Twenty Nine Over Me  (1999,  55.07)  ***/T
	Cut My Spirit Dry Drag the Ashes Animals Criminals House in a Bottle Lay on the Fire Ellen Terry 29 Over Me Sincerity's Ground	Down on Rivington Milk Slowly Creeping Smile Bruises to Claim Cash Photograph

Current availability:

• Atlantic

Mellotron used:

• Unknown

San Diego's Christian Gibbs has worked with British post-punk crew Modern English and NYC's Morning Glories, amongst others, 1999's Twenty Nine Over Me (usually referred to as 29 Over Me, despite the sleeve art) being his second solo effort. It sits somewhere between Americana and a kind of Nick Cave-esque goth, at its best on opener Cut My Spirit Dry, Drag The Ashes and the title track, barely scraping three stars, not least for being a good ten minutes too long.

Rami Jaffee plays upfront Mellotron flutes and less upfront strings on Drag The Ashes, with some radical pitchbending at the end of the track. As with so many other albums, why not use it more? Budgetary restrictions?

Official site

Gift  (Germany)

Blue Apple  (1974,  40.46)  ***½/TT Blue Apple Rock Scene Don't Waste Your Time Psalm Everything's Alright Go to Find a Way Reflections Part I & II Left the Past Behind

Current availability:

• Mason

Mellotron used:

• Unknown

Blue Apple was German hard rock outfit Gift's second and last album and the only one to utilise keyboards, from Dieter Frei. The music is that typically mid-'70s mix of lighter and heavier rock, with a noticeable blues base, but way better than that produced by many of their countrymen, including Jane and Epitaph. There isn't actually a bad song on the album, top marks going to the high speed Purple/Heep-ish Everything's Alright, complete with Speed King-style classical organ intro.

Frei's Mellotron is apparent from the off, with a Mellotron flute melody running through the title track and strings on the other credited tracks. It's a shame more bands from the heavier end of the spectrum didn't use Mellotron, as it can work well in that area; kudos to current outfits such as Sweden's Spiritual Beggars for doing exactly that (albeit sampled). Against all expectations, Blue Apple is actually very good and will definitely be played again. Buy? If '70s hard rock's your thing, yes. Pity about the rather crass sleeve, but it was 1974...

The Gift  (UK)  see: Samples etc.

Roland Gift  (UK)  see: Samples etc.

Gift Horse  (US)

		Gift Horse  [a.k.a. Excess, Lies & Heather's Arrest, by GiftHorse]  (1997,  38.55)  ***/T½
		Excess Heather's Arrest Drive Gravity Little White Lie Shoot Shoot Dear No One Butterfly	Coffee Queen Small

Current availability:

• Pinch Hit

Mellotron used:

• Phil Parlapiano's M400

To my knowledge, Gift Horse only made the one album, originally released eponymously in 1997, reissued three years later as Excess, Lies & Heather's Arrest, the band having changed their name to GiftHorse in the meantime. It sounds something like an alt. version of Tom Petty, perhaps, at its best on Heather's Arrest, Butterfly and Coffee Queen, but too much lightweight material drags the overall vibe down, sadly.

Phil Parlapiano plays Mellotron, with matched string and cello parts on Drive and flutes and strings on Shoot Shoot, both obviously real and both to good effect, making them the best thing about this rather ordinary record.

I GiGanti  (Italy)

	Terra in Bocca  (1971,  46.40)  ****½/TTTTT
	Terra in Bocca parte I   Largo Iniziale   Molto Largo   Avanti   Avanti Tutto - Brutto Momento - Plim Plim   Plim Plim al Parossismo - Delicato Andante   Rumori - Fine Incombente	Terra in Bocca parte II   Fine Lontana - Allegro per Niente   Tanto va la Gatta al Lardo - Su e Giù   Larghissimo - Dentro Tutto   Alba di Note - Rimbalzello Triste   Rimbalzello Compiacento - Ossessivo Ma Non...

Current availability:

• Comet (Italy)

Mellotron used:

• Unknown

Ex-beat group I GiGanti's last and sole progressive release, before a 200s reformation, Terra in Bocca, is apparently a concept album based around the Mafia - a brave subject to tackle at any time, but especially in early '70s Italy. It's characterised by many multi-part vocal sections, though not in the harmonic sense; this is an album that will make very little sense to the non-Italian speaker, to be honest. For all that, it's a wonderful piece (the album really has to be taken as a whole), being an excellent early example of typical Italian symphonic prog; bear in mind that this is pre- the first PFM album. Multiple tempo/mood changes abound; this is a band who had obviously listened to King Crimson, then applied the lessons learned to their own cultural influences, resulting in something quite unique.

Much Mellotron throughout, from Francesco "Checco" Marsella, with flute, brass and (especially) string parts throughout; given the year it came out, I rather suspect that what you're hearing is one of the few MkIIs to make their way to Italy, rather than those three sounds on an M400 tape frame. The Mellotron certainly has that particularly rich, reverbed sound that only really comes from the earlier instrument, although this is a good year before the first known appearance of the M400 choirs, so their lack proves nothing. Actually, this really is something of a Mellotron monster; it's still sometimes surprising to come across use as powerful as this. Marsella obviously had excellent technique, as it never sounds 'clunky', as it can with rather lesser practitioners.

Gigolo Aunts  (US)

	Flippin' Out  (1993,  50.17)  ***½/T
	Cope Lemon Peeler Ride on Baby Ride on Bloom Figurine Where I Find My Heaven Lullaby Mrs. Washington	Gun Pin Cushion Flippin' Out

	Minor Chords & Major Themes  (1998,  48.14)  ***½/½
	C'mon, C'mon Everyone Can Fly Half a Chance Super Ultra Wicked Mega Love You'd Better Get Yourself Together, Baby Everything is Wrong The Big Lie Simple Thing	Rest Assured For a Moment Fade Away Residue Untitled

Current availability:

• Flippin': RCA
• Minor: E Pluribus Unum

Chamberlins used:

• Q Division Studio's MusicMaster 600

The Gigolo Aunts (formed as far back as 1981) are, of course, named for one of Syd Barrett's finest solo moments. 1993's Flippin' Out is only their third full-length album, full of the kind of powerpop that's now become rather clichéd, but was still relatively fresh back then, given that it was already a second-hand style. Irritatingly, there seem to be two different versions of the album, the original release on Fire, then a resequenced one with a couple of different tracks on RCA, the one I'm reviewing here. It's a good album, very good in places, but without that certain je ne sais quoi that can make an album great, despite tracks of the quality of opener Cope, Lullaby and Gun. Mike Denneen plays Chamberlin, with distant strings on Figurine, Where I Find My Heaven and Pin Cushion, none of which particularly enhances the tracks, unfortunately, which isn't to dismiss its use.

1998's Minor Chords & Major Themes (a quote from For A Moment) is a bit of a mixed bag, veering between the excellence of opener C'mon, C'mon, Everything Is Wrong, Rest Assured and Fade Away and the more prosaic likes of the rather limp Everyone Can Fly or Simple Thing. That's probably a little harsh; nothing here appals, but trimming the album down to forty minutes by the exclusion of a couple of lesser tracks would've improved the whole. Denneen on that studio Chamby again, with 'Strawberry Fields' flutes on Super Ultra Wicked Mega Love.

Gila  (Germany)

	Gila  [a.k.a. Free Electric Sound]  (1971,  37.57)  ***½/T Aggression Kommunikation Kollaps Kontakt Kollektivität Individualität
	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee  (1973,  35.00)  ***½/T This Morning In a Sacred Manner Sundance Chant Young Coyote Black Kettle's Ballad Little Smoke The Buffalo Are Coming

Current availability:

• Both titles: Garden of Delights (Germany)

Mellotrons used:

• Dierks' Studio M400

Gila are the sort of German band who fall into the 'are they or aren't they?' debate re. 'Krautrock'. By no means as experimental as early Tangerine Dream or as trippy as, say, Amon Düül II, they were certainly more 'out there' than Eloy, Jane, or many of the other relatively mainstream acts of the time. Their style was based firmly on jamming around a basic song structure, or at least it was on Gila (a.k.a. Free Electric Sound, for some reason). The material's actually very good, although both 'Kommunikation' and 'Kontakt' do go on a bit, to be honest; it's all very druggy, with echoes of early Floyd (pun intended), but there's a solid core of good songwriting, putting them several notches above many of their contemporaries. As well as the ubiquitous organ, there's a little of Fritz Scheyhing's Mellotron work to be heard on the album, with the unusual combination of brass and flutes on 'Kommunikation', topping and tailing the lengthy piece (and isn't that a riff later purloined by Porcupine Tree?).

Anyway, two years later, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, with its Native American theme, is a very different album to its predecessor, less trippy and more folky, with much 12-string acoustic from Conny Veit. Decidedly more song-orientated than Gila, Bury My Heart is generally regarded as a Krautrock classic, though with three decades' hindsight, it probably fits the so-called 'acid folk' genre better. Highlights? A matter of opinion, of course, but I'd go for In A Sacred Manner and Black Kettle's Ballad. Mellotron (and piano) are played by the now sadly late Florian Fricke, soon to be the one-man musical whirlwind otherwise known as Popol Vuh (German version), with vibes on opener This Morning and cellos on In A Sacred Manner.

Kevin Gilbert  (US)

	Thud  (1995,  49.50)  *****/TT
	When You Give Your Love to Me Goodness Gracious Joytown Waiting Tea for One Shadow Self The Tears of Audrey Shrug (Because of Me and You)	All Fall Down Song for a Dead Friend

Thud EP  (1995,  24.35)  ***½/TTT Kashmir Goodness Gracious Waiting (the other version) Joytown (live acoustic) Shadow Self (edit)

	A 20th Anniversary Performance of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway [as Kevin Gilbert's Giraffe]  (2014, recorded 1994,  75.58)  ****½/TTT½
	The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Fly on a Windshield Broadway Melody of 1994 In the Cage The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging Back in N.Y.C. The Carpet Crawlers	Lilywhite Lilith The Lamia The Colony of Slippermen Raven In the Rapids IT/Watcher of the Skies The Musical Box

Current availability:

• Thud/Lamb: The Estate of Kevin Gilbert
• EP: on expanded Thud

Mellotrons used:

• Thud/EP: Gilbert's own M400?
• Lamb: Dave Kerzner's T550 Novatron

Jim Rigberg again, folks.

The music business, like life, is brutally unfair. 'Stars' are manufactured, their crappy music - and, more importantly for sales, their attractive images - are pumped into the ears and eyes of our impressionable youngsters and genuine talent is ignored, routinely. Kevin Gilbert got the royal shaft from the music business. By all accounts, a musical prodigy - capable of playing any song he heard on any instrument handed to him - Gilbert possessed an impeccable sense of melody and a biting, cynical wit. He found some measure of success, to be sure - he was in big demand as an engineer and worked (undoubtedly, much to his personal distaste) with Michael Jackson, Madonna and other '80s luminaries. However, he had little luck getting much attention for his own work which, in addition to his two releases, included the excellent Toy Matinee (*****), released in 1990. Gilbert dated Sheryl Crow; he and his buddies were responsible for writing much of the music on her multi-platinum debut. However, once that album took off, Crow dumped him and never looked back. Of course, to add insult to injury, Gilbert then had to go and accidentally kill himself. Life really sucks sometimes.

Anyway, Thud is a somewhat 'lost' masterpiece (like many others before him, Gilbert, ironically, developed a following after he died that he couldn't swing while alive). Each song is expertly written, arranged, played and produced. The stand-out, both from an overall and a Mellotron point of view (for me, anyway) is Shadow Self, a mini-prog epic about the devil inside us all. The chorus of this song includes the most sinister sounding Mellotron choirs under equally sinister chanting. Sublime. The Mellotron on both Goodness Gracious and Shrug is almost as good; both tracks have perfectly thought-out flute melodies that are repeated throughout. The former track also ends in some great polyphonic Mellotron flute-meandering, much like the reprise of Strawberry Fields Forever. Shrug scatters some interesting spooky block string chords here and there, as well.

Though I can't positively identify it as Mellotron, the 'organ' in Waiting sounds suspiciously like it's being generated via tape; it is the most unstable sounding organ I've ever heard. However, given the presence of strings, flute and choir on the remainder of the album, I admit it seems unlikely that Gilbert had another frame with organ on it. On the other hand, he was a vintage keys freak, so I guess it's not out the question. There may also be Mellotron brass mixed with real brass in All Fall Down.

Overall, this is prog-pop heaven and should be purchased immediately. It also happens to include three amazing Mellotron tracks. If you like this, you must also get Gilbert's posthumously-released The Shaming of the True (*****), his ode to the fucked-up music business.

n.b. Having finally heard this myself, several years later, I can confirm that it's a Mellotron on Waiting, possibly a church organ/something else (real Hammond?) mix, although there's nothing to be heard on All Fall Down. I'd probably give this ****/TT, but since Jim reviewed it originally, his rating stands.

The Thud EP (for want of a better title) was given away with initial copies of the album, led by a drastic(-ish) reworking of Kashmir, starting off acoustic before letting rip, albeit in 4/4, which sort of works. Sort of... Two album tracks (one edited) are bolstered by a different (and superior?) take on Waiting and an acoustic version of Joytown, recorded for Westwood One Radio, apparently, not that you'd know it. Although the only credited Mellotron is Dave Kerzner's work on 'The Other Version' of Waiting (brass, by the sound of it), it's also present on Kashmir (strings, much as on the original) and the album versions of Goodness Gracious and Shadow Self.

2014 finally brought an official release for Gilbert's performance at Progfest 1994; after the success of 1993's inaugural event, Gilbert partially reformed his old band, Giraffe, electing to cover a large chunk of Genesis' iconic The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, in the festival's first (only?) foray into the tribute arena, his band including future Spock's Beard (and, briefly, Genesis) drummer Nick D'Virgilio and all-round vintage keys fiend Dave Kerzner.

Their set opened with a taped Casey Casem in DJ mode, amusingly introducing Invisible Touch as a 'golden oldie', only to be cruelly curtailed (to a chorus of audience boos) in favour of the piano intro to The Lamb itself. At first glance, it looks like they played most of the double album, but closer scrutiny reveals that we only get about half, due to time constraints; in my humble opinion, there are some slightly eccentric track choices, but then, given the plot's general incoherence, it's almost irrelevant, lyrically speaking, what is and isn't included. They play the material almost perfectly, to the point where I only spotted one minor notational mistake (and one brief synth setting error), while Gilbert possibly tackles Peter Gabriel's parts better than the great man himself; there's almost an argument to be made that it's more fitting for the piece to be sung by an American, anyway. Heresy! We lose some classics in the editing, although what we get is superb, highlights including the title track, The Lamia and a rip-roaring The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging.

Kerzner's page on Gilbert's site tells us that he played a super-rare T550 Novatron (a more portable machine, stripped down to essentials and housed in a built-in road case), using it on around half the set, with choirs at the beginning of Fly On A Windshield and the expected strings in the instrumental section of Broadway Melody Of 1974 (possibly wittily-renamed Broadway Melody Of 1994 on the night). The choirs at the end of The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging are absolutely monstrous, although the deep 'choir' note near the beginning of In The Cage (actually an F#, a semitone below the Mellotron's bottom key) appears to be Gilbert himself. After a couple of Mellotron-free numbers, the string parts on Lilywhite Lilith are present and correct, as are the strings and choirs on The Lamia, while Kerzner adds a handful of volume-pedalled string chords to Raven. To finish things off, we get what sounds like the 'proper' strings/brass mix on the Three Sides Live-esque IT/Watcher Of The Skies medley.

The entire gig was filmed; to my knowledge, it's not officially available, but it all seems to be on YouTube, giving us occasional flashes of that T550. Three tracks from their set leaked out the year after the concert, on the first compilation from the festival, Progfest '94, with Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody, Slippermen and The Musical Box, but I can recommend the complete recording to anyone who's interested in hearing a very familiar album tackled by a different, yet highly talented group of musicians. Incidentally, Gilbert managed one more stab at Genesis before his untimely death, with an unusual, if excellent take on Back In N.Y.C. on the Magna Carta label's Supper's Ready Genesis tribute album the following year.

Official site

See: Toy Matinee

Rob Giles  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Giles, Giles & Fripp  (UK)

	The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp  (1968,  40.52/59.33)  ***½/TT
	Northmeadow Newly-Weds One in a Million Call Tomorrow Digging My Lawn Little Children The Crukster Thursday Morning	How Do They Know Elephant Song The Sun is Shining Suite No. 1 Erudite Eyes [CD adds: She is Loaded Under the Sky	One in a Million (mono single version) Newly-Weds (mono single version) Thursday Morning (mono single version) Thursday Morning (stereo single version)]

	The Brondesbury Tapes (1968)  (2001,  72.30)  ***½/½
	Hypocrite Digging My Lawn Tremelo Study in A Major (Spanish Suite) Newly Weds Suite No. 1 Scrivens Make it Today Digging My Lawn	Why Don't You Just Drop in I Talk to the Wind Under the Sky Plastic Pennies Passages of Time Under the Sky Murder I Talk to the Wind	Erudite Eyes Make it Today Wonderland Why Don't You Just Drop in She is Loaded

Current availability:

• Cheerful: Eclectic
• Brondesbury: Voiceprint

Mellotrons used:

• Unknown

I expect these names are familiar to most of you; two-thirds of the initial King Crimson lineup, while the other Giles played on their second album. Cheerful Insanity... is a very odd record; very much of its time, it works its way through all the usual Brit-psych clichés without ever really transcending the genre. Saying that, Suite No. 1 is an interesting little piece, with some excellent guitar work by the young Mr. Fripp (one of his surprisingly rare writing contributions here). Unfortunately, most of the songs tend towards the overly-whimsical, the end result being a less than totally essential addition to the psych (or Crimson) fan's collection. One of the album's better features is/are the little spoken-work vignettes between some of the songs, collectively entitled The Saga Of Rodney Toady, although the humour hasn't really dated that well. There's a little Mellotron on the album, uncredited, but apparently played by Fripp, particularly on the slightly cheesy One In A Million, but, like many of its contemporaries, Cheerful Insanity... isn't exactly awash with the thing. Incidentally, thanks to Jochen for extra information.

2001's clumsily-titled The Brondesbury Tapes (1968) is pretty much what it says on the tin: demos, mostly from the band's tenure at 93a Brondesbury Road, Queens Park, in west London, some featuring Ian McDonald, who turned up with a post-Fairport Judy Dyble. He stuck it out, she didn't. Some of the set has been released on vinyl as Metamorphosis, while Dyble's version of I Talk To The Wind originally appeared on 1975's post-Crimso compilation The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson. The optimistic sleevenotes claim that the band's home demos (an unusual approach at the time) are comparable with professional studio recordings; they're good, given that they were done by bouncing-down on a two-track Revox, but not that good. Highlights include Suite No. 1, the Dyble I Talk To The Wind and the six-minute Wonderland, but the set's completist approach (which, perversely, I applaud) works against it, landing the listener with over an hour of relatively low-fi music, including no fewer than five doubles. Then again, this is an album for completists; I suppose that's what Spotify playlists/programmable CD/iPods etc. are for. Despite detailed track-by-track credits, there's no mention of the Mellotron flutes on Newly Weds, but, given that it's one of the McDonald-free tracks, it seems likely that Fripp was responsible.

See: King Crimson | 21st Century Schizoid Band

Gilgamesh  (UK)

	Gilgamesh  (1975,  37.02)  ***½/½ One End More/Phil's Little Dance (for Phil Miller's Trousers)/Worlds of Zin Lady and Friend Notwithstanding Arriving Twice Island of Rhodes/Paper Boat (for Doris)/As if Your Eyes Were Open For Absent Friends We Are All/Someone Else's Food/Jamo and Other Boating Disasters (From the Holiday of the Same Name) Just C
	Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into  (1978,  37.48)  ***½/T Darker Brighter Bobberty - Theme From Something Else Waiting Play Time Underwater Song Foel'd Again T.N.T.F.X.

Current availability:

• Both titles: Esoteric

Mellotrons used:

• Unknown

Gilgamesh are a classic 'Canterbury Scene' band; led by ninja keyboard god Alan Gowen, they coalesced in 1973, split in '75, then re-coalesced in '77 before splitting again, this time for good. Musically, they had an awful lot in common with Hatfield & the North, so it comes as no surprise that Dave Stewart was briefly involved with the band; think: prime Brit-fusion, somehow managing to make that so American of musics, jazz, sound relatively un-American. An un-American activity? Let's hope so.

The first lineup's only release, 1975's Gilgamesh, is exactly what you'd expect of it; mad, instrumental jazz-rock, with surprisingly little showing-off, all musicians concerned playing their hearts out in a tightly arranged formation. Individual plaudits are irrelevant; all players and tracks display the levels of virtuosity you'd expect, although the concept of 'tunefulness', outside the hermetically-sealed world of jazz is another matter. Gowen played the tiniest amounts of Mellotron possible, seemingly emulating the Hatfields, with a smidgeon of strings on One End More and only slightly more on Notwithstanding.

After the aforementioned split and reformation, the band's second lineup released Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into in '78, following the path laid down by their debut with little deviation, despite the vast changes wrought on the industry in the intervening three years. The album's one Mellotron track is Underwater Song, with a quiet flute part running most of the way through the piece, though not exactly something any self-respecting Mellotron nut couldn't live without. Tragically, Gowen died of leukaemia in 1981, denying the world his very considerable talents; for more of his work, listen to National Health, essentially a Gilgamesh offshoot.

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