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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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Rime of the Ancient Sampler: The Mellotron Album (1993, 77.42) ***/TTTTT |
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| Matt Clifford: Then and Now Bill Nelson: Mellotronix Michael Pinder Waters Beneath the Bridge Patrick Moraz: Owner's Guide Gordon Reid: Julia Sheila Maloney: Berlin Boys |
Blue Weaver: Mello Blue's Blues Derek Holt: Resurrection Nick Magnus: Night of the Condor Woolly Wolstenholme: Deceivers All Ken Freeman: Attack of the Azimuths Martin Smith: Engulfed |
David Cross: Not So Chris Taylor: Bradmatic David Kean: Lift Julian Colbeck: Heartfelt David Etheridge: Mighty Tron 1964 Mellotron Demonstration Disc: El Cumbanchero |
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Very quietly, in the early '90s, bathroom fitter Martin Smith and John 'son of Les' Bradley opened for business as Streetly Electronics, just outside Birmingham, helping to kickstart the revival of Mellotron use in the UK. They brought my own machine back from the dead in 1993, coincidentally the same year they compiled Rime of the Ancient Sampler: The Mellotron Album, released on Voiceprint. Now long out of print, copies change hands for considerable sums on the 'Tron fan circuit although, if I'm going to be utterly, brutally honest, it's not quite the classic it's made out to be. What's more, although Martin and John spent some weeks trundling a Mark II all over the country for artists to use, only ten of the sixteen tracks recorded especially for the album actually use real 'Tron, one of the sample casualties being Martin's own track, Engulfed. No, I don't know why either.
In retrospect, some of the artists seem rather odd choices. Bill Nelson? (Be-Bop Deluxe only ever used one sparingly). Julian Colbeck? Several lesser-known singer-songwriters/session men? To be fair, the project was put together pretty quickly, and several high-profile names wouldn't commit, and there are a few classic names from Mellotron history. The booklet helpfully lists every sound used by each musician (trainspotters? Us?), even when those sounds are now known to be samples, and there's a good selection, apart from the ubiquitous violins/flutes/choir, including mixed brass, trumpet, sax, oboe, Hammond and Patrick Moraz' special FX set.
The music. Hmmm. This is where it gets a bit difficult for me. I know several of the people involved with the project (like the namedropper I am), so it's with a heavy heart that I say: it's not very good. All but two of the tracks were written specially for the record, the artists being given complete carte blanche, and most of them sound like '80s-hangover session muso stuff, I'm afraid. You know; programmed drums, nasty digital synth patches, no discernable tune. That sort of thing. It's not all bad; The Strawbs' Blue Weaver plays a nice bluesy thing in Mello Blue's Blues, although you can hear the samples at a couple of points, and Moraz' Owner's Guide is intentionally amusing, but most of the material has a rather rushed feel about it, as though the artists were only given a couple of days' notice to come up with something. A few tracks quote from 'Tron classics of yesteryear, notably the Climax Blues Band's Derek Holt, on Resurrection, and my old friend Dave Etheridge, on Mighty Tron. A quick aside here, to say a public 'thank you' to Dave for a) letting me play his Mark II back in the mid-'80s - the first Mellotron I ever laid hands on, and b) ringing me excitedly at work one day in '93 to tell me he'd found someone to get my 'Tron working again. Enter Martin...
However... unsurprisingly, there is some mighty 'Tron work here, with Ken Freeman going completely bonkers with the choirs on Attack Of The Azimuths (you can tell this man's worked on the machine's innards), while the violins (plus his real one) on David Cross' Not So are as in-yer-face as you could ever want; the track's not bad, either. David Kean (US 'Tron resurrector) shows off shamelessly by playing Mellotron, Chamberlin and Birotron on Lift, named for his fave obscure US prog outfit, and Dave Etheridge's Mighty Tron cops The Beatles, The Moody Blues and Genesis, and why not? And Dave, 'Watcher' is in F#, not G...
Whither the two tracks not actually recorded for the album, I hear you ask? Ex-Barclay James Harvester Woolly Wolstenholme's Deceivers All is the best song 'proper' on the album, being recorded for his second solo album in the early '80s, finally seeing the light of day on Black Box, which came out the year after Rime, also on Voiceprint. It's swamped in M300 strings, and not only has a tune, but a damn' good one, and is the only track here available elsewhere, for what it's worth. Apart from Woolly's track, the highlight of the album has to be El Cumbanchero, the original '64 'Tron demo disc; in fact, the album's (almost) worth it for this alone, though only almost. It consists of a cleaned-up 7" single of an unknown musician playing some cheesy Mark II string chords over a left-hand manual rhythm, with some dweeb with a slightly mid-Atlantic accent extolling its virtues, before a further selection of rhythm tapes and some wild Hammond soloing on the right-hand manual. Stupendous. No, I mean it; well, very nearly...
So; it's rather academic whether or not I recommend this, as it's almost impossible to find, especially outside the UK, and if you're a Mellotron nut, it's probably at the top of your 'wants' list, whatever I have to say about it. A reissue is apparently a no-no, permanently, so if you're absolutely hell-bent on owning a copy, keep your eyes open, and good luck.
See: Be-Bop Deluxe | Mike Pinder | The Moody Blues | Patrick Moraz | Strawbs | Climax Blues Band | Steve Hackett | Woolly Wolstenholme | Barclay James Harvest | Maestoso | King Crimson
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Rökstenen: A Tribute to Swedish Progressive Rock of the 70's (2010, 233.05) ****/T½ |
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| The Samurai of Prog: Drottningholmsmusiken Sats 1 (Blåkulla) Jinetes Negros: Mars (Blåkulla) Contrarian: Sirenernas Sång (Blåkulla) Simon Says: Tajgan (Kaipa) Simon Says: Den Skrattande Grevinnan (Kaipa) Progchard: Från det Ena Till det Andra (Kaipa) Willowglass: Oceaner Foder Liv (Kaipa) E.D.O.: På Gata (Atlas) Révélation: Björnstorp (Atlas) Beardfish: Pop Poem (Made in Sweden) Bootcut: Gånglåt Från Ovanåker (Merit Hemmingson) Anima Morte: Den Gamla Skogen (Bo Hansson) The Grand Trick: The Black Riders (Bo Hansson) Echoes: Andra Sidan (Trettioåriga Kriget) |
Primo Intermezzo La Bocca della Veritá: War (Dice) Kate: Disease (Dice) Karmic Jaggernaut: Greed (Dice) Blank Manuskript: Death (Dice) JetSet: Into the Mist (JetSet) TkingDkeys: Ingeting (Samla Mammas Manna) Villebråd: Rockgift (Trettioåriga Kriget) Soniq Circus: Stockholm (Pugh Rogefeldt) Magnolia: Ganska Långt Från Sergel (November) Wasa Express: Apkalops (Egba) Mist Season: Promenader (Ragnarök) Vanilla Project: Gånglåt (Atlas) |
Secondo Intermezzo Daal: Var Glad Var Dag (Ragnarök) Pseudo Sun: En av Oss (Life) Anja: Mount Everest (November) The Moor: Grävmaskinen (Pugh Rogenfeldt) Divine Baze Orchestra: Här Kommer Natten (Pugh Rogenfeldt) Matthijs Herder: Two Hours Over Two Blue Mountains... (Älgarnas Trädgård) Moosequartet: Vi Valde Inte Våldet (Fickteatern) Darxtar: Cosmic Love (Ralph Lundsten) Pensiero Nomade: Jatten Feeling (Flasket Brinner) In the Labyrinth: Worlds on Fire (Handgjort) Orient Squeezers: Ödet (Zamla Mammaz Manna) Jerry Johansson & Dan Fröberg: Kontinuerlig Drift [bonus track] |
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The Colossus Project's latest, er, project takes a sharp left turn from their usual 'find a concept, examine it minutely over several CDs with dozens of bands' by, er, doing exactly that, but making it a set of covers of Swedish '70s prog bands by current outfits. The downside? If you've got a decent prog collection, you'll already have much of the source material in its original form. The upside? A guarantee of compositional quality, since all the bands covered are highly-rated and you can be sure that only their best material has been tackled.
As you can see, I've added the original artists above in brackets after the song titles; they include the likes of Blåkulla, Kaipa, Atlas, Trettioåriga Kriget and Dice, plus the lesser-known (within the genre; Bo Hansson is probably the only one known to the public at large) Pugh Rogenfeldt, Fickteatern and Ralph Lundsten. I don't know anything about the selection process, but the quality is extremely high, many of the tracks having that slightly jaunty quality of so much Swedish prog of the time, including the unfamiliar material here. Highlights? Since the versions of familiar material are largely reiterations of the original arrangements, what was the best material then tends to be the best material now, including the Kaipa tracks and, notably, the large chunk of disc 2 containing the whole of Dice's immortal The Four Riders of the Apocalypse (recorded in '77, finally released in '92); to think that this gem could've disappeared into the uncaring maw of history...
Mellotronically-speaking, despite much sample use (notably Simon Says and Willowglass), the only 'definites' I can spot are Tilion's Alfio Costa adding strings to Daal's take on Ragnarök's Var Glad Var Dag, Daniel Karlsson plays very upfront strings on The Divine Baze Orchestra's Här Kommer Natten (Pugh Rogenfeldt), Matthijs Herder (Oceana Company) puts flutes, cellos, strings and choirs onto his solo take on Älgarnas Trädgård's Two Hours Over Two Blue Mountains..., white Peter Lindahl adds some rather background strings (under real ones) to In the Labyrinth's Worlds on Fire (Handgjort, a name totally unfamiliar to me).
Despite my initial reservations concerning the validity of the entire project, were it to only succeed on one level, it would be as an unusual kind of primer to the Swedish '70s scene, collating much of its best material in one place, with largely excellent, if probably rather overly-reverential versions. Mellotronically, although it's mostly samples (usual Colossus insistence on 'period' sounds), four real 'Tron tracks is better than many of these projects. Recommended, though more for the music than the Mellotron.
See: Simon Says | Willowglass | Daal | The Moor | The Divine Baze Orchestra | In the Labyrinth
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Romantic Moog (1974) **/TT |
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| My Cherie Amour Like Someone in Love A Lover's Concerto I Love You Because Love is a Many Splendored Thing Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme From "Dr. Zhivago") This Guy's in Love |
Love is Here to Stay What the World Needs Now is Love True Love Portrait of My Love And I Love You So |
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The Contour label's Romantic Moog is what is known as (a technical term here) a 'charity shop special' - 'thrift store' if you're from across the pond. Knocked out for next to nothing, it would've sold respectably in its day, probably from non-standard outlets (newsagents and the like), as no self-respecting record shop would've gone near this stuff. In this particular case, the producers (Chris Harding and Lionel Burdge, who, amazingly, put their name to this) obviously assembled a small ensemble of piano, (very gently played) drums, bass and synth, any of whom could've been either of those two fine gentlemen, bashing out cheeso 'Moog' arrangements of the kind of love song your aunty would've listened to back in the '70s, most of them old enough that I couldn't actually tell you who recorded them originally. Nor would I wish to. It's easy to see this as side-splittingly awful (and I do), but, in actuality, it's just awful. No wonder I found a badly scratched copy in a 'chazzer' in a particularly rough area for under a pound. I was still ripped off.
A sensibly anonymous muso adds Mellotron strings to a few tracks, with faux-orchestral parts added to Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme From "Dr. Zhivago"), This Guy's In Love, Portrait Of My Love and (in particular) And I Love You So, which, as you might expect, add precisely nothing to the arrangements. Top marks for terribleness, by the way, go to the particularly unsuitably modulated patch on Portrait Of My Love, although it's all pretty dreadful, truth be told. Interestingly, this didn't actually have me reaching for the sick-bucket, thus the relatively high rating above; more boring than puke-inducing.
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SI Magazine: Compilation Disc (1991, 72.42) *½/½ |
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| Brassé: Pawn Overture Pendragon: Fallen Dreams and Angels Landmarq: Suite St.Helen's The Last Detail: Man Out of Time Tracy Hitchings: Escape |
Oblique: Time Differences: Changing Jadis: The Beginning and the End For Absent Friends: Attitude Now: Back to the Silence |
Gandalf: The Call of Nature Egdon Heath: Secret Fence Shadowland: Dorian Gray Pallas: War of Words |
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One of the first independent progressive labels of the '90s, The Netherlands' S.I. (Sym-Info) are now largely forgotten, despite their groundbreaking work; they went to the wall in the middle of the decade, doubtless due to the standard cashflow problems encountered by labels run by fans, although most of their better releases have been reissued on other labels. Actually, if we're going to be brutally honest, S.I.'s roster was pretty awful, with the likes of neo-prog horrors For Absent Friends, Aragon and Egdon Heath, although they also gave Scots experimentalists-turned-neoproggers-turned-Genesis-copyists Citizen Cain a chance, and were the first label to reissue Twelfth Night's seminal Live & Let Live (*****), whilst also foisting several dreary Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) projects on the world, amongst other unpleasantnesses. Basically, with a handful of exceptions, they released then-current neo-prog by bands who were never going to get a deal with anyone else. Ever. See: Coda.
The wittily-titled SI Magazine: Compilation Disc (the large '10' on the cover refers to the mag's tenth anniversary) featured most of the early-'90s' neo-prog leading lights (such as they were), including some who never actually released anything else on the label, not to mention several exclusive and never reissued tracks. Among these are my good friend Nick May's only recorded work with Jadis, before being dropped like the proverbial hot potato, and the only thing Pallas released in their 12-year gap between albums, War Of Words. It's this last that interests us here, as it's also their last recorded Mellotron work, played by returning original keyboard player Mike Stobbie, who eventually left to be replaced by his original replacement, Ronnie Brown. With me so far? It's actually a piece of unmitigated AOR shite, to be quite honest, and really should have been left unavailable, in my (very) 'umble opinion, featuring a brief and distant choir part that does nothing to dig the song out of its quagmire of slop. Unfortunately, in their completist zeal, the band elected to include it on their massive archive effort, Mythopoeia, albeit in MP3 form, although that does mean that completist fans won't have to shell out the sheckels for this dismal effort, if they simply can't bear to be without it.
The rest of the album's pretty awful, too, but as it's long-unavailable and exceedingly unlikely to be reissued, you're not going to find a copy anyway. Gandalf's hilariously-titled The Call Of Nature brings to mind Now (also present here)'s side-splitting debut, Complaint of the Wind, and Québecois Visible Wind's entire career. Want to use English idioms? Ask an expert. Or at least an English speaker. OK, for what it's worth, the only tracks which didn't trigger an overpowering urge in me to hit the 'skip' button were the ones by (maybe surprisingly) Landmarq, Jadis and Gandalf, although Now's effort had some nice Yes-like 'da da da's, although the track sounds a bit throwaway.
So; you're rather unlikely to find this, but in case you've actually got it on your 'wants' list for some strange reason, I can only urge you to delete it immediately. The bulk of this compilation is irredeemably horrible, and should never have been released. Unequivocal? Moi?
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Schizoid Dimension: A Tribute to King Crimson (1997, 73.03) ***½/TT |
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| Controlled Bleeding: Talking Drum David Cross: Exiles (edit) Brand X (West): Red Brand X (East): Neil & Jack & Me Chrome: Moonchild Melting Euphoria: Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part 1) Alien Planetscapes: A Sailor's Tale |
Architectural Metaphor: Cirkus Pressurehead: 21st Century Schizoid Man Astralasia: I Talk to the Wind Xcranium: Cat Food Spirits Burning: Red Solid Space: In the Wake of Poseidon |
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Unusually for a 'tribute' album, Schizoid Dimension is largely very listenable, with a high good-to-shite quotient. I'm tempted to say this is a result of the excellence of the source material, but that doesn't stop most similar efforts being vile; maybe it's the fact that very few of the contributing artists deviate too far from King Crimson's original arrangements. Brand X (West) and Spirits Burning's respective recreations of Red are almost identical to the 1974 version, while Solid Space's In The Wake Of Poseidon could actually be the original, although most of the rest of the artists involved stamp at least a little of their own personality on their chosen tracks. Most innovative? Xcranium's Cat Food is a hard rock take on the track, while Astralasia's techno-orientated I Talk To The Wind moves furthest from the song's roots although, amusingly, without the programmed percussion, it would be almost identical to Crimson's version.
As is so often the case with modern recordings, it's extremely hard to tell whether any of the 'Mellotron' work here has even a whiff of genuine tape-replay about it, but without more detailed information, I shall have to assume that an M400 was involved in the proceedings. Alien Planetscapes' A Sailor's Tale has some strings that may just possibly be real, probably from band leader Doug Walker, while Solid Space's In The Wake Of Poseidon sounds like fairly genuine strings (credited, anyway) from Daniel Todd Carter. Architectural Metaphor's Cirkus dispenses with the Lizard version's strings, flute and brass, but layers plenty of 'Tron choir all over the track, making for an interesting departure, due to Crimson's non-use of the sound, although they're almost certainly samples, given that Paul Eggleston has never owned a 'Tron. Although Astralasia's I Talk To The Wind sounds like it could contain 'Tron flute, it's far more likely to be a synth, ditto the vaguely 'Tronnish parts on a couple of other tracks.
So; not a bad effort, as tribute albums go, although like so many similar, it all seems a bit pointless, really. Particularly low marks, incidentally, for the appalling sleeve; it appears to be a crude parody of the late Barry Godber's fantastic artwork for In the Court of the Crimson King (I mean, what's going on with those eyes?), but since I can't imagine why the compilers would wish to mock the original, I can only assume that it, too, is meant as a tribute. In fairness, it's the worst thing about the album; worth picking up second-hand.
See: | Spirits Burning
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Signs of Life: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (2000, 151.41) **½/T |
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| Sylvan: High Hopes Cromwell: Another Day of Sorrow Angel Dust: Run Like Hell Ziff: Wish You Were Here Mystery: Hey You R.P.W.L.: Cymbaline Das Zeichen: Welcome to the Machine |
Vanishing Point: On the Turning Away Solar Project: Pigs (feat. Dogs'n'Sheep) Flying Circus: Let There Be More Light Pendragon: Schizo (a Tribute to Pink Floyd) Grand Cross: Shine on You Crazy Diamond Pangaea: Time Eternity X: Comfortably Numb |
Tiamat: When You're in Megace: The Dogs of War The Crack of Doom: Another Brick in the Wall The Electric Family: Careful With That Axe, Eugene Liquid Visions: Interstellar Overdrive Mindala: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun Fantasyy Factoryy: One of These Days |
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What, another Pink Floyd tribute album? At least Signs of Life: A Tribute to Pink Floyd isn't some terrible orchestral, trance, reggae (fer Chrissakes) or other unsuitable genre effort, although much of its content is slightly questionable, at best. Most of the contributors are lesser-known prog or psych bands, many of them German, a few assembled for the album, notably Swedes Grand Cross, consisting of members of Grand Stand and Cross. In fact, of the 21 artists involved, I'd say only five or six are even remotely well-known, the rest languishing in largely-deserved obscurity.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, tribute albums tend to fall into two categories; this one's of the 'little-known artists, some of whom slavishly copy the original tracks' variety, not least Sylvan, Mystery and the aforementioned Grand Cross, while Fantasyy Factoryy's One Of These Days must be the limpest take on the song ever recorded. Solar Project's Pigs (feat. Dogs'n'Sheep) is a ten-minute distillation of the entire Animals album, sticky-tape well and truly visible, although Cromwell's Another Day Of Sorrow segues its way through three Floyd tracks (Yet Another Movie/The Happiest Days Of Our Lives/Sorrow) rather more successfully. The horrible Pendragon's Schizo (A Tribute To Pink Floyd) is a pointless 'in the style of' track, the only non-Floyd piece on the double-disc set, which reminds me no more or less of dreadful British Floyd tribute Think Floyd's godawful 'own material' album Hope from the late '90s, which was an absolute travesty. Of the remainder, probably the most adventurous efforts are R.P.W.L.'s excellent Cymbaline (well, they did start off as a Floyd tribute band...), Liquid Visions' decent take on Interstellar Overdrive and, above all, Aussies Vanishing Point's startling Celtic rock take on On the Turning Away; think, 'Big Country give Runrig a good kicking at a Floyd gig' and you won't be too far off. Top marks for originality, chaps.
Mellotronically speaking, of course, the Floyd aren't particularly known for their contributions to the canon, their MkII's last outing being in 1970. As a result, Mindala (actually Mind Over Matter, 'Cosmic' Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock's electronic outfit) are the set's only users, although it sounds like sampled strings on Flying Circus' Let There Be More Light. Anyway, Mindala/Mind Over Matter get some choir and strings in on their especially psychedelic Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, though I can't say you'd miss them if they weren't there.
So; a rather pointless affair, generally, with a tiny handful of genuinely worthwhile versions, lots of clones and a few real stinkers. Then again, isn't that the way with most tribute albums? In which case, why bother? Anyway, hardly any Mellotron, so definitely not worth it on those grounds.
See: Pink Floyd | R.P.W.L. | Liquid Visions | Mind Over Matter
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Sing a Song for You: Tribute to Tim Buckley (2000, 86.28) ***½/½ |
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| Moose: Sing a Song for You Simon Raymonde & Anneli Drecker: Morning Glory Brendan Perry: Dream Letter Mojave 3: Love From Room 109 at the Islander The Friendly Science Orchestra: Because of You Mark Lanegan: Café |
Shelleyan Orphan: Buzzin' Fly Mike Johnson: I Woke Up Cousteau: Blue Melody Heather Duby: I Must Have Been Blind Dot Allison: Sweet Surrender Geneva: Pleasant Street |
Lilys: Strange Feelin' The Mad Scene: Happy Time Neil Halstead: Phantasmagoria in Two Tram: Once I Was The Czars: Song to the Siren |
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I'm slightly ashamed to say I've never become acquainted with the works of Tim Buckley, although I own his son's two 'must-have' albums. As a result, listening to the two-disc Sing a Song for You: Tribute to Tim Buckley can only be a second-hand experience, like seeing a film reflected in a distorting mirror. I also have no idea how any of the songs contained herein sounded originally, or how faithful these interpretations are (not to mention how faithful they should be). Most of the versions tend to be suffused with melancholy, as I imagine the originals to be, although Lilys' Strange Feelin' is the joker in the pack, tackled in an early psych style, bouncing along in a post-garage kind of way. Given the quality of both the material and the interpretations, I found this to be a very listenable collection, but then, without any real knowledge of Buckley's recordings, I can hardly become outraged at the possible liberties taken by the contributors.
Mellotron's credited on two tracks, with background strings from Alan Forrester on Mojave 3's take on Love From Room 109 At The Islander and something entirely inaudible on Neil Halstead's Phantasmagoria In Two from Halstead himself, making this something of a 'don't bother' on the Mellotron front, but a rather good set of reinterpretations of Buckley's work for hardcore fans. Definitely one of the better tribute albums reviewed on this site.
See: Cocteau Twins | Mark Lanegan | Mike Johnson | Mad Scene
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Sing Hollies in Reverse (1995, 72.03) ****/T |
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| Posies: King Midas in Reverse Tommy Keene: Carrie Anne Loud Family: Look Through Any Window Steve Wynn, Eric Ambel: The Air That I Breathe Mitch Easter: Pay You Back With Interest Cub: You Know He Did Kristian Hoffman: I'm Alive |
Flamingoes: Water on the Brain E: Jennifer Eccles Jigsaw Seen: On a Carousel John Easdale: Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) Bill Lloyd: Step Inside Losers Lounge: After the Fox Wondermints: You Need Love |
The Sneetches: So Lonely Continental Drifters: I Can't Let Go Carla Olson: Touch Andrew: Heading for a Fall Material Issue: Bus Stop Shakin' Apostles: Dear Eloise Jon Brion: Sorry Suzanne |
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The Hollies are one of those British '60s bands I've never really heard properly, probably because of their relatively lightweight reputation, certainly compared to The Stones or The Who, say. In fairness, they never pretended to be anything other than what they were, a cheery pop group, albeit one with unusually good material, it seems, some of it written by future 10cc man Graham Gouldman. Sing Hollies in Reverse goes a little way towards righting that particular wrong for me, but introducing me to a good few songs I've never previously encountered, although a surprising number are quite familiar. The album features most of the top mid-'90s powerpop acts, including The Posies, Mitch Easter and The Wondermints, keeping the overall quality high, although with songs as good as these, you'd have to be going it some to ruin them (although I've seen it done).
There's actually only one tape-replay track here, Jon Brion's lengthy closing take on Sorry Suzanne, stuffed with his own strings, flute and a raucous woodwind instrument of some variety (pitchbent nicely) and lead, er, something from E of The Eels. So; one for both Hollies (specifically) and powerpop (generally) fans, or anyone who feels the need to 'discover' The Hollies' back-catalogue without trawling through several discs'-worth of bad production and squeaky-clean instrumentation. A tribute album that works. Hurrah!
See: The Hollies | The Posies | Loud Family | E | Jon Brion
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Sounds of Wood & Steel 3 (2003, 69.57) ***½/T |
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| Russ Freeman: Guitarland Susanna Hoffs: I Will Take Care of You Phil Keaggy: Cajon Pass Chris Proctor: Ozymandias C. Michael Spriggs: Trio T.J. Baden: Sleep on it Tonight |
Bill Cooley: Butter Fingers Doyle Dykes: Three Little Miracles Doug Pettibone: Chinese Checkers Suzy Bogguss: Ain't Misbehavin' Randy Dorman: Night Winds Robben Ford: St. James Infirmary |
Fred Mollin: You Just Missed Me Jars of Clay: Jesse's Song Dave Matthews: Litho Blitho Paul Rodgers: Cynthia's Place Billy Sheehan: Bombay Doors |
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Windham Hill are known for their New Age catalogue (Shadowfax albums are some of their biggest sellers), so it comes as a surprise to learn that they're behind the three volumes of the Sounds of Wood & Steel series, intended as a tribute to Taylor guitars. I suppose the music fits the label's remit in its gentleness, but there's no way the material on 3 fits the 'New Age' tag at all, being superbly played, essentially instrumental acoustic guitar pieces, performed by a run of greater- and lesser-known players, all to an exceptional standard. Some of the pieces are more energetic than others, while several drift into the country area, but the album's default setting is tuneful, acoustic music, rarely slipping into the blandness into which the label tends to be pigeonholed.
The first appearance of any kind of keyboard is on track five, C. Michael Spriggs' Trio, but the only Mellotron is from Jars of Clay's Charlie Lowell on their Jesse's Song, with (you guessed it) a tasteful flute part that adds nicely to the piece. Overall, then, not something you're going to get for its Mellotron input, but a very presentable effort in its field.
See: Phil Keaggy | Jars of Clay | Dave Matthews
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The Spaghetti Epic: Six Modern Prog Bands For Six '70s Prog Suites (2004, 134.14) ***/T |
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| Haikara: The West Randone: Jill Tilion: Cheyenne La Voce Del Vento: Harmonica |
Taproban: Morton Trion: Frank |
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The Spaghetti Epic 2: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (2006, 77.33) ***½/TRandone:The Good La Voce Del Vento: The Bad Tilion: The Ugly |
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The Spaghetti Epic: Six Modern Prog Bands For Six '70s Prog Suites is the second Colossus/Musea collaboration (see: Kalevala), and adds another factor to the mix, namely, 'each suite should be 25 minutes maximum' which means, in practice, 'each suite will be at least 20 minutes'. The album's premise, however, is a fascinating one; tackle Sergio Leone's famous spaghetti western, 'Once Upon a Time in the West', in long-format, '70s-inspired progressive form. Not your standard prog fare, then... Would you believe, though, that it seems to've brought out the best in some of the bands concerned? Surprisingly, maybe, being forced into a previously-unexplored area has pulled them out of their comfort zone and made them produce something a bit different. On disc one, Haikara's The West exudes a sense of menace, with unusual (but fitting) use of harmonica, and while Randone and Tilion's tracks are good, they can't quite match Haikara for sheer invention. La Voce del Vento are, amusingly, British, being a Guy Manning side-project, and produce a pretty decent effort in Harmonica. Taproban are reasonable enough, at the heavier end of things, but the much-fêted Trion are, sadly, the dullest thing here; producing a 'side-long' piece of music doesn't just mean 'solo till the cows come home', and their neo-prog tendencies grate somewhat.
Not an awful lot of Mellotron, to be honest; Randone use samples, and while Tilion have ensured me they're using a real one, played by Alfio Costa, it's not the most upfront use you'll ever hear. Manning and Trion both use samples, as they do on their regular releases, and if you think Taproban's pseudo-Hammond is bad, wait till you hear their voice samples... This has got to be the nastiest, stretched, low-rate sample it's been my displeasure to hear in a long while. Anyway, a good start, but tails off rather, and this 20-minute plus thing only encourages bands to be self-indulgent.
Two years on and Colossus stick a second volume out, this time based on The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, utilising three of the first volume's six bands on a lengthy single-disc effort. Randone do a decent enough job on The Good, cheekily (but effectively) quoting from Morricone's original score, although they meander over its twenty-minute plus length. La Voce Del Vento's The Bad is, aptly, the least good track on the set, spoiled by some rather unforgiving vocal parts, leaving Tilion's The Ugly to save he day. Bold, risk-taking and elegant, it's easily the best track here, not really sounding like anybody much else at all, which is a definite bonus. Mellotronically speaking, Randone and La Voce Del Vento both use passable samples, while Tilion's M400 provides string parts throughout, though nothing else obvious.
So; in both cases, not bad, not great, probably not as good as Kalevala, although both sets have their moments. Not much 'Tron, either, excluding samples.
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Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music From Vintage Disney Films (1988, 63.33) ****/½ |
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| Opening Medley Ken Nordine: Hi Diddle Dee Dee (an Actor's Life for Me) Natalie Merchant, Michael Stipe: Little April Shower Los Lobos: I Wan'na Be Like You (the Monkey Song) Bonnie Raitt and Was (Not Was): Baby Mine Tom Waits: Heigh Ho (the Dwarfs Marching Song) |
Medley Two Suzanne Vega: Stay Awake Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvath: Little Wooden Head Syd Straw: Blue Shadows on the Trail Medley Three Buster Poindexter: Castle in Spain Yma Sumac: I Wonder Aaron Neville: Mickey Mouse March Medley Four Garth Hudson: Feed the Birds |
NRBQ: Whistle While You Work Betty Carter: I'm Wishing The Replacements: Cruella De Ville Sinéad O'Connor: Someday My Prince Will Come Medley Five Sun Ra & His Arkestra: Pink Elephants on Parade Harry Nilsson: Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah James Taylor: Second Star to the Right Pinocchio Medley Ken Nordine: Desolation Theme Ringo Starr: When You Wish Upon a Star |
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Stay Awake's certainly an odd one; a weird tribute album to Disney's finest, put together by noted producer Hal Willner (Saturday Night Live). As he says in his sleevenotes, it would've been easy to've filled the album with comedy efforts such as Public Enemy performing Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?, but that would not only have been lazy, but ultimately unrewarding. As a result, he pulled together a wide range of artists, giving them free reign to treat the material as they liked; unsurprisingly, the end result mirrors that of most tribute albums, containing everything from near-carbon copies to wildly original reinterpretations.
Some of the tracks brought back memories of the originals for me, while others were completely unfamiliar, in some cases because I'd never actually seen the films, but standouts are Buster Poindexter, otherwise known as David Johansen of the New York Dolls doing Castle In Spain ('Babes in Toyland'), Suzanne Vega's fragile a capella Stay Awake ('Mary Poppins') and, of course, Tom Waits' quite bonkers reworking of Heigh Ho from 'Snow White'. He turns a jolly little number into a grinding, painful evocation of the drudgery of hard, physical labour, with the lyrics being the only obvious connection with the original. Compare this to NRBQ's Whistle While You Work, from the same film...
Anyway; tape replay? Tom Waits, of course, or rather, Mitchell Froom, who plays Chamberlin flutes on Heigh Ho, though not a great deal, to be honest, in time-honoured Waits style. Thinking about it, this might've been Waits' first use of the Chamby; he'd only just used a Mellotron for the first time at this point, on Franks Wild Years. Waits 'plays' Optigan on the track, too, providing the dirty, fucked-up rhythm track. Look, you REALLY have to hear this! I don't know if the track's available anywhere else, but make the effort to track it down; you won't regret it.
So; the usual mixed bag that you expect from tribute albums - beats dumb metalheads trashing Rush songs to no apparent purpose, anyway... For what it's worth, I found playing this an enjoyable experience, altough little of the music (like, none) falls into my usual listening categories. Hardly any Chamberlin, but that wasn't unexpected. I still wish Willner had actually got Public Enemy to do Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?, though...
See: Natalie Merchant | R.E.M. | Los Lobos | Bonnie Raitt | Tom Waits | Suzanne Vega | Nilsson | Ringo Starr
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Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before (2003, 57.43) ***½/T |
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| Eastern Lane: Fa Ce La Adam Green: Eating Noddemix Mystic Chords of Memory We Could Send Letters Oneida: Jazz is the Teacher, Funk is the Preacher Elizabeth Fraser: At Last I am Free The Hidden Cameras: Dunes |
The Tyde: Tell Me Royal City: Is This it Alasdair Roberts: I Had a Little Boat Delays: Ride it on The Veils: Lions After Slumber |
Jeffrey Lewis: Part-Time Punks British Sea Power: Tugboat The Detroit Cobras: Last Nite The Fiery Furnaces: Winter Belle & Sebastian: Final Day |
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The idea ('concept' seems too arty-farty a word for Rough Trade) behind Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before was to get the current crop of Rough Trade artists to cover tracks from the label's considerable history to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The end results are largely positive, which may have more to do with the strength of the material covered than the artists covering them... or may not. Major names involved include British Sea Power, The Tyde, Belle & Sebastian, The Fiery Furnaces and The Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, covering the likes of Aztec Camera, Robert Wyatt, Galaxie 500, Ivor Cutler, The Strokes (recent 'history', then) and the legendary (it says here) The Fall, to greater or lesser effect. I notice The Smiths aren't represented, although the album title is theirs.
One Mellotron track, with a nice strings part on Liz Fraser's take on Robert Wyatt's take on Chic's At Last I Am Free (!), which may or may not be genuine; hard to tell. I'm quite certain it isn't the old Cocteaus' machine for various reasons, including I don't believe it was working at that point and I'm pretty certain it was loaded with nowt but choirs anyway. So; do you invest? Not for the Mellotron, no, but if you have any interest in Rough Trade's history, you're almost certain to like at least some of the album. Personal faves? Ms Fraser's track and Jeffrey Lewis' marvellous, low-fi take on The Television Personalities' Part-Time Punks.
See: The Cocteau Twins | The Tyde | The Fiery Furnaces | Belle & Sebastian | Robert Wyatt | The Strokes
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Tales From Yesterday (1995, 76.29) ****/½ |
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| Robert Berry: Roundabout Stanley Snail: Siberian Khatru Steve Morse Mood for a Day Magellan: Don't Kill the Whale Steve Howe & Annie Haslam: Turn of the Century |
Shadow Gallery: Release, Release World Trade: Wonderous Stories Cairo: South Side of the Sky Patrick Moraz: Soon |
Enchant: Changes Peter Banks: Astral Traveler Steve Morse: The Clap Jeronimo Road: Starship Trooper |
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Tales From Yesterday was one of five 'tribute' albums released in the mid-'90s by US prog indie Magna Carta, and as far as I understand, is easily the best. A bit of background: Magna Carta appears to be heavily connected with one of the first bands to appear in the US prog resurgence, Magellan, who released the classic Hour of Restoration (*****) in 1991, although they've never managed to equal its impact on subsequent releases. All five albums featured essentially the same pool of musicians, in or out of their respective bands, although quality varies wildly. I haven't heard the Jethro Tull album, To Cry You a Song, but the others are Supper's Ready (***½) (Genesis), the rather pointless The Moon Revisted (***) (Pink Floyd's Dark Side complete) and the dreadful Working Man (**) (Rush). The label don't seem to've learnt their lesson on the Rush front, with another dodgy-looking effort, Subdivisions, due any time.
However, unlikely though it may seem, Tales From Yesterday is really very good indeed. Now, you may not think that Yes would be the easiest band to reinterpret, but many of the bands (both established and one-offs) here have done exactly that, with aplomb. Robert Berry's Roundabout and Magellan's Don't Kill The Whale (in the style of 90125) are standouts, while Steve Howe has a good stab at a different take on Turn Of The Century (from Drama), along with Annie Haslam of Renaissance. There are a few 'why did they bother' tracks, with Enchant's carbon-copy of Changes, and World Trade's not-far-off-it Wondrous Stories, but there isn't a single track here that actually offends me, which is praise indeed in the murky world of 'tribute' releases.
So, "Where's the Mellotron?", I hear you cry. Well, 'Stanley Snail' (a one-off including various members of Giraffe, who can be heard on Progfest '94, above) slightly rearrange Siberian Khatru, with a cheeky quote from Heart Of The Sunrise at the end. Looking closely at the credits discloses the information that a certain (and much-missed) Kevin Gilbert plays keys on the track. Gilbert was known as an analogue-keys man, and sure enough, the 'Tron flute'n'strings part from the song's quiet middle section is reproduced, possibly with a more adventurous string part added. That would appear to be it for the track and the album, but for the Yes fans out there, I can genuinely recommend this as that rarest of things, an excellent tribute album.
See: Yes | Kevin Gilbert | Steve Howe | Annie Haslam | Patrick Moraz | Enchant
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A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC (1995, 45.45) ***½/T |
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| Freedy Johnston: Earn Enough for Us Spacehog: Senses Working Overtime Crash Test Dummies: All You Pretty Girls The Verve Pipe: Wake Up Rembrandts: Making Plans For Nigel Sarah McLachlan: Dear God |
Rubén Blades: The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul P. Hux: Another Satellite They Might Be Giants: 25 o'Clock Terry & the Lovemen: The Good Things Joe Jackson: Statue of Liberty |
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I'm not sure of the motivation behind A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC, released at the height of the band's 'strike' at Virgin; maybe to raise funds? Don't know. Anyway, it's a pretty good selection of takes on excerpts from their back catalogue, most barely indistinguishable from the originals, unfortunately. Plenty of well-known names, including The Crash Test Dummies, Joe Jackson, Sarah McLachlan and They Might Be Giants (who tackle XTC alter-egos The Dukes of Stratosphear's 25 O'Clock), plus lesser-known powerpop god P. Hux (a.k.a. Parthenon Huxley). And Terry & the Lovemen...? None other than XTC themselves (Andy Partridge's voice is unmistakeable), making the unusual step of appearing on their own tribute album with the excellent The Good Things, a track I can't trace anywhere else in their discography. About the only track to take serious liberties with the originals' arrangement is Rubén Blades' jazzy take on The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul which, while not something I'll probably play too often, at least injects some originality into the proceedings.
Mellotron on just one track, with cellos on Sarah McLachlan's take on Dear God from Dave Kershaw, also included on McLachlan's Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff, although it's not the most overt use you'll ever hear. All in all, then, a decent tribute album, despite (because of?) not messing too much with the originals. Largely slightly pointless, but a pleasant listen anyway.
See: XTC | The Dukes of Stratosphear | The Crash Test Dummies | Sarah McLachlan | P. Hux | They Might Be Giants
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Things Go Better With Coke: Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials, 1965-69 (1996, 72.10) **½/½ |
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| The Seekers #1 The Seekers #2 Fontella Bass Tom Jones #1 Tm Jones#2 Petula Clark #1 Jay & the Americans Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders Jan & Dean Freddie Cannon Gary Lewis & the Playboys #1 Gary Lewis & the Playboys #2 Petula Clark #2 Petula Clark #3 The Supremes #1 The Supremes #2 The Troggs |
Lee Dorsey #1 Lee Dorsey #2 Lesley Gore The Vogues Roy Orbison The Drifters Ray Charles #1 Nancy Sinatra Joe Tex The Moody Blues #1 The Fortunes Lulu #1 Lulu #2 The American Breed #1 The American Breed #2 Jay & the Techniques #1 |
Jay & the Techniques #2 The Box Tops #1 The Box Tops #2 The Bee Gees The Tremeloes Aretha Franklin #1 Aretha Franklin #2 Sandy Posey #1 Sandy Posey #2 Sandy Posey #3 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Marvin Gaye Brooklyn Bridge B.J. Thomas #1 B.J. Thomas #2 Carla Thomas |
Jerry Butler Carla Thomas & Jerry Butler Vanilla Fudge #1 Vanilla Fudge #2 The Moody Blues #2 The Moody Blues #3 Ray Charles & Aretha Franklin #1 Ray Charles & Aretha Franklin #2 Ray Charles #2 Aretha Franklin #3 Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart #1 Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart #2 The 5th Dimension #1 The 5th Dimension #2 Gladys Knight & the Pips #1 Gladys Knight & the Pips #2 |
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1996's Things Go Better With Coke: Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials, 1965-69 is pretty self-explanatory, although there seems to be some confusion over the exact contents of the official release, as various bootlegs exist, some of a similar length with partially different contents, some claiming to be 'complete'. Whichever version you hear, they're all a tribute to rampant commercialism and artistic sellout to a notoriously unhealthy and vigorously-promoted product, although I doubt if any of the artists concerned saw their connivance in that light. On the offchance that you've never heard any of Coke's '60s ads, they mostly involve the artist concerned singing a rewrite of their current hit, mostly containing a variant on the line 'things go better with Coca-Cola', catchy enough that impressionable adolescents (and younger) would quickly associate chirpy, singalong melodies with a soft drink so acidic that it can reputedly be used as a rust remover. Hey, that's capitalism, folks...
This collection, maybe surprisingly, contains a good few contributions from British bands, including Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders, The Troggs, Tom Jones and The Moody Blues. Of course, only the last-named particularly interest us here, with two of their three contributions containing Mellotron string (and brass, on the latter) parts; I'm ashamed to say that I can't spot exactly which of their songs have been rewritten for these jingles, but you're probably not going to buy this for them alone unless you're a Moodies fanatic who has to have EVERYTHING. So; a vaguely interesting curio, but not something I could see many people listening to more than once.
See: Jan & Dean | Moody Blues | Bee Gees | The Tremeloes | Marvin Gaye
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This is an Orange: A Compilation of Scandinavian Progressive Rock (1995, 66.37) ***½/TT |
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| Ravana: Wounded Crome Yellow: Deathwish/Autumn Fruitcake: How to Make it Ab Intra: Fatherland Crack of Ice: Dusty Highway Winterland: Shadow of My Mind |
Manticore: The Maiden Villblomst: Blackest Cat in Town (live '78) Folque: Fanfare ('80) Orchid Garden: Moonchild Anekdoten: Cirkus (live) |
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This is an Orange is, as the saying goes, as rare as rocking-horse shit, or maybe a moment of Emersonian good taste. Anyway, you're simply not going to find this (or at least, an original), as for some bizarre reason, it was pressed in a limited edition of 250 copies, which sold out immediately, probably for the otherwise unavailable Anekdoten track, even if it is 'only' a live Crimson cover. It's actually a pretty good compilation, covering various bases, from the almost blues-rock of Crack of Ice's Dusty Highway and intelligent hard rock of Winterland's Shadow Of My Mind through to the more familiar strains of the understated but really rather good Fruitcake, the overrated Manticore and, of course, Anekdoten. Fruitcake's contribution is the only track (I believe) that is otherwise available, and a couple (the slightly dull Villblomst and the surprisingly good Folque) date from, respectively, 1978 and 1980.
As for the album's Mellotron content, the Manticore track, The Maiden, is different from the album version with extra added Mellotron, while Orchid Garden's Moonchild (another Crimson cover!) has a choir intro and flutes throughout, played by future White Willow man Jan Tariq Rahman. Finally, Anekdoten's fabled take on Cirkus is taken from a gig in Oslo, January '94, when they played no fewer than three actual Crimson numbers, plus their version of Holst's Mars, in the days before they had enough of their own material to fill an entire set. It's a rockin' version, utilising their MkV 'Tron well, doubling up strings and brass on the 'chorus', as on the original.
So; if you can find someone to copy this for you (as I did), it's worth hearing, with several otherwise unavailable worthwhile tracks on board, two of which are also worth it on the 'Tron front.
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A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield (1994, 75.34) **/½ |
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| Gladys Knight: Choice of Colors Steve Winwood: It's All Right! Repercussions & Curtis Mayfield: Let's Do it Again Lenny Kravitz: Billy Jack Whitney Houston: Look Into Your Heart Bruce Springsteen: Gypsy Woman |
Eric Clapton: You Must Believe Me Isley Brothers: I'm So Proud Branford Marsalis & The Impressions: Fool for You Tevin Campbell: Keep on Pushin' Aretha Franklin: The Makings of You B.B. King: Woman's Got Soul |
Rod Stewart: People Get Ready Narada Michael Walden: (Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go Phil Collins: I've Been Trying Stevie Wonder: I'm the One Who Loves You Elton John & Sounds of Blackness: Amen |
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There seem to be, essentially, two kinds of tribute albums:
1994's unimaginatively-titled A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield (shouldn't that be the subtitle to something like 'Darker Than Blue'? There - I've titled it myself, without even trying) falls into the latter camp, unsurprisingly, although it might've been an awful lot better had it fallen into the former. Of the seventeen artists involved, eleven are black soulsters/bluesmen, the rest being, to a man (and they're all men), multi-platinum selling, mostly British white singers, all of whom can be guaranteed to a) deliver an insipid version of a classic and b) sell copies, since this kind of tribute has nothing to do with such old-fashioned concepts as 'art' and everything to do with shifting 'units'.
As a result, the album's a drab, pointless, cynical marketing exercise, unworthy of Curtis Mayfield (then still alive, although severely disabled)'s considerable talent. Most of the versions here are pretty much straight re-readings, sometimes accompanied by vile '80s drum and synth sounds, just to add to the album's appeal. There are actually two best tracks, in case you were wondering: Narada Michael Walden's funked-to-the-max (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go and the incomparable B.B. King's Woman's Got Soul, which he delivers with his customary élan, although it's (sadly) followed by one of the worst, as Rod Stewart mauls People Get Ready to a messy and untimely death. Phil Collins' dreadful I've Been Trying (could've fooled me) defies description, so I won't even try.
Just the one 'Tron track, from Lenny Kravitz, then at the nearest he got to a Mellotronic height, with some rather tepid strings from Henry Hirsch on an overly-'soulful' and overlong version of Billy Jack. All in all, then, unless you're a Mayfield enthusiast, you really don't need to track this one down. If you want to hear the songs, buy a Curtis compilation.
See: Lenny Kravitz | Bruce Springsteen | Isley Brothers | Stevie Wonder | Elton John
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We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones (2003, 48.37) ***/T |
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| Red Hot Chili Peppers: Havana Affair Rob Zombie: Blitzkrieg Bop Eddie Vedder, Zeke: I Believe in Miracles Metallica: 53rd & 3rd U2: Beat On The Brat Kiss: Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio |
Marilyn Manson: The KKK Took My Baby Away Garbage: I Just Wanna Have Something to Do Green Day: Outsider The Pretenders: Something to Believe in Rancid: Sheena Is A Punk Rocker Pete Yorn: I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend |
The Offspring: I Wanna Be Sedated Rooney: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Tom Waits: Return of Jackie & Judy Eddie Vedder, Zeke: Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love) John Frusciante: Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World |
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We're a Happy Family was pieced together by the inimitable Rob Zombie and Johnny Ramone, not so long before the latter joined his erstwhile ex-colleagues Joey and Dee Dee in the hereafter (bet they're all having fun there...). Like pretty much all multi-artist tributes, it's the proverbial curate's egg, being a mixture of pointlessly faithful copies (The Offspring, the risible Green Day), no-hoper attempts at reworking the material to fit the artist's style (The Pretenders, Garbage), and the occasional gem, where it all comes together to produce a genuinely new take on a familiar piece of music. I never thought I'd hear myself say it, bus Kiss' joyous brass-driven take on Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio is a highlight (no, really!), as are Pete Yorn's (admittedly slightly predictably) melodic, Byrdsian take on I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend and, of course, Tom Waits' bonkers Return Of Jackie & Judy.
As for the Mellotron (who'd a' thunk it, on a Ramones tribute?), it had to come from Marilyn Manson really, didn't it? He turns The KKK Took My Baby Away into a bizarre industrial dirge with shrieky 'Tron strings from his current bassist, Tim Skold, swelling up nicely near the end of the song, which isn't to say the track's actually any good, sadly. In fairness, the bulk of the album's (mostly) not actually painful, although much of it passes by without really impinging itself on your consciousness (Metallica? the Chilis? U2, for fuck's sake?).
So; stick to the first three classic Brudders albums and a compilation of the best bits from the rest of their career and give this rather pointless effort a miss, although there are a handful of tracks actually worth hearing. One thing I can say about it is that everyone involved sounds like they mean it (even U2), which makes a nice change. Maybe everyone really does love the Ramones? Let's hope so.
See: Red Hot Chili Peppers | Pearl Jam | Marilyn Manson | Garbage | Pete Yorn | Tom Waits | John Frusciante
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Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon (1995, 65.33) ***/½ |
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| Red Hot Chili Peppers: I Found Out Mad Season: I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Candlebox: Steel and Glass Blues Traveler: Imagine Screaming Trees: Working Class Hero |
The Minus 5: Power to the People Magnificent Bastards: How Do You Sleep? Flaming Lips: Nobody Told Me Super 8: Well, Well, Well Cheap Trick: Cold Turkey |
Collective Soul: Jealous Guy Sponge: Isolation Toad the Wet Sprocket: Instant Karma! Mary Chapin Carpenter: Grow Old with Me George Clinton: Mind Games |
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Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon contains exactly what it says on the box: reinterpretations of some of John's solo oeuvre, by a bunch of mid-'90s 'names', some of whom still mean something, some of whom don't. Of course, how much one likes a tribute album, more often than not, depends on how much one likes the original artist. In this case, I sit fairly firmly in the 'solo stuff's not that great, frankly' camp, although this album has introduced me to a handful of impressive tracks, not least Steel And Glass, (although I've actually heard it before, as it's on one of his Mellotron albums, Walls & Bridges).
Of the fifteen tracks here, the otherwise fairly awful Candlebox's Steel And Glass, pick-up band The Magnificent Bastards (with Scott Weiland on vocals) tackling the anti-Paul diatribe How Do You Sleep? and Cheap Trick's incendiary Cold Turkey are about the best. The remainder are largely a collection of also-ran versions of songs, notably Blues Traveler's Imagine, which manages to get some of the chords wrong (twats). Despite being loved by millions, [heresy alert! Heresy alert!] the bulk of these just don't sound that great with the benefit of hindsight. I know it's not just me, but why did none of The Beatles do anything half as good on their own? I seem to recall a phrase about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, or somesuch... Essentially, the versions that treat the source material with the least reverence tend to be the best and vice versa.
One Mellotron track, with Matt Serletic from Collective Soul playing pretty full-on strings on Jealous Guy, although hardly enough to make a purchase worthwhile for that alone. Overall, then, a so-so tribute album with a few excellent tracks and very little Mellotron. So now you know.
See: John Lennon | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Screaming Trees | Minus 5 | Scott Weiland | Flaming Lips
