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Thread: Odd Use of Mellotron

  1. #1
    Member progholio's Avatar
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    Odd Use of Mellotron

    I was listening to the radio the other day and heard Leon Russell's 'Cajun Love Song' from the Carney album. There is a glaring Mellotron that seems so out of place on this tune it's kind of endearing.

    (the only audible clip I could find comes it at 13:58)




    I love it when the old 'tron shows up in weird places, like this one




    Anyone else have any oddball Mellotron sightings?

  2. #2
    Tuesday's Gone and Free Bird- Southern Rawk-a-Tron! The one in Free Bird is hideous sounding. Tuesday's Gone isn't so bad.

  3. #3
    Member WytchCrypt's Avatar
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    1st one I thought of is Sue Egypt from Captain Beefheart's "Doc at the Radar Station" album...
    Check out my solo project prog band, Mutiny in Jonestown at https://mutinyinjonestown.bandcamp.com/

    Check out my solo project progressive doom metal band, WytchCrypt at https://wytchcrypt.bandcamp.com/


  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    Tuesday's Gone and Free Bird- Southern Rawk-a-Tron! The one in Free Bird is hideous sounding. Tuesday's Gone isn't so bad.
    I thought the Mellotron on Tuesday's Gone was glorious sounding. On Free Bird, it's there for like 2 bars during the second verse, then disappears again.

    I'm not sure if it's an actual Mellotron or a sample, but I keep hearing something that sounds like Mellotron flutes on the score to a Canadian TV show from a few years ago called Being Erica.

    Another one that comes to that was kinda odd, given the era that it was recorded in, was Aerosmith's Angel, which makes use of the Mellotron strings.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I'm not sure if it's an actual Mellotron or a sample, but I keep hearing something that sounds like Mellotron flutes on the score to a Canadian TV show from a few years ago called Being Erica.
    The Cartoon Network show Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends also has Mellotron flutes in the theme song. Most likely samples, though.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    The Cartoon Network show Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends also has Mellotron flutes in the theme song. Most likely samples, though.
    Not to be pedantic but... Mellotron tapes are samples. They're just analog tape samples. So what we really mean is "most likely digital re-samples".

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    Not to be pedantic but... Mellotron tapes are samples. They're just analog tape samples. So what we really mean is "most likely digital re-samples".
    Dude, are you trying to steal my schtick, or what?!

  8. #8
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I thought the Mellotron on Tuesday's Gone was glorious sounding. On Free Bird, it's there for like 2 bars during the second verse, then disappears again.
    Yeah, Simple Man's trons are excellent... and tobe hnest, Idon't even remember the Freebird one... next time I hear it on radio (my remaster is dug to deep in boves to retrieve it)
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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    Progga mogrooves's Avatar
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    It struck me as "odd" when it turned up on Steve Miller's early '68 LP Children of the Future--an early American example--until I learned that it was recorded in London.
    Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes

  10. #10
    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean fame used it (actually a Chamberlin played by Larry Knechtel) quite extensively on his Save for a Rainy Day album in 1966. Very unexpected and odd for a surf guy.
    Lou

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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Yeah, Simple Man's trons are excellent... and tobe hnest, Idon't even remember the Freebird one... next time I hear it on radio (my remaster is dug to deep in boves to retrieve it)
    There's no Mellotron on Simple Man. It was Tuesday's Gone that had it.

    As I recall, Ronnie Van Zandt, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins are the only band members on the studio version of Tuesday's Gone. At least, as it was released. I believe the story I heard once was that the band played the song for Al Kooper (who was producing them) and he didn't want to record the song, for whatever idiotic reason. So Ronnie, Gary and Allen invited Al out to the studio parking lot where they told him to "get in the car and drive, or else". So he drove around for a couple hours, during which the band recorded the song with the engineer. Then when Al came back, he overdubbed his own bass part in place of Ed King's and added the Mellotron part. The drums were played by Robert Nix, although I can't remember if he actually overdubbed his parts over Bob Burns, or if they did two different takes, one with Bob Burns, and the other with Robert Nix.

  12. #12
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    There's no Mellotron on Simple Man. It was Tuesday's Gone that had it.


    you're absolutely right... Don't know how I mixed that up bdgest.gif, as I even quoted Tuesday...
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  13. #13
    Hugh Banton's mellotron towards the end of "A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers" is a very unique and spine tingling use of the instrument. I don't think he often used a mellotron, usually treated organ, so this is a real rare treat.

  14. #14
    This is an interestingly list of plenty of bands having play Mellotron when recording LPs...

    http://rateyourmusic.com/list/mdekon...e_mellotron/1/

  15. #15
    A squeeze box or organ would've been more appropriate on the Leon Russell tune.

  16. #16
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    BBC Radio 4 History of the Mellotron: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076ylh

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