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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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The Sweetest Days (1994, 52.18) **/½ |
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| Intro-Lude The Way That You Love Betcha Never The Sweetest Days Higher Ground You Don't Have to Say You're Sorry Ellamental Sister Moon |
You Can't Run Moonlight Over Paris Constantly Long Way Home |
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Vanessa Williams achieved fame early, being the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss America, although a Penthouse photo-shoot scandal outrageously forced her to resign, in true double-standards tradition. However, she fought back, becoming both an actress and a successful recording artist, which has to stand as a major blow against the (patriarchal) empire. The Sweetest Days was her third album, and apparently more varied than her first two, including jazzier material such as Sister Moon alongside her usual R&B-flavoured stuff. You, the typical Planet Mellotron reader, are not going to like this album.
It's actually perfectly good at what it does, and Williams has a fantastic voice, but if you don't like music variously described as 'adult contemporary' and 'smooth, sexy adult pop', you don't wanna go there... Credited Mellotron on two tracks, surprisingly, with something entirely inaudible under the real strings on Higher Ground, from Nick Moroch, and a pleasant flute part on closer Long Way Home from Jeff Bova. I can only reiterate that unless you're a Vanessa Williams fan who's found their way to this site, you are MOST UNLIKLEY to like this album... One OK 'Tron track, but that really is your lot.
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Water to Drink (2000, 48.02) **½/TT |
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| Grandma's Hat Pin Gladys and Lucy Water to Drink Light the Lamp Freddie Claude Joy of Love Until the Real Thing Comes Along Lagniappe |
Junk Little Bird Young at Heart A Little Bit of Love |
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I haven't heard Victoria Williams (MS sufferer and ex-wife of Jayhawk Mark Olson)' 1998 Chamberlin-containing effort Musings of a Creekdipper, but when I do, I expect to hear an album of sparse Americana, going by everything I've read about her. As a result, that's what I expected with her follow-up, 2000's Water to Drink, making it all the more surprising when I got an album of mixed-genre singer-songwriter stuff, frequently straying into light jazz, even lighter blues or even 'standards' territory, none of which seem to be particularly well-suited to her voice. In fairness, there are a couple of countryish tracks (notably closer A Little Bit Of Love), but Williams' desire to 'stretch out' seems to be removing her from her natural constituency.
Phil Parlapiano plays Mellotron, with distant cellos on opener Grandma's Hat Pin, strings and cellos on Light The Lamp Freddie, flutes and cellos on Claude and a major flute part on Junk, which is rather more than I'd expected. I'm not quite sure who at whom this album is actually aimed; chances are, such concepts are fairly alien to Williams and she made it because she wanted to. I'm not personally sure it's a success, but that's just one man's opinion. Anyway, a passable level of Mellotron use on a sadly rather mediocre album.
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California (2004, 39.12) **½/½ |
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| You're No Good Old Man California Already Gone Go Your Own Way Turn! Turn! Turn! Monday Monday Get Together |
Doctor My Eyes Dance Dance Dance In My Room Already Gone (acoustic version) |
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On the remote offchance you haven't run into them, Wilson Phillips are a somewhat manufactured trio of children of the Summer Of Love™ generation, namely Carnie and Wendy Wilson (daughters of Brian) and Chynna Phillips, daughter of John and Michelle of the Mamas & the Papas, and friends since childhood. Unsurprisingly, with genes like that, the three of them have amazing voices, which blend beautifully - a marketing man's dream. Unfortunately, their various parents' problems seem to've been revisited by their offspring, with Carnie's well-publicised major weight problem, and the trio's split after their second album sold a mere million copies.
Reforming twelve years later, California is a concept album of sorts, with every track having some connection to the state, be it a lyrical reference, one of their parents' groups songs or one by another Californian artist, although I'm not sure where that leaves Neil Young's Old Man. OK, so he lived in Laurel Canyon for a while... To be honest, the album is heavily over-produced, with some hideous 'contemporary' touches; believe me, Turn! Turn! Turn! does not need a hip-hop-like sampled drum intro... Saying that, the overall feel of the album is pleasantly up (am I actually writing this?), and some of the arrangements work fairly well, although it's not what you'd call a classic. Oh well, at least it's a sensible 'vinyl' length, as they thankfully avoided the temptation to churn out 70 minutes of this stuff.
Roger Manning (of Jellyfish fame, amongst others) plays Mellotron, although the only obvious part is the strings and flutes on You're No Good, which, while nice, don't especially add anything much to either the track or the album. So; OK for what it is, but essentially a mainstream pop album consisting largely of inferior versions of some excellent songs, and minimal 'Tron.
See: Beach Boys
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Morning (1971, 39.16/42.56) ***/TTTTThe Morning SongThe Princess and the Minstrel Dragon's Maid Carnival Schlittenfahrt Puppet Master Tommy's Song [CD adds: Josephine] |
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On the evidence of Morning, the unfortunately-named Wind played a kind of folk/prog hybrid, with an unsurprisingly Germanic feel to the proceedings. In places (notably on The Princess And The Minstrel) it crosses the boundary between whimsical and outright ludicrous, but if you can ignore the vocals, much of the album works, at least as a period piece, although their rockier material was definitely a mistake.
However good or otherwise the music may be, there's Mellotron (from Lucky Schmidt, apparently) to be heard all over the album. The Morning Song features strings, with a brass melody line, then a chordal flute part, and the strings on Dragon's Maid are about as full-on as they get. Actually, the album's first five tracks are all right up there on the 'Tron front, so, thumbs up for Mellotron fans, even if the music sometimes leaves a little to be desired.
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1: Symphinity (1977, 45.47) ***/T½Forward We RideHorsemen to Symphinity Glad to Be Alive Gypsy No Scruples Lamb's Fry Non Siamo Perfetti Flight Call |
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Australian über-progsters Sebastian Hardie fell apart after their second release, Windchase, and guitarist/vocalist Mario Millo and keys man Toivo Pilt formed a new outfit named after said album. Unsurprisingly, I suppose, it sounds very little like Sebastian Hardie, having more of a Downunder Santana vibe about it, both in the guitar department and with the jazzy chord progressions. The lyrics are the usual quasi-mystical stuff that was disappearing around this time; in fact, much as I bemoan the passing of the first wave of progressive rock, Windchase are indicative of why it happened. Unlike the Seb Hardie albums, 1: Symphinity is somewhat meandering, with far too many guitar solos, and far too little melody (certainly in comparison to Four Moments), apart from the odd bits of near-MOR slop like Glad To Be Alive and Flight Call, which probably suffer from a surfeit of melody, if such a thing is possible.
On Seb Hardie's Windchase (confusing, isn't it?), Pilt only really used his Mellotron for choirs, being of the opinion that strings sounded better coming from a Solina (no they don't), and the same approach seems to've been used here. After a tip-off, I actually suspect that his machine contained the notorious 'Teddy Taylor (or 'TT') Choir', one of the less wonderful efforts in the sound library, being no less than a 16-voice choir. Sadly, this doesn't sound twice as good as the usual 8-voice, just murkier. Anyway, assuming that's what it is, you can hear it in the closing seconds of Glad To Be Alive, on Gypsy and very obviously, with key-click, on No Scruples. Finally, it actually sounds like 'Tron strings, for one last time, on Flight Call, but I wouldn't actually stake my reputation on it. So; while the album has its moments (Non Siamo Perfetti is a beautiful, if short, classical guitar piece), it's a real letdown after the glories (pun intended) of the two Seb Hardie albums, and the 'Tron use is decidedly average, too. Approach with caution.
Incidentally, Millo produced a (very) slightly progressive solo album two years later, Epic III (**½), with a passable prog effort in the 14-minute title track, but despite a 'thanks' to Toivo Pilt for 'instruments and equipment', there's no 'Tron to be heard. I believe Millo subsequently moved into film and TV music, like several other Aussie proggers of the time, making this his last gasp on the prog front.
See: Sebastian Hardie
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Windflower (1974, 40.58) ***/T½Headed for the CountryYou Know it Ain't Often Children of the Loom Remover of Difficulties Marriage of Two Minds God is Passing By Wind Dance Back to the Calling of Home Song Celestial |
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Windflower were an Alaskan folk outfit, with strong links to the unitarian Bahá'í faith (listen to the lyrics of God Is Passing By and Wind Dance), which at least makes a change from the tedious conformity of evangelical Christianity, I suppose. What I believe is their sole album, Windflower, really isn't that exciting, to be honest; as one blogspot puts it, "This is somewhere between genuine acid folk and cringeworthy up-with-people commune folk" (to which I would add, "With a smidgeon of jazz"), which probably describes it better than I ever could. A couple of tracks at a time is fine, but the whole 40 minutes in one go is a bit like eating three desserts on the trot; sickly-sweet, leaving one with a queasy feeling afterwards. If I had to pick one track that stands out from the pack, closer Song Celestial seems to sum up the band's style in under five minutes and has a little more life to it than the rest of the album.
Vocalist/guitarist Gavin Reed contacted me recently to tell me that Victor Wong played the album's Mellotron parts; apparently, it was recorded at a studio in Munich that had one, so the band rearranged some of the songs to work it in. Now that's the kind of dedication I applaud... Not that he played it that much, mind; background strings on Headed For The Country, You Know It Ain't Often and Song Celestial, although I'm sure it would've worked nicely on most of the tracks. I don't hear any 'Tron flute, but then, guitarist David Rychetnik played a real one, so they presumably didn't feel the need. For what it's worth, although I don't usually list whole lineups, this one's obscure enough that it's worth me mentioning that the band were a seven-piece, including, apart from the three members listed above, Gary Lamar (vocals/guitar) and Marshall Murphy, Kitty Wong and Zonettah Varley on vocals and percussion.
This is exceedingly obscure, as I'm sure you can imagine, but can be found on a blogspot or two. As I said, it isn't that exciting, but might be worth it for folk fans looking for something new. The Mellotron input isn't that great, though, so don't go expecting a Lost Mellotron Classic.
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Difference & Repetition (1999, 35.50) ***/T*Shoes McCoat ** Shaker The Egg Nico Lost in Cycles |
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The Emotional Rescue LP (2002, 43.59) **½/TThe SameNow I Know the Sea Emotional Rescue Fall of '68 Indonesian Guitars Mythologies Awkwardness Another Rescue Donkey Ride |
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Windsor for the Derby fall into that awkward 'post-rock' category that seems to encompass anything and everything from the last couple of decades that doesn't want (or possibly know how) to rock, making a virtue of it in the process. Think: Tortoise, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The trouble is, it seems to me that most of its practitioners have little idea what they're doing, so end up making the sort of supposedly heartfelt and 'emotional' tedium dribbled out by Mogwai and their ilk. I'm sure the point is that you're supposed to give this music loads of time, listening to it in a dark room with as little background noise as possible and giving it time to sink in. Unfortunately, back in the real world... You could say the same for a lot of prog, but at least most of it has some sort of handle to grasp in the first place and doesn't just metaphorically slip through your fingers.
1999's Difference & Repetition is the band's third full-length LP, and works well enough on its own level, I suppose. They certainly do the 'repetition' bit of the title on the 12-minute Shoes McCoat, a two-guitar cycle that can be seen as either compelling or monotonous (or both?), depending on the listener's perspective, and while the rest of the tracks are shorter, the style essentially remains the same. Mellotron (real?) from an unknown source on the irritatingly-named **, with a decent enough flute part, but nothing that striking, to be honest.
They followed up, three years later, with the rather cheekily-named The Emotional Rescue LP. Is it possible these chaps haven't heard of The Stones' album? Unlikely, but you never know... Unfortunately, the intervening time seems to have blunted their edge, leaving a hollow shell of a record that seems to drag on forever, although it's actually within 'vinyl length'. The nearest it comes to a 'best track' is Emotional Rescue itself, where they pick up the pace a little, but all in all, it's a pretty dreary affair. One Mellotron track (real? Who knows?), probably from Anna Neighbors, in Awkwardness, which adds a passable string part to a dull song, doing little to add any real excitement. Sorry to be so hard on this album, but when you listen to the amount of music I do, the mediocre is not going to get a second chance, even if that means I miss out on the occasional 'grower'.
So, one just-about OK album, one dullard, two so-so 'Tron tracks. See ya.
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Breakfast Special (1975) ***/T½ |
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| Eighteen With a Bullet A Whole Pot of Jelly (for a Little Slice of Toast) Hold Me Closer Shadow of a Doubt Anytime Please Lovin' as You Wanna Be |
Kangaroo Dip Number One Priority Shining Eyes |
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Pete Wingfield's had a long and honourable career, mostly (I believe) in production and session work, but in 1975, Island gave him enough money to knock out a solo album. Sadly, it's a rather ordinary piece of work; not actually bad, but just a bit unexciting, and horribly of its time. Mid-'70s mainstream soft rock doen't sound that dynamic these days; in fact, I can remember doo-wop pastiche Eighteen With A Bullet being a hit at the time, and it didn't sound that exciting then... Wingfield's falsetto grates a little, too, so it's nice when he lowers his range a little, as on Shining Eyes.
I don't feel inclined to slag Breakfast Special off, though; Wingfield's got bags of talent - it's just a little misdirected in this case. There's Mellotron to be heard on a couple of tracks, the aforementioned music biz send-up Eighteen With A Bullet and Hold Me Closer; pseudo-orchestral strings on both, but quite nice use, if (you guessed it), rather unexciting. I couldn't in all honesty recommend this album very highly, but at least it's better than some of the things I've listened to lately...
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Shock Treatment (1974, 40.33) ***½/TT |
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| Some Kinda Animal Easy Street Sundown Miracle of Love Do Like Me Rock & Roll Woman Someone Take My Heart Away Queen of My Dreams |
Maybe Some Day You'll Call My Name River's Risin' Animal |
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Edgar Winter (brother of Johnny, of course) should need no introduction: incredibly successful in the '70s, his career has veered between r'n'b, blues, rock and jazz, although his success waned towards the end of the decade. 1974's Shock Treatment (credited to the Edgar Winter Group) was his follow-up to '72's They Only Come Out at Night, which gave him his biggest hit by some way, the instrumental Frankenstein. Shock Treatment's a good album, if rather of its time and despite Winter retaining Rick Derringer, the band's other guitarist, Ronnie Montrose, was sorely missed. Best tracks include opener Some Kinda Animal (and its corollary, closer Animal), Do Like Me and Queen Of My Dreams, but it's a pretty satisfying listen throughout, albeit one lacking anything of the quality of Frankenstein.
Winter plays all keys himself, including several tracks'-worth of great Clavinet work and the skronky ARP 2600 on Animal, plus, of course, Mellotron, with flutes and strings on Sundown, flutes, strings and choir on Someone Take My Heart Away and strings on the more upbeat River's Risin'. You're probably not going to buy this for its Mellotron work, but it's a decent enough mid-'70s hard-ish rock effort, worth getting after you've delved into They Only Come Out at Night.
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Still Alive and Well (1973, 44.56) ****/T |
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| Rock Me Baby Can't You Feel it Cheap Tequila All Tore Down Rock & Roll Silver Train Ain't Nothing to Me Still Alive and Well |
Too Much Seconal Let it Bleed Lucille From a Buick Six |
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One of the all-time great (very) white bluesmen, Texan Johnny Winter has tragically blunted his formidable talent with on-off hard drug use, reduced these days to playing sitting down, his skeletal frame making his '70s incarnation look a picture of ruddy health. 1973's ironically-titled Still Alive and Well was his fifth studio album, in the days when you could still add the suffix '-rock' to his blues, and rock it does, with incendiary takes on standards (Rock Me Baby, Lucille) and his own or guitarist Rick Derringer's material (Silver Train, the title track). Winter knows how to slow it down, too, with the balladic Cheap Tequila, the country-inflected Ain't Nothing To Me and the acoustic blues of Too Much Seconal, complete with extra added flute, breaking the flow in not unpleasant fashion, making for an all-round satisfying (mostly) heavy blues album.
Mellotron on one track from producer Todd Rundgren, with a strangely-panned string part on Cheap Tequila, although that seems to be it, not just for the 'Tron, but on the keyboard front altogether. So; great blues album, rather lesser 'Tron one. I'm not sure why it's taken me this long to 'discover' Johnny Winter, but I imagine I'll be tracking down a few more of his 'classic' albums in the near future.
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No Soul No Strain (1992, 48.01) ***/TT½ |
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| Stone Me Open Sky Yeah, Yeah, Yeah Crashing Back to You Hey Jordan Other Lover How Many More Times Willing it to Be |
Higher Impossible When I Met You 17 Spooks |
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Wire Train, from San Francisco, started life in the '80s as a sort-of arena rock-type band, supporting the likes of U2 and the Alarm, but by the early '90s had become a rather bland pop/indie outfit. No Soul No Strain (apparently a pun on the sleeve art; 'nose hole/nose train') has its moments, but is generally unexciting, although Jeff Trott's guitar work occasionally raises a little sweat.
There's no keyboard player credited, but there's Mellotron to be heard on a handful of tracks, along with some generic synth. The strings (with a dash of flutes) on Crashing Back To You are really full-on, with some wobbly pitchbend towards the end, just to prove they're real; it's a pleasure to hear one played and know it's real, in these days of lazy sample-playback. More of the same on Higher and 17 Spooks, making for a passable 'Tron album, even if the music's rather lacking. Buy? Dunno - possibly worth it for the Mellotron if you see it cheap.
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7" ( 1968) ***½/½ (He's Our Dear Old) Weatherman Possums' Dance |
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A Teenage Opera (1996, recorded 1967, 70.32) ***½/½ |
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| Theme From a Teenage Opera Festival of Kings Grocer Jack (Excerpt From a Teenage Opera) The Paranoic Woodcutter Mr Rainbow Glory's Theme (All Aboard!) On a Saturday |
Possums' Dance Auntie Mary's Dress Shop Love & Occasional Rain Grocer Jack (Reprise) Sam Farewell to a Broken Doll (He's Our Dear Old) Weatherman Shy Boy |
Grocer Jack's Dream Barefoot & Tiptoe Knickerbocker Glory Dream Dream Dream Colonel Brown Cellophane Mary Jane Paranoic Woodcutter #2 Theme From a Teenage Opera (end titles) |
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The story of A Teenage Opera is long and complex; several other websites detail it far better than I ever could, but the gist goes something like this: Wirtz was one of EMI's wunderkind mid-'60s producers, whose reputation soared after the success of Keith West's Grocer Jack (Excerpt From A Teenage Opera), a magical toytown-psych hit, sung by Tomorrow's vocalist (Tomorrow's chief legacy, of course, is as Steve Howe's first major band). The single's subtitle alluded towards a larger concept, but Wirtz' 'everything including the kitchen sink' production technique panicked penny-pinching label execs, who pulled the plug after only a few tracks had been completed.
Fast-forward to 1996: those estimable RPM people resurrected the concept with Wirtz' help, pulling together every surviving recording, several released as singles at the time under various names. The 'completed' concept is something of a toytown-psych classic, although those with delicate constitutions should possibly steer clear of its more twee aspects. Grocer Jack is one of its standout tracks, unsurprisingly, as are Sam (another single) and (He's Our Dear Old) Weatherman, originally released under Wirtz' own name in 1968. Most of the concept used (expensive) string sections, but Abbey Road's notorious MkII 'Tron (as used by The Beatles and many others) was hauled out for a couple of tracks, with probable flute stabs on On A Saturday and Mellotron accordion (don't know which) on (He's Our Dear Old) Weatherman, although it's hardly essential listening on the 'Tron front.
So; a classic of its type, despite the album actually being rather overlong for the style, although I'm sure Wirtz is happy with the end result. Don't bother for the Mellotron, but worth hearing for UK psych fans.
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Wishbone Four (1973, 43.09) **½/TSo Many Things to SayBallad of the Beacon No Easy Road Everybody Needs a Friend Doctor Sorrel Sing Out the Song Rock'n'Roll Widow |
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Wishbone Ash's fourth album had them sticking pretty closely to the template they'd laid down a couple of years earlier, although without the strength of songwriting they'd displayed on Argus. The album opens with an uncharacteristically rocking number, So Many Things To Say, with a more insipid take on the style on No Easy Road. Most of the rest of Wishbone Four sits firmly in soft-rock territory; you can't even excuse it by saying it has prog tendencies, with Sorrel moving beyond straight balladry into the country area.
'Tron strings on Everybody Needs A Friend from George Nash, to no great effect, I'm afraid. I don't like to be so down on 'The Ash', but this album is actually quite soporific in places, and even the 'rock' er, doesn't. Argus may not be the heaviest album ever, but at least the songs stand up over 30 years later. The same cannot be said for the bulk of Wishbone Four.
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Hiroshima (1971, 34.19) **½/T½ |
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| Hiroshima This Time Tomorrow She Belongs to the Night Mary Goodbye Ever Since I Can Remember We're Gonna Change All This Now United States of Europe '79 |
I Wrote a Song 1984 Goodbye Lover |
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Wishful Thinking seem to've picked up a reputation for being slightly psychedelic, or even progressive, although going by their best-known album, 1971's Hiroshima, they were dyed-in-the-wool soft rock outfit. The title (and best) track (much-covered since) was a massive hit in Germany, leading the band to decamp there for a while, but it doesn't look like they made another album in their lifetime. The album isn't awful, but most of it glides gently by, leaving little impression on the synapses, making it unsurprising that the original release isn't currently available.
An uncredited keyboard player adds Mellotron strings to Hiroshima itself and flutes to 1984, although only the title track utilises it to any great effect. There's a compilation available called Wishful Thinking that includes both of Hiroshima's 'Tron tracks, which might be worth picking up if you see it cheap enough, but if I were you, I wouldn't go too far out of your way for this rather unexciting band.
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The Alchemist (2007, 43.14) ****/TWalk Between the LinesIf Crimson Was Your Colour Leva Hey Doctor Samaritan Burden Remembered The Alchemist Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 |
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Witchcraft are current purveyors of early '70s-sounding hard rock and make no mistake, this is defiantly hard rock, not heavy metal; the guitars are 'overdriven', not 'distorted'. The Alchemist is their third album, sounding like a long-lost classic from 1972, only with better production and a (welcome) lack of period detail, such as the diversions into non-complimentary styles favoured by various bands of the era, presumably in the name of 'variety'. The riffs actually sound like riffs, not basic chord sequences with some fiddly-diddly two-note nonsense over the top (see: just about any current band that Classic Rock mag go wild about) and the material overall is fresh-sounding, given that it's heavily reliant on a 35 year-old style for inspiration. Best track? Maybe
Mellotron from noted Finnish 'Tron owner/player Tom Hakava, with massed cellos on Samaritan Burden and a brief string part on (I think) part 2 of the quarter-hour closing title track. All in all, a pretty cool album, I have to say, on what has to be the best label for hard rock these days, Rise Above, and not just because I used to be (sort of) signed to them in Litmus. Next to no Mellotron, sadly, compared to how they could have used it, but then, live reproduction might have been difficult. Listen, if you have any vestigial interest in that '70s hard rock thang, buy this album and help both the band and the label. Very much worth the effort.
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Of Joy & Sorrow (2002, 35.32) **/T |
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| Forgiven Stations Rise and Fall Simple Life Rock Run Reaching You and Me The '80s |
Yesterday, Today Light My Way |
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Denison Witmer has aspirations. Denison Witmer's aspiration is to be Nick Drake, at least going by his third album, 2001's Of Joy & Sorrow. Unfortunately for Denison, he hasn't quite learned that it's not enough to be heartfelt and lovelorn; in fact, it's impossible to learn to be (as good as) Nick Drake, so it's rather pointless even trying. For a moment at the beginning of the record, I thought it stood a chance of being one of those personal, close-mic'd acoustic albums that can sometimes work, but no, it's just another dreary Drake wannabee without the necessary talent/depression.
Blake Wescott adds a pleasant, if inessential Mellotron flute part to opener Forgiven, although that appears to be your lot, despite a slightly choirish sound on closer Light My Way. I don't think I really need to say: don't bother, do I?
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Der Jesuspilz/Musik Vom Evangelium (1971, 39.50) **½/T½LiturgieSchöpfung Erleuchtung & Berufung Versammlung/Bekenntnis/Die Aussendung Nehmet Hin und Esset Besuch aus dem Kosmos |
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Bauer Plath (1972, 34.22) ***½/TTZu den JahreszeitenVision I Der Rat der Motten Bauer Plath Die Schlüsselblume Das Märchen Vom Königssohn |
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Witthüser & Westrupp played a sort of stoned psychedelic folk, which has got itself lumped in with the other Krautrock merchants somewhere along the line, despite sounding nothing like Can or Faust. Then again, Krautrock is a broad church, so who's to say this kind of weed-induced meandering doesn't fit in? Der Jesuspilz/Musik Vom Evangelium certainly falls under the remit of weed-induced meandering, largely to the point of tedium. Saying that, Schöpfung is quite hypnotic, in an acoustic kind of way, although the kazoo on Versammlung and Die Aussendung is completely unforgivable. And no, I don't care what they'd been smoking. There are better tracks; Bekenntnis has some lovely harmonium, and Besuch Aus Dem Kosmos finishes the album off nicely, but it's not exactly a five-star effort. Erleuchtung & Berufung is the only obvious 'Tron track (from Dieter Dierks), with a high string line and flute arpeggios accompanying a children's choir in places, of all things. As a result, I feel I have to say: don't bother, unless you're big on stoned German hippy folk stuff. Which I'm not.
The following year's Bauer Plath is an improvement, certainly for the unstoned, sounding far more focused, while retaining its predecessor's hippy sensibilities. Die Schlüsselblume is probably the album's highlight, featuring a great descending riff repeating to the fade, predating so many similar efforts, although there's nothing here to trigger my 'had enough' button. Jürgen Dollase from Wallenstein plays keys throughout, as he does on several Kraut releases (Cosmic Jokers, Sergius Golowin), including Mellotron, with a string part on Vision I and flutes on the title track, although the strings on Die Schlüsselblume sound nothing like a Mellotron and are more likely to be real. Strings and brass on closer Das Märchen Vom Königssohn make for a medium-level 'Tron album, almost worth it for that alone.
So; full-on Krautfans will probably love Der Jesuspilz/Musik Vom Evangelium, though I can't say I do, although Bauer Plath is a lot better, both musically and Mellotronically. (Sort of) worth the effort.
See: Wallenstein
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Hinterland (2005, 56.52) ****/TTTT½Serenade for 1652Hinterland Rubato Industry Clair Obscur |
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Afterglow (2009, 34.41) ****½/TTTT½The HaywainImperial Winter White Interlude In Taberna Armoury |
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In 2003, the year of Änglagård's brief reunion, appropriately enough, a new name appeared in Scandinavian progressive circles: Wobbler. Um, doesn't have quite the same gravitas as Anekdoten or White Willow, does it? Makes Landberk sound sensible, and hasn't even got the excuse that it's a place-name. Moniker aside, however, Wobbler were the latest entrant in the now 15 year-old wave of New Traditionalist Scandinavian Prog (hey, the NTSP! Catchy or what? Sounds like an online bank or something), insisting on 'authentic' equipment and full-on symphonic prog, with nary a trace of '80s neo-. Thank Christ. In retrospect, I should actually have reviewed their early demos two years ago, although I presumed they'd turn up on their debut album. Wrong. Neither of them have been reworked, let alone reused, and they no longer seem to be available as downloads, sadly. Find a review here.
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| photo: Sven Eriksen | |
Two years on, Hinterland has to be the most-anticipated progressive release of 2005, with the band being invited to play NEARfest before its release, in the (relative) media feeding-frenzy surrounding their formation. And the end result is... not bad. Not bad? Is that the best you can come up with? Well, the same criticisms apply as to their demos, but, surprisingly, more so. You would've thought they'd have ironed out some of the more derivative bits of their style in the two years since then, but the album material is actually less original (spot the cheeky Crimson quote about six minutes into the title track, not to mention the Emersonalike Moog patch later on...), although there are plenty of worthwhile moments. Given that the album features only four tracks in nearly an hour, it comes as a surprise to learn that opener Serenade For 1652 is a mere 41 seconds long, leaving two medium-long pieces and the near-half hour title track. Can Wobbler sustain interest over a 27-minute piece, I hear you cry? Well, sort of. Like the rest of the album (particularly closer Clair Obscur), the track has several transcendental moments, which is more than I can say for most albums, but too much of it has a 'heard it all before' vibe about it, sadly, knocking a whole star from the album's potential rating. Don't get me wrong; this is a very good album, and if you hadn't heard Änglagård, possibly a great one, but when Rubato Industry strikes up like a Larks' Tongues outtake, you have to hope that Wobbler will find their own style by the time album no.2 comes around.
As for the album's Mellotronic input, Lars Fredrik Frøislie uses three different machines, for some reason, including one that I believe is ex-Bulgarians FSB, with, apparently, a whole host of tape frames, though it has to be said, the bulk of the obvious use is the old mainstays strings/choir/flutes, although the brief Serenade For 1652 seems to be largely cellos, and I heard some 'Tron vibes somewhere. The playing's excellent, as it is for all the keys, but the 'choppy' choir part on Clair Obscur is a dead ringer for Änglagård's Jordrok, which in turn is heavily influenced by SFF's Pictures, and as for the previously-mentioned pitchbent strings in Hinterland... Cheeky homage or blunt rip-off? Either way, it's impossible to deny that this is a major Mellotron release, docked a mere half 'T' for unoriginality.
Speaking of those demos... It's taken Wobbler four years to produce their second album and it's... the two demo tracks, re-recorded and sensibly retitled. I understand the band have suffered some form of collective writer's block, and at least this material gets an official release this way, despite being a full ten years old. Afterglow is far shorter than their debut, unsurprisingly, given that it consists of two longish tracks and three very short ones, so it certainly doesn't outstay its welcome, all five tracks hitting the spot in their different ways, from The Haywain's under-a-minute mediævalisms to the two lengthy pieces' twists and turns. Admittedly, said pieces still sound like Änglagård, but look on the bright side: they could sound like The Flower Kings' recent work. Lars splatters his Mellotrons all over the album with a superb scattergun approach, layers of strings, choirs and flutes throughout Imperial Winter White and In Taberna, plus cellos, vibes and church organ and doubtless other, harder-to-spot sounds hidden away in the mix. He sticks some strings under The Haywain's real woodwind and gets pretty much a 'Tron church organ solo on closer Armoury, making for a fine album, both musically and Mellotronically.
So; find those demos or buy Afterglow as soon as possible, then approach Hinterland with a little more caution. It's excellent, but disappointingly unoriginal, although it's probably fair to say there's little of any originality left to say in a near-40 year old genre (yup, 'fraid we're fast approaching its fortieth anniversary...). I look forward to their third effort, apparently in the works as of late 2009; if they can come up with anything even approaching Änglagård's second release, they'll have come on leaps and bounds. I feel a little churlish at not being more positive about their debut (although happy to praise its follow-up), but wild enthusiasm, untempered by reason, can only mislead. Good, but not great. Oh, and while we're on the subject of originality, the sleeve art is incredibly reminiscent of Il Trono dei Ricordi's self-titled album from '94. Hmmm.
See: Unreleased | Angst Skvadron | Opium Cartel | White Willow
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Maestoso (1980, 39.32) ***/T½Sail AwayQuiet Islands A Prospect of Whitby Lives on the Line Patriots Gates of Heaven (14/18) American Excess Maestoso Waveform |
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Songs From the Black Box (1994, recorded 1981, 78.08) ***/TT½ |
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| Has to Be a Reason Down the Line All Get Burned Too Much, Too Loud, Too Late Even the Night Deceivers All The Will to Fly Sunday Bells Open |
Sail Away Quiet Islands A Prospect of Whitby Lives on the Line Patriots Gates of Heaven (14/18) American Excess Maestoso Waveform |
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Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme left Barclay James Harvest in 1979, and released Maestoso the following year, with a remit very similar to that of his previous outfit. The album is vaguely progressive, but with a strong emphasis on songs, many of them veering sharply towards the 'commercial' end of the spectrum. While the album doesn't personally blow me away, it does what it does very well, and I'm really quite surprised it didn't sell better than it did.
Woolly still had his M300 'Tron, and toured it the following year, but only used it on a small number of tracks on the album, preferring string synth for many of the chordal washes. This fits in with his late-BJH days, when his 'Tron became almost superfluous in the studio. Steve Broomhead's guitar does a similar job to John Lees' in BJH, and the album is surprisingly guitar-heavy. Oddly enough, there's a faint Enid-ish feel to a couple of the more symphonic tracks, particularly the title track, so BJH's early collaboration with future Enid main man Robert John Godfrey presumably left its mark, even a full decade later.
After Maestoso pretty much disappeared without trace, Woolly dropped out of sight for many years, tending to his farm in Wales and fighting idiotic court cases brought against him by people who should have known better. In 1994, small UK label Voiceprint resurrected Maestoso and added a full album's worth of extra tracks, mostly recorded for Black Box, the follow-up that never happened. Oddly, these open Songs From the Black Box, and tracks 10-18 are the original LP. The extra tracks fit in fairly well with the Maestoso material, with Mellotron on three, including Deceivers All, which had already seen the light of day as the highlight of The Rime of the Ancient Sampler - the Mellotron Album, a various artists CD from the previous year, which does exactly what it says on the packet.
If you like BJH, you'll almost certainly like Songs From the Black Box/Maestoso, and if you don't, you probably won't. There's some reasonable 'Tron, but don't expect early BJH standards. Good news on the Woolly front is that in early 2001 he toured with John Lees in the tortuously-but-legally-necessarily-named Barclay James Harvest Through the Eyes of John Lees, with an M400 he'd recently bought, playing a full set of BJH material to sizeable crowds, followed by the reformation of his own band, Maestoso.
See: Barclay James Harvest | Maestoso
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A Quick Step (1975) **½/T½Nympho's Belly-ButtonAlong Came You Christo Said Sweet Sleeping Sixteen Bagatel Herds of Flames Tearful Thoughts Tu Quoque |
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To be honest, A Quick Step isn't anything wildly special. Womega were a Belgian outfit from the mid-'70s, and can't really be classified as anything much; slightly progressive, not really heavy, not really pop. Just 'rock', really, whatever you take that to mean. There's a couple of reasonable songs on the album, and Christo Said has some nice Mellotron strings from the uncredited keyboard player, but I really wouldn't go out of your way to secure a copy, especially considering its relative rarity.
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Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (1979, 88.02) ***½/T |
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| Earth's Creation The First Garden Voyage to India Same Old Story Venus' Flytrap and the Bug Ai No, Sono Seasons Power Flower |
Send One Your Love (music) Race Babbling Send One Your Love Outside My Window Black Orchid Ecclesiastes Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye Come Back as a Flower |
A Seed's a Star/Tree Medley The Secret Life of Plants Tree Finale |
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One advantage of starting your career so early (eleven, in this case) is that having had a near-fifty year run, Stevland Hardaway "(Little) Stevie Wonder" Morris is not yet sixty. His '60s material on Tamla is strictly for soul fans, but his run of '70s albums, beginning with 1972's Talking Book, are pinnacles of the decade's music; whether or not you actually like them is almost irrelevant.
1979's Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants followed the jaw-dropping success of '76's Songs in the Key of Life and was regarded as a serious disappointment at the time. Thirty years on, its charms have been rediscovered by a new and less expectant audience, receptive to its proto-new age/'world' music feel, Wonder using musical tropes from across the world, including Indian (Voyage To India), African (Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye) and generalised Oriental (Tree). The double album's largely instrumental, which didn't endear it to his multitude of fans who couldn't see beyond his more eminently singalongable material, but which has, perversely, helped it not to age anywhere near as badly as many of its contemporaries.
Now, I forget the exact details, but the story goes something like this: somebody (Harry or Richard Chamberlin?) took one of the handful of four-manual machines they built (the M4? MusicMaster 800?) along to wherever Stevie was working at the time. As soon as he laid hands on it, he demanded to buy it, apparently putting it 'all over' his new album. The actual audio evidence doesn't fully back this up, although it seems it's on a few tracks; things aren't helped by Wonder's use of the Melodian, an early, monophonic sampler, that probably provides the rather repetitive animal and bird sounds on the record, plus extensive use of various polysynths that had entered the market since the last time he recorded. As a result, I've rather embarrassingly had to use essentially guesswork in several cases here, but I think you can hear the Chamby providing strings, mixed with synth, on Voyage To India, with definite flutes on Seasons, strings on Black Orchid, Tree and Finale, although the flutes are nearest any of these comes to a 'definite' sighting. I've no idea what produces the church organ on Ecclesiastes, although it's a possibility; I'm not aware that the sound was ever available for the Chamberlin.
Overall, then, an album to explore once you've worked your way through Wonder's 'classic four', assuming you understand where he's coming from. You're not going to buy this as a good way to hear the Chamberlin, but are you really surprised?
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Construction for the Modern Idiot (1993, 48.06) ***/T |
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| Change Every Light Bulb I Wish Them All Dead Cabin Fever Hot Love Now! Full of Life (Happy Now) Storm Drain On the Ropes Your Big Assed Mother |
Swell A Great Drinker Hush Sing the Absurd [CD adds: Something for Sammy] |
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The Wonder Stuff occupy an odd place in British music history, being pretty much an embodiment of the late '80s/early '90s 'indie' ethos, not to mention being the ultimate 'student' band of their era, loved by undergrads right across the musical spectrum. I have to admit I find their appeal slightly mystifying, their indie pop/rock/folk mix resolutely refusing to grab me. Maybe you had to see them live. While drunk. While being nineteen. Anyway, it seems to be harmless enough, but a very long way from anything you could describe as 'classic'. As a result, I find it impossible to pick any highlights from their fourth album, Construction for the Modern Idiot, though I'm sure their fans would have something to say about that.
Anyway, Pete Whittaker guests on various keys, including (naturally) Mellotron; I wouldn't call it the most overt use ever, but that's not particularly surprising. Some 'Strawberry Fields'-style flutes on Cabin Fever, and more flutes, in a very background role, on Hush, but that's all I can hear. That isn't to say there isn't any more hidden in the mix, but Martin Bell's fiddle confuses the issue in places. So; if you don't like UK indie, you're probably not going to like the Wonder Stuff. Simple as that. Minimal Mellotron, too, so I really wouldn't bother.
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Saturday Night Special (1975, 42.34) ***½/TTSaturday Night SpecialJoy Road Belle Isle Daze Creative Musicans Cheeba Allen Barnes On My Mind Help Get Me Away |
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Lyman Woodard was a Detroit-based jazz organist, whose 1975 album with his Organization (apparently recorded two years earlier), Saturday Night Special, is a deceptively mellow release with unexpectedly threatening undercurrents, as befits an album named for a gun. Mostly instrumental, this is something that Jimmy Smith fans might consider exploring, Woodard's Hammond work being quite outstanding in places. Its best track is probably the near-ten minute Cheeba, a ripping organ and percussion jam with Latin overtones, although nothing here should offend the discerning listener.
Woodard adds credited Mellotron strings to the first three tracks, in a distinctly 'orchestral replacement' mode, rather neutering their ubiquity, as they simply sound as close to a proper string section as a presumably cash-strapped Woodard could make them. Nice to hear, but as the parts have little of the machine's inherent sound, you're probably best off going elsewhere for Mellotron overkill.
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Opposite Directions (1980) **½/T |
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| Spirit of the Meteors I Want to Be Famous Air on a Polymer San Diego Sunset Peace in Our Space (Sue's Song) Distagon Ice Three Six Got to Get Away |
Down Town Reactor Opposite Directions Web of Synthesis |
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Jezz Woodroffe, later of fellow Brummie Robert Plant's band, was Black Sabbath's offstage keyboard player when he recorded Opposite Directions, released in 1980 (according to the record) or '78 (according to his website). In all honesty, it's about par for the course for a sideman's solo album; the guy can certainly play, but the writing leaves an awful lot to be desired, with much of it based around iffy jams (San Diego Sunset), or dreadful attempts at a Midlands take on Chas'n'Dave (to American readers: don't ask). The band Woodroffe gathered together are all very competent, and Gibson John's guitar work (presumably) is actually pretty good, but it's all a bit faceless, really; they sound like session musos.
Unfortunately, many of Woodroffe's keyboards are of that 'late '70s Japanese' type; he must have had an endorsement deal with Yamaha, going by the number of their products he namechecks on the (extensive) gear list. They still sound loads better than 'dodgy '80s digital', but too many polysynths spoil the broth, or something. There's a Mellotron M400 listed there, too, but I can only actually hear the thing on the title track, with flutes (I think) and choirs.
Since Opposite Directions is apparently quite rare, don't rush out to try to find a copy (I found mine in a Birmingham second-hand shop, and I doubt if many found their way much further from the area). Disappointing.
See: Black Sabbath
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While You Can (2003, 40.54) **½/0 |
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| Dumb Girls Blindsided Trust Me (You Don't Wanna See This) Is This Hollywood Trouble With Me What's Good for Me Standing |
The Breakdown Always Something Gettin' it on Done |
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Although technically British, Lucy Woodward was apparently brought up in the Netherlands and the US, attending school in the latter, making her effectively American. I suppose she fits into the 'mainstream pop' non-category, as nothing about While You Can particularly stands out at all. Woodward's a decent singer and musician, but this is music designed to appeal to her own societal niche: girls in their twenties who want something girly and undemanding. Ooh! You patronising, sexist pig! It is, however, girly and undemanding, so I rest my case.
Although Patrick Warren plays 'keyboards' on several tracks, I can't hear any of his usual Chamberlin, not that it's credited. However, Greg Bieck gets a 'Mellotron' credit on Trust Me (You Don't Wanna See This), although it has to be said that it's completely inaudible. Why? Why do this? Utterly pointless. Anyway, you're most unlikely to like this album, if your taste has anything in common with mine. Unlike many pop albums I've sat through recently with gritted teeth, there's nothing actually wrong with this, but nor is there that much right. Don't bother.
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Es Liebt Dich und Deine Körperlichkeit ein Ausgeflippter (2002, 45.09/53.42) ***½/½ |
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| Für Wen? Scheusalstage Die Verwundung Die Zunft von Nahweg Wie Sicht Es Aus? Missa Lux Jetzt ist Vakanz Es Darf Gelacht Nisch Mehr |
Im Winter Erfüllung [Japanese bonus track: Bad Morning] |
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Es Liebt Dich und Deine Körperlichkeit ein Ausgeflippter is apparently the appropriately-named Workshop's fifth album, although their first to be released in the States (and elsewhere?). Their music is indeed a workshop of ideas, with one album sounding little like the next; Es Liebt Dich... has more than a little German acid-folk about it, with much acoustic guitar alongside real and programmed percussion, strange, upfront German-language vocals and odd keyboards, amongst other things. This is quite an odd album, to be honest; as soon as anything starts sounding somewhere near 'normal', Workshop turn it on its head and throw something weird into the pot. Standout tracks? Buggered if I know...
Workshop are essentially a duo of Stephan Abry and Kai Althoff, but I've no idea who does what, including the nice (very) little 'Tron strings part on Die Zunft Von Nahweg, which actually sound quite real, though it seems you can never tell these days. So; if that weird German folkish thing floats your boat, you may well go for this. Only one even halfway decent 'Tron track, though, so don't go out of your way on that front.
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Egyptology (1997, 60.38) ***½/T½ |
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| It is Time Beautiful Dream Call Me Up Vanity Fair She's the One Vocal Interlude Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Hercules |
Love is Best Rolling Off a Log Strange Groove The Whole of the Night Piece of Mind This World Always |
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Karl Wallinger formed World Party after leaving The Waterboys, sounding not wholly dissimilar to that band, while adding sample use and an eco-awareness that appears to stretch to 'recycling' occasional bits of other people's songs. Call it 'referencing', OK? Egyptology is his/their fourth release (the band is essentially a Wallinger solo project these days) and covers a range of styles, from the very '60s Vanity Fair (Jim who? Which Morrison?) to the wordy but really rather good Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb, plus an unfortunate propensity for throwing in bits of Britpop; the album was recorded between 1993-7, straight through that movement's heyday. Like so many other albums of the CD era, it's a little overlong, and several tracks could've done with a brisk edit, but there are worse musical crimes, so maybe we'll let it off.
Somebody (Wallinger?) plays Mellotron flutes on Call Me Up and The Whole Of The Night, with a solo fade-out on the latter that sounds pretty damn' real to me. So, reasonable album, could've done with being a bit shorter, two OK 'Tron tracks, hopefully real.
See: The Waterboys
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Over the Sun (2004, 42.33) ***/T½With Closed EyesPortray Black Little Stray You'll Be the Death Throw a Blanket Over the Sun Avalanche If Only We Could Plea Birds |
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Shannon Wright is an Atlanta, Georgia-based singer-songwriter, operating in the more 'downbeat' end of the genre, so nothing like, say, Shonen Knife, then. Her fourth album, 2004's Over the Sun, is an intense record, loosely categorisable as 'indie', although Wright's style owes little to the genre's leading lights, being based more in the blues than anything else. Best track? Hard to say, although Black Little Stray opens with a Jimmy Page-ish electric guitar part and doesn't sound like the rest of the album, which is a little samey, to be honest.
The album opens with a solo Mellotron flute part, probably played by Wright herself, with dirgelike cellos on You'll Be the Death, the album's only other keyboard contributions being the odd piano line. This isn't an album with which to cheer yourself up of an evening, but if you're after an emotional rollercoaster ride with occasional Mellotron, you've come to the right place.
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The Power of the Picts (1969, 108.07) ****/0 (T) |
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| It Came on a Sunday Mrs Cooper's Pie Ladybird Aries Bogeyman Shadow of Man Tasker's Successor Hill of Dreams |
Virginia Waters [CD adds: Child on a Crossing Lucifer Corpus Felicity Jane Nobody Knows Buffalo Henry Dawson |
Diane's Big Daddy Live and Learn Dream Yourself a Hero Fishers of Men Tripsy Lady Bellyful of Rock Man of Renown] |
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7" ( 1973) ***/TT Man of Renown Buffalo |
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Writing on the Wall were an organ-heavy Scottish proto-hard rock outfit, whose sole album, 1969's The Power of the Picts is a veritable lost doom classic, full of Sabbath/Heep crossover classics like Aries and the bonkers Bogeyman. I'm amazed that I haven't discovered this lot before; it craps all over 'classic' 'lost' bands like Clear Blue Sky and their ilk - looks like they were unlucky not to be signed by a future collectable label, eh? And is Shadow Of Man the first use of Holst's Mars that isn't a straight 'cover'?
There's no Mellotron on the album, but Buffalo, a lone b-side from '73, not long before the band split, features heavy flute and string use, probably from Bill Scott. Officially unavailable until recently, it can now be found on disc two of Ork's 2007 The Power of the Picts reissue. Hurrah! Actually, the set's worth it for their original album, a must-hear for fans of the era, their sole 'Tron track coming as a nice bonus.
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Rock Bottom (1974, 39.36) ****/TSea SongA Last Straw Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road Alifib Alife Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road |
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For the one or two of you who don't know his history, Robert Wyatt was the Soft Machine's drummer and sometime vocalist, moving on to Matching Mole, before falling from a third-floor window at a party, resulting in permanent paralysis from the waist down. He'd already released one solo album, 1970's End of an Ear, and recorded his second, the all-too aptly titled Rock Bottom, while recuperating. An intensely personal album, not everyone will fall for Wyatt's idiosyncratic vocals, or the largely drumless music, but it's an album that rewards careful listening, which probably means very few people have bothered with it in the last twenty years or so. Opener Sea Song is probably the most normal, or least abnormal track, which is probably why it was given pole position, and by the time you get to the Alifib/Alife double-act, the more faint-hearted have been left gasping at the side of the road, eager to return to the safety of their latest two-bit flash in the pan music press darlings.
For years, I've been under the impression that the album was free of any Mellotronic involvement. It seems I was wrong. Not that it's that obvious, mind; reedy choirs on opener Sea Song sound both like and not like a Mellotron, while there's an unidentified sound on Alifib/Alife, alongside what sounds like 'Tron strings. Is this a bit vague? Sorry, but Wyatt's credited with merely 'keyboards', including the Moog lead on Sea Song, and the unidentified organ present on several tracks.
So; to buy or not to buy? If you'd like to hear something you've never heard before, stylistically speaking, combined with personal lyrics and unusual instrumental juxtapositions, then yes. Conversely, if not... This isn't worth it for its minor Mellotron use, but is on practically any other grounds you can think of.
See: Matching Mole
