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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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Statik Majik (1994 EP, 40.19) ***/TTT |
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| Midnight Mountain Hypnos 164 Cosmic Funeral The Voyage of the Homeless Sapien Velvet Forest of Enchantment Doomed Man Along the Tranquil Riverbanks Drifting Through Neptune's Veins Rocket Launch Wizard |
The Drifter's Theme Land's End Stone Man Finale a)Moonlight & Manor Reprise - 'Chant of the Nocturndoz' b)Lavatory Logic |
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The Carnival Bizarre (1995, 62.49) ***/TT |
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| Vampire Sun Hopkins (the Witchfinder General) Utopian Blaster Night of the Seagulls Carnival Bizarre Inertia's Cave Fangalactic Supergoria Blue Light |
Palace of Fallen Majesty Electric Grave |
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Hopkins (the Witchfinder General) (1996 EP, 26.22) ***/TTSpoken Intro/Hopkins (the Witchfinder General)Fire Copper Sunset Purple Wonderland The Devil's Summit |
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Supernatural Birth Machine (1996, 57.57) ***/TT |
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| Cyberton 71/Eternal Countdown (Intro) Urko's Conquest Stained Glass Horizons Cyclops Revolution Birth Machine 2000 Nightmare Castle Fireball Demon Phaser Quest |
Suicide Asteroid Dragon Ryder 13 Magnetic Hole |
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Caravan Beyond Redemption (1998, 67.45) ***½/TT |
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| Voodoo Fire The Unnatural World Satanikus Robotikus Freedom Captain Clegg Earth Messiah The Caravan Revolution |
Kaleidoscope of Desire Heavy Load The Omega Man Dust of Paradise |
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The Guessing Game (2010, 84.50) ****/TTTT |
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| Immaculate Misconception Funeral of Dreams Painting in the Dark Death of an Anarchist The Guessing Game Edwige's Eyes Cats, Incense, Candles & Wine One Dimensional People |
The Casket Chasers La Noche del Buque Maldito (a.k.a. Ghost Ship of the Blind Dead) The Running Man Requiem for the Voiceless Journey Into Jade |
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In the late '80s, singer Lee Dorrian left noiseniks Napalm Death to pursue a more Sabbath-orientated direction. It has to be said that in this he's been a roaring success; Cathedral are more Sabbath than Sabbath. The same grinding, downtuned guitars, riff-based epics, silly titles and even sillier lyrics, not to mention some outrageously Iommi-like lead work from Garry Jennings. In fact, Tony Iommi was so impressed by their near-pastiche that he even guested on Utopian Blaster from The Carnival Bizarre.
Cathedral sit fairly and squarely in the 'doom' camp, as against 'death', 'black' or any other variety of grindingly slow demonic metal. Their sleeve notes frequently have lengthy 'influences' lists including just about any obscure early-'70s progressive outfit you may care to name, including such Mellotron-masters as Spring, Fantasy, Sandrose and Czar. Hardly unsurprisingly, after a couple of albums Cathedral decided to enter the murky world of the Mellotron user, and stuck some on their Statik Majik EP; lead track Midnight Mountain was from the previous year's The Ethereal Mirror album, so they must have discovered the 'Tron in the intervening months. Cosmic Funeral (Oh, please!) only manages a few heavily-phased notes, but the 22-minute Voyage Of The Homeless Sapien is smothered in it. I wouldn't say their Mellotron use was exactly innovative, or even particularly well-played or arranged, but it certainly adds to the track's appeal and is actually well worth hearing.
Cathedral's Mellotron use is certainly rather uneven; of Carnival Bizarre's three relevant tracks, it's inaudible on one, barely used on another and swamped on the third. Purple Wonderland, from '96's Hopkins EP is a real oddity; starting with almost 'disco' drumming (sometimes Cathedral take their '70s fixation just a little too far...), it mutates into an almost-ballad, with loads of 'Tron strings. Mind you, the following track has a brass and organ-led funk feel, so I take it all back about Wonderland... Supernatural Birth Machine's opening track has some excellent strings, and the sort-of title track Birth Machine 2000 manages a quick burst in the middle, but neither track comes anywhere near their epic of a couple of years earlier.
1998's Caravan Beyond Redemption was their last 'Tron album for over a decade, coming after a period of turmoil for the band. It's possibly their most cohesive album yet, inserting their Sabbathesque riffs into a more groove-orientated setting, although (presumably due to the gap between releases), it's a little overlong. Jennings adds 'Tron strings to opener Voodoo Fire, Captain Clegg (complete with film dialogue) and Kaleidoscope Of Desire, with cellos on The Caravan, making for one of the band's better Mellotron efforts. Incidentally, 2001's Endtyme was a stripped-back, keyboardless affair, while the following year's The VIIth Coming uses samples.
Four years on from the sample-only The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Cathedral finally release their best work to date, 2010's double-disc The Guessing Game. Now, I have to own up to some personal interest here; the band hired my M400 for the recording, using it heavily, although that doesn't change my opinion of the actual music on offer. Well, the bulk of the sprawling set showcases an older, more mature Cathedral, material such as Funeral Of Dreams, Cats, Incense, Candles & Wine and the animal rights paean Requiem For The Voiceless sounding both like and unlike their earlier work. I'm not personally convinced by the overly-literal band history number Journey Into Jade, but the gorgeous title track makes up for any vague quibbles I may have. I've been assured that none of the extensive Mellotron use disappeared in the mix (not an uncommon occurrence, sadly), with distant choirs (and oboe?) on Immaculate Misconception, vibes, tubular bells, brass, string section and flutes on Funeral Of Dreams, phased strings on Death Of An Anarchist, strings and flutes on the title track, string section (?) on Cats, Incense, Candles & Wine, church organ on La Noche Del Buque Maldito, and what sounds like a strings/brass mix on The Running Man. This really is magnificent, chaps; supplying the machine with all five of my tape-frames seems to've inspired you to stretch out musically. Now reproduce it live...
Cathedral seem to hover on the border of genuine affection for their influence(s) and pure pastiche, so it's rather difficult to know whether or not to recommend them, even to the dedicated Sabbath fan. There is some nice 'Tron work scattered throughout these releases, but I wouldn't exactly put them at the top of your 'must-have' Mellotron list, bar The Guessing Game.
See: Sampledelica!
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Ars Moriendi (1996, 49.16) **½/TT½ |
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| Age of Quicksand Just Like Anyone Quicksand Revisited Gulag a) Astray b) Audience Green Room Walk on Waves Underwater Web |
Counting Out the Time Suntanned in the Shadows Lizards' Journey Heathersong |
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Catweazle (apparently the early '70s UK kids' show starring Geoffrey Bayldon in the title role was popular in Scandinavia) were a one-off Swedish neo-prog outfit from the mid-'90s, displaying most of that sub-genre's tropes on '96's Ars Moriendi. An over-reliance on vocals at the expense of the music, cheesy lyrical themes, lots of modern keyboards, too much Steve Rothery guitar... I think you get the picture. Chaps, you've been listening to a little too much '80s and '90s prog, and not enough '70s, I suspect, not least with regard to subject matter, which appears to be a concept about someone's life or something. So what happened to albums about snow geese, passion plays and walls, eh? I blame Fish. The album has its good points; Peter Rendius' acoustic guitar work is lovely, Michael Thörne plays some ripping Hammond and the band are solid enough when they decide to rock out, but there are too many minuses to raise its rating, I'm afraid, not least low-level plagiarism; er, Counting Out The Time? Pur-lease...
Mellotron from Thörne, with (predictably) IQ choirs on Gulag, choirs and strings on Astray, strings on Green Room, choirs on Walk On Waves... None of it's at all innovative, but then who am I to say it should be? Standard block chords, inserted at appropriate points, are a great deal better than a lack of the same. Flutes on Counting Out The Time, although I think the cellos are real, background choirs on Suntanned In The Shadows, and that's your lot. Quite a bit in the end, although the machine they used sounds a bit tired.
So; hard to find and not really worth the hunt. Sorry, guys, but copying bands from (at best) the third wave of a movement is not going to make you sound original. Maybe you didn't want to, though? In which case, job done. Passable 'Tron use, although it's all a bit too murky to really stand out.
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Whirligig (1995, 43.22) ***/T |
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| Devil's Diary Awake on Wednesday Rickshaw Alex Again The Day That Came and Went Fragile All of My Young Life Where Are They Now? |
Hannah, I Locked You Out Breathe Under Water The Underwater World of Asia X Disease |
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The Caulfields were a Delaware-based band who, although rarely described as such, were essentially a powerpop outfit, albeit one with a few '90s indie influences thrown into the mix. 1995's Whirligig was their first album (of two), covering a fair bit of ground in the genre, including the jangly powerpop of Alex Again, the more hardcore-influenced Rickshaw and the balladic Fragile, although, sadly, the album never really ignites in the way of the field's top names.
Bruce Kaphan guests on Mellotron, with rather watery strings on opener Devil's Diary, although that appears to be it. So; a decent enough album that tries really hard, but rarely actually hits the spot. Unfortunately, the general public clearly thought so, too, as the band split after their second album, 1997's L.
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Soul Martini (1992, 47.10) ***½/T½ |
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| Love Grenade Here Comes Rosie Sonny Day As You Were Boy in a Plastic Bubble You're Put Away (Folderol) Sorrow (Boots of Pain) III |
Murder On for the Ride Tarzan and His Arrowheads Circus Song |
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Soul Martini was the Cavedogs' second and last album; a shame, as their rocky take on the whole powerpop thing is a joy to hear, like a less full-on Superdrag, maybe. Best tracks? Hard to say, but You're Put Away (Folderol) and Murder particularly caught my ear. Interestingly, after their dissolution, bassist Brian Stevens worked with the wondrous Aimee Mann, playing on '93's excellent Whatever and in her live band.
There's no mention of Mellotrons or anything other than 'keyboards' in the CD booklet, which are credited to two of the band (Stevens and drummer Mark Rivers), along with producer Michael Beinhorn. Beinhorn? Yup, the late-'80s/early-'90s champion of the Chamberlin, although his last known tape-replay work was back in '94, and he seems to have been supplanted by the likes of Jon Brion and Patrick Warren. Anyway, it's quite clearly Chamby on a few tracks: As You Were has a harmonium part morphing into Chamby flutes, while On For The Ride opens with what amounts to a Chamberlin demonstration tape, with squeaky brass and sound FX, not to mention a rhythm track that could well be from the left-hand manual of an older model. More brass later in the song, with more of the same on Tarzan And His Arrowheads; two or three other songs have things going on in the background that could be tape-replay, but, as so often with the Chamberlin, it's almost impossible to tell.
So; a good album of its type, assuming you're into Beatlesesque melodies in a noo wave-ish setting. Couple of decent Chamberlin bits, but not a classic on that front.
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Principe di un Giorno (1976, recorded 1974, 37.08) *****/TTTT½Principe di un GiornoFavole Antiche Eftus Giochi Nella Notte La Grande Isola La Danza del Fato L'Imbroglio |
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Celeste II [a.k.a. Second Plus] (1991, recorded 1977, 46.15/71.43) **½/T |
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| Il Giardino Armonico Bassa Marea Un Mazzo di Ortiche Settottavi All'Ombra di un Fungo La Danza del Mare - parte I/II Slancio dell'Immaginazione Un'Anima nell'Universo |
Nodissea Ala del Pensiero Lontano Profondo Il Giardino Armonico - Ripresa |
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Celeste's first album, '76's Principe di un Giorno (a.k.a. Celeste), although recorded in 1974, appeared quite late in the day for Italian prog, but succeeds in being an absolute masterpiece of gentle, pastoral progressive rock, with both classical and folk influences, to the point where the word 'rock' seems slightly redundant. With practically no drums to be heard, and almost every instrument acoustic (with one obvious exception), this is superbly laid-back without being anywhere near laid-out. The very first sound to be heard on the album is a mournful 'Tron strings melody slowly fading in before the title track kicks off properly (as much as anything here could be described as kicking off...). Acoustic guitars, flute, piano, sax, percussion... Mellotron, the odd ARP synth line and the occasional note from an electric bass seem to be just about the only electric instruments here, making a change from the busy style of so many Italian bands.
The material's excellent, too, although surely they realised that the 'Tron string line on Favole Antiche was ripped straight off The Court Of The Crimson King? It's difficult to pinpoint areas of Mellotronic excellence (played, incidentally, by Leonardo Lagorio and Ciro Perrino); basically, any of the first five tracks feature rather gorgeous use of strings. It's really quite difficult to go wrong with Principe di un Giorno; it shouldn't even offend your prog-hating spouse, being entirely devoid of the 'fiddly bits' so many non-prog fans hate. So; a classic. Buy now. Many other bands (PFM spring to mind) do that 'pastoral' thing extremely well, but few of them made it their entire raison d'être. Truly marvellous.
In 1991, over a decade after the band's demise, an LP appeared called Celeste II, made up of unreleased tracks recorded after Principe di un Giorno; Augusto Croce from the excellent Italian Prog site assures me that the unhighlighted tracks above are the original LP tracklisting. I'll admit I don't know very much about the provenance of the tracks, only that they are a decidedly mixed bunch, most of which bear little relation to their illustrious predecessors. Three of them (Un Mazzo Di Ortiche, Settottavi and La Danza Del Mare) are over ten minutes long, and are all uninspired sax-led jams, to be honest, as are several of the other tracks, with rather uninteresting string synth providing the keyboard backing.
In all honesty, this is a pretty poor release, with few tracks actually worth listening to more than once. Just for the record, Il Giardino Armonico (and its reprise), Bassa Marea and the lovely Lontano Profondo are the only tracks the average progressive fan is likely to actually enjoy. As for Ciro Perrino's Mellotron use, although both parts of Il Giardino Armonico are soaked in strings, I heavily suspect that they date from '91 rather than '77, sounding more like time-stretched string samples than 'Tron, especially on the deeper notes. This technique has been used on at least one other reissue to my knowledge, Easter Island's excellent NowAndThen, which, like this album, is bookended by two contemporary tracks recorded on modern equipment. This leaves the one genuine Mellotron track here as Bassa Marea, with a heavy strings and choir presence over a doomy, medieval-sounding instrumental backing. Excellent, but hardly worth buying the album for, and even here, the long sustained chord at the end sounds slightly bogus; maybe they used an overdubbing trick (been there...).
It's highly unusual to give two albums by the same band such wildly contrasting ratings, but their first posthumous release really is pretty uninteresting. There's another album released long after the event, '92's I Suoni in Una Sfera (****), also dating from '74; I believe it's some sort of soundtrack, but I really know very little about it, and it turns out to be Mellotron-free anyway. In the meantime, their debut is an absolute classic, and its follow-up... isn't. If you don't already own a copy, buy Principe di un Giorno immediately.
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Between Bedtime and Sunrise (2005, 51.37) ****/TTTT |
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| Someone Between Bedtime and Sunrise City of Lights Sunflower A Part of a Change The Lost Sun Different Types of Liquid Nothing |
Premonition of Death Masterpiece Peaceful Playstation Boy Under Our Blanket |
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Celestine are a new Mattias Olsson (Änglagård, AK-Momo etc.etc.) production, although he isn't a band member this time round. As usual with anything in which Mattias is involved (with the honourable exception of Pineforest Crunch), they're a pretty melancholy sounding bunch, although they heavy it up occasionally, presumably for the sake of contrast. Comparisons? Other Mattias involvements such as Reminder or Nanook of the North, with very good material that is sure to worm its way into my brain after not so many listens. A find, Mattias...
Mattias' Mellotron work covers the usual ground, with strings, cellos and flutes abounding, although some unusually restrained church organ can be heard on The Lost Sun, a particularly powerful string part on the excellent Nothing and very upfront 8-choir on Peaceful. Mattias also informs me that I'd missed the viola and cellos (and, apparently, regular though inaudible strings) on opener Someone, the vibes on A Part Of A Change and the oboe and clarinets on Masterpiece. Oops. Anyway, this is one of those albums where it could've been used on every track (damn' near was, to be fair), but their restraint is admirable; yes, it is possible to overuse a Mellotron... All in all, excellent album, plenty of 'Tron. Recommended.
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This Isn't Here (2007, 37.29) ***/T |
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| Evidently True Best Thing Ever Infinity Cactus This Isn't Here Speak to Me I Found You She's a Waterfall |
NYC Plain to See Tear Duct Brothers |
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David Celia is a Canadian singer-songwriter with an Americana bent (why isn't there such a thing as Canadiana?), although several tracks on what I believe to be his second album, This Isn't Here, bypass the genre altogether, not least closer Brothers. Best tracks? Possibly the title track and definitely instrumental acoustic guitar solo I Found You, although nothing here actively offended this listener, who has become quite used to music that sounds like country but has nothing to do with Nashville, entirely as a result of running this site. Strange.
Michael Holt plays Mellotron on one track, with a polyphonic flute part dipping in and out of Plain To See. As so often; if you've got a Mellotron in the studio, why not use it a little more? The strings on several tracks are real, incidentally. Overall, then, a decent enough album both inside and outside its genre, with one good 'Tron track. Your choice.
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Mercury (1982, 34.39) ***½/TTTPart IFormation of Space, Land and Sea The Melting of Stars The Arrival of Man Part II The Civilization of Planets |
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Neptune (1983, 30.33) ***½/TTTTT |
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| Part I Central Courtyard Throne Room Pavilions of Forestlife A Crown in a Glass Case Cascade Through a Room Tarot Cards Zodiac Wheel Palace Cirkus Maximus Monsters From the Depths of the Sea |
Part II Attack and Fall of the Titans The Marshes of Primitive Realm The Ascent of Poseidon Earthquake |
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Difficult to know how to describe Celluloid, really; sort of progressive electronic (electronic progressive?). Whatever. I originally wrote:
| "No-one knows who the brains behind the project actually was, but it was definitely a one-man-band, armed only with a 'computer' (make, type, processing power etc. unknown) and a Mellotron. I can't imagine what sort of computer in 1982 could produce the variety, not to mention quality, of sounds on Mercury, although I suspect a mainframe was involved; if I didn't know better, I'd have assumed he was using a bank of polysynths and some tape effects". |
Well, thanks to US reader Tom O'Neill, I can give you considerably more information. It seems that 'Celluloid' was the nom-de-plume of one Charles (Chuck) Minuto, who was still in his teens when he recorded these strange albums. Chuck recorded an electronic piece called Murmadon's Log at Tom's place, prior to the albums, which is easier on the ear than his later projects. The 'computer' he lists on the Mercury sleeve was, in fact, a rented Synclavier, which must've eaten up a fair chunk of his limited budget, but explains why the non-'Tron sounds are so good for the time. He had a more limited budget for Neptune, which presumably explains a) the lack of any Synclavier, and b) the poor pressing quality. It's unknown whether Minuto still holds the mastertapes of these albums or, indeed, whether he's even still alive.
Anyway, the composition on Mercury is of the dark'n'doomy variety, befitting its rather grand subject matter, and has a really quite relentless air about it; despite being effectively rhythmless, this isn't 'lie back and enjoy it' music by any stretch of the imagination.
The three pieces on side one are instrumental, but side two's Part II: The Civilization Of Planets surprises by Mr. Celluloid's rather portentous singing, though I'm not sure it adds much to the proceedings. There's a good bit of Mellotron use, although he only had one tape frame at this stage, with strings, brass and male choir. The Melting Of Stars features a fanfareish brass part, but the other two sounds (unsurprisingly) comprise most of the 'Tron work on the album. The music certainly isn't 'standard' electronic stuff, but for those who prefer the darker end of the spectrum, laced with a fair amount of Mellotron, this is probably worth a listen.
Neptune went the whole hog, and was recorded entirely on the Mellotron. It's a good deal odder than his debut, with much use made of Mellotron FX tapes; laughter, applause, church bells, smashing glass - you name it, it's here. Much of it sounds as if it was recorded 'live' in the studio, possibly on two (very) defective M400s, with considerable tape-wobble, and switching between sounds on the fly. The overall effect is less 'musical' than 'ambient', though that gives the wrong impression; suffice to say, it's very different to Mercury, with much repetition of the FX, and no real 'structure' to the pieces at all. Apart from the sounds used on Mercury, I think I can hear church organ, timps, flutes, some unidentified woodwind (?) and maybe cellos, so I suspect he used a couple of machines, and overdubbed some of the parts later. Anyway, you're unlikely to find this on vinyl, so if you buy the CD, you've got it anyway.
These albums are rare as rocking-horse shit, and were mostly circulating on tape copies until 2002, when an 'official' 2-on-1 release was announced. Beware; it's an overpriced CD-R with minimal packaging, looking like something someone could've knocked up on their home PC (see sleeve, right). It's also been mastered from vinyl; the sound quality's reasonable, but I can hear crackles here and there (particularly on Neptune), with no obvious attempt made to de-click it, and it sounds like the original tapes were fucked anyway. I've just paid new shop price for this, and feel somewhat ripped-off, although the music is worth it. A third title, Jupiter is rumoured, though no-one I've spoken to has ever seen or heard a copy, so I rather doubt that it exists. [Note: Minuto mentioned it to O'Neill, but probably never found the money to record it].
Huge thanks are due, by the way, to Daniel Miso for the sleeve images above. He owns both of these...
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Breakfast in the Ruins (1989, 60.21) ***/½ |
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| Zone Red Zone Green Zone Blue La Mola Past Tense Art Deco The Kirlian Witness Teutonasia |
CEP Agent M. Without Water K L Fellini Conga Domenis Breakfast Arrival of the Rainman Talkover Endless Talk |
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Central Europe Performance were the natural follow-on from German electronic duo You, Udo Hanten and Albin Meskes bringing in the semi-legendary Harald Grosskopf (Ash Ra Tempel, Ashra, Cosmic Jokers, many others), who co-produced their own first album, 1980's Electric Day. The CEP's sole release, 1989's Breakfast in the Ruins, might be described as 'digital ethnic', with a preponderance of digital and sampled sounds in a vaguely Eastern setting; not much like You at all, really. Is it any good? It's OK, but rather of its time, which might be why it isn't available now.
Mellotron on just the one track, M. Without Water, from Hanten, with some suitably watery strings drifting in and out of the piece. Overall, then, probably not that easy to find, and not that great anyway, if truth be told. Next to no Mellotron and rather too much digital synth. Stick with You, I'd say.
See: You
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Hang Out Your Poetry (1993, 53.58) **/T½ |
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| Goodbye Sunshine Steal Your Heart Day By Day Ready for Love Ready for Love (Refrain) Hang Out Your Poetry Could've Been Love Turn it Over |
Trust 2 of 1 First Day of My Life Breathless Living in a Paradise Livin' it Up |
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Ceremony were essentially a vehicle for Chastity "Chaz" Bono, daughter of (no you fool, not him) Sonny Bono, the only pop star (to my knowledge) to accidentally kill himself skiing into a tree, and, of course, Cher. Their (and her) sole album, 1993's Hang Out Your Poetry, is a lacklustre effort, doing its level best to sound like a string-drenched '60s pop record while actually sounding like a pale, early '90s imitation of that style, with few memorable songs. Strangely, it takes a detour around halfway through to a rootsy, almost Americana sound for a few tracks, before slipping back into its well-worn groove. All in all, this is a ridiculously overproduced record; the bagpipes that close the album are fairly indicative...
Mark Hudson and Mark Hart both play Mellotron, with faint flutes on Could've Been Love, 2 Of 1 and closer Livin' It Up, with a mad, high-speed part on Trust, although none of it adds up to very much. If this was the level of her talent, we should probably be thankful that Bono hasn't followed in her parents' footsteps, although I'm possibly being a little unfair to the record, which might've sounded better with a sparser production. So; overblown nonsense with a smattering of 'Tron flutes. Maybe not. Incidentally, Bono came out in the late '90s and, at the time of writing, is undergoing gender reassignment surgery, with which Planet Mellotron (genuinely) wishes her/him the best of luck.
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Tanyet (1967, 21.10/42.19) ***½/TTT |
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| Leyshem Zendan Ceyladd Beyta Becal Ddom Todda BB Dyl Ralin |
Tygstl Pendyl Jacayl Manyatt Dyl Com |
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Probably the only reason anyone remembers The Ceyleib People these days is the participation of Ry Cooder, credited as 'Cooter', although other band members, not least Larry Knechtel, went on to make names for themselves in the '70s. Tanyet is their one, ridiculously short album, best described as a reasonable example of then-fashionable raga rock, to the extent that one of their guitarists, Lybuk Hyd, doubled on sitar to the point where he could be said to be a sitarist doubling on guitar. Despite Knechtel's presence (known as a singer), the album is almost entirely instrumental, although it seems he may have contributed in other areas.
Either Knechtel or Mike Melvoin (or both?) play Chamberlin on the album, with a clunky flute part on Leyshem and some full-on strings on Ceyladd Beyta. A quick word at this point on the album's tracklisting: although each side lists half a dozen separate tracks, they all essentially run into each other, so whether I've actually highlighted the correct tracks can only really be a matter for conjecture. More strings on Becal and Todda BB, played fast enough to almost fool the ear into thinking they're real (can't do that on a Mellotron), making side one pretty Chamby-heavy. More on side two, with what sounds like muted brass on Ralin and maybe trumpets (more high-speed playing) on closer Manyatt Dyl Com, making (presumably) Ceyladd Beyta the album's top Chamby track.
Well, making an album a mere 21 minutes long lessens the chance of boring your potential audience, I suppose; there's something to be said for not outstaying your welcome... I've no idea why they recorded so little material; maybe it was all they'd written, if you can call this 'written' at all? It's actually pretty good at what it does, in an acid-fried kind of way, and if it kick-started Cooder's career, it was certainly worth doing. Definitely worth hearing if you're into the era; decent Chamberlin use, too, which is rare enough to be worth commenting on in itself. Incidentally, the '91 CD issue doubles the album's length by including mono and stereo versions, which aren't wildly different, but you're going to get them anyway, as I'm sure the original vinyl's as rare as rocking-horse shit.
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Nadie en Especial (1980, 43.35/72.50) ***/T |
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| Un Mundo Feliz En Visitante Aymara Nadie en Especial Salamandra El Dia en que Murio el Rey Camaleon Bienvenidos al Fin del Mundo |
[CD adds: Nadi en Especial (live) Que Buera Razon (live) En Rey del Rock (live) Cuadros para una Exhibicion (live) Brillo de Luna (live) Bienvenidos al Fin del Mondo (live)] |
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Chac Mool are, to date, the only Mexican band on this site; to be honest, I was quite certain that their debut, 1980's Nadie en Especial, would be entirely Mellotron-free, which just goes to show how much I know. Musically, it's not great, just scraping that third full star; think: third-rate wannabes, pre-'80s neo-prog, but with the same overall vibe. Simplistic and unoriginal, this isn't an album to which I can see myself returning on anything like a regular basis, or probably at all, to be brutally honest. It has its moments, not least the flute-playing throughout and the riff in the title track, but what on earth made them spoil it by ripping off Floyd's Welcome To The Machine? Mystifying.
Carlos Alvarado (and possibly guitarist Jorge Reyes) played the 'Strawberry Fields'-style 'Tron flutes on El Dia En Que Murio El Rey Camaleon, to no particular effect. I didn't know there were any Mellotrons in Mexico, thus my previously-mentioned disbelief, so given that they had one, or at least access to one, one might wonder why they didn't use it a little more, as against the ubiquitous string synth? As usual, we'll never know, but their minimal use doesn't help to lift this album above the average.
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Skin I'm in (1974, 39.17) ***½/TTEverybody Party All NightSkin I'm in Morning Glory/Life and Death, Part 1/White Rose (Freedom Flower)/Life And Death, Part 2 Let's Have Some Fun Love at First Sight Only Love Can Break a Heart Live With Me, Love With Me Finder's Keepers |
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I believe the Chairmen of the Board's earlier albums (this was their fourth, and last) are more straightforward early-'70s soul/funk, but Skin I'm in took a serious left-turn into P-Funk territory, with Funkadelic's Eddie Hazel guesting, among others. Is this the ultimate progressive funk album? This is better even than Edwin Birdsong's startling Dance of Survival from a couple of years later. The Chairmen's mainman, Norman "General" Johnson apparently dismissed Skin I'm in as "Just some old tapes that the company had stored away", but I suspect the world of '70s black music would be poorer without it. This album had even a dyed-in-the-wool whiter-than-white proghead like myself tapping my foot. Impressive, despite some slightly lesser material on side two.
Also impressive is the fact that an unknown keyboard player sticks some Mellotron on side one's Morning Glory/Life And Death medley, with a 'Tron flute opening, before some extremely full-on strings scattered across the first half of the lengthy segue. More slightly wobbly strings on Love At First Sight, although the strings on the schmaltzy Only Love Can Break A Heart and the rather better Live With Me, Love With Me are real. So; probably not for proggers, but a (generally) fine album, with some great playing and arrangements, not to mention a nice bit of 'Tron.
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Overflow (1975) **½/T½ |
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| Writings on the Wall In My World Mums and Dads Beginning to Feel the Pain Sail on Sailor Got to Be Serious (About it) Lightning We Can Make Love |
Living's Easy Standing on a Mountain Top On the Road You Turn Me Around |
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From its cover, you'd think that Chalice's sole album, Overflow, was a prime slice of Aussie glam-rock, but it's actually middling pop-rock with the occasional country influence, notably the banjo and pedal steel-driven Mums And Dads. Apparently, the band were British ex-pats, so Christ knows what persuaded them that moving to Australia was a good idea; maybe the overcrowded scene back home? Competent but unexciting, the album consists of a mix of homegrown efforts and covers, including the Beach Boys' sublime Sail On Sailor from the previous year.
Although guitarist/keyboard player George Bunea is credited with Mellotron, the track-by-track credits only mention Sebastian Hardie's Toiv(o) Pilt; Sebastian Hardie were on the same label (Polydor Australia), and released their own debut album the same year. He only plays it on three tracks, with strings on In My World and Beginning To Feel The Pain, and strings and cello on the closing ballad You Turn Me Around. All in all, this is pretty average fare with fairly weak songwriting; I'm not especially surprised Polydor didn't release a follow-up, assuming that was the course of events. OK 'Tron parts, but nothing you haven't heard before, and better. Incidentally, not sure what's with the deliberately badly-played 'A Bicycle Made For Two' on the organ at the end of the album... In-jokes should, by and large, be kept out of the public gaze.
See: Sebastian Hardie
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Harris Chalkitis (1975, 31.59) ½/½ |
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| Marita Funny She Loves Me Right on Moving Always on My Mind Without You Introduction Moog Glory of a Love Song Morning Sunshine |
New York City With a Smile Let Me Go My Way |
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Be afraid... be very afraid... Sad to say, this is without doubt the worst album I've had to sit through while researching this site, and believe me, I've sat through a few howlers... The lengthy sleeve notes tell us that Chalkitis played with and wrote for Demis Roussos, which should have warned me not to buy the album; they also say that he played with Roussos in Aphrodites Child - indeed, he guests on their rather fab 666 album. Well, I can't say any of it rubbed off. This is the worst kind of bland, MOR-inspired mid-'70s tosh you can imagine; one minute bright'n'breezy, the next rather maudlin love songs. Truly horrible. Sorry, 'cos I'm sure loads of work went into it, and the playing's fine, but even a track called Introduction Moog can't rescue the album from utter mediocrity. Its only saving grace is its brevity.
So what about the Mellotron? Oh yeah - I'd forgotten... There's a little bit of 'Tron flute on Always On My Mind (not the Elvis one), played by Chalkitis, and that appears to be it. Well, I paid £2.00 for it, and it was almost worth it for the laugh. Almost.
See: Demis Roussos | Aphrodites Child
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The Moon My Saddle (1998, 51.16) **/½ |
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| Try for Thunder Crush You World Don't Want Us Stars in the Streetlight Mountain of a Heart Racing Cincinnati Manhattan's Iron Horses (the Last Train Out) |
Lonesome Song Good Enough Until the Day Burns Down Last to Know |
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How ironic that I should finally review a band called Chamberl(a)in, yet they use a Mellotron... Going by their second, and last 'proper' album, The Moon My Saddle, Chamberlain were an ex-hardcore band who moved into the realms of mainstream, 'rootsy' pop/rock in a Counting Crows vein. The only keyboards used are Hammond, piano and Mellotron, and a slightly alt.country air to the proceedings makes comparisons with the Crows, The Hooters et al. unavoidable. Outstanding tracks, or even slightly above average ones? Good Enough and Until The Day Burns Down up the energy levels for a few moments, although the latter's about three minutes too long, but that's hardly a recommendation. Mellotron? Not a lot, no. A background cello (?) part on Stars In The Streetlight, and a slightly more audible one on closer Last To Know, from Jonathan Cohen, neither of which sounds much like a Mellotron.
Essentially, this is a stupendously dull album; I couldn't find a single thing about it that grabbed my attention in any way. Chamberlain sounded just like a thousand other American bands, with their 'heartfelt' vocals and faux-'authentic' instrumentation, so it's not particularly surprising they came up against a brick wall eventually; as is well known, there's only room for so many artists of any one type in the industry. I really wouldn't recommend you buy this on any grounds, 'Tron use included.
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All Things New (2004, 51.13) */TT |
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| All Things New Much of You Only Getting Started Last Day on Earth What Now Please Only You Coming Attractions Big Story |
Believe Me Now Angels Wish I Believe in You Treasure of Jesus |
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Steven Curtis Chapman is a contemporary Christian artist, which, I'm afraid to say, automatically puts him fairly low down on my priority list. I've been pleasantly surprised occasionally, but as soon as his thirteenth album, 2004's All Things New starts, my heart sinks as it's clear we have another 'contemporary pop/rock with god lyrics' effort, although by all reports, that's better than his usual Christian country schlock, which makes me wonder just how bad that is. This is truly horrible, only a handful of its twelve tracks being anything other uniformly nasty; Last Day On Earth is particularly creepy on the lyric front.
Patrick Warren's on Chamberlin, for the hundredth-and-something time, with (presumably Chamby) strings on all highlighted tracks, plus flutes on Believe Me Now, not that they improve this dreadful record. I don't think I need to reiterate that you neither want nor need to hear this, do I? Good.
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Telling Stories (2000, 42.08) ***/½ |
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| Telling Stories Less Than Strangers Speak the Word It's OK Wedding Song Unsung Psalm Nothing Yet Paper and Ink |
Devotion Only One First Try |
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Telling Stories seems to be regarded as Tracy Chapman's best work in years, featuring some particularly personal songwriting, even by her standards (notably Unsung Psalm). I don't really feel competent to pass judgement on the songs, as they're not really to my taste (although First Try struck a bit of a chord with me), but, unlike so many current artists, I can see why people rate her, and this seems to be a perfectly good album of its type.
Like so many recent albums, much of the instrumental backing is of the 'retro' type, although drum loops are also in evidence, along with the Hammond. Patrick Warren (that man again!) plays Chamberlin, amongst other keyboards, with faint strings on Wedding Song; other tracks feature sounds that could be produced by it, but probably aren't - not at all uncommon with the Chamberlin.
I'm sure this album is far better than I'm giving it credit for, but it's difficult when the music simply doesn't appeal. Very little Chamby, too, so one for Tracy Chapman fans only, I think.
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Worlds Without End (1996, recorded 1986-96, 65.07) ****/TTTRebirthEarth Orbit Aurora Worlds Without End Nebula The Ascending Light The Miracle On the Rim Heart Light |
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Heaven and Earth (2000, 138.55) ****/TTT |
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| Into the Infinite Timestream Release Higher Realms The Secret Grotto Heaven Forgiveness Solar Wind Ecstasy |
Lightworlds Beyond the Farthest Star Full Circle Earth (All One Tribe) Mysterious Valley Vision in the Skies Skyspirit Visitors Molecular Dance |
Southwest Winds Seasons Will Change Destiny The Gift Santa Fe On the Wings of the Eagle Breaking Free Age of Light Requiem for Planet 3 |
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Resurrection (2009, 79.48) ***½/TTT |
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| Cry of the Spirit Ancient Temple There's a Better Place (for You and Me) Renewal Reunion Part 1 Where Dreams Come True Dawn Over Atlantis |
For Distant Friends The Inner Light Awakening Only Love Myths of Ancient Realms Pathways of Light Star Dancing Astral Flight |
The Truth Will Set You Free Reunion Part 2 Remembering True Love's Light |
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Char-El, a.k.a. Charles Thaxton, is an Ohio-based musician who describes himself as a prog/new age mix, which is probably a pretty fair description. 1996's Worlds Without End is actually comprised of recordings made over the preceding decade, and reminds me more than anything of a sort of occidental Kitaro. The material is pleasantly melodic, and drifts along in an agreeable kind of way without ever really impinging itself on your consciousness, but then I think that's probably the point. There's some sampled Mellotron here and there, but of the four tracks containing the real thing, The Miracle's imposing choirs and Heart Light's flutes are the most impressive.
There are an awful lot more samples on Heaven and Earth, but the tracks noted above, according to Charles, are the ones containing genuine 'Tron. Despite the lack of real 'Tron (Charles sold his a few years ago), the Heaven half of the two-disc set has more very relaxing synth stuff (more Kitaro comparisons here and there), with some excellent 'Tron choir samples on the title track. The Earth half is more prog than new age, with Thaxton backed by a full band, although the material that works best (to my ears, anyway) is the slower, more reflective stuff that's nearer the sound of the first disc. The emphasis is on melody throughout, with much piano, and impressive guitar work from Larry Clark.
There's a fair bit of real 'Tron to be heard here, often mixed in with samples. Ethereal choir on Visitors, powerful strings and choir on Destiny, overlaid with a searing MiniMoog lead. Age Of Light and Requiem For Planet 3 probably have the best Mellotron use on the album, though, with the choirs on Age Of Light bursting through the mix like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Even the samples sound good, particularly on Santa Fe; it's a shame that there isn't more of the 'real thing', but Thaxton makes good use of the tools available to him.
It's 2009 and Charles has dug into his archive again, releasing the results as Resurrection. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the album's more new age than anything, although a handful of tracks have full band arrangements, this time more in an 'instrumental AOR' vein. Charles uses either his own Mellotron samples or Chamby samples from the Mike Pinder CD-ROM on several tracks, but I'm assured that there are six tracks of genuine 'Tron, with choir on opener Cry Of The Spirit (alongside string samples), choir on There's A Better Place and Myths Of Ancient Realms, strings on Ancient Temple and Remembering, and the album's standout 'Tron use, string section, flutes and a trumpet/trombone split on Awakening, with a particularly nice solo part on the latter sound.
So; more for the new age crowd than the proggers, although there are definitely more than a few prog moments on Earth. Worlds Without End is currently only available as a CD-R, but both albums are available from the Char-El website.
See: Galileo II | Magik Dayze
