Mellotrons

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   Ah, the Mellotron! One of the most evocative sounds of my early teenage years, I first heard a 'Mellie' in action on the Beatles' psychedelic tone poem Strawberry Fields Forever in early 1967. Using the flute stops and played by Paul McCartney (as was the lead guitar on this track, despite it being a Lennon creation) that iconic intro was one of the first Mellotronic pop statements to grace the charts. As with most things, the inate good taste of the Fabs meant they never overused any one instrument and only two other Beatles' recordings featured a Mellotron, the instrumental Flying from Magical Mystery Tour on which the flute and string settings were utilised, played by John Lennon, and The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill from the White Album where engineer Chris Thomas played one, using a classical guitar sample. 
The other famous example of the Mellotron in the charts of 1967 was, of course, Mike Pinder's unforgettable Rimsky-Korsakov inspired string line that transformed Nights In White Satin and gave the track its distinctive ambience. Mike Pinder had previously worked on Mellotrons and the like at an electronics firm and was an early advocate of these Heath Robinson creations with their eight-second tape samples on a rack, often prone to malfunction and less than reliable in a live setting. 

King Crimson claimed them for progressive rock with their blockbusting, seminal In The Court of the Crimson King album in 1969, using primarily the string tapes and experimenting wildly with the swell and varispeed functions; the classic mellotron string rush can be heard after the second verse of Epitaph from this work, it blew my head off as a teenager and still gives me goosebumps whenever I hear it! The Devil's Triangle from the second Crimson album, In The Wake of Poseidon employs what sounds like an army of Mellotrons and again, much use is made of the varispeed function: likewise the Lizard suite from their third release.

Genesis took a leaf out of Crimso's book and Tony Banks favoured the Mellotron heavily on the band's early seventies releases, preferring it over synthesisers to the point of not using synths at all pre-1973, relying on the Mellie, electric piano and his trusty Hammond organ to forge that distnctive early Genesis sound. When he did add synth to the band's sonic palette (on Selling England By The Pound), the sound 'smoothed out' to a degree and lost some of its former uniqueness. The best examples of Mellotron in the Genesis canon are The Fountain of Salmacis and the beautiful coda of the somewhat neglected Seven Stones from their brilliant third album, Nursery Cryme; Watcher of the Skies (of course!) and Can-Utility and the Coastliners from Foxtrot and the lesser used choral settings on the opening track from Selling England... , Dancing With the Moonlit Knight.

And then there was Stackridge, one of the loves of my life and all-time fave live band, who introduced the Mellotron into their sound in early 1972 and it made a startling difference to tracks like their theme tune, Lummy Days and the progtastic epic Syracuse the Elephant, both from their second (and best) album, Friendliness. It also provided additional colour to the band's majestic instrumental Purple Spaceships Over Yatton and gave a nice symphonic backcloth for Mutter Slater's incomparable flute forays on this track. Andy Davis was the keyboard meister for this period and the pastoral instrumental God Speed The Plough from the George Martin produced album, The Man in the Bowler Hat is another great recorded example of the Mellotron, this time combined with real 'organic' orchestration and Mutter's peerless flute runs. 

After a line-up reshuffle in 1974, Mutter Slater swapped to Mellotron and played it on the notable No-One's More Important Than the Earthworm from the Extravaganza album and there is some priceless TV footage of the OGWT version of this track included on a compilation made available through the Rhubarb Thrashers network a few years back, with Mutter playing the Mellie, bowler hat perched atop the keyboard - wonderful! The band had their fair share of Mellotron mishaps on the road though, I remember it breaking down in the middle of a performance of Syracuse the Elephant  at Dagenham Roundhouse in 1972, to be coaxed back into life before Purple Spaceships by roadie Dave Lear. The curse of the Roundhouse also struck Genesis when they played there a few weeks later, as their Mellie broke down on the intro of Watcher of the Skies and considering that section consists solely of Mellotron, it couldn't have got any worse for Tony Banks that night!

I can't sign off on any tour of early seventies Mellotron pioneers without mentioning Rick Wakeman, as both the Strawbs and Yes made the sound of the Mellie part of their signature in that era. It was Rick who brought it to Yes as the first three Yes albums didn't feature one at all. Heart of the Sunrise from the Fragile album featured it heavily and on their masterpiece, Close To The Edge the classic break in And You And I will forever be associated with the Mellotron sound. The Strawbs continued to lean heavily on the Mellie after Rick quit them for Yes and the wonderful Grave New World album of 1972 has some sterling playing by Blue Weaver. Also of note is the more percussive use of Mellotron on the dramatic title track of the band's Hero & Heroine album from 1974.

There was something about the sound of a Mellotron which retained the 'organic' element that synths tended to lack, despite being something of a glorified tape recorder and the forerunner of the ubiquitous sampler that ended up dominating popular music of all shades - in a strange way, the Mellotron was the harbinger of the future, in musical terms. I retain my affection for this instrument and as a final anecdote, when I had my first trip into a recording studio in 1976 with my then combo, the Barley Wine Band, to record a demo, as soon as I saw they had a Mellotron I replaced the organ arrangement I was proposing to employ and replaced it with the good ol' Mellie!

Long Live the Mellotron......

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AlanD Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: August 28 2008 Location: Portsmouth Status: Offline Points: 135	Topic: Mellotrons Posted: October 08 2008 at 08:28
	Ah, the Mellotron! One of the most evocative sounds of my early teenage years, I first heard a 'Mellie' in action on the Beatles' psychedelic tone poem Strawberry Fields Forever in early 1967. Using the flute stops and played by Paul McCartney (as was the lead guitar on this track, despite it being a Lennon creation) that iconic intro was one of the first Mellotronic pop statements to grace the charts. As with most things, the inate good taste of the Fabs meant they never overused any one instrument and only two other Beatles' recordings featured a Mellotron, the instrumental Flying from Magical Mystery Tour on which the flute and string settings were utilised, played by John Lennon, and The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill from the White Album where engineer Chris Thomas played one, using a classical guitar sample. The other famous example of the Mellotron in the charts of 1967 was, of course, Mike Pinder's unforgettable Rimsky-Korsakov inspired string line that transformed Nights In White Satin and gave the track its distinctive ambience. Mike Pinder had previously worked on Mellotrons and the like at an electronics firm and was an early advocate of these Heath Robinson creations with their eight-second tape samples on a rack, often prone to malfunction and less than reliable in a live setting. King Crimson claimed them for progressive rock with their blockbusting, seminal In The Court of the Crimson King album in 1969, using primarily the string tapes and experimenting wildly with the swell and varispeed functions; the classic mellotron string rush can be heard after the second verse of Epitaph from this work, it blew my head off as a teenager and still gives me goosebumps whenever I hear it! The Devil's Triangle from the second Crimson album, In The Wake of Poseidon employs what sounds like an army of Mellotrons and again, much use is made of the varispeed function: likewise the Lizard suite from their third release. Genesis took a leaf out of Crimso's book and Tony Banks favoured the Mellotron heavily on the band's early seventies releases, preferring it over synthesisers to the point of not using synths at all pre-1973, relying on the Mellie, electric piano and his trusty Hammond organ to forge that distnctive early Genesis sound. When he did add synth to the band's sonic palette (on Selling England By The Pound), the sound 'smoothed out' to a degree and lost some of its former uniqueness. The best examples of Mellotron in the Genesis canon are The Fountain of Salmacis and the beautiful coda of the somewhat neglected Seven Stones from their brilliant third album, Nursery Cryme; Watcher of the Skies (of course!) and Can-Utility and the Coastliners from Foxtrot and the lesser used choral settings on the opening track from Selling England... , Dancing With the Moonlit Knight. And then there was Stackridge, one of the loves of my life and all-time fave live band, who introduced the Mellotron into their sound in early 1972 and it made a startling difference to tracks like their theme tune, Lummy Days and the progtastic epic Syracuse the Elephant, both from their second (and best) album, Friendliness. It also provided additional colour to the band's majestic instrumental Purple Spaceships Over Yatton and gave a nice symphonic backcloth for Mutter Slater's incomparable flute forays on this track. Andy Davis was the keyboard meister for this period and the pastoral instrumental God Speed The Plough from the George Martin produced album, The Man in the Bowler Hat is another great recorded example of the Mellotron, this time combined with real 'organic' orchestration and Mutter's peerless flute runs. After a line-up reshuffle in 1974, Mutter Slater swapped to Mellotron and played it on the notable No-One's More Important Than the Earthworm from the Extravaganza album and there is some priceless TV footage of the OGWT version of this track included on a compilation made available through the Rhubarb Thrashers network a few years back, with Mutter playing the Mellie, bowler hat perched atop the keyboard - wonderful! The band had their fair share of Mellotron mishaps on the road though, I remember it breaking down in the middle of a performance of Syracuse the Elephant at Dagenham Roundhouse in 1972, to be coaxed back into life before Purple Spaceships by roadie Dave Lear. The curse of the Roundhouse also struck Genesis when they played there a few weeks later, as their Mellie broke down on the intro of Watcher of the Skies and considering that section consists solely of Mellotron, it couldn't have got any worse for Tony Banks that night! I can't sign off on any tour of early seventies Mellotron pioneers without mentioning Rick Wakeman, as both the Strawbs and Yes made the sound of the Mellie part of their signature in that era. It was Rick who brought it to Yes as the first three Yes albums didn't feature one at all. Heart of the Sunrise from the Fragile album featured it heavily and on their masterpiece, Close To The Edge the classic break in And You And I will forever be associated with the Mellotron sound. The Strawbs continued to lean heavily on the Mellie after Rick quit them for Yes and the wonderful Grave New World album of 1972 has some sterling playing by Blue Weaver. Also of note is the more percussive use of Mellotron on the dramatic title track of the band's Hero & Heroine album from 1974. There was something about the sound of a Mellotron which retained the 'organic' element that synths tended to lack, despite being something of a glorified tape recorder and the forerunner of the ubiquitous sampler that ended up dominating popular music of all shades - in a strange way, the Mellotron was the harbinger of the future, in musical terms. I retain my affection for this instrument and as a final anecdote, when I had my first trip into a recording studio in 1976 with my then combo, the Barley Wine Band, to record a demo, as soon as I saw they had a Mellotron I replaced the organ arrangement I was proposing to employ and replaced it with the good ol' Mellie! Long Live the Mellotron......
	AlanD

BaldJean Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: May 28 2005 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 10387	Posted: October 08 2008 at 08:34
	I love how it is used on Edgar Froese's album "Epsilon in Malaysian Pale". or on some Tangerine Dream albums like "Phaedra"
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chopper Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 20030	Posted: October 08 2008 at 08:37
	Nice piece, and nice mention of Seven Stones, always an underrated Genesis number imo.

jimidom Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: August 02 2007 Location: Houston, TX USA Status: Offline Points: 570	Posted: October 08 2008 at 08:57
	"Hairless Heart" from The Lamb... has a nice mellotron intro as well.
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thz lzzz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: September 22 2008 Location: aesolv muta Status: Offline Points: 61	Posted: October 08 2008 at 09:38
	i experience an amazing misuse of the classic keybo when i saw medeski, martin & wood live. medeski had opened up the mellotron and was man-handling the tape loops while playing it, incredible show - incredible instrument! i believe there is a german company recreating them for sale atm.
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Easy Livin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: February 21 2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 15585	Posted: October 08 2008 at 10:40
	A previous thread from earlier this year which will be of interest: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=48597

Dick Heath Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Jazz-Rock Specialist Joined: April 19 2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 12813	Posted: October 08 2008 at 13:09
	The best examples of not being obvious with a mellotron are Graham Bond's use 1964 or 65 for a blues rock number and Robert Wyatt's Oh Caroline (on the first eponymous Matching Mole album). I think the late John Peel said the latter tune was the least cliched use of the instrument, something Peel probably got right. Edited by Dick Heath - October 08 2008 at 13:16
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Tapfret Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 12 2007 Location: Bryant, Wa Status: Offline Points: 8581	Posted: October 09 2008 at 11:55
	One of those truly silly things in the evolution of technology and music is the relationship between the mellotron and the digital sampler. The mellotron, of course being the earliest keyboard sampler had its beauty rooted in its inconsistency. The sound never quite sounded like the choir, winds, or strings that were intended to be reproduced. But the sound that replaced it was mystical and eerie at times. And it is my understanding that unlike a worn out cassette tape that becomes unlistenable, the mellotrons little tape loops gained much of their unique character after they were repeatedly played and became a little worn out. Unlike the digital sampler which never evolves. Even direct samples of mellotron loops have not been able to duplicate that character. Which is funny, when you consider how accurate digital samplers are with choirs, pianos, strings and winds. They just can't seem to reproduce that classic mellotron sound.
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thz lzzz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: September 22 2008 Location: aesolv muta Status: Offline Points: 61	Posted: October 13 2008 at 08:49
	http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/09/make_a_mellotron_out_of_w.html do you want a mellotron but can't afford that vintage gear? make your own! DIY!
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prog4evr Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 22 2005 Location: Wuhan, China Status: Offline Points: 1455	Posted: October 16 2008 at 05:20
	Thank you, Alan D, for a GREAT reminiscence on one of the finest keyboard instruments ever created. And, as you note, some of the best classic prog (and proto-prog) must give kudos to the almighty Mellotron. One of my favorite more recent uses of the grand instrument is at the very end of "Falcon Suite" by Like Wendy - angelic vocalizations that are signature Mellotron! (great stuff...)