Mellotron Corner

[A Lark Ascending]

Bugger all to do with jazz, but I love the sound of the mellotron. It was there in the heart of non-mainstream rock as I started listening in 1970.

Largely wiped out by the much blander polyphonic synth in the late 70s, except as a bit of exotica.

Recall hearing Andy Partridge (I think) extolling its virtues on a radio programme as the only instrument that faded in and then stopped as opposed to starting and fading out.

Mellotron fans, this is your corner. Wish Keith Jarrett had taken to one!

[mjzee]

When I saw King Crimson in '73 & '74, Fripp had a mellotron onstage. I think he said in an interview that it was a very temperamental instrument, difficult to travel with. I suppose that could also be said of some musicians.

Beefheart used a mellotron on Doc At The Radar Station.

[A Lark Ascending]

They had two at that time, One for Fripp and one for David Cross. I recall them looking very elegant in pure white. I'd love one in my living room!

Yes, they had a reputation for going out of tune easily and even catching fire! The thing with King Crimson was that they used them in a rather bizarre way. Most bands used them as surrogate orchestras but by 73/74 KC were seeing them as instruments to do odd things with.

[mjzee]

This is from one of the KC shows I saw, July 1, 1974 in Central Park:

[A Lark Ascending]

I saw them in Nov '72, April '73 and Oct '73. I was a bit besotted.

This is what I remember:

http://www.dgmlive.com/vision.htm?show=293&id=490

Though Bruford liked his white dungarees with no shirt!

Edited June 22, 2013 by A Lark Ascending

[.:.impossible]

Here's a look at the inside. You can imagine why they are so temperamental.

I'd imagine the Mellotron's most well-known is the intro to Strawberry Fields.

Has anybody here seen this?

http://www.bazillionpoints.com/shop/mellodrama-the-mellotron-movie-dvd-by-dianna-dilworth/

[Guy Berger]

Bugger all to do with jazz... Wish Keith Jarrett had taken to one!

Herbie Hancock did in the early 70s (you can hear it on Crossings, Sextant and Jewel in the Lotus), as has John Medeski.

[A Lark Ascending]

Here's a look at the inside. You can imagine why they are so temperamental.

I'd imagine the Mellotron's most well-known is the intro to Strawberry Fields.

Has anybody here seen this?

http://www.bazillionpoints.com/shop/mellodrama-the-mellotron-movie-dvd-by-dianna-dilworth/

Thanks for that clip - so that's what goes on inside!

Would love to see that film!

There's a mellotron obsessives website here:

http://www.mellotron.com/

Has a nice list of albums that used the mellotron:

http://www.mellotron.com/mellolis.htm

(Has one of the Herbie Hancock discs mentioned above listed).

Edited June 23, 2013 by A Lark Ascending

[Joe]

IMO, some of the best / most subtle use of the mellotron can be heard on The Kinks' VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY. God save Nicky Hopkins and Ray Davies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9sY3NKP7is

[jazzbo]

Just have to say. . . try as I might I've never become a fan of the mellotron. Its presence on an album usually means I steer clear.

[Shawn]

I love the sound of the mellotron. I think the first time I became really aware of the sound was hearing the title track to "In The Court Of The Crimson King", I was so blown away by it that I had to find out what it was. Once I became familiar with it I realized I had heard it on countless other recordings but just didn't quite know what I was hearing...I'd hear a song and then realize "oh, that's a mellotron not strings".

The mellotron has been making a big comeback over the past several years as more bands explore vintage instrumentation.

[A Lark Ascending]

There's some really inventive mellotron on the 2nd and 3rd (post blues band) Moody Blues albums. If you can get past the tweeness of the band (I can because they were my first musical love and conjure up so many memories). You can almost hear Mike Pinder going 'well what will happen if I do this?' If he'd been given more scope instead of their rather democratic approach to song (and poem!!!!!) inclusion their later albums might have been less patchy.

Never realised until seeing that clip above that the sound on depressing a key would only last 8 seconds.

[Guy Berger]

There's some really inventive mellotron on the 2nd and 3rd (post blues band) Moody Blues albums. If you can get past the tweeness of the band (I can because they were my first musical love and conjure up so many memories). You can almost hear Mike Pinder going 'well what will happen if I do this?' If he'd been given more scope instead of their rather democratic approach to song (and poem!!!!!) inclusion their later albums might have been less patchy.

Yup. "The Voyage" is classic. His experimentation definitely lifted the band's albums beyond the routine, though I'd also add that he wasn't the band's best songwriter and perhaps a more Pinder-dominated band would have been more boring.

[A Lark Ascending]

There's some really inventive mellotron on the 2nd and 3rd (post blues band) Moody Blues albums. If you can get past the tweeness of the band (I can because they were my first musical love and conjure up so many memories). You can almost hear Mike Pinder going 'well what will happen if I do this?' If he'd been given more scope instead of their rather democratic approach to song (and poem!!!!!) inclusion their later albums might have been less patchy.

Yup. "The Voyage" is classic. His experimentation definitely lifted the band's albums beyond the routine, though I'd also add that he wasn't the band's best songwriter and perhaps a more Pinder-dominated band would have been more boring.

Yes, you are right.

Though I rather liked his very gloomy 'My Song' on one of the later albums he was on which went to strange places. And he was the only member of the band to have a song covered by the Four Tops!

The only consistent songwriter, to my mind, was Justin Hayward. I think the others were having babies from around 1970 and so couldn't resist couchy-coo songs.

Talking about The Moody Blues on a jazz board - I think I might have broken several house rules.

Edit: This made me smile from the Wikipaedia page on Pinder:

Pinder was one of the first musicians to use the mellotron in live performance, relying on the mechanical skills garnered from his time with Streetly to keep the unreliable instrument in working order. Typical of his travails was the Moodies' first US concert. When the band struck their first harmony, the back of the Mellotron fell open and all of the tape strips cascaded out. Pinder grabbed his tool box and got the instrument back into working order in 20 minutes time, while the light crew entertained the audience by projecting cartoons.

And I'd like to know if this was indeed so:

Pinder introduced the mellotron to his friend John Lennon. The Beatles subsequently used the instrument on "Strawberry Fields Forever".^[1]

Edited June 24, 2013 by A Lark Ascending