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Stay [OST] Canossa A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd |
For a Few Guitars More Harbour of Joy |
The Late Great Daniel Johnston Leader of the Starry Skies |
The Lotus Eaters Stairway to Heaven |
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Stay [OST] (2005, 47.59) *** |
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| Mahlus Gardens Opening Bridge Dance Class You're Real Is That Your Voice? Fortune Cookie Leaving the City Chasing Henry |
Leon Sees The World is an Illusion Stay With Me A Walk in the Rain Sam and Lila From Another Life Forgive Me It's Too Late |
Fountain Troubles Will Cease I'm Never Gonna Sleep Tonight Museum Henry Dies |
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Mark Asche and Thad Spencer, collectively Asche and Spencer, were Minneapolis-based soundtrack composers who composed the incidental music for 2005's Stay, an eerie, downbeat work, that doubtless usefully augments the film. Whether it's a good listen in its own right is another matter, but people who regularly listen to soundtracks out of context are a breed apart, anyway.
Tommy Barbarella is credited with Mellotron, but there's little evidence of one on the album. When we finally get some choirs (on I'm Never Gonna Sleep Tonight), they're far too smooth for their own good, leading me to suspect sample use. Overall, then, good in small doses, but more than about ten minutes of this is enough to make me want to listen to something a little more energetic. Redefines 'ambient'.
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Canossa: A Rock Opera (2006, 68.31) *** |
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| Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Del Nascere di un Castello Mangala Vallis: Pietra su Pietra Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Adelaide Trama Sonora: La Regina Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Goffredo il Gobbs |
Sequencer: Danza di Matilde e Goffredo Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Matilde ed Enrico IV Arcanoise: Tre Giorni Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Del Combaterie l'Imperatore Type: La Battaglia |
Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Irudonica Ariosto Oltremare: Il Porta Gigi Cavalli Cocchi: Enme Nulla Muare Master Experience: Il Suo Richiamo |
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Canossa: A Rock Opera is unusual in that it's a modern, multi-artist European prog concept effort, yet it has nothing to do with Finland's Colossus project. It's actually the brainchild of Mangala Vallis's drummer, Gigi Cavalli Cocchi, who also provides the narration on every other track, although Fabrizio Varchetta provides the pseudo-orchestral backing for same. Of the seven bands involved in the project, I'll come clean and say that I've only heard of one; perhaps the others are one-off projects? Mangala Vallis provide a reasonable piece in Pietra Su Pietra, better than pretty much anything from either of their albums, while Type's La Battaglia is pleasingly angular, but most of the album is fairly average prog-by-numbers, I'm afraid, while the concept (stories relating to the northern Italian castle of Canossa) is somewhat opaque to non-Italian speakers.
Mangala Vallis provide the album's only 'Mellotronic' input, with some occasional murky choirs, clearly sampled, on their contribution. I've seen rave reviews of Canossa, but I'm really not sure why; a decent enough listen, certainly, but far from outstanding.
See: Mangala Vallis
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A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd (2003, 146.03) ***½ |
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| Tom Freund: Fearless Sally Semrad: Wish You Were Here Yortoise: Money Graham Parker: Comfortably Numb James Combs: See Emily Play Quetzal: Mother 50 Cent Haircut: Breathe John Law: Young Lust Kelsey Wood: Time Ira: Have a Cigar Harvette: Bike |
Big Lee: Another Brick in the Mason's Wall Courtney Fairchild: Nobody Home Jimmy Caprio: Paintbox Billion Stars: Lucifer Sam Dave Chapple: San Tropez Becca & Pierre: Childhood's End Shark'n the Smoke: High Hopes Mike Keneally Band: Astronomy Domine Samarin, Morgan & Hull LLP: Corporal Clegg Brook Claman: Let There Be More Light |
Tortfeasor: Pigs on the Wing Which One's Pink?: Dogs John Stack & Numira: Sheep Shaun Guerin: In the Flesh S.A.M.: Hey You Tim Mayer: Goodbye Blue Sky TBL with Stevie Z: Is There Anybody Out There? Which One's Pink?: What Shall We Do Now? North Green: Not Now, John Rat Bat Blue: 5 Minute Version of the Wall |
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2003's A Fair Forgery of Pink Floyd is yet another entrant in the growing pantheon of Pink Floyd tribute albums. Like so many similar, its contents veer wildly between pretty-much faithful recreations (Which One's Pink?'s Dogs and John Stack & Numira's Sheep, possibly proving that Animals material doesn't re-interpret well) and, er, less faithful ones, highlights including Yortoise's rockabilly Money (don't laugh, it works! Although I remain unconvinced by 50 Cent Haircut's similar take on Breathe), Ira's Have A Cigar, which brings out the full industry horror of the lyrics and Harvette's superb Bike, although Rat Bat Blue's closing 5 Minute Version Of The Wall is clever, but somehow unfulfilling. WTF's with Big Lee's Another Brick In The Mason's Wall, though? A hip-hop thing based around the expected, with new and deeply inferior lyrics? Why?
Although someone called John Would is credited with Mellotron, those are definitely string samples on Ira's Have A Cigar, while the cellos on Sally Semrad's Wish You Were Here could be anything. Overall, then, a decent tribute album, for those who enjoy such things; in fairness, there's plenty here to enjoy, especially if you like to hear much-loved material re-interpreted. No Mellotron, though.
See: Pink Floyd | Pierson, Parker, Janovitz
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For a Few Guitars More: A Tribute to Morricone's Spaghetti Western Themes (2002, 53.25) ***½ |
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| The Penetrators: Guns Don't Argue Bradipos IV: Titoli (A Fistful of Dollars) Dave Wronksi: For a Fistful of Dollars Cosmonauti: For a Few Dollars More Brent J. Cooper: Sixty Seconds to What? The Langhorns: The Vice of Killing |
The Atlantics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 3 Balls of Fire: The Ecstasy of Gold Bambi Molesters: A Gun for Ringo Pollo del Mar: Navajo Joe The Irreversible Slacks: The Big Gundown (Seconda Caccia) The Hellbenders: The Hellbenders |
Kim Humphreys: The Great Silence In the West: Once Upon a Time in the West Bernard Yin & David Arnson: As a Judgment [Come una Sentenza] Di Dollari: Farewell to Cheyenne Davie Allan: The Loud, the Loose, and the Savage |
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For a Few Guitars More is, as its subtitle heavily suggests, a Morricone Spaghetti Western tribute, most participants tackling the material in an early '60s surf style, which, of course, in turn influenced the original soundtracks. The material covered is sourced from ten films, including the four that everyone knows (A Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More/The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly/Once Upon a Time in the West, of course), although I think it'd be fair to say that the artists involved are, to a man or band, pretty damn' obscure, the only one ringing a bell with yours truly being that well-known beat combo The Bambi Molesters. Personal favourites include Canadian Brent J. Cooper's take on For a Few Dollars More's Sixty Seconds To What?, The Langhorns' trumpet-driven The Vice Of Killing (complete with musical box) and The Hellbenders' take on the piece of the same name, while In the West's Once Upon A Time In The West actually manages to sound slightly like Focus, of all bands.
'Mellotron'? Cooper plays 'faux Mellotron' on his take on Sixty Seconds To What?, with a background string part that could be almost anything, really. So; despite a couple of less essential tracks, one for fans of surf guitar or Morricone. Or both. And who isn't? Silly, but a lot of fun.
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Camel Tribute: Harbour of Joy (1996, 135.01) ***½ |
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| Evolution: Never Let Go Glass Hammer: Air Born Cast: Another Night Phil Beane: The Sleeper Fōnya: Medley: First Light/Rain Dances/The White Rider/Eye of the Storm Strange New Toys: Down on the Farm Algebra: Song Within a Song |
Aton's: Drafted Casino des Images: Tell Me Zauber: Elke New Credo: Medley: Friendship/Little Rivers and Little Rose/Migration/Hopeless Anger Mysia: Pressure Points Prowlers: First Light Notturno Concertante: Ice |
Finisterre: Nimrodel Nostalgia: Long Goodbyes Louie Mastro: Rain Dances Raindances: Rhyader Galahad: Lady Fantasy Louie Mastro: Fritha Alone CAP: Harbour of Tears |
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Harbour of Joy (a.k.a. Camel Tribute) is another in a seemingly endless line of Mellow Records 'tribute' albums, habitually compiled without reference to the band in question (see: Giant for a Life), and largely comprised of the same few bands. As usual, it's a combination of the slavishly-copied and 'is that really that song?', although far fewer of the latter than the former. A couple of the bands involved have had the sense to realise that Camel's strength lay in their melodic sensibilities, and that they would often pad a couple of beautiful tunes out with considerable amounts of faff, so they've simply strung together some of the strongest melodies in medleys. You have to wonder at a couple of the choices, though; what possessed the otherwise unknown Strange New Toys (a pickup band, presumably?) to do the awful Down On The Farm from Breathless? There's surprisingly little material from Camel's acknowledged classic, The Snow Goose, too,
but I suppose that's just the way these things pan out.
In fairness, most of the versions presented here are perfectly good, just not far enough from the originals to make them actually worth recording. I believe there was some controversy surrounding Louis Mastro's two contributions (Mastro can also be heard in similar form on Giant for a Life), where he was accused of playing someone else's MIDI files through a bunch of modules, then presenting the end result as his own work; the tracks certainly have that 'ultra-quantised' feel about them, or rather, complete lack of any feel at all. It seems the battle raged on Internet message boards for some time (back when most people outside universities didn't even have the 'Net), with different factions either accusing or defending him. Sadly, the matter is unlikely to be resolved, as Mastro committed suicide later the same year. The two events are not known to be connected. Anyway, the better efforts here are probably Evolution's Never Let Go, Fōnya's medley and Galahad's straight take on the gorgeous Lady Fantasy.
Mellotron? Three tracks on disc two (Raindances' Rhyader, CAP's Harbour Of Tears and Finisterre's Nimrodel) have 'Tron samples. Sadly, the Finisterre track is somewhat average, with some horrible synth brass just before the full-on fakeotron string part. A few seconds of background choir later on, and that's it. So; worth the effort? Well, how much of a Camel fan are you? Do you have to have everything? There are some good versions here, but by and large, you're better off with the originals, as so often in these cases. Very little sampled 'Tron, too, so I'd only bother if you see it second-hand.
See: Camel | Finisterre | Galahad | CAP
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The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered [Disc 1] (2004, 72.39) *** |
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| Teenage Fanclub with Jad Fair: My Life is Starting Over Again Clem Snide: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievience Gordon Gano: Impossible Love Eels: Living Life T.V. on the Radio: Walking the Cow The Rabbit: Good Morning You |
Calvin Johnston: Sorry Entertainer Bright Eyes: Devil Town Death Cab for Cutie: Dream Scream Beck: True Love Will Find You in the End Sparklehorse with The Flaming Lips: Go Mercury Rev: Blue Clouds |
Thistle: Love Not Dead Vic Chesnutt: Like a Monkey in the Zoo Starlight Mints: Dead Lovers Twisted Heart M. Ward: Story of an Artist Guster: The Sun Shines Down on Me Tom Waits: King Kong |
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As far as I can ascertain, the chief purpose behind 2004's The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered is to introduce legendary lo-fi naïf Daniel Johnston to a wider audience by persuading fans of the contributing artists to buy the two-disc set. So? I hear you yawn. Another tribute album? Ah, but this one has a twist: disc one is the expected more or less reverential covers, while disc two repeats the tracklisting with the original recordings. A genuinely original idea, at least to my knowledge and absolutely in keeping with the set's presumed purpose. 'Executive production' is by Johnston's manager, Jordan N. Trachtenberg and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, a man who knew a thing or three about outsider artists, being a borderline one himself.
Of course, the contributors are all the usual 'alt' suspects of the early 2000s; you know, T.V. on the Radio, Eels, Bright Eyes, Beck and, of course, Tom Waits, without whom any such collection must be considered incomplete. But is it any good? I suspect you have to be a fan of both Johnston and the artists concerned to really get anything out of this; better efforts include Beck's acoustic-and-harmonica take on True Love Will Find You In The End, Sparklehorse's Flaming Lips collaboration on Go, Mercury Rev's indie-Appalachian Blue Clouds, Waits' King Kong (of course) and a handful of others, clustered together towards the end of the disc. To be honest, I think I prefer Johnston's originals in many cases, particularly his harmonium classic Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Grievience (note spelling and pronunciation).
Although Jeff Mercel is credited with 'Mellotron' on Mercury Rev's Blue Clouds, we can be quite certain that it's as genuine as their other usage, i.e. not. As it happens, we only get a few bursts of murky strings that were never going to convince anyway. So; do you buy this album? Yes for Daniel Johnston fans, possibly for fans of more than a handful of the contributing artists, maybe not for the rest of us.
See: Daniel Johnston | Eels | Bright Eyes | Death Cab for Cutie | Beck | Sparklehorse | Flaming Lips | Mercury Rev | Vic Chesnutt | M Ward | Guster | Tom Waits
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Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith: Songbook 1 (2010, 73.58) ****½ |
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| William D. Drake & His So Called Friends: Savour Ultrasound: Big Ship Oceansize: Fear Mark Cawthra: Let Alone My Plastic Doll The Trudy: Day is Gone Stars in Battledress: Founding |
Max Tundra: Will Bleed Amen Julianne Regan: Shaping the River Knifeworld: The Stench of Honey Magic Numbers: A Little Man and a House mikrokosmos: Is This the Life North Sea Radio Orchestra: March |
Robert White: Lilywhite's Party Rose Kemp vs Rarg: Wind and Rains is Cold Katherine Blake: Up in Annie's Room Steven Wilson: Stoneage Dinosaurs Scaramanga Six: Home of Fadeless Splendour |
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In 2008, Cardiacs' much-loved Tim Smith suffered a catastrophic heart attack/stroke combination that has left him in a parlous state; we can only be thankful for our 'socialist' NHS, which will essentially care for him for the rest of his life, if necessary, at the cost to him of precisely nothing. To think that many citizens of a rather larger country across a large body of water actually voted against a seriously watered-down version of the same system simply beggars belief. Some people really will believe anything they're told.
Anyway... Tim's short-term goal is apparently to be able to return home, obviously with a full-time carer; to this end, various fund-raising activities have been instigated, not least the 2010 release of Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith: Songbook 1. As you may've seen from other reviews on this site, I'm not always a fan of the tribute album; most of them are stuffed with either a) overly-reverent exact copies or b) underly-reverent piss-weak versions in the covering artist's own 'style', in arrangements usually designed to stroke said artist's ego, rather than to actually produce anything of musical merit. Wonderfully, Leader of the Starry Skies contains few of the former category and none of the latter, which probably has as much to do with the artists who care enough about Cardiacs to be involved as anything.
Several contributors are themselves ex-Cardiacs of various eras (William D. Drake, Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld), Christian 'Bic' Hayes (mikrokosmos) and Mark Cawthra), several others part of the band's extended 'family' (Stars in Battledress, Max Tundra, North Sea Radio Orchestra and Mediaeval Baebes' Katherine Blake). All concerned tackle their chosen material with as much or as little reverence as needed, so while Ultrasound's Big Ship is effectively a carbon-copy, mikrokosmos' Is This The Life is both completely recognisable, yet wildly different to the original, the remainder sitting somewhere between these two extremes, other highlights including William D. Drake's Savour, Knifeworld's The Stench Of Honey and Robert White (ably assisted by no lesser a personage than Andy Partridge) tackling Lilywhite's Party.
Mellotron? Well, samples: Steven Wilson's beautiful version of Stoneage Dinosaurs (you can be certain that Tim's anachronism was deliberate) adds the 'Mellotron' flute and choir parts for which the original always cried out. The best thing about Leader of the Starry Skies might just be not that it's an excellent compilation in its own right, but that it makes you want to go back and listen to the originals and in the best possible way. Please buy this album, not just for charitable reasons, but because, if you've ever liked anything by Cardiacs or its offshoots, you can't fail to enjoy it in its own right.
See: Cardiacs | William D. Drake | Ultrasound | All About Eve | Knifeworld | Magic Numbers | Andy Partridge | Rose Kemp | Mediaeval Baebes | Steven Wilson
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The Lotus Eaters: A Tribute to Dead Can Dance (2004, 150.02) ***½ |
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| Arcana: In the Wake of Adversity Persephone: Spirit Danny Lilker & Lisa Schreib: Cantara Ataraxia: Bylar Faith & the Muse: Mesmerism Trail of Tears: The Arcane Hortus Animae: Windfall Introducing Summoning of the Muse Amber Asylum: Cardinal Sin Grifo: Oman |
Daniel Cavanagh: How Fortunate the Man With None Imperia: The Lotus Eaters Ephemeral Sun: Avatar Sarah Jezebel Deva: The Wind That Shakes the Barley Black Tape for a Blue Girl: Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book Jarboe & the Black Pearl Society: American Dreaming Antimatter: Black Sun The Gathering: In Power We Entrust the Love Advocated Nightfall: The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove |
Darkwell: Anywhere Out of the World Ulver: In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings Akrabu: Desert Song Noekk: How Fortunate the Man With None Imperial Black: Enigma of the Absolute Secrets of the Moon & Nostalgia: The Protagonist Monumentum: Windfall Subterranean Masquerade: Summoning of the Muse (Deconstructed) |
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Dead Can Dance are one of those ensembles that you always feel should have used a Mellotron, but didn't. Call it bad timing (the '80s, of course), although that never stopped labelmates and (very) loose reference point The Cocteau Twins. DCD's five or so album run beginning with 1986's Spleen & Ideal are classics of the genre they created, sitting somewhere inbetween art rock, goth, world music(s) and medieval church music, although many fans prefer their later, more world-influenced work. Notably, their most-covered album here is 1987's Within the Realm of a Dying Sun (goth? Us?), but only their purportedly generic goth debut and '96's Spiritchaser are completely untouched.
2004's lengthy The Lotus Eaters: A Tribute to Dead Can Dance is possibly too much of a good thing; DCD are great, but two and a half hours (and covers at that) in one sitting could be construed as a bit much. I have to say, I've heard of few of the contributors, the only familiar names being Swans' Jarboe, Holland's The Gathering, Ulver and Noekk, which probably says more about my lack of knowledge of all things darkwave than the actual obscurity of the rest. Most of the contributors stick fairly closely to the accepted template; mould-breakers include Trail of Tears' The Arcana (from DCD's goth-crossover Garden of the Arcane Delights EP), although its guitar-heavy intro soon reverts to standard DCD mode, Imperia's The Lotus Eaters pulling a similar (albeit heavier) trick, as do Nightfall and Darkwell, although top marks go to Sarah Jezebel Deva's excellent a capella take on the atmospheric The Wind That Shakes The Barley.
Noekk and Subterranean Masquerade are both credited with Mellotron, but the brass/strings mix (?) on the former is clearly sampled, while the latter features a real violin, but no obvious Mellotron, sampled or otherwise. I can't imagine anyone not already a fan of Dead Can Dance getting much out of this, but, fifteen years after their last album, they still have a sizeable fanbase, although I'd have thought hat those of them who were going to buy this have probably already done so.
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Stairway to Heaven: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin (1997, 53.12) **½ |
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| Black Dog Communication Breakdown Rock and Roll Stairway to Heaven Going to California Heartbreaker Immigrant Song The Song Remains the Same |
Whole Lotta Love Good Times, Bad Times Kashmir |
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I have to be honest here and say, 'what exactly is the point of this kind of album?' 'Tribute' albums are always going to be a bit hit-and-miss, but can someone please tell me why a group of musicians would get together to record tracks from one's band's repertoire, then release the results? I've heard a couple of appalling Rush ones, not because of the material, but its treatment, although other efforts fare better. Stairway to Heaven: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin contains contributions from the likes of Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), Lita Ford, Foreigner's Lou Gramm, Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell and Slash (ex-Guns N'Roses, of course), but mostly ends up sounding like a half-arsed covers album which is, essentially, precisely what it is. Of course, the material's impeccable, but none of these versions even come close to matching the majesty of the originals (how could they?) and only Going To California strays from its original arrangement, and then only slightly.
Richard Baker is credited with Mellotron, but the anaemic flutes on (of course) Stairway To Heaven itself barely sound like the real thing, which probably means they are [sigh]. Kashmir suffers even more, with truly horrible string and 'brass' sounds that highlight just how bad modern synths can sound if employed inappropriately. Overall, only the hardest of hardcore Zep fans really needs to bother with this, and then probably only for completion's sake. Yeah, I've heard worse, but as soon as I hear Mr. 'Bach's voice, its utter pointlessness and futility come crashing down on me from a great height. Don't bother. Really.
See: Led Zeppelin | Black Label Society | Guns N'Roses
