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Shimmering Lights (2006, 48.30) ***Shimmering LightsThey Come and Grow Hide From the Sun What is Done is Done (Rat) End of the Recess September Solitude That's Life |
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The Sagarmatha Dilemma (2008, 48.59) ***Closer to My Soul/Closer to HeavenThe Sagarmatha Dilemma The Red Mountain Thin Air Even if I Was Wrong Radio Sherpa I'm Coming Down (I Shall Go Back) |
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D Project are another project from the prolific Stéphane Desbiens (Sense, Red Sand, Ère G, Mélia), this time in a heavy prog vein, unfortunately crossing over into full-blown prog metal in places. Their debut album, 2006's Shimmering Lights, starts excellently - the first two minutes of the title track are superb - but the quality slackens off as it progresses, parts of closer That's Life being the album's nadir. Too much formless prog metal, too many neo-prog influences... Desbiens and The Flower Kings' Tomas Bodin both play credited 'Mellotron', but I think we know how much that's worth, don't we? Anyway, plenty of (presumably) M-Tron, with string and choir parts on most tracks, the samples being particularly evident on End Of The Recess' solo choir intro and halfway through That's Life.
I believe The Project's second album, 2008's The Sagarmatha Dilemma, is a concept effort based on an expedition to the Himalayas a few years earlier. It's more self-consciously 'modern prog' than before, actually managing to be more formless than its predecessor, although given some of the guff that clutters up the prog scene, I've heard an awful lot worse... Desbiens pulled in a few friends to play on the record, not least Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Planet X) on keys and our very own Stu Nicholson (Galahad) singing on one track. Next to no fakeotron this time round, with naught but distant choirs on Even If I Was Wrong, although it's possible there are some string parts hidden away amongst the wash of generic modern keyboards.
I can't say I found either of these albums that exciting, to be honest, although stood up against the appalling neo-prog nonsense that's still being spewed out by certain bands (naming no names), at least it doesn't actually offend. Personally, I prefer some of Desbiens' other projects, but if you like the metal end of the genre, you may just go for these.
See: Sense | Tomas Bodin
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Observator de un Uni-verso (1999, 45.37) **½Observador del Universo ILuz, Asombro, Obscuridad Cascada ¿Es Hora? Retorno a Kadiem Kiñe We Mapu Ta Ñi Yalalun Observador del Universo II |
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To be honest, this review of Daltonia's first album, 1999's Observator de un Uni-verso (they belated followed it with 2007's Fragmentos de un Viaje), will be less than glowing; I'm all for bands in all corners of the world trying their hand at this prog thing, but I'm afraid Daltonia simply aren't that good at it. In fairness, and going by my * rating above, they're not utterly horrendous, but the album's generic and lacking in any memorable songwriting, and many of the tracks go on for a geological epoch or two too long. Their style is loosely 'modern prog', with a heaviness on the guitar front that has crept into the genre over the last couple of decades or so, with a dollop of neo-prog stylings. The vocals are spoken, which is the one thing about this record that smacks of any sort of originality, although I suspect that it's more out of necessity than choice.
Cristian Céspedes Bascuñán plays keyboards, but apart from a short part in ¿Es Hora?, it's all digital synths, with some truly horrific sampled choir in places. The one diversion from this is in the aforementioned track, where he plays a sampled 'Tron string part for a minute or so. Do I know it's sampled? Well, Mellotrons are in pretty short supply in South America generally (read: none until recently), never mind Chile specifically, and, er, they sound like samples. Anyway, this one's more for the rabid prog completist than the casual listener, and I'm not sure I'd even recommend it to the genre fetishist.
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No One Listens to the Band Anymore (2011, 49.29) ** |
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| No One Listens to the Band Anymore Feast of Hearts She Goes Around Werewolves The Great Unknown Let's Be Civilized Death Defier Last Day of the New Age |
The Monster The Experts Sophia The Same Way |
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The Damnwells are a fairly appalling proposition; imagine an indie outfit who want to be Counting Crows, displaying a similar unswerving dedication towards making the blandest possible indie/Americana/powerpop crossover imaginable. Yes, that good. 2011's No One Listens to the Band Anymore (well, we can but hope) is absolute drivel, heartfelt to a T yet simultaneously as empty as interstellar space; example: closer The Same Way strongly resembles an Oasis discard. It has no best tracks.
Peter Adams is credited with Mellotron, but going by the strings on Werewolves and The Experts (although the easier-to-fake flutes on Sophia aren't so bad), all I can say is, "You have to be joking". Smooth as shite, just like the rest of their pre-digested sound. Awful.
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UnonoU (2008, 54.53) ***½UnonoUWhere Beauty & Terror Dance The Emerald Snow of Sleep A High or a Low Spinning Temple Shifting Down From a Cloud, Up From the Ground One Mind Gone Separate Ways |
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Danava are a 'prog metal' band who actually sound (mostly) like themselves, and nothing like all the other bands, who all sound exactly the same anyway, as far as I can tell. UnonoU is their second album, and probably actually fits more in to the 'epic hard rock' non-category than the prog metal one, with a distinct (and merciful) lack of screaming vocals, widdling guitars and, well, widdling everything else. I'm not saying the material's top drawer - it isn't - but it ain't bad, and I suspect, given time, they'll turn into a good little band eventually.
Although there are vaguely Mellotron-like strings on several tracks, closing epic One Mind Gone Separate Ways is the only definite use, and it is definite, with a horribly stretched high note at one point. The track itself is quite outrageous, too; how can you rip Zeppelin's Achilles' Last Stand so openly and get away with it? Anyway, not a bad record, if no classic, with some excellent moments. Worth a punt.
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Dancing (2006, 35.37) **½ |
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| Mambo Italiano Svalutation Avec Ses Yeux la My Way of Life Buona Sera La Belle Vie Acercatemas Mes Mains |
Via Con Me Quand Je Monte Chez Toi That's Life |
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Gérard Darmon (born 1948) is a French actor who has slightly diverted into a late-flowering singing career, 2006's Dancing being his second release. As you might expect, it consists largely of French- and English-language jazz-flavoured easy-listening material, impeccably done, should you happen to like that kind of thing, better tracks including the rockabilly-lite Svalutation, the gypsy jazz of Via Con Me and knowingly sleazy closer That's Life.
I shall admit to being unconvinced by Nicolas Neidhart's 'Mellotron' strings on Mes Mains: far too smooth for their own good, not to mention what sounds quite like MkII 'moving strings' on opener Mambo Italiano; if so, an absolute sample giveaway. Not really a Planet Mellotron album, is it? Difficult to actually knock, but not one most of you are going to want to hear, methinks.
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Caveman Files (2011, 26.10) **½ |
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| Name Tag Shut the Blinds Ave. Instrumental Infamous Red Light Gargoyle 18-0 E = T(HC) Interlude |
Apache Jar Gang Windows Up Yeah So (part deux) Asteroids hidden track |
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Da$h (pretty duff use of the old 'non-letter used as letter' trick, sir) is far from your average hip-hop artist, although I'm not entirely sure that makes the download-only Caveman Files any the more listenable. Saying that, you're not going to hear anything like the slowed-down voice on E = T(HC) Interlude on, say, an Eminem album, ditto what sounds like a sample of a prehistoric computer game on Apache.
Sean O'Connell (a.k.a. Da$h??) is credited with Mellotron, but the too-even and played-too-quickly strings on Ave., Instrumental and Jar Gang are exceedingly suspect, clinched in the sample stakes by the high choir notes on 18-0. OK, it's a long way from the commercial end of the genre, but Mr. Da$h still makes that irritating noise better known as 'rapping'.
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Old Growth (2008, 50.38) *** |
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| Ain't Got Nothing (to Go Wrong) Between Me and the Ground What Needs Must Be Down Here 'Till Kingdom Come I'm Gone Seven Seers The Great Deceiver |
The Queen of All Returns Keep on Walking Hard People/Hard Times Either Way |
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Dead Meadow would probably like people to think of them as 'guitar-driven psych', although 'slightly psychedelic indie' might be closer to the mark. OK, there are tracks on their fifth album, 2008's Old Growth, with a psychedelic edge, but more often than not, they just limp along in an aimless kind of way (The Great Deceiver is typical). It's not all bad, but it's mostly rather average, unfortunately.
Rob Campanella's Mellotron strings open 'Till Kingdom Come, reiterating throughout the song, although with an attack like that, they have to be sampled. In fairness, they don't actually put 'Mellotron' in the credits, so we'll let 'em off. This time. Overall, then, really not that exciting, although probably OK to have playing in the background. Damning with faint praise?
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Missiles (2008, 58.14) ** |
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| Disclaimer Dream Job Money Babies Berlin Hearts Lights Off Crisis 1 & 2 Demons Missiles |
Meltdown in A Major Saviour |
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I've been directed towards The Dears in the past as supposed Mellotron users, but 2008's Missiles is the first of their albums to actually credit it. Like the one other album of theirs I've had the privilege to hear, 2003's No Cities Left, it consists largely of a bombastic kind of 'orchestral indie', succeeding in merging the band's symphonic ambitions with the one-dimensional song structures with which the indie scene is infested. As a result, it's dull as ditchwater if you don't actually think that The Velvets define popular music as we know it. Several overlong tracks on an overlong album don't help, either.
Mainman Murray Lightburn and Patrick Krief are credited with Mellotron, but the string swells on Dream Job and occasional flute line on Berlin Hearts, amongst other parts, sound sampled to my ears, an impression exacerbated by what sounds like decidedly uncredited Chamberlin solo male voice on the title track. So; not worth the effort and almost certainly samples.
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August in the Urals (2006, 71.03) ***½Inaugural BashAugust in the Urals Abandoned Mansion Afternoon A Squirrel The Solitude of Miranda |
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The Form of the Good (2009, 53.53) ****Before the Common EraThe Tree Factory Common Era Caveman Aggrandizement The Form of the Good |
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The oddly-named Deluge Grander have risen from the ashes of the Maryland-based Cerebus Effect, presumably with the intention of moving away from the fusion area. I have to say that they've achieved this with aplomb, producing, in August in the Urals, a full-on progressive album, although like so many modern efforts, a little editing may have been a good move. They wear their influences on their collective sleeves, with Genesis coming high on the list, although I definitely spotted some Happy the Man in places, particularly on opener Inaugural Bash. They're at their best when playing instrumentally, which is where (say) the exceedingly long Inaugural Bash wins out over the still quite long title track. Some nice (real?) Clavinet work on A Squirrel livens the piece up, although vocals are definitely not the band's strong suit.
Keyboard/guitar (and sometime vocal) man Dan Britton has told me that although they use Mellotron samples liberally, they're taken from an actual machine, rather than being third-party efforts from the M-Tron or whatever. They mostly sound very good, I have to say, with the usual strings/choirs/flutes being smeared over much of the album's length - this would probably be a TTTT effort, were it applicable. So, a pretty good modern prog effort, without any obvious neo- stylings (hurrah!); I suspect their second effort will sound more cohesive, and will probably be written over a shorter period of time. Not bad at all.
Three years on, and they're at it again, with The Form of the Good. Have they raised the bar? I think so, yes. The vocals are almost gone (hurrah!), and a Yes influence seems to have crept in from somewhere, but given some of the crud they could have been listening to... The album's intensity ratings are up all round, too, with some truly cataclysmic climaxes to be heard; makes me quite glad I'm listening to this on small speakers... Not all that much fakeotron this time round, maybe surprisingly; possibly a TT½, were it relevant. All in all, chaps, an excellent little prog album with only one completely monster track, and even that doesn't outstay its welcome. Splendid.
See: Birds & Buildings | All Over Everything
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Midnight of Hope (2000, 53.27) *½ |
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| On These Raging Streets What Kind of Church Fifty Years From Now As Far as My Heart Can See Why Do You Love Me This Heart of Mine At the Cross Remember Me |
Plastic Paradise Midnight of Hope Forgiveness Labor of Love |
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Andy Denton was vocalist with Christian AOR also-rans Ruscha (told you they were also-rans), then with breakaway faction Legend/Legend Seven, so we're not exactly talking 'Wembley headliners' here, unless it's the Wembley Dog & Duck (which may possibly be rhyming slang). For some reason, this gave Denton the idea that he could have a solo career, releasing the gospelly-inclined Midnight of Hope in 2000. So, let's see: Christian (I prefer 'Xian', 'cos it sounds like the aliens in a particularly schlocky SF series), AOR, ego. Not a promising mixture, eh? Correct. The album's horrible, veering between soft AOR (On These Raging Streets, As Far As My Heart Can See), vaguely funky AOR (At The Cross, Forgiveness) and the expected slushy ballads (Fifty Years From Now, Remember Me, nearly everything else). Lyrically, it's exactly what you'd expect, preaching to the converted. Oh, and me, but it's wasting its time there. The title track's especially obnoxious on this front, but they're all pretty grim.
I was hoping that the album's Mellotron sighting would prove to be erroneous, so I wouldn't have to write this guff, but there's a repeating flute part on Plastic Paradise which initially sounds like a 'Tron, but seems far too, I dunno, 'steady' to be the real thing, not to mentioned its uncredited status (most Mellotron users these days are keen to advertise the fact). All in all, then, a very nasty record with a little fake Mellotron. Please don't.
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Trouble in Dreams (2008, 52.54) **½ |
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| Blue Flower/Blue Flame Dark Leaves From a Thread The State Foam Hands My Favorite Year Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of a Night's Ape) Introducing Angels |
Rivers Leopard of Honor Plaza Trinidad Libby's First Sunrise |
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Vancouver-based Destroyer sound like they should be a metal band, but aren't; think: indie/singer-songwriter crossover and you might be nearer the mark. 2008's Trouble in Dreams is actually their eighth album (they formed back in '95) and despite the occasional song where it all comes together, the bulk of the record sounds, at least to my ears, like a bit of a mish-mash of influences, Neil Young sitting next to Guided By Voices, or any one of a hundred other indie darlings.
In case there was any doubt over the matter, Ted Bois is credited specifically with M-Tron; the Mellotron string sounds are actually pretty good, although I doubt if they'd hold up too well if used solo. Anyway, they're used on Foam Hands, My Favorite Year and another three or four tracks, to reasonable effect, although I can't really say they improve the material. So; maybe TT½ if it was real.
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Hand it Over (1997, 48.11) *** |
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| I Don't Think Never Bought it Nothin's Goin' on I'm Insane Can't We Move This Alone Sure Not Over You Loaded |
Mick I Know Yer Insane Gettin' Rough Gotta Know |
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Dinosaur Jr used a Mellotron a couple of times in the early '90s, after their supposed heyday, so I wasn't entirely surprised to read that there might be one on 1997's Hand it Over, despite the lack of any specific credit. The album seems to be Dinosaur Jr-by-numbers; perfectly competent Neil Young/Hüsker Dü-influenced tuneful post-hardcore, but despite the occasional use of unusual instrumentation (notably the solo trumpet on I'm Insane), somehow it never really catches fire, existing in a twilight world of J Mascis' own creation, where the normal rules of physics don't apply, and entropy as a concept no longer exists. Best track? Probably the lengthy, jammed-out Alone, where Mascis finally perfects his Like A Hurricane guitar tone, although his playing (intentionally?) lacks Neil's total wig-out quality.
Potential 'Mellotron' on a couple of tracks, with a repeating flute line in Never Bought It and very Mellotronic string chords in Can't We Move This, but the giveaway is in the closing seconds of the former, where the sustained flute note over the fade lasts too long, and you can actually hear the loop point. Ouch. Overall, though, a passable album which probably sounds better to non-fans than to fans, who will always compare it unfavourably with their early work.
See: Dinosaur Jr
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La Mécanique du Cœur (2007, 59.57) **** |
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| Le Jour le Plus Froid du Monde La Berçeuse Hip Hop du Docteur Madeleine When the Saints Go Marchin' in Flamme à Lunettes Symphonie pour Horloge Cassée Cunnilingus Mon Amour! Thème de Joe L'école de Joe L'homme Sans Trucage |
La Panique Mécanique King of the Ghost Train Mademoiselle Clé Candy Lady Le Retour de Joe Death Song Tais Toi Mon Cœur Whatever the Weather Epilogue |
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Eats Music!!! (2009, recorded 1996-2009, 131.38) *** |
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| Wet Ciel en Sauce (acoustic) Tokyo Montana (acoustic) The Return of the Frog Red Rain Vélopédie Art Love Stamps Don Diego 2000 (acoustic) Open Cloud Window Day Coccinelle (live) Song for Jedi (live) L'homme Sans Trucage (live) |
Mister Chat (live) Miss Acacia Old Child (demo) Le Retour de Bloody Betty (remix) La Cane de Jeanne Thank You Satan Tais Toi Mon Cœur Neige (orchestral) Des Scolioses de Partout dans le Corps... et dans le Cœur Rid of Me La Sorcière du Désert (demo) I Belch Your Kiss in the Wind |
No Friends No More Ferry Boat Shoes Tatoo Love No Tongue Doll The Moon is My Favorite Fireworks La Plus Heureuse des Mamans du Monde Monsters in Love (demo) No Sense Words Harmony Maintenant qu'il Fait Tout le Temps Nuit sur Toi |
Pepper Beard Longboard Train (demo) Manga Girlfriend Lips Story in a Chocolate River (demo) Neige (Mellotron version) Rock Addict Aïe Song for Jedi (demo) Anorak (demo) Extatic Troll Wet |
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It's difficult to know how to describe Dionysos' sixth album, La Mécanique du Cœur: its lyrical concept is based on a novel written by vocalist Mathias Malzieu, The Boy With The Cuckoo-Clock Heart, about, well, a boy given a clockwork heart and how well it does, or doesn't serve him. Musically, the album is full of mechanical-devices-as-instruments, not least a cuckoo-clock on more than one track, set to a very European kind of almost pre-rock'n'roll aesthetic which has gone down startlingly well in their home country, despite several tracks being sung in English, gaining the band a gold record. I'm not sure if a Mellotron's actually credited, but the flutes on La Berçeuse Hip Hop Du Docteur Madeleine are decidedly sampled, although, as with most sampled Mellotron flute, sounding rather better than copies of the other common sounds.
2009's Eats Music!!! (or Dionysos Eats Music!!!) is not so much a career retrospective as a mopping-up operation, collecting together demos (including tracks from a pre-first album cassette), live tracks, remixes and outtakes into a two hour-plus concoction of Dionysosness that will have their fans in raptures, or at least the ones who delve any deeper than their current hit (ouch). The rest of us will sit there, slightly bemused; an hour-long concept album about a boy with a clockwork heart is one thing, but an uncohesive trawl through their past is another one entirely. It's perfectly good, but a bit tiresome if you're not especially into their thing. The only reason this is here is a track hidden away on disc two, Neige (Mellotron Version), a slightly Morricone-esque number with a 'Mellotron' flute line running through it, recorded in 2004.
I wasn't that blown away by the other Dionysos album I've heard, 2005's Monsters in Love, but La Mécanique du Cœur is unusual enough to refresh the jaded musical palette. I'd give Eats Music!!! a miss, though, unless you're a major fan...
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A Night for Baku (2003, 59.56) ****Dream PortalHungry Ghost Chimera Moon Heads of Ni-Oh Scary Circus The Falafel King Sexy Beast Ukab Maerd The Red Thread |
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Djam Karet's 2003 album, A Night for Baku, doesn't actually credit 'Tron, and I've had it confirmed by the band that it's samples. It seems to be slightly more reflective than most of their work, particularly opener Dream Portal, which reminds one more of Pink Floyd than anything. As for the sampled 'Tron, it isn't overused, as usual with the band; strings on opening and closing tracks Dream Portal and The Red Thread, with rather unconvincing choirs on Hungry Ghost and Chimera Moon, particularly on the latter. So; another excellent album; are these guys incapable of playing badly?
See: Djam Karet
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Reflections (2009, 40.41) **** |
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| Yule Frozen Winter Gone Spring Mayfly Over Pendle Water (Part One) Mayfly Over Pendle Water (Part Two) Lazy Summer Flame September (For Karen) |
Fern Angelus Winter Gone Spring (alternate version) sometimes my head feels like this |
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Manir Donaghue is a British guitarist of my acquaintance, one of the uncountable number of excellent musicians unknown to the general public. He'll probably hate me for saying so, but he and everyone else involved with his debut album, Reflections are or have been intimately associated with the UK Genesis tribute scene: Manir has managed ReGenesis and played in the short-lived Strictly Banks, amongst other projects, his friend and mine, Mark Rae played in In the Cage and plays in the non-Genesis related Sanctuary Rig) and flautist Tony Patterson plays with various artists (ReGenesis, Nick Magnus, John Hackett). Unsurprisingly, Donaghue's style (acoustic and electric) is occasionally redolent of Steve Hackett, without copying him slavishly like, hmmm, many others I could name. The material is pastoral and very English; think: acoustic Hackett with more variety and you won't be a million miles off, although the album holds a surprise or two in store, not least the 'drumless powerful bit' in September (For Karen) and the synths in sometimes my head feels like this, and yes, it's meant to be in all lower case.
Rae plays Mellotron samples, with strings on Frozen, Mayfly Over Pendle Water (Part Two) and Flame, with flutes on Angelus, distinct from Patterson's real one; although he used my M400 on Sanctuary Rig's Khnosti, I'd imagine the recording schedule here prevented a repeat performance, sadly. The samples are good, but... Overall, then, a fine album that should appeal to both guitarists and those looking for the kind of gentle, pastoral album suitable for the end of a busy day, if that isn't too clichéd. Recommended, and available from Manir's website.
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Kingdom of Rust (2009, 50.01) *½ |
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| Jetstream Kingdom of Rust The Outsiders Winter Hill 10:03 The Greatest Denier Birds Flew Backwards Spellbound |
Compulsion House of Mirrors Lifelines |
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Doves are one of those inexplicably popular bands, i.e. I'm so out of touch with the taste of 'ordinary people' that I have absolutely no idea what they see in this mainstream, part-indie, part sub-post-rock, part guitar pop stuff. Their fourth album (after a four-year gap), 2009's Kingdom of Rust, is pretty much as irritating as their earlier releases, the bulk of it consisting of the variety of mock-transcendental nonsense peddled by the kind of band who are used for incidental music on the telly (note: this is not a dig at the mostly excellent Sigur Rós). Compulsion and House Of Mirrors are about the least bad things here, with the former's vaguely '70s funk feel and the latter's marginally more rocky approach, but that shouldn't be taken as any kind of recommendation.
In an interview for Sound on Sound mag, producer Dan Austin commented, "It'd be great to have a real Mellotron, but I've had such problems with trying to record real ones in the past, I've actually ended up using the plug-in, 'cause half the notes on the real one don't work and they're noisy". Oh dear. Noisy, is it? Might spoil your super-clean stadium production, might it? Find one that works, for fuck's sake. Ironically, the only place you can definitely hear their M-Tron is on the two tracks produced by the legendary John Leckie, with an obvious flute part on Winter Hill and more of the same on 10:03. Anyway, this sucks monstrously. Avoid.
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Turning Season Within (2008, 52.30) ***Seasons ApartWhen I Wake Earthbound Not Breathing The Failure Epiphany Morphine Cloud Bloodflower The Empty Stare September Ashes |
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Draconian are a fairly typical Scandinavian metal/goth crossover band, featuring wafty female and grunting male vocals in equal measures, at least on their fourth album, 2008's Turning Season Within. It's a perfectly acceptable example of its genre, even if the male vocals are a bit silly (how could they not be?), although no one track stands out particularly from the pack.
Keyboard programmer Andreas Karlsson adds 'Mellotron' strings and occasional flutes to several tracks, all to very good effect; just a shame it's not real, eh? This kind of epic metal responds well to Mellotron sounds, particularly the strings, but so few of this type of band actually use the real thing. So; good at what it does, all assuming the usual.
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William D. Drake (2001, 38.51) **** |
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| Miaow Miaow Airly Beacon Good to Be Meek Sky in Yer Lap Love in an Overcoat The Great Adventurer Old Care Paradox Poor John |
Dragonfly Ivy Dun Lists of Clay Fiery Pyre Pacman The Perfect Crime Quivvy Vivvy Freedom and Love |
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The Rising of the Lights (2011, 45.08) ****½ |
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| Super Altar Ant Trees In an Ideal World The Mastodon Ornamental Hermit Wholly Holey The Rising of the Lights Song in the Key of Concrete |
Me Fish Bring Ziegler Laburnum Homesweet Homestead Hideaway |
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The semi-legendary William D. Drake played keyboards and wrote the (very) odd track for the mighty Cardiacs during their salad days in the '80s (not often I can say that). After leaving at the beginning of the '90s, Bill has kept in close contact with the band, releasing his eponymous 2001 album on their side-project label, All My Eye & Betty Martin Music (also home to Spratleys Japs); to no-one's surprise, its varied contents sound like a cross between Cardiacs themselves, their mid-'80s Mr. & Mrs. Smith & Mr. Drake offshoot and various other projects, including Lake of Puppies. Think: somewhere between pre-war tea-dance music and Henry Cow, or '70s kids' TV programme music played by a distressed ballet lesson pianist. Possibly. Is telling you that the album sounds like it was recorded in a church hall somewhere in suburban England any use? Thought not. Although he used the Planet Mellotron M400 on his 2002 Melancholy World EP, Bill uses samples here, with strings on opener Miaow Miaow, Poor John and Freedom And Love, although they're hardly one of the album's defining features.
I haven't heard Bill's two interim albums, 2007's simultaneous releases Yew's Paw and Briny Hooves, but 2011's The Rising of the Lights is a near-masterpiece, possibly best described as far less... creaky than his earlier work. Although still a deeply eccentric album, the intervening decade seems to've smoothed out Bill's rough edges, but in a good way, resulting in an album every bit as individual as William D. Drake, but also far more listenable. Highlights include jolly opener Super Altar, the proggy, Cardiacs-esque The Mastodon, Laburnum and beautiful closer Homesweet Homestead Hideaway, but you'd be hard-pushed to find a surplus track here. Bill uses Mellotron samples here and there, notably the flutes on In An Ideal World, although the same sound seems to be hanging around in the background elsewhere, too.
Bill Drake is a major unsung talent, although his wonderful music lacks any kind of mainstream appeal - entirely the fault of the mainstream - ensuring that he'll remain in the 'Cardiacs' ghetto for the foreseeable future. While William D. Drake is good, The Rising of the Lights is quite excellent. I can only urge you to buy a copy as soon as possible.
See: William D. Drake | Cardiacs | Nervous
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Light Years Later (1997, 62.29/71.34) ***½ |
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| We're Not Alone It's a Beautiful Day My Girl Overseas Winter in Peru Family Here's to You Come Back to Me Who is That Girl? Fly Away |
Back in Acapulco Be With You I Don't Care About That Light Years Later Sunset Years [Bonus tracks: Blast Off Goodnight Sleepyheads] |
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Terry Draper was one third of Klaatu, not that you'd know it from their early albums, during the 'it's The Beatles!' excitement of their debut. Over fifteen years after the band's dissolution, he released his first solo effort, 1997's Light Years Later (yes, I ignored the gross scientific inaccuracy, too), a collection of classy 'intelligent pop' material, although it could easily have been trimmed by anything up to twenty minutes and been tightened up in the process, top tracks including My Girl Overseas, complete with tuned ship's foghorn, the rocky Here's To You, the balladic Fly Away and epic closer Sunset Years.
Draper uses fairly obvious Mellotron samples (well, it was the '90s) on over half of the album's tracks, with string and flute parts everywhere you look, original album closer Sunset Years being its 'Mellotron' highlight. You're never going to mistake the samples here for the real thing, but Light Years Later is a mostly excellent album, well worth hearing for anyone who ever liked Klaatu.
See: Klaatu
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Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002, 96.24) ***½ |
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| The Glass Prison Blind Faith Misunderstood The Great Debate Disappear Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Overture About to Crash War Inside My Head |
The Test That Stumped Them All Goodnight Kiss Solitary Shell About to Crash (Reprise) Losing Time / Grand Finale |
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Systematic Chaos (2007, 78.41) ***In the Presence of Enemies - Part IForsaken Constant Motion The Dark Eternal Night Repentance Prophets of War The Ministry of Lost Souls In the Presence of Enemies - Part II |
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After their excellent Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes From a Memory (****½ - probably Dream Theater's most cohesive piece of work, despite its overindulgences), it's back to business as usual with their sixth full album, the lengthy double Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, which has more in common with the overblown Awake (***) than their better releases; far too many solos and far too few tunes, although it does have its moments. The Great Debate is not among them, however, being (seemingly) about embryo stem cell research, with plenty of spoken-word samples. It's difficult to tell what the band's stance actually is from the lyrics, though they seem to be sitting on the fence a little, which makes me wonder why they bothered. As many of our mothers have been known to say, "If you can't say anything pleasant, don't say anything at all".
I've been assured by Mike that the 'making of' video for the album shows their third keyboardist Jordan Rudess (ex-Dixie Dregs) plonking away at a Kurzweil K2600xs while recording 'Mellotron' parts, those being so-so strings on Misunderstood and a choir part on Disappear; this doesn't actually surprise me in the slightest, but I hadn't previously had any firm evidence to back up my suspicions. The second disc is another concept piece and I have to say, DT seem to work better in the long format; dunno why, but while this isn't as good as Scenes From a Memory, it's an awful lot better than anything on disc one. Plenty of choirs, too, though I don't think they're (pseudo-)Mellotron-generated, meaning the album has even less (fake) 'Tron than their other relevant release, Falling Into Infinity.
Despite several mistaken sightings, the only other Dream Theater fakeotron I can trace is on 2007's Systematic Chaos, which I've been told by friends (yes, I have some that like the band. OK, yes, I have some) is 'more progressive'. Hmmm. And hmmm again. If fitting eight tracks into almost eighty minutes is 'progressive', then yes, maybe it is. Otherwise, it's effectively just the same old same old, better than 2003's Train of Thought, while worse than its successor, 2009's Black Clouds & Silver Linings, which is just about all I can think of to say about it. Actually, I have to make a point here that's just occurred to me: Dream Theater's lyrics. Now, is it just me, or is their almost-autistic literalness on a level that makes, say, Iron Maiden's look like the epitome of expressionism? Oh yeah - fakeotron: a few string and choir parts on Repentance. That's it.
So; two so-so albums, little fake Mellotron. Honestly, stick with Scenes From a Memory, or go and listen to something else entirely.
See: Dream Theater
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Guitars, Sitars & Shangri-las (2011, 63.31) ***½ |
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| Lenora Jackdaws Metro Girl Streetcar (for Tennessee Williams) City of Love My Google Girl Day Tripper Rock the Ashram |
Dreaming of You The Wizard & the Mystery Girl The Ghost of Sgt Pepper Lenora (reprise) Straight Through My Heart Guitars Sitars & Shangrilas |
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Peter Dunne's Guitars, Sitars & Shangri-las is a contemporary psych album that harks back to the genre's late '60s origins, while managing to sound at least vaguely modern; quite a trick, to be honest. Notable tracks include an interestingly 'lazy', loping version of Day Tripper, the folky The Wizard And The Mystery Girl (mediaeval touches singled out for recommendation) and The Ghost Of Sgt Pepper (which, unsurprisingly, owes a debt to Come Together), other highlights including a capella opener Lenora, Jackdaws and the dreamlike title track. The album's only real downside is Dunne's eclecticism; '50s rock'n'roll pastiche Rock The Ashram and mock-early '60s ballad Dreaming Of You are two of the album's weakest tracks, but that's what programmable CD players are for, isn't it?
Plenty of samplotron in evidence, with 'Strawberry Fields'-esque flutes on Jackdaws, a beautifully full-on part on The Wizard And The Mystery Girl, more of the same on The Ghost Of Sgt Pepper and a melodic part on the title track. Much of Guitars, Sitars & Shangri-las is excellent, but I can't help thinking that the album would've been improved had Dunne whittled his material down to an excellent forty minutes or so, rather than a merely good hour. Either way, worth hearing for its best tracks.
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Let's Go Do What Happens (1998, 54.14) ***½ |
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| My Own Reality Sunflowers Perfect Shape Crazy is a Pitstop Jonah Riding on the Back I '95 Crazy Little Heart of Mine |
Home in My Heart Whoever Brought Me Here Revolution Give Up Your Day Job |
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Cumbrian Francis Dunnery split It Bites at the peak of their success, moving on briefly to Robert Plant's band before kicking his solo career off with '94's Fearless. Let's Go Do What Happens was his fourth release, and I've never been wholly sure about its inclusion on this site, due to its multiple credits for 'Doug Petty and his probable Mellotron'. Upon finally hearing said instrument it turns out to be, of course, samples, with the biggest giveaway coming at the end of opener My Own Reality, with an overly smooth, way over eight-second string chord that doesn't sound anywhere near as gritty as a real 'Tron.
As far as the album itself's concerned, it's quite aggressive singer-songwriter fare, by and large, with Dunnery using the stage (so to speak) as a platform for him to air his many grievances about, ooh, just about everything. Mind you, it's difficult to fault the sentiments behind tracks like Revolution or Give Up Your Day Job; I did the latter a few years ago and never looked back, but not everyone can just pack it all in and still get by. So, don't buy this expecting any genuine 'Tron, but it's not a bad album, and the samples are pretty decent.
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Chemistry (2002, 45.54) *** |
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| Chamistry I Judy's Gone Behemoth New Sad Song Secret About Myself Driven By Desire She's the One Penelope Too |
She Says The Most Beautiful Girl Not What You Think Through the Door Chemistry II Train |
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Arizona's Dygmies (who appear to be synonymous with Randy Forte & the Reconstruction) released Chemistry in 2002, a minor powerpop delight, top tracks including opener Chemistry I, the balladic New Sad Song and the propulsive, vaguely Knack-esque She's The One. So why only three stars? I have to admit that I found most of the material slightly samey, while, despite the album only being around three-quarters of an hour long, with fourteen tracks, it slightly outstays its welcome.
Someone called Marvin plays fairly obviously sampled Mellotron, with strings and flutes on Behemoth, upfront strings on New Sad Song and Chemistry II and background ones on Through The Door. You can (as I did) listen to the entire album on Soundcloud, but should you do so and like what you hear, I believe it's still available on CD.
