Led Zeppelin's Mellotron
'I am willing to claim that almost every exotic instrument played by whomever in the Rolling Stones, and recorded after they entered the Olympic Studios in November 1966, actually were played on the keyboard of the Mellotron. Whether it was a trombone, saxophone, French Accordion, you name it. Even the much debated lead guitar on Let It Loose. Yes, and even the percussion track on Sympathy For The Devil. When the Rolling Stones left Olympic Studios for the basement of Nellcote, the Mellotron was gone. Left behind. Because Brian Jones was dead. Nobody needed the sounds of the sixties anymore. If it, the Mellotron, turns up on later albums, then you know the track itself probably was recorded in the sixties.' -- godgammeldags.nu
Inside the Mellotron
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Intro
'The Mellotron is an electronic musical instrument invented around 1960 to provide the sounds of violins, cellos, flutes, choirs, horns, pretty much anything, from a keyboard. Given the technology of the day, the reasonable way to do this was with strips of magnetic tape. So the Mellotron uses a strip of magnetic tape, a pinch roller, tape head, pressure pad, and a rewind mechanism for each note on the keyboard.
'The heart of the instrument is a bank of parallel linear magnetic audio tape strips. Playback heads underneath each key enable the playing of pre-recorded sounds. Each of the tape strips has a playing time of approximately eight seconds, after which the tape comes to a dead stop and rewinds to the start position.
'A major advantage of using tape strips, as opposed to tape loops / cassettes (cf the Birotron) is that the Mellotron can reproduce the attack and decay of the instruments recorded on the tape.
'A consequence of the eight second limit on the duration of each note is that if the player wants to play chords that last longer than eight seconds, he/she has to release different notes in sequence in a process that has been compared to a spider crawling across the keyboard.
'To our modern day technological sensibilities this cumbersome mechanical contraption seems kludgy as can be, especially you're watching the tape rewind operation, but the fact is that no modern technology keyboard can come close to the quality of presence so characteristic of the Mellotron sound. Why is this? Because the tape playback mechanism is the musical instrument. It matters less what is recorded on the tape.
'Among the early Mellotron owners were Princess Margaret, Peter Sellers, King Hussein of Jordan and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The instrument was, and still is, a centerpiece of the psychedelic rock, art rock, and progressive rock movements.' -- Don's Mellotron Page
Read a economical but comprehensive history of the mellotron here
Trailer: 'Mellodrama'
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Users
'The Beatles were introduced to the Mellotron by Mike Pindar of the Moody Blues who are thought to be the first rock band to employ the instrument in a popular song. The Beatles' first use of Mellotron sounds was on the song Tomorrow Never Knows where they used reel to reel recorders to record Mellotron brass and string sounds which, along with other sounds, were then brought into the studio. The heavy weight of the Mellotron prevented the machine from easily being transported. The Beatles hired in a machine and subsequently (and more prominently) used it on their single "Strawberry Fields Forever" (recorded November-December 1966). The Beatles continued to compose and record with various Mellotrons for the albums "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Magical Mystery Tour", and "The Beatles" (White Album).
'Other artists utilizing the Mellotron on hit records in this period included The Zombies ("Changes", "Care Of Cell 44", "Hung Up On A Dream"), Donovan ("Celeste", "Breezes of Patchule"), Manfred Mann (several Mike D'abo-era recordings, including "So Long Dad", "There Is A Man" and "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James"), The Rolling Stones ("2000 Light Years from Home", "We Love You", "Stray Cat Blues"), Deep Purple ("Anthem"), The Bee Gees ("World", "Every Christian Lion-Hearted Man Will Show You" & "My Thing"), Traffic ("House for Everyone", "Hole In My Shoe"), Pink Floyd ("A Saucerful of Secrets", "See-Saw", "Julia Dream", "Atom Heart Mother" and "Sysyphus"), Procol Harum ("Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)"), The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow, Cream's "Badge", "Anyone for Tennis", The Left Banke's "Myrah", Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (Chamberlin), Nilsson's "The Moonbeam Song", and The Kinks' ("Phenomenal Cat," "Autumn Almanac," "Sitting By The Riverside," "All Of My Friends Were There," "Animal Farm," "Starstruck," "Days,"), David Bowie' "Space Oddity".
'The Mellotron was crucial to shaping the sound of the progressive rock genre, and it featured in the sound and recordings of more bands of that era than not. Among the more prominent examples are King Crimson, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Genesis, Hawkwind, ELP, and Tangerine Dream, but even such unexpected bands and artists of the period as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan used the instrument in their recordings. After all but dying out during the punk and New Wave era, the instrument had a great rebirth of popularity in the '90s that continues until today. Some of the recent and current artists who have used the Mellotron extensively include Guns N' Roses, The Mars Volta, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Sigur Rós, Dinosaur Jr, Pulp, U2, Primus, The Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Counting Crows, Oasis, Barenaked Ladies, Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Lenny Kravitz, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, Modest Mouse, Ayreon, Muse, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prick, Grandaddy, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Charlatans, Paul Weller, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree, Anekdoten, Air, and Opeth.' -- 120 Years of Electronic Music
The site Planet Mellotron has an extensive discography of all known post '50s recordings using the Mellotron that in some cases include reviews and anecdotal evidence.
Robert Fripp, Tarantula, ELP, John Lennon, Mike Pindar (Moody Blues), Barclay James Harvest, Tangerine Dream, Rick Wakeman/Yes, Ian McDonald/King Crimson
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The instrument
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Further
Mellotron Information Central
The Melloman - DIY Mellotron
All Things Mellotronic
Make a Mellotron out of four Walkmans
Tapeworm, a Mellotron-like synthesizer
Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie
The Mellotron Symposia
Mellotron Sounds
How a Mellotron works @ candor chasma
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20 examples
Robert Wyatt 'Seasong'
John Lennon's Mellotron experiments circa '68
The Flaming Lips 'Race for the Prize'
Rolling Stones 'We Love You'
Big Star 'Kangaroo'
Moody Blues 'Legend of a Mind'
Blur 'Badhead'
Bee Gees' 'Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You'
Dinosaur Jr. 'Thumb'
Kinks 'Phenomenal Cat'
Dungen 'Glomd Konst Kommer Stundom Anyo Till Heders'
King Crimson 'The Court of the Crimson King'
Roxy Music 'Street Life'
Family 'Peace of Mind'
Pavement 'Transport Is Arranged'
Genesis 'Watcher of the Skies'
Tom Waits 'In the Colosseum'
Led Zeppelin 'The Rain Song'
Daniel Johnston 'Syrup of Tears'
Sparks 'Thank God It's Not Christmas'
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p.s. Hey. I'll save any stuff on my end for the Itmpw report down south. I'm in another big rush today due to the imminent two interviews I mentioned yesterday. If anyone sees this in time and lives in France or Germany, I guess Gisele and I will be interviewed live on the Arte channel in the very early afternoon today, probably on some 'live from Festival d'Avignon' kind of show. Okay, ... ** David Ehrenstein, Hey. I don't think there's much chance people thought the crazy guy was part of the performance, but their great response might have had some sympathy for us re: the interruption included in it. ** 'Stoopid Slapped Puppies', Hey, Nick! Yeah, the success thing has been really, really nice. Thanks a lot. Oh, your stepping into Stan's and my talk is great, and what you said is both really interesting and makes a lot of sense to me. How did the play with the teens work out in the end, or is it still ongoing? And how are you in general and, well, in your specifics? Lots of love to you, maestro! ** Paul Curran, Thanks much for link to your piece. I'm going have to check it out later in the day, but I greatly look forward to that. Everyone, via Paul Curran and in relationship to yesterday's post, here's a piece Paul wrote last year called 'The Elements of Style'. Paul's an incredible writer, thinker, stylist, etc., and I strongly urge you to go have a look. I'm glad someone's enjoying this heat. Feel free to take my portion. In fact, I beg you to. ** Bernard Welt, Hi, B. Funnily enough, there's a post about Mr. Svenonius coming up on this very blog in just a week or so. ** Colin, Oh, thanks a lot, Colin. I hope you'll get to see the piece and see what you think somehow somewhere. Take care, man. ** Bill, I just sent you an email too. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you in just a few hours from now. You might get to meet Wolf and Tender Prey too before they split, if we're all very lucky. ** JW Veldhoen, No, I thought you were being sincere. My tone is a bit wobbly in this heat maybe. No, no maybes about it. I would have killed for nachos last night too. And I got itsy bitsy finger food at a soiree instead. I hear you, bro. ** Emily, Hi, Emily, welcome back. Due to my rushing this morning, I'll have to save reading your story until a little later, but I can't wait to have the chance. Everyone, our new pal Emily, purveyor of the great 'Without Obsession Life is Nothing' blog, has written what she says is her first short story, and it's on her blog, and I know enough about her gifts to safely encourage you to go check it out and even let her know your thoughts, if you feel so inclined. I wouldn't worry about its length. I had far shorter things in my last book of so-called short stories, ha ha. Plus, 'flash fiction' (i.e., very short fiction works), as the genre is being called, is where a lot of the most interesting work I've read recently is happening. Thanks a lot, Emily. ** Frank Jaffe, Hi, Frank. It's funny hearing you gripe about the cold weather when my skeleton might as well be my popcicle stick, ha ha. But yes, LA is best when clear and warm, and, trust me, it will be. LA has late summers. Once they start, they can barely let up until the end of October. That couple near you was like something out of a movie parodying LA. Funny. Hope you and Mr. E got to meet up, and that the evening was fun, and that today will be too, of course. ** Stan_cz, Hey. You didn't piss me off. I just thought I'd point out that you are surrounded by great people who happen to be in that age bracket when you're here. And I noted your 'it doesn't get better thing'. Yeah, we're just far apart on our attitudes about stuff like that. There's no right or wrong here. My experiences and my viewpoint are just very different than yours, is all. So it goes, life is strange, and all that. ** David, Hey, D. ** Tao Lin, Hi, Tao. Oh, I see what you're saying. Well, yeah, that wouldn't be too difficult or time eating. But now I have to remember what my Twitter account is called. I honestly don't. I bet it was either DC's or The Weaklings because I think I mostly set it up so people could follow the blog from there or something. Okay, I'll give the occasional tweet a shot. Thank you for wanting to do that. And if you really don't mind and it's easy, I'd be hugely grateful for a copy of 'Richard Yates' when the time is right. There's no forthcoming book I'm more anxious and fascinated to read. Thanks again,. Tao, and all respect to you. ** _Black_Acrylic, Thanks, Ben. It feels really good: the success, I mean. It's so trippy to take something on which you've been working so hard in private into the public sphere and have your instincts turn out to be true blue. I mean, you know what I mean. All of us artists here know how that feels. I love your karaoke idea, obviously. It's killer. Man, that should get the people talking. Maybe 'TIHYWD' and your karaoke piece can tour together. Weirder things have happened. ** Jesse Hudson, Hi, Jesse! Thanks a lot for that, obviously. Talk to you soon. ** Brendan, The Venetian. Nice. Never stayed there, or not yet. Lately, I always seem to end up at New York, New York or whatever it's called. Cheap, I guess. I'd love to do LV with you, man. Let's find a fucking way, okay? ** Will Decker, Hey. I tell you: literally every corner, street, alley, and you name it here looks exactly like those photos. It's very surreal, and very nice, I might add. I'm seeing as much of what else is going on here as I can. The terrible heat in which it's happening sure isn't helping though. Thanks, Will. ** Richard Labonte, Hi, Richard! Thank you so much for passing that on to Sypha. How are you? Did you get the book? I told them to send you one, and I can tell them again if they flaked out like they can sometimes. Hope all is well, and total respect to you as always. ** Creative Massacre, Oh, that journey to a happier, more centered you is an awfully important journey. And interesting along the way, I hope? Yeah, happiness is a really great priority to have, one that's easy to forget to have or something, I know. Yeah, let me know that and everything goes. ** Sypha, You write terrific sentences, man. Give yourself some deserved cred. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, Hey. Yeah, the mainstream can be fine. I guess when something is called main by everyone, it's for a good reason. I have to learn how to do my papaer fan bitchily. I don't think I do bitch very well. I'm too tall or something. It was the 'Dallas' theme song? That's A-okay with me. I loved 'Dallas'. That's not so wrong, is it? ... (Wow, I'm proofreading this quickly, and everything I wrote between this spot and the point where this parenthetical ends has been completely garbled, and I have no idea why, and I can't rewrite it now because I have no time. Fuck! It included my day report to Itmpw, a message to John, and the first part of my message to Math, and maybe even another message too. Totally weird. I'm sorry to those so unfairly afflicted. Just to show you what I mean, I'll include the garbled stuff in case you want to try to decode it or something. Good luck! It starts now: " melrose="" the="" i="" never="" dust="" my="" fans="" they="" look="" more="" like="" sculptures="" than="" bad="" you="" managed="" to="" write="" your="" bet="" satisfaction="" all="" but="" yours="" is="" pretty="" very="" friend="" t="" want="" go="" aquarium="" on="" a="" hot="" s="" wrong="" with="" bear="" sounds="" colorful="" as="" soon="" launched="" blog="" our="" mutual="" pals="" wolf="" and="" tender="" prey="" showed="" up="" at="" theater="" in="" sweaty="" we="" whisked="" ourselves="" into="" some="" shade="" had="" cold="" drinks="" talked="" about="" then="" snuck="" through="" shadowy="" parts="" of="" streets="" bio="" restaurant="" near="" vegetarian="" couscous="" blabbed="" came="" back="" prepped="" for="" did="" it="" went="" no="" technical="" audience="" was="" kind="" lot="" walk="" outs="" most="" boos="" ve="" gotten="" this="" know="" these="" shows="" rich="" older="" people="" who="" come="" festival="" see="" so="" m="" surprised="" haters="" think="" tp="" liked="" not="" me="" there="" reception="" crew="" friends="" boat="" moored="" finger="" free="" quite="" own="" jonathan="" schatz="" ended="" hanging="" out="" when="" got="" off="" vip="" bar="" late="" night="" that="" home="" cos="" felt="" done="" assume="" good="" time="" are="" still="" once="" washed="" ate="" let="" little="" fan="" blow="" slept="" now="" wednesday="" how="" workings="" first="" thing="" thought="" renewed="" just="" way="" frame="" renewals="" sexy="" sounding="" one="" legendary="" john="" here="" humble="" sound="" re="" taking="" lumps="" idea="" mostly="" things="" unless="" everything="" fact="" going="" right="" matter="" which="" brings="" us="" take="" care="" tristam="" fantastic="" total="" score="" mean="" lofts="" apartments="" what="" disneyland="" fun="" zone="" pier="" santa="" or="" winchester="" mystery="" house="" an="" forward="" solving="" loft="" mate="" whenever="" he="" she="" forks="" updated="" pleasure="" ll="" get="" proper="" great="" every="" math="" has="" her="" unimpeachable="" site=""> ... and it ends there). ... Pleasure is Easy. Get yourselves over there like now or awfully soon. ** Misanthrope, Whatever I said to you, and heat prevents me from remembering, consider it your blurb, yes. Man, I'm sorry about your great-aunt. Yeah, it wasn't nearly so difficult as with your grandma, but my grandma had a very bad final few years, and the hell it put in my mother's head and heart through were definitely not worth my grandma staying alive since she was so fucked up -- couldn't speak, could barely move -- that her eyes seemed to be begging for death 24/7. Stuff like that is where my sort of belief in fate totally falls apart. I'm very sorry, George. Hang in there, and a lot of love to you. ** Right. I'll go do my press stuff. If you have Arte and manage to tune in to our TV interview today, I'll be the guy wearing the disgustingly sweat-soaked t-shirt. I'll be hanging out with the blog's on Bill (Hsu) today too. And then the second to last performance of 'TIHYWD' is tonight. Oh, about the post: I love the mellotron. I just do. I really do. And today I foist that love on you. See you tomorrow.
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