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You may be wondering how there can be any news about an instrument that's around 40 years old. Well... It seems that, despite the ever-encroaching software sample package (damn you M-Tron! Damn you Sampletank!), the state of play in the World Of Mellotrons is healthier than it's been for years, so expect a new entry every time I update the site.
Oh, I dunno... Cathedral used my M400 again, Rashomon, Litmus and Electric Wizard are putting it on their albums... The site backlog's nearly obliterated... Over 200 new reviews for you this time round... If I think of anything else, I'll come back here over the next week or two.
The Astra and Cathedral gigs both went off very well, thanks, despite the addition of a MemoTron at both events... The next public appearance of the Planet Mellotron M400 is unknown, but it's about to be used on the new Circulus and Rashomon albums, while I believe Litmus are gearing up for album no.4. Hurrah!
Site news: I've been doing some sleuthing and have unearthed nearly 200 new site entries... Shows how much time I have on my hands, eh? As a partial result, I've done fewer reviews than I'd have liked over the last two months, but the backlog's on track to be obliterated over the summer. I've also fixed some long-running layout irritations, although the hoped-for major re-jig is still only somewhere on the distant horizon.
Well, Cathedral (UK branch)'s The Guessing Game is out, and it's stuffed with my M400; what's more, they're using it on stage at their London gig later this month - check their MySpace for details. Bigelf's UK tour was every bit as cataclysmic as you'd expect, especially in London, where they played a near-two hour set, playing practically everything from their last two albums. Still no 'Tron strings, though, despite backing their M400 up with a MemoTron...
Site news: the end of the reviews backlog is in sight! By the next update, it should be history, giving me time to, er, catch up with the samples, bootleg and DVD reviews... My work is never done (sigh). At least you lot keep writing, so I know someone's actually reading this shit. Please keep reading and please keep sending site submissions through; I reckon a good half of my new entries are down to people telling me.
This month's big news is that Dianna Dilworth's Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie is out on DVD (reviewed here), making it accessible to more than the handful of people who got to see it at little film festivals last summer. It also has the distinction of being the very first DVD review on this site; there will be more, but they take more effort (and usually time) than albums, so always get pushed to the bottom of the pile. To be terribly Anglocentric for a minute, there are several Mellotronic gigs coming up in the ol' British Isles, only some of them down to my good self. The Watch are doing their 'mostly early Genesis' show around Europe, including two British gigs, Glasgow on February 12th and Rotherham (Classic Rock Society) on the 13th, where my pal Gary and I shall be in attendance with his M400. We'll remember the volume pedal this time, chaps... The wondrous Bigelf play several dates here in late February, doubtless bringing their own 'Tron with them, while as mentioned below, a Rise Above triple-bill's lined up for Wednesday April 14th at the London Scala, featuring the very wonderful Astra, Diagonal and Litmus.
It's Planet Mellotron's tenth anniversary! Oh, you've already seen the main page. Well, have a look at the early version of the site and laugh your arse off.
It's true (sniff); Astra used a Memotron. "Can't find a Mellotron in San Diego", apparently. In more positive news, they hopefully know by now that the Planet Mellotron, er, Mellotron will be in attendance at their London gig next April (Scala, April 14th 2010, for those in the vicinity), for the use of whoever would like to use it. Litmus' Aurora, despite its 'Balearic Trance Vol.23'-style sleeve, is something of a triumph, against all expectations. Which is nice. They're also at Astra's Scala gig, but probably won't be using the Mellotron. Cathedral (UK branch) have splattered my M400 all over the album they've just finished recording, due out next year.
Site: the reviews backlog dismemberment carries on apace; might even crack it out before the spring at this rate. Once it's done, I'm going to re-jig the site (again), as most of the reviews pages will be far too big for easy loading by that stage. My nephew's helpfully pointed out that my index page still has a reference to it 'being optimised' for Netscape', a browser that fell out of use early this decade. Er... Consider it gone. There, wasn't that interesting?
Aargh! The pics on Astra's site seem to indicate they're using a Memotron in a fake Mellotron casing. Cheeky... They're not answering e-mails on the subject, either, so I think it's probably guilty as charged... The third Litmus album (and first post-me) is finally out, but I haven't heard it yet. Review next time round. My old mucker Gary and I provided two Mellotrons for The Strawbs' 40th anniversary bash in early September for Blue Weaver's use; they only had about forty minutes on stage, but sounded and looked great, and will hopefully feature on the DVD that will doubtless appear in good time, going by the amount of filming that was going on.
Site news: the reviews backlog is dropping at a significant rate; if you look at the 'new reviews' page, you'll see why... Have I no life? I've added links to other artists below reviews where relevant, so they're clearer and easier to use. I'm also part of the way through adding a 'Mellotron used' annotation, to every review, although many of them say (and will doubtless continue to say) 'unknown'. I hope to have this complete by next time round. Anything else? Er, look how many new reviews I've done! Did I tell you about the new reviews? I have t... [shut up, Thompson. Ed.]
At last! I've finally heard Astra's The Weirding, and it's a monster... The third Litmus album, Aurora, is out this month, too, also on Rise Above; review next update, hopefully.
Site news: I've finally removed the troublesome 'artists' page, which only seemed to confuse everyone, and was a hangover from the site's earlier days, anyway. The information on it will be distributed amongst the review pages when I get a chance. 'Links' have also been moved to the bottom of the 'trivia' page; does anyone actually care about an external links page any more?
The Second Mellofest went well, despite being a paying event this time round. I'm sure all concerned will agree it was slightly shambolic and it overran, but with sets from Martin Orford (IQ) and Robert Webb (England), amongst others, a great interview from Tony Clarke and no fewer than three Mellotrons on stage, what more could you ask for? OK, next time round, some more musicians!
This month's big news is on the reissue front. Änglagård's two studio albums are finally being reissued again, this time on Alvarsdotter. Hurrah! What else? The wonderful Astra have released an album, The Weirding, out now on UK's Rise Above, no doubt stuffed full of 'Tron, and I forgot to mention that Bigelf put another one of their infrequent releases out last year, Cheat the Gallows. The new Anekdoten album is merely a compilation, so don't get too het up about that one, and the new Litmus isn't out yet, despite a launch party several weeks ago. Call it a 'preview', apparently.
I forgot to say last time round, but if you're in need of a laugh, have a look at Marco Rossi's Mellotron top ten entry here. Admittedly, the guy's a 'proper' writer, but top marks for commentary; a new benchmark has been created, I think.
Well, that was a long wait, wasn't it? Sorry about that, real life caught up with me for a while. As a penance, I've done over 200 reviews in four months, a great many of them truly appalling records, particularly this one.
Mellotron news? Lay Low's Icelandic country album (!) is out, the Planet Mellotron, er, Mellotron to the fore on three tracks. On the subject of Icelanders, the wonderful Sigur Rós also used my machine in the autumn, this time on stage at London's historic (it says here) Alexandra Palace, filmed for a forthcoming DVD. Hurrah! The second Mellofest is in the planning stages, and is booked for May 2nd at the Luminaire, 311 High Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7JR. Not sure who'll be there yet, and it clashes with one of Rick Wakeman's horrendously-overpriced Six Wives gigs at Hampton Court, but hopefully a few of you will turn up. Ashley Franklin, whose Classic Rock Society Magazine article on the 'Tron can be found here, has asked me to tell you he hosts a show on ARFM every Sunday, repeated three times during the week.
Well, it's out... What is? Nick Awde's Mellotron: The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock. It might not be the first book about our fave keyboard, but it's certainly the best, featuring interviews with (amongst others), Tony Banks, Mike Pinder, Woolly Wolstenholme and members of The Strawbs, King Crimson, Pavlov's Dog and many others. And, er, me. Ignoring my brief chapter, it's an excellent read, stuffed full of new insights and great anecdotes from all and sundry, especially MkII pioneer Geoff Unwin's chapter, which fills in a few gaps in the machine's early history. And all for £20 from Amazon (direct link here). What's more, Nick's launching the book at The Fiddler's Elbow, Kentish Town on Sunday, 16th November, should you be within sensible reach of London that weekend (more details here).
Otherwise, Diagonal's album is out on Rise above, featuring my M400, though nobody's sent me a copy yet. Rumour has it that several bands have bought Memotrons for live use, so at least we get to hear something that sounds a bit like a 'Tron onstage... My reviews backlog has gone through the roof, which should keep me quiet for the next year or three, so don't expect many innovations 'round these parts for a while, just new reviews.
Bit slow round these parts at the moment. Plenty of new stuff to review, but haven't had the time to do it, all the site upgrades I'd like to do have gone on the back-burner (again), half the people who've kindly written to me haven't had a reply... Sigur Rós have released their first 'Tron album, British outfit Sanctuary Rig have released their debut double CD (!) with plenty of my 'Tron (and Taurus) on board, and the new Litmus album's nowhere near ready. Any real news? Not really, no.
I've recently been made aware of the downloads on Mike Dickson's site. Mike is the British member of US/UK electronic outfit Systems Theory, and its Mellotron owner/player. No surprise, then, that his three solo albums and the latest Systems Theory album all feature shedloads of Mike's M400. And they're FREE! Download immediately, and send them a donation via PayPal.
Site news: Another quandary resolved. What to do with all the 'officially unreleased' stuff that's popping up everywhere, principally on the 'Net? An Unreleased page, that's what. Various odds and ends will eventually find their way here; so far, there's a couple of download-only things, two unreleased albums sent to me on CD-R, and a pair of Mellotron-infused soundtracks recorded onto my hard drive from video/DVD. Told you it was a mixture. I'm also nearly halfway through spell-checking the entire site, which is a dispiriting experience, I have to say.
The Zombies put on a brilliant show in London in March, playing the whole of the wondrous Odessey & Oracle, plus a load of other stuff. Highlight? Walking into the theatre and seeing an M400 on stage! Sadly, it was barely used, as Rod Argent played piano for most of the set, leaving his deputy to play 'Tron samples, but a solo part on Changes was quite jaw-dropping. I hear that they've also used it at their holiday camp '60s weekender-type gigs, too, although I've no idea what it might've been used on.
Site news: at last! I've actually done some work on the thing this time round, as regular readers will probably/hopefully notice. New lettering for headers (yes, I know they're slightly pixelated) and the better part of twenty new 'single artist' review pages. The purpose of the latter is to group together all available information about an artist in one place, instead of, say, Genesis fans having to look in three or four different places. Although there aren't any written yet, video/DVD reviews will be added to these pages as I do them, alongside regular albums, samples, bootlegs, interview snippets and the like. As a result, several obsolete pages have been removed from the 'articles' section, all of which were written before the reviews section was started. Another innovation is the 'Mellotron(s) used' annotation to many reviews, where the type of machine and its owner are listed, where known. Internal links have been checked, too; please let me know if you find any that still don't work. There's plenty of housekeeping work to do yet, but I've made a start!
Mellotron news: well, I did think of some, then forgot it again... Diagonal (on Rise Above Records) have used my Mellotron in the studio, so expect that out before too long. A collection of Barclay James Harvest BBC sessions from 1974-6, After the Day, is due out any time, almost certainly stuffed full of Woolly's M300. Loads of King Crimson 'download only' recordings have been added to the site (thanks, Nick!), and a new Pugwash album is due out any day. Oh yeah, the big news: UK fusionesque proggers Thieves' Kitchen have their latest effort, The Water Road, out any minute, with stacks of Mellotron from none other than Thomas Johnson, ex-Änglagård. There you go - knew it was something special... Review to follow a.s.a.p.
The trouble with this News section is that it's invariably the last thing I write before updating the site, and I can never think of anything to say... It shows? Site news: the improvements are still in the pipeline, as is an ever-growing review backlog... (Again). I'll get round to it all at some point, honest.
Mellotron news: very little, really. The Fiery Furnaces' newie, Widow City, is apparently stuffed to the gills with real M400 and Chamberlin; expect a review next time round. Anekdoten's A Time of Day is the expected 'Tron-fest, and Astra's MySpace tracks are incredible. Streetly's M4000s are being turned out as quickly as their team of trained monkeys can assemble them; I believe there are five or six now out in the Big Wide World; expect some recordings featuring them before long.
Site news: apologies for taking so long to update the site; there are some serious improvements in the pipeline, but they're going to take a while to implement, as I'm having enough trouble keeping up with the day-to-day business of writing reviews and updating the album lists.
Otherwise, the M4000 is doing very nicely, with the first few off the 'production line' (such as it is) already in the hands of their hopefully ecstatic owners. I haven't had a chance to knock up a proper reviews page yet, let alone give you any pics, but here are a few quotes from Dave Etheridge's review in new gear mag Performing Musician:
| "The thinking behind the M4000 is to take the best aspects of the Mark II, with its height (you stand up comfortably to play, rather than stooping with consequent strain on your back), light and fast keyboard action and cycling system of six banks of three tapes, and the improved tape motor, preamp and (relative) portability of a single manual M400". |
| "Wherever possible, all the parts are hand made in house, and it shows in the beautiful and lovingly assembled engineering. Just observing the innards makes you realise that this sort of hand crafted work is no longer produced in the U.K. to any great extent". |
| "The keyboard action is as light as a synth, which may be a surprise to anyone who ever played an M400, where you had to occasionally fight the action if you wanted to play fast solos. Here you'll find that the articulation on each note is superb, and you can play 200mph solos to your heart's content". |
| "While those who think that everything can be done by computer technology will turn their noses up and walk past, the muso with eye to see and ears to hear will have no problem loving the instrument for what it is and all its foibles. The M4000 is a wonderful instrument, a carefully thought out development of the original design, fully backwards compatible with previous technology, and designed for decades of use without hassle or tears. The look, the feel and the sound is truly timeless and outside the vagaries of fashion, and M4000s are designed to be still ticking over when todays PCs and VSTs have gone the way of the dodo". |
And a list of the 'standard' tapeset...
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Whad'ya mean you can't afford one? That's OK, neither can I. Plenty of people can though, it seems, so anyone with a spare £4500 (that's, ulp, $9000 at current exchange rates...) should give Streetly a call, or at least go to their website.
Releases: I haven't heard the new Anekdoten yet, but hope to soon, the Cathedral reformation album is excellent, Rockfour have done it again and the new Fiery Furnaces is apparently smothered in Chamberlin. Hurrah! Glass have a composite live effort out, recorded a few years ago, The Watch have a new, 'Tron-heavy effort, and Matt Thompson (ex-Guapo) has a new project, Rashomon, utilising my M400 on several tracks. And the Rush album? Not bad, but disappointing Mellotronically. Big surprise.
Site news: instead of taking a ludicrously long time to update the site, I've managed a variation on a theme by updating it, but doing hardly any reviews. Maybe I'll find some time to do something to the site at some point in the not-too-far-distant future. Oh, and a slight change on the background colour front, as the last one was too purple.
Otherwise... It's out! Streetly's much-vaunted M4000 is finally available, and is looking pretty gorgeous. Go here for more news. Mellotron Archive's MkVI was the first 'new' Mellotron in well over a decade, and all credit there, but this beastie is the first new cycling machine since 1968's rather ill-fated M300; think of it as half a MkII, but with six more sounds and a far better selection, and that's if you go for the factory standards. For an extra fee, you can have a custom set of 24 sounds, or rather, 24 keyboards'-worth, which isn't quite the same thing. And if that ain't enough for you... The M5000 is the twin-manual version, offering a ludicrous 48 sounds, which should be enough to keep even the most ardent 'Tron fan happy. Drawbacks? Just the one: you can't change the internal sounds yourself, but as long as you choose carefully, do you really need to? Reviews will be collated and posted on the site a.s.a.p. Bravo, chaps!
On the release front, this quarter's shock addition to the site is the new Rush album, Snakes & Arrows. Yup, it's a real 'Tron, and it's the only keyboard actually used on the album; expect a review next time round. The second Litmus album, Planetfall, is finally out, although their esteemed keyboard player (cough) has bailed out, partly due to his dissatisfaction at his role in the band. I'm sure they'll use my Mellotron in the future, as nobody's fallen out with anybody, but not played by me.
Site news: chiefly, apologies for taking so long to update the site - four months is completely unacceptable, and some of you have written to ask why... The short answer is, my computer was on the blink for several weeks over the end-of-Feb period, when I hoped to update. While not 100%, it's an awful lot better now, and doesn't crash for no good reason much more often than it ever did. On the organisational front, I've finally decided to remove the 'number bands' (10cc, 9.30 Fly etc.) to their own page, both in the albums and reviews sections. This removes the problem of where to file bands depending on their country of origin; both 14 Bis (Brazil) and 4/3 de Trio (France) have been filed under Q, for example, which, while linguistically accurate, isn't necessarily the best place for the casual reader to find them. Anyway, the new pages are helpfully labelled with a nice bold '#', and can be found just after 'Z'.
As far as genuine Mellotron news goes, though, it's all a bit thin on the ground: the M4000 is still not out, though it should be any time now; although it's no longer 'news', per se, I've only just heard Shannon Taylor's wonderful if it is to be as it is [sic], from last year, which is stuffed to the gills with Mellotron (and Chamberlin samples), not to mention great songs. Buy it here, or at least listen to the downloads. On the reissue front, according to the Gnosis reissues news page, both Don Bradsham Leather and Quarteto 1111's 'Tron-stuffed obscurities are due out on CD soon. Bring it on!
The BJH tour went very well indeed, I'm glad to say, with good attendances throughout. When you compare this with the hundred or so who turned out to see Woolly a couple of years ago in London, it just goes to show the power of a name, I suppose. The Litmus album's been mixed, with two or three 'Tron-heavy tracks, rather fewer than expected. Hmmm.
Streetly's new M4000 prototype is nearing completion, and looks very nice indeed! Expect essentially a cycling M400, with what looks like a couple of new features. Oh, and R.I.P. Fluff.
Well, England's gig went well, apart from their high-end Akai sampler breaking down after two songs and refusing to come back to life. I know why Robert used it, but people call Mellotrons unreliable... Barclay James Harvest (or at least, John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme) are touring the UK extensively this month, avec M400. Be there. The cat is well out of the bag concerning Streetly's new M4000, although a tight lid is being kept upon specifics. Remember your mother saying, "Wait And See"? On the Mellotron-heavy new album front, the (US) Cathedral album draws ever closer to completion, as does the second Litmus.
Site news: two major new pages, bootleg reviews and a much asked-for feature, Top 'Tron, or all the higher-ranking reviews (for their Mellotron content) listed in order of T rating.
And you thought news was thin on the ground last time round... England's Japanese dates were reportedly a triumph, and they have a one-off date at the Boardwalk in Sheffield on Saturday August 26th. You will be there. Nothing to do with Mellotrons (although the Floyd used one soon after his departure), but R.I.P Syd.
Sorry, news is a bit thin on the ground at the moment. In fact, all I can think of to say is that yours truly plus some important people will be featured on BBC Radio 4's new Mellotron documentary, due to be broadcast at 10.30 a.m. (GMT+1) on Saturday June 3rd. For those of you not in the vicinity, I believe it's being streamed from their website for a week afterwards.
New albums from (on the prog front) La Maschera di Cera and Paatos, and from Mattias Olsson's Roth-Händle studio, Vijaya and Two Times the Trauma (said we were short of news).
Major news: Rick Wakeman's new album, Retro, was recorded using entirely vintage gear, much of which was discovered as Rick moved from the Isle of Man back to the mainland. No, he no longer owns a Mellotron (well, not after the 1982 bonfire, anyway), but he used his bassist, Lee Pomeroy's machine. Review to hopefully follow before too long.
Irish retro-pop merchants Pugwash have finally released a new album, Jollity, stuffed to the gills with Mellotron, including some performances from ex-XTC/Dukes of Stratosphear god Dave Gregory. Essential.
England's performance at Baja Prog went down a storm, by all accounts. Next stop: Japan. All we need to do now is sort out a British date for the handful of discerning UK progressive fans who actually know who they are, and who don't consider bloody Marillion to be the pinnacle of the genre.
I'm afraid I have to begin with some very sad news; Rick van der Linden (of Ekseption and the mighty Trace) died on January 22nd after a stroke, aged 59. An incredible player, Rick is known mainly for his on/off work with Ekseption, but amongst progressive fans, the first two Trace albums are revered for their stunning musicianship, not to mention the incredible music. R.I.P. Rick van der Linden, 5.8.46.-22.1.06.
On a happier note, the England reformation carries on apace, with the band on target for their official debut performance at Baja Prog in March.
Anekdoten's new live album, Waking the Dead, Live in Japan 2005, apparently features three of the band's four members on Mellotron, although they only used samples on their previous live effort.
It's official - England have reformed! They're lined up for Baja Prog 2006, so fingers crossed for a UK warm-up date. Period instrumentation is expected to be used.
Tom Doncourt of the mighty Cathedral (US division) is recording again, with his 'Tron. No idea when something official will appear, but keep an eye out for it. Speaking of Cathedral the British band have just released a new album featuring the Great White Beast, too, entitled Garden of Unearthly Delights. [Note: turns out it's samples].
England's utterly seminal Garden Shed opus has just been reissued, appropriately, on Garden Shed Music, with a bonus track and in a beautiful package with lyrics and illustrations. Do any of you remember the blurb on the back cover of the original vinyl? "We have compiled a companion booklet to this, our first album, containing all lyrics, and illustrations to the songs, together with information about the group. It's available from..." Well, it never actually existed, though only because no-one got their act together sufficiently to get it done. Well, now you've got it, albeit in slightly different form to how it was originally intended, and very nice it is, too. One minor potential problem for some of you is the packaging format. Robert Webb didn't want the artwork shrunk down to CD size, and although a couple of labels have produced 12"x12" CD packaging, he's opted for 7"x7", or single size; big enough to look good, but small enough to... not fit in your CD racks. Oh well, you'll have to find room for it elsewhere. I'm not totally convinced by the housing for the disc itself, but I'm sure most of you will stick it in a regular jewel case anyway, and put the booklet somewhere else. If lush symphonic prog's your bag, BUY THIS ALBUM!
I don't know how many of you sat through untold hours of Live8 the other week (I didn't), but several people informed me that indie darlings Razorlight wheeled an M400 onstage in London for one song - I believe it was only used on the intro. Well, how's that for commitment to the cause? Nice one, chaps, even if I haven't heard you, a situation I intend to rectify. Actually, Live8 was a haven for vintage keyboards of all hues. Try:
Not bad, not bad...