk is available in a different version on the remaster of Very 'Eavy anyway.
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An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place (2001, 62.35) **/½ |
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| An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place (part 1) Get Out You Can't Hold Me Down Let My Dreams Come True India Sittin' on My Park Bench Dead End Street |
Enough Enough (Bonus Beats) World No More Pay Attention Sugar Sugar (She She Wah Wah) Why? Shady People An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place (part 2) |
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I didn't realise how much I'd dislike Us3's An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place until I stuck the disc in the player. Aargh! Hip-hop! OK, jazzy, Latin-flavoured hip-hop, but still hip-hop... However hard I try, I simply cannot understand why this is supposed to be a pleasurable listening experience; the two central tenets of hip-hop are rhythm and rhyme, whereas mine are melody and harmony, so it's hardly surprising that even when it isn't a tuneless racket, it still irritates me intensely. India and An Ordinary Day In An Unusual Place (part 2) were the only tracks that didn't actually have me reaching for the 'skip' button, but that isn't actually a recommendation.
Tim Vine plays various interesting keyboards on Sugar Sugar (She She Wah Wah), including a great MiniMoog solo, but the only Mellotron I can even possibly hear is a faint string line about halfway through the song. As a result, unless you like the sound of the band, steer well clear.
