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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.


All This & World War II
Kvinnan i det Låsta Rummet
Phantasm
A-Reefer-Derci!
BayProg

Colossus of Rhodes
Third Cyclops Sampler

...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore
Giant for a Life


Soundtracks


All This & World War II

'All This & World War II'

All This & World War II  (1976,  94.30)  **/½

Ambrosia:
  Magical Mystery Tour
Elton John:
  Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

Bee Gees:
  Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight
Leo Sayer:
  I am the Walrus
Bryan Ferry:
  She's Leaving Home
Roy Wood:
  Lovely Rita
Keith Moon:
  When I'm Sixty-Four
Rod Stewart:
  Get Back
Leo Sayer:
  Let it Be
David Essex:
  Yesterday
Jeff Lynne:
  With a Little Help From My
    Friends/Nowhere Man

Lynsey De Paul:
  Because
Bee Gees:
  She Came in Through the
    Bathroom Window

Richard Cocciante:
  Michelle
Four Seasons:
  We Can Work it Out
Helen Reddy:
  The Fool on the Hill
Frankie Laine:
  Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Brothers Johnson:
  Hey Jude
Roy Wood:
  Polythene Pam
Bee Gees:
  Sun King
Status Quo:
  Getting Better
Leo Sayer:
  The Long and Winding Road
Henry Gross:
  Help
Peter Gabriel:
  Strawberry Fields Forever
Frankie Valli:
  A Day in the Life
Tina Turner:
  Come Together
Wil Malone & Lou Reizner:
  You Never Give Me Your Money
London Symphony Orchestra:
  The End

Current availability:

All This & World War II (geddit? No? Never mind...) is the soundtrack to one of the more pointless films to come out of the '70s (or so I'm told - I've never seen it), apparently consisting of loads of World War II footage set to a soundtrack of Beatles covers. Um, why? Said covers were mostly recorded for the film, and are mostly pretty duff, lightweight versions with orchestral accompaniment, which does few of the tracks any favours. The artist selection is slightly odd, too; Richard Cocciante? Who he? Several flavour of the month types like David Essex and Leo Sayer, too, the latter with no less than three blandola contributions, as have the bloody Bee Gees, caught just as they entered their horrid disco phase.

In my youth, as a fanatical Status Quo fan (they were actually really good once - honest!), I actually bought this for their contribution, Getting Better, only to find that, despite presumably having been recorded recently, it actually sounded like their early cod-psych days; something of a disappointment. Now being older and wiser (?!), and having not played the bugger all the way through for many, many years, I'm more interested in hearing what Peter Gabriel did with Strawberry Fields Forever, or the barely-known-outside-the-States Ambrosia with Magical Mystery Tour (passable version, too much orchestra), but as with the Quo track, it's all pretty disappointing, to be honest.

I only played this again on spec, wondering if there might be any Mellotronic input, as you do - well, as I do. Sad fuck. Anyway, the only track that I know to have been recorded earlier ("Here's one I did earlier?"), Elton John's killer version of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (no, really) is smothered in 'Tron flutes and strings, but is easily otherwise available, while Ambrosia's aforementioned Magical Mystery Tour is largely orchestral, except at the end, where a few seconds of (presumably) Chamberlin strings (from Christopher North?) can be heard over some nicely high-in-the-mix Taurus pedals, providing the nearest this album gets to 'prog' (and it ain't that near).

Amazingly, this has just been released on (double) CD, but I can't honestly recommend it; almost every track is a dull, watered-down version of the original, with about the only even remotely interesting arrangement quirk being the odd bar of I Want You (She's So Heavy) thrown into The Four Seasons' otherwise super-bland We Can Work It Out. So; apart from Elt's track, there's about three seconds of probable Chamby strings here. Just don't.

Kvinnan i det Låsta Rummet  (Sweden)

Kvinnan i Det L&aringsta Rummet, 'Filmmusiken'

Kvinnan i det Låsta Rummet: Filmmusiken  (1998,  52.14)  ***½/TTTTT

Kaninen
Linneas Tema
Slinger

Stolt
Skriet
Kyssen
Ögonblick av Lycka
Klinga
Kaninsymfoni
Näcken
Jakt
Mötet
Solvalla
Ultrarapid
Intrånget
Exit
Fotot
Hästen
Django
Sterners Tema

Current availability:

Or 'Woman in a Locked Room', apparently. I've got no idea what the film's like, though I suspect it's decidedly arty, but the soundtrack is an intriguing smorgasbord of looped rhythms and more 'traditional' sounds, not least a Mellotron. And yes, it sounds quite cranky enough to be real. As you can see, it's on about half of the tracks, with highlights including Kaninen, the very upfront flutes on Linneas Tema and the flutes, strings and choir of Klinga, but almost every highlighted track is worth hearing. A couple of tracks make particularly interesting use of the instrument's mechanical idiosyncrasies, with some extremely wobbly, er, somethings at the beginning of Slinger and Intrånget, which is something you rarely hear; most players go out of their way to make it sound, well, you know, stable.

Most of Hans Åkerhjelm's 'Tron use is the ubiquitous strings, but there are flutes, choirs and cellos to be heard, too. This really is a low-key Mellotron Monster, although I had to think carefully before awarding it the full 'T' rating. Actually, Kvinnan i det Låsta Rummet is a damn' good soundtrack album, full stop, and is likely to appeal to anyone into the genre. Buy.

Phantasm

'Phantasm'

Phantasm  (1979,  55.17)  ****/TT½

Intro and Main Title
Welcome to Morningside/Hand in Box
Hearse Inferno
Phantasmagoria/Silver Sphere Disco
Tender Interlude
Cemetery Spectres
Spacegate to Infinity
Jody at Morningside/On the Move
Phantasm Atmosphere
The Tall Man on Main Street
Funeral Organ/Dwarf in Hearse
Under the Car
Mike on the Road
Hearse Chase
A Dwarf Named Buford
Overturned Ice Cream Truck
Mineshaft Chase
Just a Dream?

End of the Game (or is it?)

Current availability:

I've never seen Phantasm (horror films not being my thing), but hearing its soundtrack in isolation is as good as hearing Goblin's early Dario Argento OSTs. Suitably eerie music throughout, with a killer main theme, even if it does owe a smallish debt to Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (used, of course, in The Exorcist).

Don't know for certain who played the Mellotron on the soundtrack, not to mention the rest of the cool keys, although Malcolm Seagrave and Fred Myrow wrote the thing, so it could've been either/both of them. Although a 'definitive' edition has been released recently, I'm reviewing this from the 1991 Phantasm/Phantasm II version, although I've ignored the lesser II tracks. Basically, the album's 'Tron work is on the Main Title (choirs), then on the parts where the title theme reiterates, with a massive choir part on Phantasmagoria, flutes on The Tall Man On Main Street, choirs again on Mike On The Road, Mineshaft Chase and Just A Dream?

The definitive edition's tracklisting is slightly different, but I suspect that's the one you want to go for, and go for it you should; a damn' good soundtrack with some great keyboard work. Buy.


Various Artists


A-Reefer-Derci!

'A-Reefer-Derci!'

A-Reefer-Derci!: Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne  (1976,  69.09)  ***/½

Renée Geyer Band:
  It's a Man's Man's World
Split Enz:
  Amy
  Lovey Dovey
  Time for a Change

Ayers Rock:
  Boogie Woogie Waltz
  Gimme Shelter

Ariel:
  I Can't Say What I Mean
  Rock'n'Roll Scars
Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band:
  Roll That Reefer
  The Prefect
  Out in the Suburbs

Skyhooks:
  Revolution
  Smut
  Saturday Night

Current availability:

A-Reefer-Derci! (ho ho), subtitled 'Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne', does exactly what it says on the tin; it's a record (literally) of the last two nights of Melbourne's infamous Reefer Cabaret nights in December '75. The Reefer Cabaret shifted venue a few times, it seems, and the police (amazingly) turned a blind eye to the, er, 'recreational activities' to be found within. Going by the sleevenotes, half the club's problems were caused by various organisers/MCs being too stoned to actually function in any significant way, although they seem to have put on some great nights anyway.

Six bands are included on this set, several of which fall into the typically Aussie good time/jamming category, with Ariel finding themselves the halfway stage between Ayers Rock's lengthy jams and the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band's jug-band style (the Antipodean Mungo Jerry?). The Renee Geyer Band are introduced by a very stoned young South African lady with an impenetrable accent, and perform a version of James Brown's It's A Man's Man's World, for some reason, and the biggest band at the time and the night's surprise guests, the Skyhooks (Iron Maiden's Women In Uniform, anyone?) are actually... rather boring? Not sure where their reputation comes from, anyway.

The only relevant band here are, of course, the wondrous Split Enz, limited to a paltry three songs, which are supposed to be available on the impossible-to-find Oddz And Enz set, along with other rarities. Although they're all excellent, the only one of their contributions to concern us is Time For A Change, with a few Mellotron string notes under Eddie Rayner's string synth, making this rather unnecessary for the 'Tron fan, although a 'must-have' for Split Enz aficionados. And, um, please could we have their whole set? Assuming the tapes still exist, of course...

So; you're not going to find this very easily; I stumbled across a copy in a Melbourne second-hand shop, but only because I asked the staff for Split Enz stuff and was pointed in its general direction. Maybe someone will reissue Oddz And Enz properly one day, rather than as either a) part of an enormously expensive box-set or b) a rumour-only release that I couldn't track down in several dozen shops in most major cities across the Antipodes. To be honest, most of A-Reefer-Derci!'s contents have dated badly, but it's an interesting curio, although exceedingly minimal on the 'Tron front.

BayProg

'BayProg'

BayProg: Progressive Rock From the San Francisco Bay Area  (2002,  66.48)  ****/T

New Sun:
  Mammoth
Trap:
  Presage
Gravity Tree:
  Aim to Please
Spirits Burning:
  Clear Audient v.2.5
Metaphor:
  When it All Comes Together
Amy X, Neuburg & Men:
  Naked Puppets
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum:
  Sleep is Wrong!
Michael P.Dawson:
  The News in Farsi
Puppet Show:
  Harold Cain
Mind Furniture:
  The End of Days

Monocaine:
  Another Man's Ditch
Tesseract:
  On the Edge of an Eclipse

Current availability:

BayProg is an interesting idea, although I know it's been done before; collect together several bands from the same area, with the bonus here being that all the bands concerned fall into the same (fairly broad) stylistic area. Are there really a dozen prog outfits in the San Francisco/East Bay region? It would appear so, although they cover plenty of ground between them, to say the least. I only actually recognise four of the twelve names, three of whom I've previously heard, so full marks to the compilers for finding some lesser names to stick in with the big(ger) boys.

Of the bands I don't know, New Sun's intelligent prog-metal came as a nice surprise, compared to that sub-genre's usual lack of imagination, while Amy X, Neuburg & Men contribute a very odd track that somehow reminds me slightly of the Fibonaccis, albeit with more 'normal' vocals, and actually (just about) manage to out-weird Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Suffice to say, there isn't actually a bad track here, although a couple have trouble lifting themselves up from 'fairly average'.

Absolute, confirmed Mellotron on one track only, with Don Tillman's cellos and strings on Tesseract's On The Edge Of An Eclipse reminding me slightly of Larks' Tongues-era Crimson. However, although I can't confirm it, Mind Furniture, about whom I know nothing, have what sounds like quite authentic 'Tron on their The End Of Days, which I've highlighted, while Puppet Show's Harold Cain has what sounds more like samples (they're also in the albums list as 'unconfirmed' for their '98 release, Traumatized). A couple of vaguely-'Tronnish sounds towards the beginning of the album almost certainly aren't, and Metaphor don't even use samples this time round, so the final score is one definite, one possible and one unlikely.

I believe BayProg was only ever available with the Spring 2002 issue of Exposé magazine (no.24), so if you want this you'll have to buy the back-issue, assuming they still have copies in stock. It's worth a listen, although it seems several of the tracks are available on the relevant artists' albums, although a couple are demo versions. One definite otherwise-unavailable 'Tron track, anyway.

The Colossus of Rhodes

'The Colossus of Rhodes'

The Colossus of Rhodes: The 7th Progressive Rock Wonder  (2005,  156.28)  ***½/TT

Leviathan:
  A Thought is Always Free
Greenwall:
  The Secret Passage
Sinkadus:
  God of Silence
Mad Crayon:
  Like the Wind I Will Come Back
Velvet Desperados:
  Lords & Knights
Revelation:
  A New Dawn

Current availability:

The Colossus of Rhodes: The 7th Progressive Rock Wonder is the third collaborative project between Colossus, The Finnish Progressive Music Association and Musea Records, where several bands are handed a remit and told to write a lengthy epic to fit, using only '70s equipment, or (note the 'or') reasonable facsimiles thereof. Contrived? You bet. I'm not saying you can't produce decent music this way, but the odds are surely against producing anything from the heart, as the bands concerned struggle to shoehorn their style into the format. In this particular case, six bands were asked to contribute, three of whom I've never even heard of before, although kudos to both organisations for encouraging new progressive talent in this way. The music is actually pretty decent, although every track is rather longer than it really needed to be, and I have absolutely no idea how any of them fits the concept of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, or indeed, the Colossus itself, despite the plot summaries on the Colossus website.

Of the six 'suites', Greenwall's The Secret Passage is the most adventurous, utilising male and female vocals singing in both Italian and English, and chopping drastically between styles, while still managing to write a (relatively) cohesive piece of music. Possibly the best piece of music here is from unknowns Velvet Desperados (the only Finnish band present) with Lords & Knights, despite its unnecessary blues section halfway through. As pointed out in several online reviews, Italy's Revelations (nothing to do with the dodgy late-'90s UK band) are unadventurous neo-prog, making a mockery of one reviewer's assertion that their (grotesquely overlong) track sounds like a Selling England... outtake. Er, hello? As far as Mellotron use goes, Sinkadus get plenty in on God Of Silence, probably real, as you can hear a note choke off at one point. I'm not so convinced by the strings on Mad Crayon's Like The Wind I Will Come Back, however lush they sound, and I'd say the strings and choir heard on Revelations' A New Dawn are almost certainly samples, although I'll leave them highlighted until/if I find out for certain.

So; another sprawling epic from Colossus/Musea. You may feel that this approach is legitimate, you may not; either way, there is some very good music here, plus a good deal that's trying really hard but not quite cutting it, largely due to the format's restrictions. Decent enough 'Tron use, at least some of which is probably real.

Official Colossus site

Cyclops Samplers

'Third Cyclops Sampler'

The Third Cyclops Sampler  (1996,  72.22)  ***½/TT

Abbfinoosty:
  When the Sun Explodes (alternate)
Anekdoten:
  Book of Hours (live)

Cross:
  Heavenly (alternate)
Fruitcake:
  Lost My Way
Lands End:
  Breathing Deep
Mastermind:
  Miles to Go Before I Sleep
Mentaur:
  Chasing Time
Sinkadus:
  Manuel (alternate)
Sphere:
  Again
Still:
  Loveless
Vulgar Unicorn:
  Two Many Secrets (alternate)
V/A, 'Cyclops Sampler 5'

Cyclops Sampler 5  (2002,  143.48)  ***/½

Rob Andrews:
  Lake Vinuela 2
Flamborough Head:
  Limestone Rock
Guardians Office:
  Dark Girl
Henry Fool:
  Pills in the Afternoon

Karda Estra:
  Projected Future
Lands End:
  Coming Down in Sheets
Manning:
  A Strange Place (live)
Mostly Autumn:
  Prints in the Stone
  Noise From My Head

Mysterkah:
  Red Daylight
Nice Beaver:
  Culley on Bleaker Street
Odyssice:
  Scream (live)
Parallel or 90 Degrees:
  Blues for Leah
Pineapple Thief:
  Variations on a Dream Pt 0

Saens:
  Escaping the Hands of God Pt 2
Sphere³:
  An Unusual January [Monkyfrog Mix]
Transience:
  No Turning Back Now
Tr3nity:
  Which Way
Twelfth Night:
  Fact and Fiction
Vulgar Unicorn:
  Gliders


Current availability:

The estimable Malcolm Parker's Cyclops label (affiliated to his GFT prog mail-order company) released their first label compilation, The Cyclops Sampler, in 1994, consisting mostly of tracks from their catalogue, with the odd alternate version or genuinely unreleased effort. The Second Sampler pushed the boat out further by featuring mainly exclusive tracks, as does the imaginatively-titled The Third Cyclops Sampler.

The quality of material here is variable, but that's pretty much what you'd expect from this type of album, with such a diverse collection of artists. Actually, saying that, there are no real stinkers, although the Cross track is a bit neo-, and Still's Loveless drones on for a while without really doing anything. Of the rest, Anekdoten's live Book Of Hours is a real treat, with Malcolm freely admitting, "We have bent the rules a little", as the band have never released anything else on the label, while Mastermind's Miles To Go Before I Sleep is far subtler than their usual fare, and Sphere's Again (the band were still waiting to add the 3) is excellent. The real standout track, though, is the then-new Sinkadus' gorgeous Manuel (no Spanish jokes, please), although this demo version later turned up on their Aurum Nostrum Version One.

As for the compilation's Mellotron content... Both Sinkadus' and Anekdoten's tracks are loaded with the thing, although I don't think Sphere's Neil Durant had bought his machine then. Or am I wrong? Pretty sure those choirs are samples, anyway. Lands End's Breathing Deep is definitely samples, although they used the real thing on 1995's Terra Surranum, and that appears to be it.

Cyclops Sampler 4 takes something of a backwards step by including mostly previously-released material, but I'd imagine squeezing often expensively-recorded exclusive tracks out of bands is akin to getting the proverbial blood out of a stone, so it's pretty impressive that Malcolm managed the feat twice. On the other hand, he announces in his Cyclops Sampler 5 sleevenotes that, "All the material (bar one track) is exclusive to this release", although many of these are remixes rather than genuinely new tracks. A mixed bag, as always, with the dodgy neo- of Rob Andrews, Saens and the Lands End-related Transience and the fake-Celtic schlock of the horrible Mostly Autumn (why does anyone like this band? Oh, an attractive female vocalist) rubbing shoulders with the Moog Taurus-heavy Guardians Office, a Sphere³ remix and a previously-unheard version of Twelfth Night's seminal Fact & Fiction.

On the Mellotron front, the only (almost) definite is Henry Fool, although their album uses a mixture of real and samples, so it's impossible to say whether or not it's real here. Anyway, strings (phased and otherwise) and flutes on the non-album Pills In The Afternoon, which would fit quite nicely onto a second album, should they ever choose to make one. As for the sample users, Flamborough Head use strings and flutes on their really not bad Limestone Rock, Lands End use a brief burst of strings on Coming Down In Sheets, Pineapple Thief get the fake choirs in on Variations On A Dream Pt 0 and Transience put some strings onto No Turning Back Now.

As far as The Third Cyclops Sampler goes, Anekdoten fans need it for their blistering live track, and with several other otherwise unavailable tracks, it's worth picking up. Cyclops Sampler 5 lacks its predecessor's highlights, but has its moments, and given that Malcolm sells these cheap anyway.

...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore

'...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore'

...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore  (1998,  156.58)  ****/T

Eugenio Mucci:
  Intro
Death SS:
  Ave Satani
Tenebre:
  Where Dreams and Nightmares
    Collide

Northwinds:
  Mask of Satan
Malombra:
  Devils
Akron:
  Il Mulino delle Donne di Pietra
Al Festa:
  Candles in the Night
Wounded Knee:
  Phenomena
Presence:
  The Exorcist
Iconae:
  Mater Tenebrarum
Sun Dial:
  Theme From Psychomania
God.Zilla:
  I Compagni di Baal
A Piedi Nudi:
  La Casa dalle Finestre Che
    Ridono

Standarte:
  Necropolis incl.Verso l'Ignoto

Claudio Simonetti:
  LV-426
Ars Nova:
  Ainsel
Lingam:
  Devo Ma Non Posso
Helden Rune:
  Nocturnal Voices
Humus:
  El Vampiro
Morte Macabre:
  Irrealtà di Suoni
Abiogenesi:
  Belfagor
Il Segno del Comando:
  Macabro Suite
Bevis Frond:
  Dead of Night
Somnambulist:
  Laudenam
Una Stagione all'Inferno:
  La Ballata di Carini
The Black:
  Suspiria et...
Nekropolis:
  The Curse of Tut-Anch-Amun
Mottorismus:
  Klub 99
Maethelyah:
  Outro

Current availability:

...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore is the excellent Black Widow label's 2-CD tribute to the whole Italian horror movie genre, with nearly 30 contributing artists, from the (relatively) well-known (Death SS, Sundial/Sun Dial, Bevis Frond) to "who they?" territory (Wounded Knee, Helden Rune, Nekropolis). Contributors have based their tracks on specific films (although most have steered clear of using music from the film), mostly Italian, although both the British and American genres are represented, too, with efforts such as Ken Russell's The Devils, Friedkin's overrated The Exorcist and Ridley Scott's Alien all honoured. Although most contributing artists are Italian, Arsnova (Japan), Sundial (UK) and Somnambulist (US) fly the flag for their respective countries, amongst others.

Unusually for a various artists project, the standard of music on ...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore is almost universally high, maybe because every band involved is 'pulling in the same direction', and the shared subject matter appears to be particularly inspirational. Highlights include Northwinds' almost NWOBHM-style hard rock epic, Mask Of Satan, Presence's The Exorcist, complete with samples from the film (a tactic avoided by most contributors) and A Piedi Nudi's La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono. You'd be hard-pushed to find anything of unacceptably low quality anywhere in the set's 2½ hours, although The Black's Suspiria Et... is a little tedious, and the Bevis Frond's track, while perfectly good, is likely to be an acquired taste. And I haven't even mentioned the accompanying book... 80 A5 pages, with several essays on the subject in Italian and English, a detailed track-by-track run-through, including lineups and a resumé of each one's inspirational film, loads of pics, both artists and film stills...

Standarte are one of two credited Mellotron users here, with plenty of flutes, strings and choir on their track, Necropolis Incl.Verso l'Ignoto, while Swedes Morte Macabre's Irrealtà Di Suoni (also the bonus track on the vinyl version of their sole album, Symphonic Holocaust) features choirs and flutes from Niklas Berg (Anekdoten) and Reine Fiske (Landberk/Dungen); aren't those choirs heavily over-extended, chaps? I know you were using a real 'Tron, so I can only assume you used the technique I've also developed, where you take advantage of the fact that the male voices drop an octave ⅔ of the way up the keyboard, and you can effectively sustain the same note for ever? Anyway... Sundial's Theme From Psychomania has an uncredited cello part, though it's hard to tell whether or not it's 'Tron (given that they own one), and Abiogenesi's Belfagor has strings and choirs that sound like they're not only samples, but possibly not even of a Mellotron. Somnambulist (also 'Tron users, though whether real or not is unknown) are definitely using samples, and The Black's choirs sound more like generic samples than anything, so it seems it's just the two tracks.

So; a somewhat dour listen, especially if you sit through the whole thing in one go (I didn't), but with this much quality music on one double CD, you really can't go too far wrong. Most of the tracks seem to be otherwise unavailable, too, so if you do that hardcore prog fandom thing, I rather suspect you're in need of a copy of this set. Not much 'Tron, but that's not why you'd buy it. Excellent.

Giant for a Life  (Italy)

'Giant for a Life'

Giant for a Life: A Tribute to Gentle Giant  (1997,  113.10)  ***/½

Fonya:
  Talybont
Sky Island:
  In a Glass House
Advent:
  Experience/For Nobody
French TV:
  Mister Class and Quality?/
  Three Friends

Raymond Benson:
  Think of Me With Kindness
The Works:
  River

Strange new Toys:
  Inside Out
Page:
  Aspirations
Louie Mastro:
  Cogs in Cogs

Ivanhoe the Giant:
  Wreck
Advent:
  BITB (Boys in the Band)
Glass Haus:
  Just the Same
Dan Barrett:
  Number One
Zauber:
  A Reunion
Evolution:
  I'm Turning Around
Sven Herman:
  Peel the Paint
Algebra:
  Funny Ways
The Chocking Smokers Band:
  Nothing at All
Louie Mastro:
  Acquiring the Taste

Clarion:
  Talybont

Current availability:

Mellow Records' Gentle Giant tribute album, Giant for a Life, is something of a mixed bag, I have to say. Containing everything from attempts at note-perfect copies (most of them) to imaginative rearrangements (Raymond Benson's solo piano take on Think Of Me With Kindness, for example), there isn't an awful lot here that you'd really want to spend good money on acquiring, unless you just have to have every note ever associated with the band. Many of the artists appear to be one-off conglomerations, with both Sky Island and Glass Haus containing future members of the excellent Eccentric Orbit, although established outfits such as Italy's Zauber and Americans Fōnya and French TV contribute too. The best bits are where the artist does something with the material, so Advent's BITB (a variation on Giant's Boys In The Band) scores brownie points for a fresh arrangement, although the addition of unpleasant digital synths to other tracks by several offenders serves only to cheapen them, I'm afraid.

As far as the album's 'Tron content is concerned, US musician Louie Mastro and Italian one-offs the Chocking Smokers Band (?!), consisting of various Germinale and Standarte members are the only two users, although the Chocking Smokers chaps' use has to be considered suspect, as Germinale used samples on their albums, although Standarte owned an M400. Either way, it's effectively inaudible on their version of Nothing At All, as is Mastro's on Cogs In Cogs. Speaking of which, who ever let this guy near a microphone? Worst vocals on the album by a long way. However, there are some fairly obvious choirs on his peculiar take on Acquiring The Taste, making it the only overt 'Tron on the entire two-disc set.

So; a rather so-so tribute album (aren't they all?), with minimal Mellotron. About the best thing I can say about it is that it's apparently considerably better than the first Giant tribute, Giant Tracks, although to be fair, I haven't heard said record.


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