Mellotron

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Yes,yes,mellotrons often = prog,and more recently mellotrons = dadrockers searching authenticity,but I love them and don't have enough mellotron music in my life.Any suggestions aside from Yes/Beatles/King Crimson/Smashing Pumpkins/Radiohead and so on and so forth?

― Damian, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The Beach Boys.

― Andrew L, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request

10K Lightyears From Home gives good mellotron.

― kate, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

You can rest assured that for questions like this, there is always an obsessive with a website containing a looooong answer.

From this list, I would recommend Air - Moon Safari, Big Star, Bowie - Space Oddity, E.Costello - Imperial Bedroom (I gave up after the C's)

― Jeff W, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

How about much of OMDs "Architecture & Morality", in particular "Maid of Orleans"?!?!?

― Old Fart!!!!, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Julian Cope's a big mellotron fan and indeed uses them in his concerts. As for records I'd have to do a recce and get back to you.

― Billy Dods, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Manfred Mann's Ha Ha Said The Clown is best use of Mellotron flutes & brass. OMD's Architecture & Morality is best use of Mellotron choir & strings. I actually can't think of a Beach Boys recording which uses Mellotron. Could Andrew L-aborate?

Oh, & don't forget the Moody Blues, who I think actually helped develop the instrument in the first place.

Just to turn the discussion inevitably to Kraftwerk, the tres Mellotron-esque choirs & strings on RadioActivity & TEE are actually an instrument called the Vako Orchestron. Anyone ever come across one of these? Anyone know of any other records on which one appears?

― harvey williams, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The list in that link I posted upthread contains 1 (one) Beach Boys song that uses a mellotron. Also says an Orchestron may have been used on Rainbow's "Long Live Rock'n'Roll" LP

― Jeff W, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Anglagard's "Hybris" and "Epilog" are the best mellotron albums I've yet heard. Their label is called "Mellotronen" even. Oasis' use ov mellotron almost put me off the instrument for ever.

― Norman Phay, Friday, 23 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Ah,Mr Phay,I was waiting for your contribution :).I forgot about some of the stuff mentioned like Big Star and Bowie.I think the Vako Orchestron is what's used on Blue Monday as well.

― Damian, Saturday, 24 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Harvey - obv. I am full of shit. I always thought there was lots of Mellotron on things like 'Good Vibrations' - the 'ping-pong' sound you can hear more clearly on some of the 'outtakes' etc. - and albs like 'Smiley Smile' and 'Wild Honey', but I bow to the authority of that list!

― Andrew L, Saturday, 24 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

This isn't exactly an 'out there' example, but it's pretty central to Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" isn't it?

― Kim, Saturday, 24 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" uses a theremin for the spacey, wooo- woooo sound, which I guess is a whole 'nother thread.

― nickn, Monday, 26 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two years pass...

Seeing as a lot of people on the 'fave instrument' thread were talking about how great Mellotrons are, can we revive this and turn it into Mellotron: Search?...

I'm omitting the word 'destroy' there mainly because almost anything with a Mellotron in it is of some interest to me, and it'd just be pointless to state what I consider to be k-lame examples of its use.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 12 December 2003 08:57 (twenty years ago) link

Search: Herbie Hancock's "Crossings" and "Sextant".

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 12 December 2003 09:02 (twenty years ago) link

Search: Moody Blues "Search for the Lost Chord", "On The Threshold of a Dream" and "To Our Children's Children's Children"!!!!

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Friday, 12 December 2003 09:31 (twenty years ago) link

BTW Re: The Moody Blues helping to develop the instrument, I dunno about that, but I do know the keyboard dude Mike Pinder did work for the company who made the Mellotron in the UK, before he took up playing with the Moodies full time.

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Friday, 12 December 2003 09:34 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, Streetly Electronics!

Tales From Topographic Oceans is the most Mellotronny album in the world ever, and it's great!

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 12 December 2003 09:44 (twenty years ago) link

"Phaedra" and "Rubycon" by Tangerine Dream are huge beasts of Mellotron-ness, especially something like "Mysterious Semblance" from the former, which is just pure Mellotron with plenty of phasing. Edgar Froese commission the BBC Orchestra to record special tapes for his Mellotron, you know. Now that's dedication.

― Rob M (Rob M), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:20 (twenty years ago) link

Apparently the same Mellotron tapes that Tangerine Dream used were the ones that Jonny Greenwood used on OK Computer.

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:25 (twenty years ago) link

Oh and as far as other uses of the Vako Orchestron are concerned - "Blue Monday".

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:28 (twenty years ago) link

I thought rmi had t-dream's old mellotron tapes. (nb there is a mellotronists yahoo group, which is pretty good usually)

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:31 (twenty years ago) link

Are you sure about the Orchestron on "Blue Monday"? I'd always assumed it was an Emulator - at least that was what they used live at the time (see '83 TOTP performance).

I'll have to find that yahoo group - sounds like my kind of people.

― Rob M (Rob M), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:40 (twenty years ago) link

I second Moody Blues, they are the kings of mellotrons.

Also, obviously, Genesis' first three 70s albums.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:42 (twenty years ago) link

Do you like Anglagard Gier? (just curious, very early genesis sounding in places)

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:44 (twenty years ago) link

I vaguely recall reading something about the use of Vako Orchestron on "Blue Monday" BUT having said that, it might have been just me making the leap from Radio-Activity to New Order... that Orchestron sound on "Uranium"... it's an easy mistake to make :).

― Schwingung (Damian), Friday, 12 December 2003 10:52 (twenty years ago) link

The wonderful Odessey and Oracle by the Zombies is full of Mellotron. Definitely one of my favourite sounds.

― mms (mms), Friday, 12 December 2003 13:42 (twenty years ago) link

Caravan, "Golf Girl"; Captain Beefheart, "Sue Egypt"

― nestmanso (nestmanso), Friday, 12 December 2003 18:57 (twenty years ago) link

Medeski Martin and Wood's "Where Have You Been", especially the closing moments. The mellotron is definitely one of the greatest of the more recent additions to Medeski's quite sizeable keyboard arsenal.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:00 (twenty years ago) link

Tony Banks eventually replaced the mellotron with a Crumar string synth, as it was the only synth at the time that could create such breathy keyboard string-sounds as the mellotron could, but required a great deal less upkeep what with the not-going-out-of-tune and not having to manage the sound-source tapes.

Many people consider the mellotron to be the first sample-based musical instrument, as it's sound source isn't an electronically or mechanically generated tone, but an internal tape loop which can be replaced. The most common ones are string, horn, and choir patches, but really you could put a tape of any sound in a mellotron and play it.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:04 (twenty years ago) link

"Kites" by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound
"And You And I" by Yes
"Everything Means Nothing To Me" by Elliott Smith
Everything by Mauve Sideshow

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:06 (twenty years ago) link

The problem with using mellotrons live is that the tape frames heat up, expand and then go out of tune. Also there's so many moving parts (motors etc) that something always goes wrong and you need to be more like a mechanic to keep them going. Hence everyone eventually went over to string synths and there were loads of cheap mellotrons around (my bro bought one for £150 in about 1985).

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:10 (twenty years ago) link

I wish I had gotten one back then, as nowadays the cheapest I've seen one is $1500(US).

I said this on the other thread, but Tony Banks called his a "hobbytron" for those same reasons.

All technicalities aside, GOD I WANT ONE SO BAD!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:14 (twenty years ago) link

there's a lovely group called Hercules that uses one. they should be putting out their debut CD sometime next year hopefully. it's really wonderful stuff, everyone should keep an eye out for it.

― Felcher (Felcher), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:15 (twenty years ago) link

Nickalicious, they double up quite well as dinner tables too. Maybe you could kill two birds with one stone?

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:20 (twenty years ago) link

according to the book, The Kinks Are The Village Green etc., Ray used the mellotron on nearly every cut for said album.

― thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Friday, 12 December 2003 19:25 (twenty years ago) link

two years pass...

awesome cheesy demo footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrXtmKGkSa4

― zappi (joni), Thursday, 17 August 2006 12:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Those guys make it sound like the Ultimate Benny Hill Machine.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 17 August 2006 19:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Chairmen of the Board's "Skin I'm In" LP contains my current favorite mellotron moments. So awesome.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 17 August 2006 19:58 (seventeen years ago) link

I might be wrong, but I suspect that Steve Harley (& Cockney Rebel)'s brilliant concoction 'Mad, Mad Moonlight' has quite a lot of Mellotron in the mix.

Incidentally, is there any love here for Steve Harley? His 'Best Of' is flawless pop genius from start to finish IMO.

― Scourage (Haberdager), Thursday, 17 August 2006 20:02 (seventeen years ago) link

holy shit, this far into it, complete with revival, and no stairway to heaven mentions

― Sir Dr. Rev. PappaWheelie Jr. II of The Third Kind (PappaWheelie 2), Thursday, 17 August 2006 20:07 (seventeen years ago) link

No 'Tron on the studio version of "Stairway To Heaven" - it's four tracks of John Paul Jones playing the recorder, but they did use a Mellotron playing it live.

― LC (Damian), Thursday, 17 August 2006 20:18 (seventeen years ago) link

five months pass...

"Phaedra" and "Rubycon" by Tangerine Dream are huge beasts of Mellotron-ness, especially something like "Mysterious Semblance"

Edgar Froese, title track of "Epsilon in Malaysian Pale", that's the one to get, O Mellotronheads

― Tom D. (Dada), Friday, 9 February 2007 17:15 (seventeen years ago) link

Iknow the original request said "aside from" King Crimson, but I was just listening to this vintage concert the other day, and the massed Mellotron/noise of "Mars" must have freaked out more than a few hippies at the Fillmore.

http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/ConcertDetail.aspx?id=998|3860

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Friday, 9 February 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago) link

three months pass...

I'm actually kind of shocked there isn't at least a bit more Moodies in here -- I mean, these guys absolutely put this thing on the map. And Mike Pinder may have been some kind of genius.

Maybe.

― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 02:52 (sixteen years ago) link

I'm actually kind of shocked there isn't at least a bit more Moodies in here

Marissa to thread

― PappaWheelie V, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 03:19 (sixteen years ago) link

"Changes"-Black Sabbath
"No Quarter"-Led Zep

― Bill Magill, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 13:22 (sixteen years ago) link

Tons of Bowie. Most in evidence on Diamond Dogs, it really makes tracks like Sweet Thing and Big Brother. But also on Station To Station, Low and other albums.

― underpants of the gods, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 13:31 (sixteen years ago) link

I think Tori Amos uses the Mellotron on "Dragon" which is on her new album

― el juan, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 21:45 (sixteen years ago) link

Mellontrons still sort of outdated, but on the other hand they still sound fantastic. And different. A lot of today's mellotron use is probably either mellotron samples or softsynth tron-emulators though.

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 22:23 (sixteen years ago) link

two years pass...

http://www.bazillionpoints.com/mellodrama/

anyone seen? looks fantastic

did not know that the original Chamberlin tape library was recorded in collaboration with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra

― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 18:23 (fourteen years ago) link

Wow cool! Thanks for the tip. Hope that film shows in Portland.

― Nate Carson, Tuesday, 26 May 2009 19:59 (fourteen years ago) link

seven years pass...

https://mellotronrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/duets-for-mellotron

― timellison, Saturday, 14 January 2017 21:25 (seven years ago) link

four months pass...

Not really like practical but kinda awesome sounding home made reel-to-reellotron.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPy6djIrBfo&lc

― the evening redness at the injection site (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Monday, 12 June 2017 07:53 (six years ago) link

Hmm don't think that worked. Try

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPy6djIrBfo&lc

― the evening redness at the injection site (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Monday, 12 June 2017 07:56 (six years ago) link

oh bugger try searching "reel-to-reel mellotron thing" on YT I guess

― the evening redness at the injection site (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Monday, 12 June 2017 07:56 (six years ago) link

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