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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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Hiro Yanagida Yancy Derringer |
Yazbek Yonin-Bayashi |
Yum-Yum |
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Hirocosmos (1973, 38.44) ***½/T½The Sea of TempestOde to Taurus Breaking Sound-Barrier Happy Cruise Rockomotion Uncertain Trip Time for Reverie |
Current availability:
It seems Hiro Yanagida was the keyboard player for Foodbrain and Love Live Life + One, amongst others, kicking his solo career off with 1970's Milk Time. Hirocosmos was apparently his fourth solo, and can be summed up in one word: fusion. Various jazz/rock styles are covered, although Yanagida's probably at his best when delivering fiery, Mahavishnu-type stuff, as on Rockomotion or The Sea Of Tempest when it gets going, although the album contains more of his reflective material along the lines of Time For Reverie.
His keyboard work is fairly astounding, with some absolutely blistering Moog work on several tracks, along with the ubiquitous Rhodes. He plays Mellotron on two tracks, with some stupidly fast 'Tron flute work on Breaking Sound-Barrier; no idea how he played that without loads of key-click, missed notes etc. Talent, I suppose. Anyway, more flutes and strings on Happy Cruise, although that would appear to be it.
So; Japanese fusion, anyone? Given that the prevailing ethos in the country at the time seemed to be more psych-based, this was probably quite a brave move, although I'm sure the better-known American bands of the era did a lot to popularise the crossover. Anyway, this is a decent enough album in the style, with two fairly good 'Tron tracks, although probably not essential.
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Openers (1975, 41.17) **½/TPass the WineRocket Roll Aero Plane I Thought Alot Today Welcome on Standing on the Edge Weedburner |
Current availability:
Yancy Derringer's sole album, Openers (a self-titled debut appears to be a chimera), is no more or less than an utterly average, mid-'70s Midwest hard rock album, I'm afraid. Actually, the album title sort of gives away its debut status really, doesn't it? Anyway, Pass The Wine is turgid boogie, ditto Rocket Roll, while the grammatically-horrible I Thought Alot Today is a so-so bluesy effort, with all concerned displaying as much originality as a bunch of R.E.O. Speedwagon outtakes from their hard rock days. Yup, their outtakes. The album only really picks up at all on the last track, the actually not bad Weedburner (what ARE they talking about?), although it's a long way from the 'classic' I'd heard it was, leaving this sitting firmly in the 'clunker' zone, I'm afraid; I really have no idea why Gear Fab thought it was worthy of reissue.
Vocalist/keys man C.F. 'Charlie' Kuchler plays bog-standard piano and organ on most tracks, although his synth (gotta be a Mini!) work is actually quite interesting, with a sound on Weedburner that isn't a million miles away from what Devo were about to unleash on the world a state or two away. Mellotron on one track only, with strings towards the end of I Thought Alot Today, although (that phrase again) nothing you can't live without. No, really.
So; big in Wisconsin? Probably big somewhere, but not in my house; I really can't imagine playing this again, other than as a 'how mediocre is this?' demo. It only gets the extra half star for one OK song (Weedburner) and some passable synth patches. Save your money. Having set up a regular savings plan, avoid this album, too. Incidentally, for what it's worth (not an awful lot, actually), Yancy Derringer morphed into the new-wavish The Vers eventually, who sound like they were probably a bit of a riot live (according to, er, their own website), almost certainly unlike the original band.
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The Laughing Man (1996, 42.48) ****/T |
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| Welcome to My World Black Cowboys on the Beach Monkey in the Middle No More Tomorrow Fight the One-Armed Man Only Dreaming Surface Tension |
Pinnochio's Nose The Wind 666 Mississippi Honeymoon |
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Current availability:
David Yazbek is an accomplished musician, with many TV and Broadway credits to his name, not to mention several solo albums in a more pop/rock vein. The superb XTC are not only a major influence, but collaborators, as Andy Partridge has chipped in on one of Yazbek's TV show soundtracks, not to mention playing on his solo debut (credited to just 'Yazbek'), The Laughing Man. In fact, imagine an American XTC and you're pretty much there, which is meant as a compliment. Just about every track has one of those beautiful songwriting twists you'll hear on all the best powerpop records (think: Big Star or Jellyfish), while Fight The One-Armed Man even features a sly two-line quote from Queen's We Will Rock You, for some reason.
'Melletron' on one track only, with a cello line on closer Mississippi Honeymoon repeating throughout the song that sounds a little like it could've been played once, sampled, then sequenced. Or not. Fight The One-Armed Man also has a string line (Yazbek is credited with 'keyboards') that sounds slightly 'Tronlike, but I wouldn't put money on it. So; good album, quite unexpectedly, but don't bother for the 'Tron.
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Ishoku-Sokuhatsu (1974, 34.42/77.24) ***½/T |
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| [Japanese text] Sky and Cloud Festival Dangerous Situation The Sadness of a Ping-Pong Ball [CD adds: Festival My Brother Flied With an UFO |
Nakamura's Song Dangerous Situation] |
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Current availability:
I think Ishoku-Sokuhatsu was Yonin-Bayashi's second album, though mostly Japanese-language discographies (which is fair enough, really) cloud the issue for the average Englishman. Their sound, at least in the studio, fell somewhere between early-'70s hard rock and a sort of drifting post-psych stuff, laid-back but quite inventive; it hasn't dated fantastically well, but is far superior to some of their contemporaries, not least the very average Too Much. The album consists of a short burst of noise, title untranslated, followed by four pieces, two quite lengthy, including some jamming, although the energy level rarely picks up above 'sedate', which shouldn't be read as any sort of criticism.
Keyboard player Hidemi Sakashita plays mostly Hammond and Rhodes, although he turns to the Mellotron for both Sky And Cloud, with a high-end string line, and The Sadness Of A Ping-Pong Ball, with a more conventional part. Nothing outstanding, but always nice to hear. The CD adds four bonus live tracks, including the excellently-titled My Brother Flied With An UFO, that constitute another album in themselves, although there's no Mellotronic input - suspect a studio machine.
So; a decent enough album, though not especially exciting, with a little Mellotron. Interesting for those who want to hear what the '70s Japanese scene sounded like, and who have already heard the excellent Cosmos Factory, but not what you'd call essential.
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Dan Loves Patti (1996, 42.18) ***/T |
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| I'm Not Telling Apiary Dan Loves Patti Doot-Doot Train of Thought Sister Cross My Heart Ring |
Jealous of the Stars Uneasy Words Will Fail Lament |
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Current availability:
When I found a copy of Dan loves Patti by Chris Holmes (not to be confused with the wholly cretinous ex-WASP guitarist), both author and title looked familiar, but it wasn't until I did a 'Net search on the man that I realised that he and Yum-Yum were one and the same. Apparently, a UK band had already used the moniker (why?), and objected strongly enough to get TAG/Atlantic to release it under Holmes' own name. I've seen his/their 'chamber pop' compared to both Bacharach and the Beach Boys, but without the complexity of either. One odd story that did the rounds was that Holmes' sincerity was somewhat questionable, to the extent that Yum-Yum were nothing more than a cynical attempt to sell records, and he actually held the music in some contempt. OK, I know this is often the case, but you don't take this amount of care over something in which you don't believe; the lyrics in the CD booklet are even annotated with the guitar chords, for Chrissake!
Anyway, the music is perfectly good in that vein, although by and large it's not really my bowl of gruel, to be honest, although I do quite like opener I'm Not Telling. Maybe I need to listen to it some more. Whatever, Holmes plays Mellotron and/or Chamberlin on three tracks, although the only one with any really overt use is the flutes on (you guessed it) I'm Not Telling, with a block chord held on at the end of the song. The string trio (a quartet with just one violin) used right across the album confuses the issue, but I really can't hear much evidence of the 'Tron and Chamby on Cross My Heart and the Chamby on Words Will Fail, but at least there's one full-on 'Tron track.
So; recommended if you're into the style, but not really for the 'Tron enthusiast.
