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Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Woolly on m300 1974

From: Mark Pring <markpringnz@yahoo.com>
Date: 2015-01-04

Hi Pete,

My favourite album is BJH Live 1974 and it is the only one I would whole heartedly recommend. The youtube clip is taken from the video of the same concert. Apart from Mockingbird, She said, Galadriel and Medicine Man are standout mellotron performances in my opinion. The album is on Youtube  as a sound only recording and the there are several other song clips from the video available there as well.

I found most of the studio albums disappointing. They were one of the local groups when I was a lad and I saw them half a dozen times between 1971 and 1975, the mellotron only broke down once. I thought they were very good live particularly if they didn't have the orchestra with them!

Woolly's mellotron arrangements then seem much more interesting than in later years, as he added more keyboards to his set up he didn't seem to take as much trouble with them. In the early days the tron was all he had and the arrangements were much better to my ears.

After 1974 they moved to a more AOR type sound and I lost interest.

Of the studio albums I think "Once again" and "And other short stories" are worth a listen. The mellotron is much less to the fore however. The live sound is the one that has been my obsession for over 40 years. Listening to Woolly's later performances with BJH and Maestoso I am convinced you need an M300 to get it. When Woolly uses the M300a tapes in an M400 it sounds just the same as mine.

I should have got an M300 selected the M300a violins and never changed stations again!

Cheers

Mark

From: "marabus marabus@charter.net [newmellotrongroup]" <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, 4 January 2015 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Woolly on m300 1974

 
Mark,

Thanks for sharing. Great song and Mellotron. I never really got into BJH.What album would be a good place to start?

Pete



On 1/4/15 1:31 AM, Mark Pring markpringnz@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] wrote:

This is the best video I have found of Woolly playing, I only wish they had shown more of him playing.

Mark

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