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À Boris Vian: On N'est Pas là Pour Se Faire Engueuler! (2009, 120.21) ***/T½ |
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| Collectif: On N'est Pas là pour Se Faire Engueuler Juliette: Complainte du Progrès (les Arts Ménagers) Katerine: Je Bois Christian Olivier: Les Joyeux Bouchers Lio: Natacha Chien-Chien Maurane: Blouse du Dentiste M: Cinématographe Carmen Maria Vega & Merlot: Bourrée de Complexes François Hadji-Lazaro: Fais-Moi Mal, Johnny Olivia Ruiz: La Java des Bombes Atomiques |
Emily Loizeau: Ses Baisers Me Grisaient Mademoiselle K: Quand J'Aurai du Vent dans Mon Crâne Didier Wampas: Rock and Roll-Mops Thomas Fersen: Barcelone Michel Delpech: J'Suis Snob Lambert Wilson: Monsieur le Jazz Rona Hartner: L'âme Slave Dick Annegarn & Mathieu Boogaerts: Faux Frère Juliette Gréco: Le Déserteur |
Zebda: C'est Ici... Arielle Dombasle: J'Suis Snob J.P. Nataf: Ballade du Lapin Carole Bouquet: Terre-Lune Arthur H: Casserole-Sérénade Claire Diterzi: Elle Serait là, Si Lourde Antoine de Caunes: Cantate des Boîtes Daphné: S'il Pleuvait des Larmes Holden: Il est Tard Agnès Jaoui: L'Année à l'Envers |
Daniel Darc: Pas pour Moi Jeanne Moreau: Que Tu es Impatiente Edouard Baer: Je Voudrais Pas Crever Jane Birkin: Bientôt Kent: Les Isles Carla Bruni: Valse des Mannequins Jean Louis Trintignant: Je Mourrai d'un Cancer de la Colonne Vertébrale Barbara Carlotti: La Neige Jean-Claude Dreyfus: La Marche du Concombre |
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Boris Vian (1920-1959) is a French jazz-era icon, musician, composer, writer and academic, not to mention several other disciplines, all in 39 short years. 2009's two-disc À Boris Vian: On N'est Pas là Pour Se Faire Engueuler! tribute set features some of the cream of the current French scene, not least Jane Birkin (OK, she's English), Kent and Carla Bruni (OK, she's Italian, even if she is married to the president). The discs are labelled 'Chansons Probables' and 'Chansons Improbables', respectively, although I'm not sure of the relevance. Many of its solo contributors sing together on the opening title track, including Olivia Ruiz, Mathieu Boogaerts, Barbara Carlotti and Didier Wampas, most of their individual contributions being in period style, although a handful of tracks are given a slightly more contemporary treatment.
Fred Pallem plays Chamberlin on several tracks, with a lovely string part on Emily Loizeau's Ses Baisers Me Grisaient, background strings on Carole Bouquet's Terre-Lune, a violent string part on Arthur H(igelin)'s Casserole-Sérénade and polyphonic flutes on Agnès Jaoui's L'Année À L'Envers. One for French jazz enthusiasts, I think, although the Chamby work is actually worth hearing.
See: Jane Birkin | Kent | Carla Bruni
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A-Reefer-Derci!: Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne (1976, 74.09) ***/½ |
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| 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 |
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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, while 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 the wondrous Split Enz, limited to a paltry three songs, two of which are (loosely) available on the impossible-to-find Oddz And Enz set, along with other rarities; ironically, the missing track is the Melltoron one... 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.
See: Split Enz
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Acquire the Fire: Unshakeable (2001, 52.26) */0 |
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| Superchic[k]: Holy Moment Jeff Deyo: Fill Me Nick Gonzales: I Wanna Be Clean Ron Luce & Brad Olson: The Wonderful Cross Melissa Tawlks: You Are My King (Amazing Love) Ron Luce: Breathe |
Musical Interlude: Declaration of Faith Phil Joel: Unshakeable Plumb: History Maker Melissa Tawlks: Uncommon Love Ron Luce & Melissa Tawlks: God of Wonders |
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"In your city a storm rages. Shaking walls. Rattling foundations. The trembling is unbearable. It must stop - for the sake of survival. The pummeling is not against walls or buildings but against our very souls. The quake attacks the heart of man, eroding the basics of morality. There is only One who can calm the storm. There is only One who can repair that which is broken. And it is on this One, Christ the solid rock, which we stand." Are you puking on the floor yet? No? Why not? Acquire the Fire (gah!) are an organisation who 'challenge youth to stand for their Christian faith', which can also read as 'coerce waverers into returning to the fold', a tactic which I'm reliably informed these types of groups use. Predatory Christianity, eh? I'm amazed.
Anyway, 2001's Unshakeable is stuffed to the gills with the kind of religious frenzy you'd expect, only Superchic[k]'s energetic opener Holy Moment actually managing to be not actively musically offensive, although, absolutely as you'd expect, the album's lyrically vomitorious throughout. Mellotronically speaking, Christa Joy Black supposedly adds something to Melissa Tawlks' Uncommon Love, but the cello sounds real, so I've absolutely no idea what it might be. Anyway, I can only urge you, in the strongest terms, to avoid this vile record, no matter what its credits may allege.
I refuse to provide a link to Acquire the Fire's 'Teen Mania Ministries' site, for fear of being branded abusive.
See: Plumb
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Bakersfield Rebels: Late 1960s Gems Featuring Clarence White, The Nashville West Band & Others (2004, recorded 1965-69, 65.50) nbsp;***/T½ |
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| Kenny Vernon: Ain't That a Shame Larry Daniels & the Buckshots: Buckshot Dennis Payne: The Conscience of You Rusty Dean: Saturday Satan, Sunday Saint The Dudes: Let's Not Pretend Anymore The Gosdin Brothers: There Must Be a Someone (I Can Turn to) Jan Paxton: She's Taken Everything Bakersfield's Big Guitars: Hugh's Brew The Spencers: King & Queen of Fools |
Gary Paxton: Bummer Guilbeau & Parsons: Your Gentle Ways of Loving Me Leo LeBlanc: Hong Kong Hillbilly Dennis Payne: Who Cares What Happens Dee Mize: Just Leave My World Alone Gib & the Reasons: I'll Live Today Gary Paxton: Half as Much Lorene Mercer: Ballad of a Truck Drivers Wife |
Larry Daniels & the Buckshots: Bakersfield Steed The Dudes: What a Relief, it's All Over Jan Paxton: The Half That's Mine Dennis Payne: I'd Rather Live My Life Alone Bakersfield's Big Guitars: El Tejon Ride The Sanland Brothers: Red Roses (for My Baby) The LeGarde Twins: Night Blooming Jasmine Gary Paxton: Bakersfield |
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Gary S. Paxton was a maverick country artist/producer in the '60s, running his Bakersfield International Productions label and studio from an old bank vault in Bakersfield, California, along with his crack team of musicians, including sometime Byrds members Clarence White and Gene Parsons. 2004's Bakersfield Rebels set collates many Bakersfield productions that received either a limited or no release at the time, despite matching (in fact, exceeding) the quality of mainstream Nashville recordings of the era, with the added bonus of a reduction in the general schmaltz factor. Several tracks are actually pretty experimental, particularly within the genre, being dubbed 'progressive country' by some rather optimistic observers. To the uninitiated, it's a reasonable enough set of early country-rock, although only a handful of tracks stand out in any real way. For the aficionado, however, this must be an absolute goldmine, providing a welcome alternative to the kind of schlock that's been labelled 'country' for the last few decades.
As far as I can ascertain, the label probably owned a Chamberlin (a Mellotron seems most unlikely at that time), Paxton playing it on a handful of tracks here, with strings on Rusty Dean's Saturday Satan, Sunday Saint, Dennis Payne's Who Cares What Happens and I'd Rather Live My Life Alone and his own Half As Much. In addition, several tracks on the set feature a vibraphone, but I suspect it's real, rather than Chamby-generated. Overall, then, good news for country-rock fans in general and Gene Parsons fans in particular, although the rest of us probably don't need to get too excited. A handful of reasonable Chamby tracks, but nothing you can't live without.
See: Clarence White
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BayProg: Progressive Rock From the San Francisco Bay Area (2002, 66.48) ****/T |
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| 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 |
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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, while 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.
See: Spirits Burning | Metaphor | Tesseract
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Be Yourself: A Tribute to Graham Nash's "Songs for Beginners" (2010, 37.51) ***½/T |
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| Port o'Brien/Papercuts: Military Madness Brendan Benson: Better Days Nile Nash: Wounded Bird Vetiver: Used to Be a King Robin Pecknold: Be Yourself |
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: Simple Man Moore Brothers: Man in the Mirror Alela Diane: There's Only One Mariee Sioux with Greg Weeks: Sleep Song Sleepy Sun/Nile Nash: Chicago/We Can Change the World (Reprise) |
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Although ex-Holly Graham Nash's place in musical history should be assured, these days, his name conjures up little of the hero-worship that surrounds his on/off collaborator Neil Young. 2010's Be Yourself: A Tribute to Graham Nash's "Songs for Beginners" is an attempt by fans from the current indie/folk scene to address the problem, reinterpreting Nash's first solo album, 1971's Songs for Beginners, in sequence, for a new generation of listeners, most of its tracks sticking fairly closely to the originals. While nothing here really stands out, better tracks include Port o'Brien/Papercuts' opening Military Madness (current status: no change), Mariee Sioux and Greg Weeks' Sleep Song and Sleepy Sun's rocking Chicago, complete with Neil-style solo.
Weeks plays Mellotron on Sleep Song, with a gentle flute part that enhances the track; shame he wasn't asked to add it to a few others, too. Fans of the original album should make the effort to hear Be Yourself, ditto anyone with even a passing interest in singer-songwriters of the era or any of the artists involved. Worth hearing.
See: Greg Weeks
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Below Zero: Minus, Vol.1 (2009, 78.31) **/½ |
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| Kaya Project: Under the Spell Holmes Ives: In the Beginning Evolve: Couldn't Be More Wrong Chris Zippel: Again Under: Under Track N Field: Someday I Will |
Shine: In the Midlife Zone Iëlo: Fluide Samantha James: Rain Ladder: Transmission You Karmacoda: Make Like Mine Clelia FELIX: Road Movie |
Younger Brother: Ribbons on a Branch Hawke: FlyFly Away Dirtyhertz: I Want You to Be a Good Boy Guts: And the Living is Easy! |
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As far as I can work out, Below Zero are a label and Below Zero: Minus, Vol.1 is a compilation of (previously unavailable?) tracks, all loosely in a 'dance' vein; a lack of knowledge of the genres involved makes it difficult for me to separate the R&B from the hip-hop, or the trance from the electronica. Suffice to say, you are most unlikely to like any of this unless your tastes veer in the direction of modern electronic music with an irritating rhythmic component, although Guts' Latin-flavoured/dub closer And The Living Is Easy! is the least bad thing here.
Sebastian Arocha Morton plays Mellotron (it looks like there might be the equivalent of a 'studio band' used on the record), with flutes on Samantha James' Rain, although all strings sound like generic samples. I can't honestly say I can recommend this in any way, sadly; I'm sure it does what it does well, but all it did for 78 minutes was make me want to turn it off.
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Christmas in Heaven (1996, 53.02) **½/T |
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| Sixpence None the Richer: You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Huntingtons: Merry Christmas, I Don't Wanna Fight Aleixa: Tennessee Christmas Thee Spivies: There's No Christmas on the Moon Phantasmic/Tess Wiley & Her Orchestra: Come on Ring Those Bells |
The Echoing Green: Do They Know it's Christmas? Duraluxe (FKA Fluffy): Feliz Navidad Irwin Icon/Russ Long: Tiffany's Christmas Tree One 21: Carol of the Bells Deitiphobia: She Won't Be Home |
Steve Hindalong & Chris Colbert: Tis the Season of Excess Backwoods/Buka: Christmas Wishes Love Bucket & Slapphappy Super-Fly: Blue Xmas (to Whom it May Concern) Joe Christmas: Christmas in Cobb Country |
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Flying Tart's 1996 Christmas release, Christmas in Heaven, features a variety of artists, few well-known, performing their often rather raucous takes on various seasonal classics. It all starts well: Sixpence None the Richer display a previously-unseen sense of humour on You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch, while Huntingtons' straight Ramones cover Merry Christmas, I Don't Wanna Fight sounds like, well, The Ramones, but it's downhill all the way after that, with another twelve tracks of rather too 'alt.' for their own good efforts, The Echoing Green's take on the horrible Do They Know It's Christmas? (despite humorous intent) being particularly unlistenable.
Phil Madeira adds excellent Mellotron flute and cello parts to Sixpence None the Richer's contribution, although all other vaguely Mellotron sounds aren't. Well, this is far more listenable than your typical festive album, but then, what isn't? A few amusing tracks almost make this worth the effort, but only almost.
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Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity (2008, 82.04) ***½/½ |
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| Tanya Donelly: Heart of Gold Britta Phillips: I am a Child Kate York: Comes a Time Lori McKenna: The Needle and the Damage Done Jill Sobule with John Doe: Down By the River Veruca Salt: Burned Josie Cotton: Cowgirl in the Sand |
Dala: A Man Needs a Maid Darcie Miner: Ohio Carmen Townsend: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere Euro-Trash Girl: Cinnamon Girl Julie Peel: I Believe in You Luff: Tell Me Why Dala: Ohio |
Elk City: Helpless Amilia K. Spicer: Only Love Can Break Your Heart Louise Post: Sugar Mountain The Watson Twins: Powderfinger Kristin Hersh: Like a Hurricane Cindy Wheeler: Old Man Heidi Gluck: Walk on |
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Neil Young must be the most-mentioned non-Mellotron-using artist on Planet Mellotron. So here's another. 2008's Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity is exactly what it says, despite the oddness of women singing Young's frequently male-orientated, first-person lyrics. Of course, you really can't go that far wrong with an album of Neil songs, unless they were all played by hip-hop trios, perhaps, or arranged à la Stephen Sondheim. Actually, they might even survive those treatments. The bulk of the versions here are played straight, or, in the case of some of the acoustic tracks, made even gentler, with the result that few of the versions really stand out, although The Watson Twins' Powderfinger is almost unrecognisable, the twins singing the guitar harmony themselves. The two versions of CSNY classic Ohio perfectly illustrate the versatility of Young's material (as, of course, do his own live versions), Darcie Miner's electric take contrasting sharply with Dala's acoustic one.
Julie Peel plays Mellotron on her own take on I Believe In You, with a pleasant yet brief flute part, making this a somewhat inessential purchase on the Mellotron front. If, however, you're a fan of either a) some of the artists on this compilation or b) Neil Young, you could do a lot worse than to get to hear a copy, at least. Decidedly worthwhile.
See: Tanya Donelly | Britta Phillips | Darcie Miner
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City on a Hill: Sing Alleluia (2002, 44.14) *½/T |
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| Steve Hindalong et al.: All Creatures of Our God & King (Choral Prelude) Jennifer Knapp & Mac Powell: Sing Alleluia Bebo Norman et al.: Holy is Your Name Nichole Nordeman: You Are Holy Mac Powell & Fernando Ortega: Our Great God |
Derek Webb: Marvelous Light Jars of Clay: The Comforter Has Come Nichole Nordeman & FFH: Shine Your Light FFH: Hide Me in Your Heart |
Jennifer Knapp: Hallowed Derri Daugherty: Lift Up Your Hearts (Sursum Corda) Cliff Young et al.: Communion Steve Hindalong et al.: All Creatures of Our God & King (Choral Postlude) |
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City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time (2002, 40.42) **/½ |
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| Steve Hindalong: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Cliff Young et al.: It's Christmas Time Sixpence None the Richer: Silent Night Terry Taylor: Holy Emmanuel |
Caedmon's Call: Babe in the Straw Sara Groves: Child of Love Jars of Clay: Bethlehem Town Third Day et al.: Manger Throne |
Julie Miller & Derri Daugherty: Away in a Manger Out of Eden: Do You Hear What I Hear? Paul Colman Trio: In The Bleak Midwinter Michael Tait & Leigh Nash: O Holy Night |
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The City on a Hill series (four albums, I believe) seems to be a 'devotional songs' project, with various CCM alumni contributing. The end results are, as I'm sure you can imagine, the gloopiest, cheesiest Christian-fest possible, of practically zero interest to anyone who doesn't yearn for a large helping of soft rock punctuated with God. I'm sure these sold loads in Christian-only shops (be warned: God strikes heathens dead on the threshold) and sod-all anywhere else. Pious drivel.
2002's Sing Alleluia was the second collection and is every bit as horrible as you can imagine, with only the occasional ray of light (ho ho) rising up from the deity-related musical murk. Contributors include Bebo Norman (aargh!), Derek Webb and Jars of Clay, on the remote offchance you're interested. Can't say I am. Mellotronist to the Christian community, Phil Madeira, plays Mellotron on Nichole Nordeman & FFH's Shine Your Light, with a decent enough flute part, but hardly enough to rescue this abomination of a record. It's Christmas Time appeared later the same year and only gets a slightly higher rating due to vague nostalgia on my part for carol services attended as a child. The treatments are mostly appalling, but the strong tunes carry the least offensive versions. Caedmon's Call use Madeira again, on Chamby this time, with a string part on Babe In The Straw that could easily be real, forcing me to ask: what's the point?
Unless you're a God-botherer, you really, really don't need to even hear, never mind own these albums. I know my 'CCM is shite' reviews are starting to get a little predictable, but why can't more artists from the bizarre genre make music that doesn't make me want to vomit? I've heard a handful of 'just about listenables', but that's pretty poor going, isn't it? Anyway, avoid like the plague.
See: Bebo Norman | Derek Webb | Jars of Clay | FFH | Sixpence None the Richer | Caedmon's Call | Third Day | Paul Colman
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Cozy Powell Forever (1998, 61.35) ***/½ |
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| Overture 1812 Stargazer Over the Top Lost in Hollywood The Score Kill the King Theme One Ice Cream Cakes |
All Night Long Since You Been Gone Slide it in Armed and Ready The Loner - Dedicated to Jeff Beck |
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Colin "Cozy Powell" Flooks (well, you'd change it, wouldn't you?) had one of the most impressive CVs of any British drummer of his generation, playing in eight or nine major-name outfits over a thirty-year period plus innumerable others, not to mention his session work, although he remains best-known for his five-year tenure in Rainbow. He died in a motorway accident in April '98 (six separate factors were involved, which was a little careless), prematurely ending a glittering career, although, in fairness, he'd peaked over a decade earlier. Still wish he'd been more careful, mind...
Mere months later, Japanese hard rock crew Loudness' drummer, Munetaka Higuchi, put together a tribute to (presumably) his premier influence (pun intended), Cozy Powell Forever, featuring Loudness colleagues plus fellow Japanese musicians from the likes of Earthshaker, X Japan and Vow Wow, not to mention Brit bassist Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page, Whitesnake) and famed US drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge). Between them, they tackled material from a ten-year period of his career from the mid-'70s to mid-'80s, the exceptions being a couple of early '70s Jeff Beck tracks. Highlights include propulsive takes on Rainbow's Stargazer (Rainbow Rising), Kill The King (Long Live Rock'n'Roll) and Lost In Hollywood (Down to Earth), although it slumps somewhat once it moves into his '80s work towards the end of the disc. 1984 Whitesnake, anyone?
Rei Atsumi (ex-Vow Wow) played keys, mostly Hammond, with little bursts of Mellotron here and there, notably the strings on Stargazer, Over The Top and Theme One (Cozy's Over the Top), although all the choirs sound like bad samples. Saying that, I'm not 100% convinced that the strings are real, either; did Rei still own his by this point? He's credited on several other '90s albums (Sass Jordan, Nicklebag, Stevie Salas), so are those suspect, too? Either way, this is aimed chiefly at Rainbow fans and, er, drummers, so I'm not sure anyone else should really make the effort.
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The Third Cyclops Sampler (1996, 72.22) ***½/TT |
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| 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) |
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Cyclops Sampler 5 (2002, 143.48) ***/½ |
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| 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 |
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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 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 already on a tight budget 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 (re)mixed bag, as usual, 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 Taurus pedal-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, so given that Malcolm sells these cheap anyway...
See: Anekdoten | Cross | Lands End | Sinkadus | Sphere3 | Flamborough Head | Henry Fool | Manning | Odyssice | Pineapple Thief | Transience | Twelfth Night
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DMDK (2006, 42.57) ***/½ |
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| Tiger Baby: Strangelove Figurines: Dreaming of Me Marie Frank: It's No Good The Gospel: Personal Jesus eop-555: Stripped Diefenbach: Policy of Truth |
Mikael Simpson: Det er Ligemeget Track 72: Monument Moi Caprice: Any Second Now Lake Placid: Everything Counts Sterling: Nyt Liv Cph Jet: Just Can't Get Enough |
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DMDK, or Depeche Mode Denmark (DK) is a tribute to the band featuring exclusively Danish artists, most of whom, to be bluntly honest, mean nothing to me, probably because they work in the mainstream pop spectrum, as against the Danish artists I do know. Are any of their versions any good? It doesn't help that I'm fairly ignorant of DM's career in the first place, but The Gospel's Personal Jesus (known to me from Johnny Cash's version) and Lake Placid's Everything Counts are the two things that stood out for me, amongst the clumps of electro-by-numbers that clutter up most of the disc.
Nicolai Land plays Mellotron on Marie Frank's It's No Good, with a background flute part that is impossible to verify: the most easily-sampled Mellotron sound low in the mix? Forget it. If you're a Depeche fan, you may wish to hear what's been done to their songs; the rest of us may not. An acceptable tribute album, as far as they go, but not especially exciting for the non-fan.
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Dark Was the Night: Red Hot Compilation (2009, 130.23) ***/½ |
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| Dirty Projectors & David Byrne: Knotty Pine The Books feat. Jose Gonzalez: Cello Song Feist & Ben Gibbard: Train Song Bon Iver: Brackett, WI Grizzly Bear: Deep Blue Sea The National: So Far Around the Bend Yeasayer: Tightrope My Brightest Diamond: Feeling Good Kronos Quartet: Dark Was the Night Antony & Bryce Dessner: I Was Young When I Left Home Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner: Big Red Machine |
The Decemberists: Sleepless Iron & Wine: Die Grizzly Bear & Feist: Service Bell Sufjan Stevens: You Are the Blood Spoon: Well-Alright Arcade Fire: Lenin Beirut: Mimizan My Morning Jacket: El Caporal Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: Inspiration Information Dave Sitek: With a Girl Like You |
Buck 65 remix feat. Sufjan Stevens & Serengeti: Blood Pt 2 The New Pornographers: Hey, Snow White Yo La Tengo: Gentle Hour Stuart Murdoch: Another Saturday Riceboy Sleeps: Happiness Cat Power & Dirty Delta Blues: Amazing Grace Andrew Bird: The Giant of Illinois Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch: Lua Blonde Redhead & Devastations: When the Road Runs Out Kevin Drew: Love vs. Porn |
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2009's Dark Was the Night (named in honour of the Blind Willie Johnson composition Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground) is the twentieth Red Hot compilation, a series designed to raise awareness and funds to help AIDS victims, with which it's difficult to argue. Its two hours-plus are filled with what appear to be exclusive tracks, mainly from current indie acts along the lines of Sufjan Stevens, Cat Power, The New Pornographers and The Arcade Fire, which is fair enough, as it's intended to sell. And sell it has, having raised over a million dollars at the time of writing.
But is it any good?, I hear you cry. Do you like modern indie? Do you yearn to hear unreleased tracks by the likes of Antony (without his Johnsons), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Iron & Wine and Grizzly Bear? Then yes, it's brilliant. Would you rather never hear another thing by anyone even remotely describable as 'indie'? Then no, it isn't. As one sitting nearer the latter camp than the former, I found the set harmless, if overlong and dull, Buck 65 Remix Featuring Sufjan Stevens & Serengeti's Blood Pt 2 being the only thing here that actually had me reaching for the 'next' button. No, I didn't find it very interesting, even The Kronos Quartet's take on the title track, but it isn't aimed at me and has raised a shitload of cash for its chosen charity, making my opinion entirely irrelevant. Did I actually like anything here? Do you care? Riceboy Sleeps' elegiac Happiness is excellent, although it turns out it's actually by Sigur Rós side-project Jónsi & Alex, so that explains that one.
Mellotron? TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek adds some strings to his version of The Troggs' With A Girl Like You, albeit to rather mundane effect, not to mention that I can't tell whether or not it's real. To be honest, while this has been an amazing fundraiser, I really couldn't recommend it to anyone not into the current crop of indie outfits or to anyone hoping to hear a reasonable helping of Mellotron. The star rating above is more for the thought than the deed.
See: David Byrne | Antony & the Johnsons | Grizzly Bear | Spoon | Arcade Fire | My Morning Jacket | Sigur Rós | Bright Eyes
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Daze öf the Undergröund: A Tribute tö Hawkwind (2003, 145.09/154.40) ***/T |
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| Tim Blake: Spirit of the Age Litmus: Paradox Amorphis: Levitation Spacehead: The Right Stuff Meads of Asphodel: Utopia Enchanted: Song of the Sword Bedouin: Sword of the East Silver Machine: Silver Machine Murkins: Psi Power Quarkspace: Quark Strangeness and Charm OverMars: Magnu |
Alpha Omega: Reefer Madness ST37: Orgone Accumulator History of Guns: Magnu Reprise Brainstorm: Master of the Universe Sigh: Psychedelic Warlords Farflung: Robot Spirits Burning: High Rise Huw Lloyd Langton Band: Moonglum Marshan: Hurry on Sundown Circle: Don’t Understand Darxtar: The Watcher |
Acid King: Motorhead Beggars Farm: We Took the Wrong Step Years Ago Sloterdijk: Golden Void Harvey Bainbridge: Acid House of Dreams Acid Mothers Temple: You Know You're Only Dreaming [3LP version loses four tracks and adds: Northwinds: Images/Ejection The Black: Fahrenheit 451 Jet Jaguar: Lord of Light Simon House: Hall of the Mountain Grill Universal Totem Orchestra: Alien (I am)] |
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I don't know when the first single-artist tribute album appeared - probably far earlier than any of us would expect - but the genre hit top gear in the '90s, showing no signs of slowing down yet. 2003's Daze öf theUndergröund: A Tribute tö Hawkwind (umlauts optional) is by no means the first of its kind (1995's Assassins of Silence/Hundred Watt Violence may or may not be the first Hawks tribute), but it may be the longest, available in 27-track 2-CD and 28-track 3-LP versions, with a total of 32 tracks spread over the two issues, irritatingly.
Like pretty much every tribute album ever, Daze öf the Undergröund's something of a mixed bag, highlights including Acid King's half-speed Motorhead, Spirits Burning's excellent High Rise (it actually sounds like Calvert on vocals) and the Universal Totem Orchestra's jazzy vinyl-only Alien (I Am), while with no fewer than five members/ex-members (membership of Hawkwind has always been a rather fluid matter) between the two versions, Tim Blake's Spirit Of The Age and Simon House's vinyl-only Hall Of The Mountain Grill are worth hearing, although I'm not so sure about Alan Davey's Bedouin's take on Alan's Sword Of The East, featuring Davey's best (cough) Lemmy impersonation. Other 'known' artists include Finland's Circle, Sweden's Darxtar (who have actually collaborated with Hawks members as Hawxtar), Japan's very own psychedelic warlords Acid Mothers Temple, Australia's Brainstorm and Britons Spacehead, who've subsequently provided Hawkwind with current bassist Mr. Dibs. The other ex-Hawks present are Huw Lloyd-Langton, with a decent enough studio take on his own Moonglum (there's only a live Hawkwind version) and Harvey Bainbridge, albeit only on the CD.
And why is this here? Litmus, of course... I played in the band from 2001-7, our version of Paradox being recorded the year before our debut album. I think we did a pretty decent job, listening to it several years on, harder than the original, my Mellotron strings higher in the mix than on some of our own material, although, as you'd expect, it's the only Mellotron use on the album, few people even equating the machine with Hawkwind, despite Warrior on the Edge of Time's mighty Assault & Battery/Golden Void twofer.
So; assuming you're a Hawkwind fan, do you buy this album? And if so, which version? Most of you will default to the CD set, but the four tracks chopped for the vinyl version are four of the least good, making it appear, at least to me, that the triple-LP is regarded as the 'real' version, the CD being produced for the sake of commercial restraints. I'm not sure I can actually fully recommend either version, with too many half-arsed takes (Brainstorm's Master Of The Universe, Marshan's Hurry On Sundown) or lumpen, straight copies (UK tribute Silver Machine's, er, Silver Machine, Spacehead's The Right Stuff), but it's an awful lot better than many similar efforts I've had the misfortune to hear, so if you love the original band enough to own thirty or more albums (not that difficult a feat), you may wish to add Daze öf the Undergröund to your collection, our one genuine 'Tron track merely being the icing on the not-that-tasty cake.
See: Hawkwind | Litmus | Spirits Burning | Circle
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Disco Sound (Hits in Instrumentalfassung) (1978, 42.36) **½/T |
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| Gruppe "Kreis": Sie ist Immer Noch Allein Puhdys: Alt Wie ein Baum Stern-Combo Meißen: Der Alte auf der Müllkippe Engerling: Mama Wilson Orchester Hartmut Schulze-Gerlach: He, Kleine Linda |
City: Am Fenster 4 PS: Ich Würde, Wenn ich Wüßte, Daß ich Könnte Veronika Fischer & Band: Und Sprach Kein Wort Gruppe "Excentra": Komm Doch SBB: Nervöser Nikolaus |
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It's difficult to work out exactly what purpose 1978's East German various-artists collection Disco Sound (Hits in Instrumentalfassung) is supposed to serve. My cynical guess would be that since 'disco' was popular in the dissolute, capitalist West, Amiga reckoned that they might as well try to slip a little of that capitalist spirit past the Stasi and shift a few copies of a compilation with 'disco' in the title onto their unsuspecting public. It appears to consist of otherwise-unavailable material, going by Stern-Combo Meißen and SBB's contributions, although perhaps four of its ten tracks actually have any real four-to-the-floor action, amusingly including SBB's Nervöser Nikolaus. Best track? No contest: Stern-Combo Meißen's fab, synth-heavy Der Alte Auf Der Müllkippe, which would do very nicely as a bonus track on a future reissue of, say, Der Weite Weg.
Gruppe "Excentra"'s Johannes Schlecht plays an upfront Mellotron flute melody on their vaguely danceable Komm Doch, but that's it on the Mellotron front. Long out of print (of course), if you really must, you might be able to find this on download sites, which is where I, er, found it myself.
See: Stern-Combo Meissen | SBB
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Down in a Mirror: A Second Tribute to Jandek (2005, 77.27) ***/T |
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| Jeff Tweedy: Crack a Smile Live Show Rabbits: You Painted Your Teeth Eric Gaffney: The Dunes Okkervil River: Your Other Man Brother JT: Message to the Clerk Six Organs of Admittance: I'll Sit Alone and Think Alot About You Home for the Def: Cave in on You/European Jewel (incomplete) |
The Marshmallow Staircase: Down in a Mirror The Mountain Goats: White Box George Parsons: Aimless Breeze Lewis & Clarke: Nancy Sings Jack Norton: Naked in the Afternoon Rivulets: Sung Makoto Kawabata: Babe I Love You |
Wayside Drive: The Spirit A Real Knife Head: Just Die Ross Beach: Van Ness Mission Multi Panel: I Found the Right Change Dan Melchior: Babe I Love You Pothole Skinny: You Painted Your Teeth Dirty Projectors: With U Icon (an Homage) |
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When it comes to outsider musicians, Jandek (probably, but not definitely a.k.a. Sterling Richard Smith) possibly has your Wesley Willises and your Daniel Johnstons beaten hands down, if only on grounds of anonymity and prolificity (?). Prolificness? Whatever. I think a man who only began to play live twenty-five years into his career, having released well over thirty albums, is a pretty suitable candidate for a tribute album, so he gets two: 2000's Naked in the Afternoon and, five years later, Down in a Mirror.
The artists on the album (few of them well-known) tackle the material in a variety of styles, from straight sort-of-Americana to fairly 'out there' interpretations (possibly closer to the originals?), the more listenable to the non-fan including Wilco's Jeff Tweedy's Crack A Smile, Eric Gaffney's The Dunes and Okkervil River's Your Other Man, although I'll admit that list is relatively conservative (it's not often I'll admit to being a conservative anything, either). Tweedy adds a unison Mellotron string and flute line to Crack A Smile, although that's your lot on the tape-replay front. I can't honestly recommend this to anyone hoping to hear filthy great slabs of Mellotron, but fans of Jandek and/or some of the artists concerned may wish to splash out.
See: Wilco | Okkervil River
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Dry Lungs II (1986, 45.09) ***/T |
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| Croiners: Untitled Jeff Greinke: Uprising Randy Greif: The Hole to Heaven Monochrome Bleu: Ballerinas of Manaus Tim Story: Untitled Controlled Bleeding: Letters To The Life Cycle (Part 3) Severed Heads: Clairaudience |
If, Bwana: Beauty and the Beast Un Drame Musical Instantané: French Resistance Asmus Tietchens: Medienlandschaft 2 Jarboe: A Song in the Dark (excerpt) Ybo²: Trash! Crash! Hijoh Kaiden: Deschapelles Coup |
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Paul Lemos of avant-noiseniks Controlled Bleeding compiled the Dry Lungs sets in the mid-'80s, involving like-minded musical experimentalists including Japanese lunatics Ybo² and members of Swans. Dry Lungs II was released on the Placebo label, its contents veering between Croiners' electronica, Jeff Greinke's ethno-experimentalism, the dark ambience of Swans' Jarboe, Ybo²'s manic jazz-insanity and the feedback frenzy of Hijoh Kaiden's Deschapelles Coup, rounding the set off appropriately.
Ybo² provide the set's one Mellotronic moment, with a skronky string part on the brief Trash! Crash! from Masashi Kitamura. This is long-unavailable, of course, although you'll find downloads if you look hard enough. I've also found Ybo²'s track added to a file of one of their full releases, should you only be interested in their contribution.
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...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore (1998, 156.58) ****/T |
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| 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 |
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...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, ArsnovaJapan), 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.
See: Sundial | Standarte | Goblin | Arsnova | Morte Macabre | Abiogenesi | Il Segno del Comando | Bevis Frond | Somnambulist
