The Mellotron Group

FANTASTIC!!!!  Love the pitch bend!


On Oct 16, 2009, at 9:13 PM, Mike Dickson wrote:

> http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/private/Epitaph-Reworked.mp3
>
> markpringnz wrote:
> >
> >
> > Apparently in the 50th anniversary edition the mellotron will be
> > replaced with a kazoo.
> >
> > --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> > <mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>, Mike Dickson
> > <mike.dickson@...> wrote:
> > >
> > > This may sound like heresy....
> > >
> > > Does anyone else have the new 40th anniversary edition of 'In  
> The Court
> > > of the Crimson King'? I do (as you may expect) and believe it or  
> not,
> > > what has been done to it in terms of sonic quality is  
> astounding. It's
> > > even better than the 30th anniversary edition (which I thought was
> > > outstanding) and comes with some really good extras too.
> > >
> > > But.
> > >
> > > To me, the biggie on this album was always 'Epitaph'. It was  
> really
> > this
> > > track that showed me the way and pointed me at a style of music  
> I don't
> > > think anyone else in the genre has come /close /to equalling.  
> And it
> > was
> > > always the Mellotron that did it. Everything else in the track was
> > > great, but the piercing shreik of the Mellotron propelled it  
> from being
> > > a /fairly/ standard minor key tune into something really magical.
> > >
> > > Which begs the question: /what the shiny blue fuck has happened
> > here? /I
> > > was listening to the track again today having had a feeling of  
> loss
> > in a
> > > couple of previous listens, and have suddenly found out where it  
> was
> > > coming from. Or not. At the close of the first chorus the  
> Mellotron
> > > climbs to the top E as well all know...and never gets there. The
> > note is
> > > /not there/. One note. Big deal, you may say, but it is a /sublime
> > > /note. As Fripp himself has droned, you '/can play any note they  
> like
> > > provided it's the right one/'. And this is the right one. It's  
> sweet
> > and
> > > perfect and rounds off the chorus perfectly. So why is it  
> omitted. It's
> > > even in tune!
> > >
> > > Worse is to come. /That pitch bend. /My 14 year old jaw dropped on
> > > hearing it for the first time. I think I destroyed my first copy  
> by
> > > dropping the needle onto at point again and again and again. It  
> is a
> > > fantastic, blood-curdling hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck  
> experience. And
> > > on the 40th anniversary set it is /sludged out/. The crescendo
> > behind it
> > > absolutely overwhelms it to the extent that you can hear the  
> trick; one
> > > Mellotron plays a crescendo climbing 'flat' to E-minor whilst  
> the other
> > > one bends up to it. Expert fading on the original ensured that the
> > > /effect /was heard but that the squeak of strings ratcheted up  
> like
> > that
> > > /was not/. It's a superb moment. And you can barely hear it on  
> the new
> > > release.
> > >
> > > Has anyone else noticed this or any other weirdness/ It's the only
> > track
> > > I have listened to in such detail so far, which makes me a tad  
> scared
> > > for the rest now. Actually, I'm playing it now and the clarity  
> of the
> > > piece now makes it sound like Mike Giles banging on timpani in a
> > studio,
> > > not the far-off and distant /sound of doom /that I know so well.  
> Maybe
> > > less is nore. Perhaps Fripp has /tinkered beyond. /Perhaps I'll  
> ask him.
> > >
> > > Musical choices aside, the sound quality is to be heard and
> > disbelieved.
> > > A friend with a good 5:1 system says that 21CSM is like having  
> the band
> > > play in your front room. It's that good.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Mike Dickson, Edinburgh
> > >
> > > Free Music Project: http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/
> > <http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/>
> > > Or http://www.last.fm/music/Mike+Dickson
> > <http://www.last.fm/music/Mike+Dickson>
> > > Or http://soundcloud.com/mikedickson <http://soundcloud.com/mikedickson 
> >
> > > Or http://www.planetmellotron.com/revd4.htm#mikedickson
> > <http://www.planetmellotron.com/revd4.htm#mikedickson>
> > >
> >
> >
>
> -- 
> Mike Dickson, Edinburgh
>
> Free Music Project: http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/
> Or http://www.last.fm/music/Mike+Dickson
> Or http://soundcloud.com/mikedickson
> Or http://www.planetmellotron.com/revd4.htm#mikedickson
>
>
>