PELL MELL

"Marburg" by PELL MELL was one of the first Progressive Rock albums I've ever heard and back in those days (I was only sixteen years old) it completely blew my mind out; I've never listen to anything similar to this album before (now I could mention a dozen of similar bands) but not then, this was a great discover to me. The hard rock combined with symphonic almost classical music is a factor that several bands (especially in ENGLAND, GERMANY and FRANCE) did in the early seventies and this album has lots of that stuff.

Even when I liked this album a lot when I first heard it, now (ten years later) I can see this guys were not as unique as I thought: I don't like the word plagiarism because I believe that in music there are some songs that are similar to others and that shouldn't necessarily suggest it was an intentioned copy; I recognized the unmistakable BLACK SABBATH's riff in "Alone" since I first listen to the album and certainly it has also a lot of similarity with PINK FLOYD's "A saucerful of secrets" but I always thought it was just a coincidence or the influence of those bands and not a shameless plagiarism, but a year ago I discovered the German Progressive Rock band IKARUS and now I can hear a lot of their only album released in 1971 in "Marburg" too. Again: I'm not saying it's plagiarism but I keep finding more and more REALLY similar sounds to contemporary bands.

All of those suspicious similarities to other bands made me take a star off to the rate I was originally going to assign to this album.

Great stuff though!

First off, "Moldau" is in part a homage to Pell Mell's debut album "Marburg" that contained a deeply moving instrumental number "Moldau", based on the famous section of composer Bedrich Smetana's "Ma Vlast" work. On the 1981 album, the Moldau transcription is longer and more elaborate, and in two sections. Thomas Schmitt's violin playing is as wonderful as ever, and the keyboard and guitar work is quite good as well.

Secondly, this record is unusual as it doesn't sound like it was recorded in 1981 at all, but musically would fit in with the mid- seventies prog period. And the band went out on a limb and made this record all instrumental, which really works well, as the playing on every number is interesting and refreshing in it's scope and feeling. There is the track "Gliding", which is the album's most atmospheric piece.(the listener can imagine gliding while hearing this section) Then, there is the multi-part "Dark Valley", which almost sounds like "Variations on a theme", very creative and colorful in it's structure, the final part to Dark Valley sounding like it might fit in with PFM's "Jet Lag" album, and just another example of why this album is not run of the mill, but full of surprises, and so unique in this time and place.

No doubt there is a misconception that Moldau the album is about a band that had lost their previous focus and appeal, but I don't really think so. I can't think of many a European seventies symphonic band in 1981 that despite some personnel changes, was still so in focus and doing something so refreshing, yet connected with past greatness.I give it four stars.

The eponymous suite dominates the album and this one is a really cool attempt by Pell Mell on Classical Prog, even if this particular style was completely out of fashion at the time.Fortunately Thomas Schmitt & co. were clever enough to present a piece full of changing climates, evolving from violin-based interludes to synth-drenched, TRIUMVIRAT-like exercises and a good bunch of romantic, Classical textures akin to NOVALIS.Even if Pell Mell borrowed some themes from the classic works of Liszt and Rachmaninoff, they refined them pretty well in their own style, which also contains beautiful acoustic preludes and nice, emotional vocals, even if these are pretty limited.The new upgraded sound becomes even more apparent on ''Prelude'', containing big symphonic synthesizers next to the bombastic acoustic piano.The second side continues in the same style.While the work on Hammond organ is again pretty notable, Pell Mell stand exactly on the thin line between TRIUMVIRAT's Baroque inspirations and frenetic keyboard pyrotechnics and NOVALIS' more laid-back stylings, where vocals play some role in the compositions and the arrangements are colored by sweet melodic themes and elaborate harmonies.Schmitt's work on violin is rather reduced and the emphasis now is on twisting keyboard textures, often displayed in a dual mode, with the synthesizer established among the leading instruments of the band.

After an uneven album, Pell Mell returned with a strong third work, basically marking how Classic Prog should sound around mid-70's.Grandiose, symphonic arrangements with pompous moves, decent melodies and quirky keyboard injections.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

"Clown And The Queen" is such a good track where everything falls into place perfectly. This song is proof that he can sing well, just not when he tries to sing out of his zone. The beginning is so good with the guitar and organ standing out on this catchy track. The instrumental sections are heavenly. Man this song just hooked me in but it's all downhill from here folks. "Moldau" opens with the sound of running water and the birds singing as the flute comes in. The flute stops as the organ and drums come in and build slowly. Violin is added around 2 minutes in and it will dominate the sound here. It's okay and i'm not big into classical music which is the direction it takes late.

"Friend" might be my least favourite with those vocals that seem to be double tracked and yelling the words. The last 2 minutes are the best part of the song as we get a powerful instrumental section with ripping guitar. "City Monster" is vocal and violin led and it's okay. "Alone" ends it with an almost avant intro with each member seemingly playing whatever they feel like. It's a cool section, then they settle in with a fairly intense section but the vocals aren't the best that's for sure. It settles in with the violin leading before 2 minutes and the vocals settle back too thankfully.

Most feel that this is PELL MELL's best and while I am impressed with the music for the most part, I would like this much more if the vocals and violin were both scaled way back.

I've been wanting to check out this band, practically for decades. The reality is that there are countless of - potentially - credible works, yet to find time to listen to. I choose this album ahead of higher rated ones, assuming that it'll give me an insight into the general style. If I am left less than impressed then I won't spend time on the rest of Pell Mell's albums. Conclusion of first listen? I sure will!

This is not your average Krautrock, but classic Prog, no doubt. The first impression is that the vocal harmonies are not far off Gentle Giant - and that's quite something to come even near. The classical component throughout the works is unmistakable. Partly due to the violin(s), very spirited organ works - not mentioning the compositions for starters. Well, Germany has given the world a disproportionate number of classical composers, so it's hardly surprising of a German band to pay respect to that.

No, this is not classical music, but definitely inspired by such. Comparisons with Ekseption, ELP, or rock bands trying to appear "sophisticated" would not be appropriate here. Much closer to a lost Gentle Giant album.

Pell Mell is a great, rocking band that has been able to fuse the romantic elements of classical with even the odd wah-wah pedal into quality Prog. I am left very impressed. An album tha's likely to keep growing on me. For now, I have no hesitation to offer a 4, but chances are that it'll be revised upwards - eventually.. A great find!

Pell Mell now sounded a little more ambitious, having writen down longer compositions with improved space for instrumental themes, but at moments they sounded less original than on their debut.The long title-track is the perfect example of such a description, a mix of Classical Rock and organ-driven Progressive Rock with highs and lows.It is characterized by the monstrous violin drives and solos of Classical nature by Schmidt, some nice vocal parts led by Rudolf Schön, where the band still sounds grounded in its psychedelic past, and a few nice melodies.But it also contains some non-sense organ torturing, jazzy bits and piano interludes, like if you listen again to a German-born KEITH EMERSON.I am trying to find the reason of the existence of the following ''Toccata''.It is like if the previous track is extended for four more minutes of endless, virtuosic solos.''Suite I'' from the flipside is definitely more cohesive and rewarding.Good interplays, excellent vocal lines, melodious textures, dreamy violin work and a fair dose of keybard pyrotechnics result a strong track - maybe the best of the album - which you can listen with joy.The 11-min. ''Suite II'' eventually gives some space for some nice guitar runs and solos among the rich keyboard-based ideas of the group.It also features over the top multi-vocal arrangements and the excellent combination of Schmidt's spacey flutes and crying violins in the middle of the composition.Very nice piece of music, which sounds a bit different from the rest of the album.

Pell Mell proove to be technically accomplished with each release, but compositionally the album ends up to be a bit uneven.The ''Suite'' pieces are simply beautiful but the opening pair is of questionable quality and rather unoriginal.Still recommended, especially if you prefer your Prog Rock with strong Classical overtones.

The band's debt to THE NICE was acknowledged right at the top of the album, in their adaptation of the Antonín Dvořák title track, which had figured so heavily in Keith Emerson's notorious update of Leonard Bernstein's "America". Unlike other Classical Rock copycats Pell Mell at least put some effort into their arrangements, beyond simply augmenting the usual symphonic chestnuts with a modern rhythm section. Here they added lyrics and played around with the tempo, jumpstarting the stately original with a little quintessential Prog Rock melodrama, 1970s style.

The vocals were still a liability (imagine a Teutonic Derek Shulman), and the production values remained somewhat primitive, to say the least. But the band must have been doing something right to have their LPs sold as far away as suburban Northern California, back in those halcyon days when imported vinyl was not uncommon in mainstream record emporiums like The Wherehouse and Tower Records (R.I.P.)

This one was more refined and melodic than its predecessor. But it's still a somewhat rusty museum piece, with little to recommend it today besides the charm of its nostalgia value. Pell Mell would be a hard sell in the 21st century, but honestly how can I not award at least three stars to an album that makes me feel like a teenager again?

But maybe another reason the band faded away so fast was because their original hard rock material never measured up to the quality of their classical adaptations. You can hear the difference on the band's 1972 debut album, in their interpretation of "The Moldau", which believe or not compares favorably to the 19th century Bedřich Smetana original.

Here and elsewhere the group took its cues from Keith Emerson and THE NICE, but employed twice the number of players to give the music far more depth. A simple recorder melody performed over the sound of birdsong and running water sets the mood, and by partially transposing the main theme to a minor key they achieve an attractive melancholy missing from the more heroic orchestral version. Add some graceful violin and a homeopathic dose of early PINK FLOYD organ atmospherics and the song becomes a textbook slice of European Prog circa 1972.

Pell Mell might have found success as a highbrow covers band, but this first album downplayed their more refined ambitions, which in retrospect dates it less than later efforts, but not by much. You won't hear anything like the wacky scat singing and mock chanting of the song "Friend" on subsequent albums, but you also won't hear anything near the same level of energy or aggression displayed here, possibly explaining the album's higher overall rating on these pages. The typically crude, almost amateur early '70s production can't entirely hide the ace musicianship. But the lead vocals (all in English) remain an acquired taste, on more than one song reaching levels of horrific, hide-your-pet shrieking well beyond the singer's natural range.

Don't expect to find any hidden treasures after forty years (and counting). "Marburg" is hardly a diamond in the rough, more like a slightly tarnished piece of musical pyrite: not worth much on close inspection, but still attractive when held at arm's length.

All members of the band are exemplary musicians as evidenced by some of the most wonderful symphonic prog ever done by anybody. The band have an inimitable way of combining their playing styles, but never far from a classical base on this album. (brilliant violinist Thomas Schmidt even leads the band at one point in a rendition of Smetana's "The Moldau".) And singer Rudolf Schoen has a way of singing uniquely his own.

What i like the most about this record is the way everything fits together so well-no single member goes on an egotistical bent to drown any other musician out, and in their instrumentation (violin, guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, recorder) the result is quality in all departments. All instrumentalists shine on Marburg, yet, the singer is important, as well. Something uniting Pell Mell in all this fantastic musical interplay is a definite early seventies atmosphere-you can sense that in Marburg. Everybody keeps your interest all the way through each number, whether with vocal or in instrumental passages.

I have never heard any of the other records by this band, but am convinced that Marburg was a hard act to follow, it being a winner in so many departments.

This excellent record is due five stars, no less. I can't think of another band that does things quite like this with this instrumentation-my advice is to start running pell mell to get Pell Mell's Marburg!

Not that Rhapsody is weak per se. The musicians are outstanding and really know how to handle the difficult classical stuff very well. But I´ve seen lost of other bands do it with much more personality (Emerson Lake & Palmer, an obvious influence, springs in mind immediatly, but there are otherS like Renaissance, Trace, etc). Some moments are quite good (the 9 minute opener Frost of An Alien Darkness is a highlight), some are less, and definitly the inclusion of a number like Can Can is embarassing. Vocals are their weak spot, but so were the ones of many bands from that era.

If you like classical music set in prog arrangements, go for it. The music here is well done and has some delicate parts, with soft approaches. If you´re looking for originality or something bold, go somewhere else. Small wonder this band did not reach a wider audience at the time, the competition was tough and other groups had a lot more to give. Still, Rhapsody has good symphonic moments with fine violin parts. 3 stars.