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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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Blacklight (2009, 37.05) ****/TTTT½ |
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| Skeletons of Penn Station Same Dragon Shaped Cloud Drink/Sleep/Forget JadeFalls Hope Springs Eternal Le Jardin des Plantes Joyless Cloudly The Wolf at the Door |
Hop on it Montauk Highway Rain |
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Fauve Museum are effectively Cathedral (US version)'s Tom Doncourt's solo project, aided and abetted by bassist Chuck Bernklau and vocalist Penelope Thomas, with original Cathedral guitarist Rudy Perrone on one track. Blacklight sits somewhere in the middle of the common ground between progressive and new age, I'd say; Hope Springs Eternal even sounds slightly like The Moody Blues. Possibly its most interesting feature is its ability to juxtapose the laid-back (Skeletons Of Penn Station, Same Dragon Shaped Cloud) with the unsettling (Le Jardin Des Plantes, Montauk Highway Rain) and get away with it, but then, Doncourt has no multinational record company breathing down his neck and can whatever the hell he likes. And does.
Tom uses three different M400 tape frames on the album, giving him a wider sound palette than many players, although five of his nine sounds are in the strings line. Incidentally, the mixed and boys' choirs on Hop On It and the MkII rhythms on Joyless Cloudly are sampled. Anyway, we get flutes and strings on Skeletons Of Penn Station, M300 strings on Same Dragon Shaped Cloud, strings and Chamberlin oboe (obviously on Mellotron tapes) on Drink/Sleep/Forget, regular strings and cellos on JadeFalls... I think you get the idea. Basically, the album's stuffed full of Mellotron (and Chamberlin sounds), with particularly heavy cello, M300 strings and oboe use on Joyless Cloudly, the latter quite distinct from the Mellotron one.
All in all, then, Blacklight manages not to sound particularly like any other artist, although influences are inescapable. While parts of the album literally drift out of the progressive spectrum, enough of it resides within that genre to make this a worthwhile listen for both progheads and Mellotron nuts alike.
See: Cathedral
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Volume 1 (1998, 41.37) ***½/TT |
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| Fear of Pop Kops Slow Jam '98 Blink In Love Interlude Avery M. Powers Memorial Beltway I Paid My Money |
Rubber Sled Root to This Still in Love |
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It's rather difficult to know exactly how to list this album; is it by Fear of Pop? Is Fear of Pop the title? And who's behind it all, anyway? It turns out it's a Ben Folds side-project, presumably recorded while Folds took a breather from his cheesily mainstream Ben Folds Five. Thankfully, Volume 1 (as we shall presume it's actually titled) is an awfully long way from Folds' day job, being an eclectic mix of almost every style going, with an excellent police show/blaxploitation feel to Kops, a mixture of Appalachian folk and Theremin on Avery M. Powers Memorial Beltway and ridiculous spoken word pieces In Love and Still In Love, the latter featuring the inimitable (and almost unrecognisable) William Shatner. All in all, every track is different to every other, making for a most uncommercial work, although a far more artistically satisfying one than Mr. Folds usually produces.
John Mark Painter plays Chamberlin on the album, with flutes and occasional strings on Kops, with more strings and some great cello/double bass work on Slow Jam '98, although I can't tell whether the latter is Chamby or real (Painter also plays cello on the album). Distant strings on In Love and Avery M. Powers Memorial Beltway, and what sounds like Chamby female voices on the exceedingly brief Interlude, making a nice change from the usual suspects.
This is an interesting, albeit fairly weird album, made all the weirder by being by an artist known for his dedication to the mainstream. Should you buy it? Don't ask me... Several decent Chamberlin tracks make it almost worth a (cheap) purchase on that account, but Ben Folds fans probably need not apply.
See: Ben Folds
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And the Feeling's Good (1974, 33.58) **½/½ |
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| Hard Times in El Barrio I've Got to Convince Myself You're No Good Differently Virgo Golden Lady Stay With Me Chico and the Man (Main Theme) |
And the Feeling's Good Essence of Your Love |
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Legendary blind singer/songwriter/guitarist José (Montserrate) Feliciano (García) is actually Puerto Rican, although the odd political situation there seems to make him technically American. 1974's And the Feeling's Good is something like his eleventh album, covering a surprisingly amount of ground for an artist often ghettoised into the 'Latin' field, although much of the record does indeed have that influence. Highlights include his version of You're No Good (later improbably covered by Van Halen, would'ja believe) and the hard rock of Virgo, although too many soundalike ballads have cropped the album a half star.
Feliciano plays Mellotron himself, although the only thing that even might be it is the flute line in closer Essence Of Your Love, all the album's strings sounding decidedly real. Given that this is now finally available again (well done, Wounded Bird), Feliciano fans can once again get hold of a highly-rated album, even if it didn't particularly appeal to your truly. Next to no Mellotron, though, making you wonder why he bothered.
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Clotho's Web (1971, 38.42/58.34) ***½/T½ |
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| Clotho's Web Windy Morning Fire Water Earth & Air Clickety Clack Beside the Still Fjord The Ballad Of San Andreas Hills of May Moonlight |
Happiness The Lean Years Summer on Fire Lady [CD adds: A Rumbling in the Land The Lost Children Scarborough Fair |
We Better Talk This Over Father of Night Clotho's Web (alternate)] |
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Julie Felix is most often thought of as British, but is actually American, having come over to Europe in the early '60s. Her career kicked off soon after and by 1967, after several successful albums, she had a regular gig singing on The Frost Report (I'm sure she's over it now); she even had her own show towards the end the end of the decade, in that '60s 'variety' kind of way, featuring Jimmy Page (does this footage still exist?), amongst many others. Clotho's Web (variously credited as released in 1971 or 72) was her ninth album in under a decade, and definitely sounds more '70s than '60s, largely due to the arrangements, which forego the cheesy orchestral accompaniment that ruin so many '60s singer-songwriter albums. Musically, it's pretty much what you'd expect; folky singer-songwriter stuff, with several tracks being solo Felix, nothing particularly outstanding, but perfectly good at what it does, particularly the title track.
Released on Mickie Most's RAK label, the album features various RAK alumni (Cozy Powell) and the ubiquitous Danny Thompson and John "Rabbit" Bundrick. Rabbit plays Mellotron as well as other 'boards (big surprise there, then), with background strings on Fire Water Earth & Air and a much more upfront part on Clickety Clack. A few string chords on Happiness finishes off the album's 'Tron input, with nothing on the CD's bonus tracks, although there's a synth part on Felix's beautiful take on Scarborough Fair. Speaking of bonus tracks, Father Of Night is the same Dylan song that Manfred Mann's Earth Band progged up on Solar Fire a year or two later.
So; if you go for that Joan Baez/Judy Collins style of folk/singer-songwriter (delete according to taste) and you haven't heard Julie Felix, you probably need to. I don't know if Clotho's Web is an ideal starting point - I suppose that depends on what you're looking for - but it's a good album in its own right, particularly the CD with the extra tracks. Not that much 'Tron, but it's hardly the album's defining feature anyway.
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Lane Changer (1974, 39.47) ***/T |
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| Lane Changer Touch My Soul Won't You Please Do That Over My Dead Body Dark Night Easy to Love Shine a Light Bad Times |
Flyer Watch Yerself Give Me Your Money |
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Michael Fennelly was apparently one of legendary '60s producer Curt Boettcher's studio musos, also fronting turn-of-the-'70s hopefuls Crabby Appleton, before going solo and moving to the UK. His first solo effort, Lane Changer, is, at heart, a hard rock album, in that rather unexciting way in which many '70s artists felt compelled to play, although every other track is in a more acoustic vein; 'something for everyone', no doubt. Touch My Soul is vaguely country rock, Over My Dead Body is 3/4 time balladry, Easy To Love is an acoustic blues... You get the picture. Not a bad album, yet also not an especially good one. I think this is the dictionary definition of 'mediocre'.
Guest Rod Argent plays Mellotron strings on Dark Night, with a reasonable but slightly inessential string part. Rumoured other 'Tronnisms from Casey Foutz, although there's nothing obvious to be heard. This isn't something you should rush out and track down, to be honest; it has its moments, but they're few and far between, and with one minor 'Tron track, we're not exactly talking 'essential'.
See: The Millennium
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Autumn Sweet (2002, 42.41) ***/T½ |
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| Trouble Comes Autumn Sweet Over n Over Sleep I'm Not Ready for You Lightning Love Only Lies Half Naked Next to Me |
Slow Down Dixie New York Song Only Angels Can Fly The Many Faces of Esther Sad Hotel Jericho's Horse |
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Aussie D Henry Fenton relocated to the States in 2000, so it's not so surprising that Autumn Sweet has an Americana streak a mile wide, although elements of intelligent pop (notably on Sad Hotel) creep in here and there, too. While diversity is good, the mish-mash of styles on the album can be confusing; just as you think you've got Fenton labelled, he steps one pace to the left and switches genre. Unfortunately, his Americana leanings are more of the Ryan Adams variety than the Beachwood Sparks one, although at least he beats the tedious Dave Matthews into the ground.
Fenton and producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M.) both play Chamberlin on the album, with the standout track being opener Trouble Comes, with nice, upfront flutes and high-end cellos. The only other obvious Chamby track is The Many Faces Of Esther, with a high string part, while Over N Over can only manage almost non-existent flutes, and there's nothing audible on Sad Hotel at all.
So; those of you who can still see something romantic about America may well like this album. In fairness, it's not actually bad, but didn't engage me either, and with only one decent tape-replay track, you're probably best off looking elsewhere.
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Le Showbusiness (1975, 29.28) ***/TTT |
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| Le Showbusiness Le Pap-pi-Douz Maman, Ton Fils Passe un Mauvais Moment Swingnez Votre Compagnie Une Peine d'Amour Ce Soir-là... Le Système Métrique Une Femme Extraordinaire |
820-0822 La Soucoupe Volante |
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Ferland had been around since the late '50s, and by the mid-'70s seems to have settled into a comfortable musical middle age of mainstream folky pop/rock, with a country edge in places. Le Showbusiness, confusingly sometimes referred to as L'Autobus du Showbusiness (I haven't been able to source a cover image to prove it one way or the other) typifies his approach, with, like some many of his Québecois contemporaries, a distinct nod towards the French chanson tradition.
Plenty of Mellotron here, played by Mario Provençal, with flutes all over the title track, and more of the same on Maman, Ton Fils Passe Un Mauvais Moment. Une Peine d'Amour and Ce Soir-là... have some orchestrally-arranged 'Tron strings, along with the flutes, and is that Mellotron cello I can hear on the latter? More of the same on the last two highlighted tracks, with probably the best use being the slightly menacing chords under the spoken-word section at the beginning of the weird-synth laden La Soucoupe Volante, with what sounds suspiciously like backwards 'Tron flutes further into the song.
So; this isn't an album for the progressive fan or, indeed, anyone who doesn't have a soft spot for French pop. It has, however, got quite a bit of Mellotron scattered throughout its grooves (or micro-pits in an aluminium sheet), so you may wish to dabble anyway.
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Métronomie (1971, 32.12) ***/TTT |
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| Métronomie Organum Homo-Modernicus Contre Flying Dutchman Bertha Les Enfants de la Patrie Métronomie II Cannabis La Maison Près de la Fontaine Isabelle |
Freak Pour Oublier Qu'on S'est Aimes |
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Nino "Ferrer" Ferrari was one of France's better-known singers, if not top-echelon, starting his career in the early '60s, already in his late twenties. He was already famous when he released Métronomie in 1971, which almost certainly confused his legions of fans by being a bizarre cross between the ye-ye style in which he'd previously worked and... progressive rock. Admittedly, most of its tracks fall into one camp or the other (mostly the other), the nine-minute, three-part title track obviously being the flag-bearer for his new passion, while second track in, Les Enfants De La Patrie is the worst thing here, children's chorus and all. Métronomie II is jazz/prog, Cannabis is jazzy blues, while closer Pour Oublier Qu'on S'est Aimes is more blues/prog, making the album sound more of a blues experiment than anything, which it isn't.
(Presumably) Brit keyboard player Allan Reeves adds Mellotron to several tracks, model unknown, although an M300 is a distinct possibility. We get a single, long string chord and what sounds like muted brass on the title track, flutes, strings and brass on Les Enfants De La Patrie (that children's chorus is real...), ethereal strings on La Maison Près De La Fontaine and Freak and strings and brass on Pour Oublier Qu'on S'est Aimes. Overall, this is one for the Prog Fan With Everything, happy to spend money on an album containing only one or two satisfying tracks, with far more Mellotron than expected, to the point where some of you lot may feel like getting hold of this for that alone.
Ferrer's follow-up, '73's Nino Ferrer & Leggs (Leggs being his faithful backing band) has rumoured Mellotron, but it's not only not credited, but hidden away to the point of inaudibility if so. Sadly, Ferrer, always unpredictable, shot himself in 1998, ending a career with more ups and downs than the French Alps. R.I.P.
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Frantic (2002, 46.56) ***/½ |
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| It's All Over Now Baby Blue Cruel Going Down Goddess of Love Don't Think Twice it's Alright Nobody Loves Me Ja Nun Hons Pris Fool for Love |
Goodnight Irene Hiroshima (Ash Howes Mix) San Simeon One Way Love I Thought |
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The original lounge lizard finally gets around to a new album, and would you believe, it actually isn't at all bad? Bryan Ferry has a deserved reputation for ultra-smoothness, but Frantic features a decent selection of songs new and old, and a dry, upfront vocal sound that the Ferry of old would never have contemplated using. Two Dylan covers and a Leadbelly song (Goodnight Irene) sit amongst co-writes with the likes of (evil) Dave Stewart and Eno, although all are moulded to fit the Ferry Sound, as are instrumental contributions from the likes of Chris Spedding and old Roxy compatriot Paul Thompson.
There's allegedly a Mellotron part on Nobody Loves Me from Colin Good, but I have to say I can't hear anything especially Mellotronic, unless the voices running through the track are yer classic 'Tron choir stuck through some effects. That aside, I was expecting to dislike this album strongly, and am pleasantly surprised to find it very listenable, if not actually something I'll play on a regular basis. Older persons' music, but then, we're all getting older, aren't we?
See: Roxy Music
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Fi-Bo-Na-Chez (1982, 19.15) ****/TTTSergio LeoneSomnambulist The Ordinary Women The Genius Second Coming Maculae Rice Song |
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Tumor EP (1983, 9.37) ****/TTT½TumorSlow Beautiful Sex Psycho |
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TerrorVision (1986, 15.03) ***/T½TerrorVisionThe Friends of Crime Sack of Suit Suite Advice to a Mutant He Can't Stop Laughing |
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Civilization and its Discotheques (1987, 40.25) ***½/TTT½ | |
| March to Heaven Narcissist Had it With Girls Crickets Leroy The Thread Stay Home Medicine Waltz |
Some Men Old Mean Ed Gein Romp of the Meiji Sycophants The Snap |
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Repressed: the Best of the Fibonaccis, 1981-1987 (1992, 79.33) ****/TTTT½ |
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| Stay Home Somnambulist Narcissist Ordinary Women The Genius Tumor Anti-Oedipus Sergio Leone Medicine Waltz |
Maculae Rice Song Some Men Lisbon Had it With Girls Psycho Old Mean Ed Gein Tiny Pizzas The Thread |
TerrorVision Leroy Dancing With the Bears March to Heaven Romp of the Meiji Sycophants The Snap Purple Haze Manifesto |
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The Fibonaccis were an early-'80s US band who stubbornly resisted categorisation, but who can probably be placed at the weird end of 'New Wave', whatever you take that to mean. Their first EP's title, Fi-Bo-Na-Chez, amusingly told their countrymen how to pronounce their name, not to mention showing them how to be weirder than the weirdest band they could think of, all the while avoiding 'wacky'. Apart from the originality of the music, with a strange cabaret-cum-fairground feel, there's some excellent Mellotron to be heard, with cellos and strings on The Ordinary Women, flutes on The Genius and a creepy string part on Second Coming. A high-speed flute run on Maculae shouldn't be possible on the machine, with more of the same and those creepy strings again on Rice Song, making this something of an obscure Mellotron gem. It was quickly followed by the following year's three-track EP, Tumor, which deals with that very subject in its title track. More 'Tron, especially good on the notorious Psycho theme (a live favourite, apparently), with its discordant strings.
In 1986, the band contributed a handful of tracks to schlock-horror effort TerrorVision, a Z-movie about alien invasion, their songs sharing the soundtrack album with Richard Band's actual soundtrack work. None of their contributions are that jaw-dropping, although the title track and He Can't Stop Laughing are worth hearing. Mellotronically speaking, TerrorVision itself has a choppy choir part, there's a few seconds of something (cellos?) at the end of Advice To A Mutant, with a murky choir part on He Can't Stop Laughing. While not the band's finest hour, I still suspect their contributions are easily the best thing about the film.
Never the most prolific of bands, it took The Fibonaccis five years to produce a full-length album, and the wittily-titled Civilization and its Discotheques doesn't disappoint, although they had (slightly) curbed the weirdness by this time. Saying that, there are some superb lyrics to be heard, particularly on the sardonic Old Mean Ed Gein. I have to say, it's good to hear an American band, particularly from the '80s with such a well-developed sense of humour (is that patronising? Sorry). Again, plenty of Mellotron to be heard, along with some more straightforward instruments, including a rare sighting of someone doing something interesting with a DX7. Apparently keys man John Dentino used to change his 'Tron tapes several times during gigs in an effort to replicate his studio sound as closely as possible, although he admits "There were maybe two people in the audience who really cared". Strangely, he sold it after the album's release, later regretting his decision.
I rarely review compilations, for the obvious reasons, but in this case it's quite relevant. A few years after their untimely split (never a band for the awful '80s, those Fibonaccis), a CD appeared titled Repressed, as in 're-pressed', no doubt. Six of Fi-Bo-Na-Chez's seven tracks (including all but one of the 'Tron ones) and two of Tumor's three are present and correct (both 'Tron tracks this time), plus nine of Civilization and its Discotheques' twelve, with live radio session versions of two more and two compilation appearances, including their, er, 'breathtaking' version of Purple Haze. This leaves five entirely unreleased pieces, plus the two different versions of the Civilization tracks, making this CD worth reviewing, not to mention that it's also the easiest way to get hold of the bulk of the band's back-catalogue, and even appears to still be in print. On the 'Tron front, TerrorVision has the choir part referred to above, while their bonkers take on Purple Haze manages a few piercing string chords, while of the previously unreleased stuff, the choirs on Anti-Oedipus and strings on Lisbon and Leroy prove that they dragged their 'Tron into KPFK's studios in 1982.
Anyway, don't expect an easy ride with this music, but it's worth hearing, both for its musical content and its 'Tron use. Incidentally (and I have to include this), the guy who wrote the long review of the album on Amazon commented that he'd heard a snippet of the Fibonaccis on a 'Star Trek TNG' episode, representing an alien culture's music, which just about says it all. In the nicest possible way, of course.
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¡Vuka Vuka! (2000, 46.02) ***/TT½ |
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| Right Out and Forced Risk Hold on Better Gaze Than Fear A Man Glass Faced Warrior Dress Down Difference of Me |
Shuffle Deliberately Alright For What I Love OK K |
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Norwich's Fiel Garvie have been compared to PJ Harvey, Tricky and even Björk, but to my ears they strongly resemble a more electronic version of yer typical UK indie thing, at least on debut ¡Vuka Vuka!. Online reviews seem split on whether or not they're any good, with one notably dismissing them as goth-wannabee rubbish, and others praising their ethereality and Anne Reekie's downbeat vocal stylings. What do I think? Dunno, mate - this sort of thing really isn't my department, but what I will say is that despite their playing a style with which I'm pretty unfamiliar and in no way a fan, the album didn't distress or even especially bore me at all, which you can probably read as some sort of recommendation.
Reekie also plays guitar and keys, with a specific 'Mellotron' credit, and she's as good as her word, getting it onto five of the album's twelve tracks. Better Gaze Than Fear has cellos stuck through an effect (tremolo? Synth modulation?), with more cellos on Glass Faced Warrior and Dress Down, plus an upfront string part on the latter. Cellos again on Deliberately Alright and For What I Love, with extra flutes on the former, making for a reasonably fulfilling Mellotronic experience, particularly if you're into (for once) very audible cellos. So; not exactly one for the prog fan, or indeed, anyone into rock as against pop, but not a bad listen, and some very nice (and seemingly genuine) 'Tron work.
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Fields (1971, 40.16) ***½/½ |
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| A Friend of Mine While the Sun Still Shines Not So Good Three Minstrels Slow Susan Over and Over Again Feeling Free Fair-Haired Lady |
A Place to Lay My Head The Eagle |
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Fields consisted of keyboardist Graham Field, ex-Rare Bird (of Sympathy fame), drummer Andrew McCulloch, ex-King Crimson and future Greenslade member, and Alan Barry, who covered vocals, guitar, bass and Mellotron, so God alone knows how they reproduced their material live. I've always been under the impression that Fields' sole album was going to be a rather laid-back dated effort, and indeed, some of it is, but opener A Friend Of Mine powers along very nicely indeed, with some unusual (for the time) double-kick drumming, and several other tracks confound expectations by being far more dynamic than expected.
Despite Barry's 'Mellotron' credit, unless I'm very mistaken, there are about two string chords near the beginning of The Eagle, and that's yer lot, so not exactly a 'Tron album, then. Fields is a varied and interesting record, though, and I'm surprised it doesn't have a higher profile amongst progressive fans, so try to hear it anyway.
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Everything Last Winter (2007, 49.11) ***/T |
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| Song for the Fields Charming the Flames You Don't Need This Song (to Fix Your Broken Heart) Feathers Schoolbooks The Death You Brought This on Yourself |
Skulls and Flesh and More If You Fail We All Fail Parasite |
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How do you describe Fields? Transcendent indie? Folk electronica? All of the above? There was apparently a great deal of hype surrounding their debut album, 2007's Everything Last Winter, after a run of lauded singles; opinion seems divided on whether or not it lives up to it. As a neutral outsider, I can say that at its best (Song For The Fields, Charming The Flames), it really is quite transcendent, but at its worst (The Death, Skulls And Flesh And More), it merely bores the casual observer.
You Don't Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart) features some very real-sounding 'Tron flutes, key-click and all, from either Nick Peill or Icelander Þórunn Antonía, and despite some other 'Tronlike sounds here and there, I believe that's it on the tape-replay front. Generally speaking, this isn't worth buying for one 'Tron track, but those who like some folk with their indie (or vice versa) may well go for this.
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Widow City (2007, 59.05) ***/TTTTT |
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| The Philadelphia Grand Jury Duplexes of the Dead Automatic Husband Ex-Guru Clear Signal From Cairo My Egyptian Grammar The Old Hag is Sleeping Japanese Slippers |
Navy Nurse Uncle Charlie Right By Conquest Restorative Beer Wicker Whatnots Cabaret of the Seven Devils Pricked in the Heart Widow City |
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I've been aware of indie darlings the Fiery Furnaces for some time, but I've been caught on the hop with their sixth album, Widow City. For some unknown (though far from unwelcome) reason, the 'musician half' of the brother/sister duo, Matthew Friedberger, has opted to slap Chamberlin all over the album, and I mean ALL OVER. I will admit to not being so keen on the music; in all honesty, I really don't understand where they're coming from, to the point where I couldn't even name their influences, although the music press seem to be all over them like a rash. The 'singer half', Friedberger's younger sister Eleanor, makes up for a less-than-arresting voice by half-speaking many of the lyrics, although she copes admirably well with her brother's offbeat compositional twists. Is this the New Prog? (Pt.96). I can see how this grabs people, although I'm afraid it's failed to grab me; my fault, I'm sure, but I just can't warm to this record.
Although I've seen references to Friedberger Major playing both Mellotron and Chamberlin on the record, I've seen others, including an official record company one, that only mention the Chamby, so who knows? Whatever it is, or they are, it's/they're on almost every damn' track, and unlike so many supposedly Chamby-heavy albums, it's never lost in the mix. Several near-solo sections, too, like the brass on Automatic Husband or the beautifully clunky string intro to Restorative Beer, but to be honest, it's only ever a brief wait before another woodwind or string line appears. Do you want to know what a Chamberlin actually sounds like? Buy this album; like a tiny handful of others I've heard, it's practically a demo record for the instrument. And who knows? It may yet grow on me.
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Low-fi at Society High (1994, 45.38) ***/T |
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| Step Back Let's Go Pop Favorite Shirt Wasted Pretty Bus Slowdown Chevy Nova Ginger Shut |
Cherry Blow Pop Jump Start Stood up! Asphalt Waltz for Bob Charlotte Pipe Tint |
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Banda Macho (1996, 44.30) ***/T |
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| Blame it All Senseless Mold Bad Luck Sammie Supreme Fashion Hey! Mr. Moonman Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend FTMU Slugwig Choker |
Reject Red Bank Queen This Copy's Mine Another View Dandruff (You've Got a Lot of Friends) Powder King Kiss Off Baby Every Night |
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Sucking in Stereo (2000, 31.10) ***/½ |
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| Opening Night The Daylight Strong Reaction Somethings Wrong Racing Around Set the Stage The Wrong Chord Gonna Get Out |
Running in Place Dance Lesson Do the Bounce Cheap Cassettes (untitled) |
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Low-fi at Society High was The Figgs' first non-cassette release, showcasing their passable take on pop-punk, apparently sounding not a million miles away from The Replacements (I really must listen to them one day). This really is the kind of stuff you need to be into to appreciate, I suspect, as I like some of their forbears, not least The Buzzcocks, but this doesn't really grab me. Jump Start is more appealing than the bulk of the record, which is too long for the style, despite still being 'vinyl length', and far too samey to hold the attention of anyone not heavily attuned to the genre. Mellotron on two tracks from Pete Donnelly, with a brief string part, mixed far too low, on Wasted Pretty, and flute and string parts on Waltz For Bob, again, too low in the mix.
Two years on, and their only major-label album, Banda Macho, is more of the same, basically, albeit with a slightly wider influence base, with little bursts of near-country making themselves apparent here and there. Mellotron from Donnelly and Mike Gent this time round, with (presumably) Donnelly playing a handful of flute notes on Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend and Gent adding high flutes to FTMU, though that would appear to be your lot.
Four years and three albums later, Sucking in Stereo appeared. What impulse makes bands give albums titles that are so easy to deliberately misinterpret? OK, this doesn't actually suck, but the pun is too obvious for words. The Figgs seem to have developed their pop sensibilities a little in the intervening years; the album's certainly more melodic than its predecessors, although it isn't much more interesting, unfortunately. Just Gent on 'Tron this time, with flutes and strings on The Wrong Chord, and that's your lot.
So; a slightly superior pop-punk band that use a smattering of 'Tron. Nothing to get too worked up about really, eh?
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Glory of the Inner Force (1975, 42.49/49.50) ****/TT (TTT)Register MagisterParadoxical Moods Pisces A Bridge to Alice [CD adds: Colosus Part 1 Colosus Part 2] |
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Finch were a mid-'70s instrumental Dutch outfit who played a rather lush form of symphonic progressive, utilising the sort of chord changes that may be slightly too 'sweet' for some tastes, especially later in their career. The band actually cover a variety of styles on Glory of the Inner Force, from the lushness of Register Magister through to the jazz-rock influenced Paradoxical Moods, always managing to adhere to the twin tenets of prog, complexity and melodic invention. Despite their being guitarist Joop van Nimwegen's band, guitar solos aren't horrifically overdone; in fact, all the band members have a chance to show their 'chops' at one point or another.
Finch never (to my knowledge) used a Mellotron live, or even owned one, but Cleem Determeijer made sparse but interesting use of one on just this one album. Every track has a few string chords thrown in, at one point even drowning out van Nimwegen's guitar, but never lasting more than a few seconds. You rarely hear the 'Tron used with such restraint, and actually, it might've been nice to have heard it a little more. I suppose they were worried about reproducing the effect live, given that their sole live string sound was a Solina. Nice, but not quite the same...
So; recommended musically, though the Mellotron use is decidedly, er, 'low key'. Interestingly, the CD includes both sides of a single released after the album, Colosus Parts 1 and 2, apparently being the theme music to an imaginary film. Typical Finch, except in their length, the tracks feature a load more 'Tron than the album tracks, for some odd reason. Finch went on to release Beyond Expression (****) and the possibly slightly too cheesy Galleons of Passion (****), then fell into disarray as with so many of their contemporaries. In 1999, a double CD suddenly appeared, The Making of...Galleons of Passion/Stage '76 (****), pairing demos for their third album with, funnily enough, a live recording, including Paradoxical Moods, also worth hearing.
See: Q65
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Destination Girl (2004, 30.33) ***/T½RenoHair Destination Girl Day is Over New Sensation Silent Space Rowan's Theme Morning Light Page 16 |
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Finishing School are, effectively, Sasha Bell, also of Essex Green and Ladybug Transistor, apparently. Her/their Destination Girl is a pre-psych '60s-influenced pop album, for want of a better description; think Petula Clark crossed with the more unfashionable end of British pop of the era and you won't be million miles off. Bell's voice is the kind of contralto that makes men of a certain age (no, not mine, thank you) swoon, many miles/years away from the awful screechy noise that's considered 'vocal talent' these days, although certain online reviewers have still managed to find fault with it. However, as you can see, the album's extremely short, so at least it doesn't outstay its welcome for those particular curmudgeons.
Mellotron from both Bell and Tom Hakava (Ben's Diapers/Scaramangas etc.), with brief but strident strings on Hair from Hakava, Bells' background flutes on Day Is Over and more obvious ones on closer Page 16. This isn't an album for the proghead in your life, but it's an entirely pleasant listen, as long as you don't expect to hear any influences later than 1966. Passable 'Tron work, too.
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In Ogni Luogo (1999, 50.06) ***½/TTT |
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| Tempi Moderni Snaporaz Ninive In Ogni Luogo Coro Elettrico Le Citta Indicibili Agli Amici Sinestetici ContinuitadiLaraneltempo |
Peter's House Wittgenstein Mon Amour |
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La Meccanica Naturale (2004, 53.49) ***½/TTT |
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| La Perfezione La Mia Identita' Il Volo La Maldeducazione Ode al Mare Rifrazioni Lo Specchio La Ricostruzione del Futuro |
La Fine Incipit |
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The Italian movement away from '80s neo-prog fired its first warning shots from the likes of Calliope and various (though by no means all) ex-Arti & Mestieri keyboard player Beppe Crovella projects, fighting against the likes of the Egoband, Edith and Theatre, Mellotron or no Mellotron. Finisterre (****) is, in retrospect, very good rather than excellent, but compared to most contemporaneous Italian bands, it was a revelation of thoughtful, restrained progressive rock, influenced by the '70s greats, with only the occasional Marillionesque synth arpeggio or obviously digital keyboard patch to remind you it was actually the '90s. In Limine is in the same basic vein, but due to its sample use, can be found here.
In Ogni Luogo appeared in 1999, and while there seem to be few references to any Mellotronic activity on the album, my ears tell me otherwise, as does mainman Fabio Zuffanti. I'm not convinced the album is quite the match of its predecessors, although subsequent plays may well prove me wrong; there certainly seems to be less musical variety on board, though bands are allowed to vary their approach... Valle sticks that 'Tron all over the place this time round, with choirs on Coro Elettrico and Agli Amici Sinestetici, very upfront flutes on Le Citta Indicibili, rather shrieky strings on ContinuitadiLaraneltempo, with more strings and choirs across the other highlighted tracks.
Harmony of the Spheres, a double-disc compilation off odds'n'sods, including tracks by Höstsonaten and others, appeared in 2002, although it took the collective another five years to come up with their next 'proper' album, La Meccanica Naturale. It isn't wildly different to its predecessor, to be honest, despite the gap, and also doesn't really match up to their early work. Saying that, it's a pretty good album, just lacking something in the 'wow!' stakes. It features a mixture of laid-back and more aggressive material, as you'd expect, though the only track that really stands out immediately is slow-but-powerful closer Incipit. Real Mellotron on most tracks; a string chord on one track holds for too long, although that could well be studio trickery (been there, done that). Strings and choirs throughout, with a short flute part on the slightly Cardiacs-esque La Fine, but nothing really jaw-dropping.
Finisterre are still a going concern, although their releases are few and far between, largely because Zuffanti and co. seem to be too busy with their various side-projects, not least Höstsonaten, originally labelled the 'Finisterre Project' by their record label, obviously fearful of the public's ability to sniff out a classic without help. Both of these albums are worthy of your attention, although In Ogni Luogo's the only one worth it for the 'Tron. I shall review their subsequent efforts when I get hold of copies.
See: Sampledelica! | Höstsonaten
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Finn [a.k.a. Finn Bros] (1995, 38.29) ****/TT |
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| Only Talking Sense Eyes of the World Mood Swinging Man Last Day of June Suffer Never Angels Heap Niwhai Where is My Soul |
Bullets in My Hairdo Paradise (Wherever You Are) Kiss the Road of Rarotonga |
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Finn (a.k.a. Finn Brothers) were Tim and Neil, both ex-Split Enz and Crowded House, although elder bro' Tim only played on one of the latter's albums. Both brothers are excellent writers in that 'intelligent pop' area, so unsurprisingly, a straight collaboration was always going to be pretty good. There's not a bad track to be heard, with standouts including Angels Heap and Paradise (Wherever You Are), although Kiss The Road Of Rarotonga spoils the mood a little. Mind you, for an album released in the mid-'90s, Finn is incredibly (not to mention refreshingly) short, so losing a track would almost push it into mini-album territory, at least by modern standards.
There's a reasonable amount of Chamberlin on the Crowded House albums, and it's used again here, with a couple of tracks benefitting from the typical Chamby woodwind sound, particularly Eyes Of The World, while there's some kind of brass (solo trumpet?) on Angels Heap; my usual Chamberlin complaint applies, with me having trouble working out what is and what isn't, not to mention what sound might be used, so I wouldn't swear the above are correct, but I can't be too far off.
So; if you like later Enz/Crowded House, you'll love this album, although in some ways, it's a bit of a musical stopgap between Crowded House and Neil's solo career (see below). Not a Chamberlin classic, either, but a good album of its type. Recommended.
See: Crowded House | Split Enz
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Try Whistling This (1998, 54.46) ****/TT |
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| Last One Standing Souvenir King Tide Try Whistling This She Will Have Her Way Sinner Twisty Bass Loose Tongue |
Truth Astro Dream Date Faster Than Light Addicted |
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One Nil [a.k.a. One All] (2001/2002, 48.48) ***½/½ |
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| The Climber Rest of the Day Off Hole in the Ice Wherever You Are Last to Know Don't Ask Why Secret God Turn and Run |
Elastic Heart Anytime Driving Me Mad Into the Sunset |
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After the Finn duo with elder brother Tim (see above), it took Neil three years to come up with his first solo album proper, Try Whistling This. It has a few contemporary touches, but they're used to enhance the material, not swamp it, and as such, hopefully won't sound too dated in years to come. The songwriting is, again, excellent, with standout tracks being hard to pinpoint, although Souvenir is particularly good. Finn plays most of the instruments himself, although there's quite a few other people involved, chiefly programming by Marius De Vries, who had previously collaborated with Björk.
Chamberlin problems again, although Neil has gone on record as saying "All the strings on the record are Chamberlin", though the strings on Sinner have to be either real or samples, so I'm not 100% convinced. Anyway, Souvenir opens with Chamby cellos, and turns out to be a bit of a monster, with (I think) juxtaposed sampled strings and Chamberlin, with a solo strings part closing the track. Twisty Bass is also very obviously Chamby, while the other tracks noted above probably contain it somewhere, though I'm not promising. Either way, an excellent record.
Another three years passed before One Nil, but Finn's muse hadn't left, although I'm not convinced that the album is quite the equal of its predecessor. To be fair, it probably needs a good few plays for its charms to be fully appreciated, so don't be surprised if I rewrite this review in a year's time... Full instrumental credits this time round, with Mitchell Froom playing Chamberlin oboes (?) on Secret God, and Finn on inaudible Chamby-something on Into The Sunset.
For some odd reason, after releasing an album recorded in Auckland with loads of famous friends, Seven Worlds Collide, Finn reissued One Nil in the States in 2002 as One All, with two songs (Don't Ask Why and Elastic Heart) replaced by two others (Lullaby Requiem and Human Kindness), though neither has any obvious Chamby input. Both of these albums are well worth owning, although I currently prefer Try Whistling This. Neither of 'em's a Chamberlin classic, but the former is nearer to one than the latter.
See: Crowded House | Split Enz
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Night on Bald Mountain (1975, 42.47) ****/TLes CathèdralesCenturion (Tales of Fireball Kids) The Fireballet Atmospheres Night on Bald Mountain (Suite) Night on Bald Mountain Night-Tale The Engulfed Cathedrale Night-Tale (Reprise) Night on Bald Mountain (Finale) |
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Fireballet are one of the few US progressive acts of the '70s to get any sort of deal at all; they were signed to the rather wonderful Passport label, who I believe eventually went down the 'chute. Pity. Anyway, Fireballet were completely overblown, and all the better for it; two keyboard players, a drummer 
with every bit of orchestral percussion known to man, thoroughly ridiculous lyrics and a penchant for 'borrowing' bits of other people's music. Sometimes they even credited them. Album opener Les Cathèdrales openly rips off George Martin's Theme One, as performed by Van der Graaf Generator, but puts its own twist onto the tune.
The only Mellotron on Night on Bald Mountain is the first track on side two, Atmospheres, with some fairly ordinary strings, played by Frank Petto. The following Night on Bald Mountain (Suite) is vastly better, if 'Tron free; a rearrangement of Mussorgsky's 'Night on Bare Mountain', it works brilliantly, and is probably worth the price of admission on its own.
Despite being produced by ex-Crimso Ian Macdonald (who also guests here and there), the album is somewhat derivative, but I've heard an awful lot worse; it definitely comes under the banner of 'a good listen', although not exactly one for the Mellotron fan. The picture on the rear sleeve (right) certainly lets you know where they were coming from; check out the hair of the guy on the left... I believe Night on Bald Mountain was briefly available on CD, but has since been deleted. Fireballet released a second album, Two, Too (***½), but many progressive fans dislike its rather lightweight approach to the genre. To my ears, the band had moved into Styx/Ambrosia territory, and the album's still very listenable, despite the appalling sleeve design of a bunch of hairy men wearing tutus (ha ha). Sadly, the last anyone heard of the band was several members' involvement with the extremely ropey Intergalactic Touring Band project.
So; some would disagree, but I say buy, though not for its 'Tronic content.
See: Intergalactic Touring Band
