The Mellotron Group

Thanks to every one for their advice however Santa
didn't listen. I wasn't really expecting a mellotron
but I did expect "To our children's children" and
"Foxtrot". In the event I got "The Moody Blues Gold"
and "Nursery Cryme".

Both were revelations.

I think Mike Pinder's mellotron and chamberlin playing
is beautiful, particularly the chamberlin playing on
"New Horizons" at first hearing I thought they were
real strings. I also like the mellotron on "The Candle
of Life". However I don't like the songs that much,
too sweet for my taste and for some reason I have
never enoyed Justin Hayward's singing.

I still prefer Woolly Wolstenhome's playing on
mellotron, as in Barclay James Harvest Live ( although
I understand a lot of the tron playing wasn't
particularlly live). However I did see them live a few
times and it is representative. Mike's sound does seem
very layered to my ears, was he able to produce those
sounds live?

"Nursery Cryme" was a very difficult kettle of fish. I
love it! I don't think the mellotron playing is
anything special and the lyrics seem somewhat
nonsensical to my ears but I think there is a much
more edgy and tight feel to it. I particularly liked
"Seven Stones" and "The fountain of Salmacis". I will
be buying "Foxtrot".

So in summary, "The Moody Blues" : the poor man's
"Barclay James Harvest", Genesis: the poor man's "King
Crimson".

Mark

PS I don't have King Crimson's "Red" but I believe it
is very highly rated, is it worth buying?

Oh and Happy New Year.





____________________________________________________________________________________
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page.
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

Mark,
YES!
Pete

Mark Pring wrote:

> pS I don't have King Crimson's "Red" but I believe it
> is very highly rated, is it worth buying?
>

----- Original Message -----

From: pete

To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 6:16 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Second thoughts, an update

Mark,
YES!
Pete

Mark Pring wrote:
> pS I don't have King Crimson's "Red" but I believe it
> is very highly rated, is it worth buying?
>

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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

----- Original Message -----

From: Tony

To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 8:42 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Second thoughts, an update

Hell YES!

Unless you don't like Mellotrons, Robert Fripp and Jon Wetton, Bill Bruford etc.

It's my favorite!

Tony

#510

----- Original Message -----

From: pete

To: newmellotrongroup@ yahoogroups. com

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 6:16 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Second thoughts, an update

Mark,
YES!
Pete

Mark Pring wrote:
> pS I don't have King Crimson's "Red" but I believe it
> is very highly rated, is it worth buying?
>

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No virus found in this incoming message.
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----- Original Message -----

From: Tony

To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 9:51 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Second thoughts, an update

But "Starless and Bible Black" runs a close second.

 

Ton

----- Original Message -----

From: Tony

To: newmellotrongroup@ yahoogroups. com

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 8:42 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Second thoughts, an update

Hell YES!

Unless you don't like Mellotrons, Robert Fripp and Jon Wetton, Bill Bruford etc.

It's my favorite!

Tony

#510

----- Original Message -----

From: pete

To: newmellotrongroup@ yahoogroups. com

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 6:16 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Second thoughts, an update

Mark,
YES!
Pete

Mark Pring wrote:
> pS I don't have King Crimson's "Red" but I believe it
> is very highly rated, is it worth buying?
>

No virus found in this incoming message.
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--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, Mark Pring <markpringnz@...> wrote:

> I think Mike Pinder's mellotron and chamberlin playing
> is beautiful, particularly the chamberlin playing on
> "New Horizons" at first hearing I thought they were
> real strings. I also like the mellotron on "The Candle
> of Life". However I don't like the songs that much,
> too sweet for my taste and for some reason I have
> never enoyed Justin Hayward's singing.

As an unashamed Moodies fan, I'm glad you enjoyed the Pindertron sounds! Ironically,
getting a recent Moodies compilation like "Gold" does rather bias the playlist towards
Hayward (10 of the 17 on the "Classic 7" disk by him, unlike the usual mix on an album -
and one of the two Pinder tracks included doesn't have Tron on it (in fact, I think Lost in a
Lost World is all Chamberlin)), which while they are the "hits" don't really give a true
impression of an early album. If you do get chance to listen to Children's Children's
Children, take it - mostly because you get to hear Pinder's "Out and In"! (Not to mention
pitch-bend Tron vibes on "Floating", apparently.)

From what I've read of Pinder's recording techniques (mostly from Frank's book) he usually
double-tracked the Tron pieces, occasionally with more parts as required. "Out an In" as
recorded uses at least two, if not three, some of which seem to be double-tracked (I've
tried to reproduce it myself and ended up using five or more tracks!) - live he usually
played a variation on the recording - sometimes more spartan, sometimes doing a very
good job. If you've heard "The Voyage" from "On The Threshold Of A Dream", have a listen
to the live version from "Caught Live + 5", which to my ears is quite impressive, given the
lack of layering.

Good luck with your new beast!

Owen

--- In newmellotrongroup@ yahoogroups. com, Mark Pring <markpringnz@ ...> wrote:
> I think Mike Pinder's mellotron and chamberlin playing
> is beautiful, particularly the chamberlin playing on
> "New Horizons" at first hearing I thought they were
> real strings. I also like the mellotron on "The Candle
> of Life". However I don't like the songs that much,
> too sweet for my taste and for some reason I have
> never enoyed Justin Hayward's singing.

As an unashamed Moodies fan, I'm glad you enjoyed the Pindertron sounds! Ironically,
getting a recent Moodies compilation like "Gold" does rather bias the playlist towards
Hayward (10 of the 17 on the "Classic 7" disk by him, unlike the usual mix on an album -
and one of the two Pinder tracks included doesn't have Tron on it (in fact, I think Lost in a
Lost World is all Chamberlin)) , which while they are the "hits" don't really give a true
impression of an early album. If you do get chance to listen to Children's Children's
Children, take it - mostly because you get to hear Pinder's "Out and In"! (Not to mention
pitch-bend Tron vibes on "Floating", apparently.)

From what I've read of Pinder's recording techniques (mostly from Frank's book) he usually
double-tracked the Tron pieces, occasionally with more parts as required. "Out an In" as
recorded uses at least two, if not three, some of which seem to be double-tracked (I've
tried to reproduce it myself and ended up using five or more tracks!) - live he usually
played a variation on the recording - sometimes more spartan, sometimes doing a very
good job. If you've heard "The Voyage" from "On The Threshold Of A Dream", have a listen
to the live version from "Caught Live + 5", which to my ears is quite impressive, given the
lack of layering.

Good luck with your new beast!

Owen

Jason, I've encountered this a number of times in recent years and never
cease to be surprised by it, but there seems to be this tendency to try
and classify the Moodies as prog and lump them into a comparison with
Crimson and Yes. I don't remember anyone doing this when all this stuff
was contemporary back in the early '70s. Yes and Crimson were
considered much heavier and meatier bands by just about everyone I knew
and the Moodies were sort of a folky pop group that had evolved into
something slightly more.

I've never thought of the Moodies as anything other than a very melodic
pop outfit that I happen to like. They've done some beautiful things
and some absolute dreck - all on those core seven albums. I happen to
think that Tuesday Afternoon and Watching A Waiting are two of the most
beautiful songs ever recorded, and that a large percentage of Question
of Balance and EGBDF are absolute crap. I happen to think that Hayward
has a beautiful singing voice and that Pinder was the creative soul of
the band, and that his Mellotron playing put them where they were. By
the same token, if you want to hear some absolutely dreadful
songwriting, just listen to the stuff that Denny Lane and Mike Pinder
were writing in the band's original incarnation.

At the end of the day, I find early Crimson as being much closer to the
Moodies (musically Crimson were far superior, but melodically closer)
than to much of the material that Yes was putting out. Just my opinion
and your mileage may vary.
best
johnb


Jason Locke wrote:

> The instrumentation doesn't seem to weave in and out like a Yes or a
> King Crimson piece would. Maybe that isn't the goal, though, so
> again, it's a preference. Nothing hits me in the gut, though. What
> am I not getting, because I want to understand! What aspects of their
> music do the fans here appreciate and enjoy?
>
> Jason
>
> *//*

For some reason (thankfully), the "either" "or" view has yet to sink
in for me. The Moodies? The Parliaments? King Crimson? The Music
Machine? Genesis? The Residents? Bo Hansson? The Vanilla Fudge? The
Flower Kings? The Young Rascals? Hatfield and the North? Janis Ian?
Egg? Sam Cooke? Yes? YES!!!

Bernie


--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, john barrick
<astroboy@...> wrote:

>
> Jason, I've encountered this a number of times in recent years and

never

> cease to be surprised by it, but there seems to be this tendency

to try

> and classify the Moodies as prog and lump them into a comparison

with

> Crimson and Yes. I don't remember anyone doing this when all this

stuff

> was contemporary back in the early '70s. Yes and Crimson were
> considered much heavier and meatier bands by just about everyone I

knew

> and the Moodies were sort of a folky pop group that had evolved

into

> something slightly more.
>
> I've never thought of the Moodies as anything other than a very

melodic

> pop outfit that I happen to like. They've done some beautiful

things

> and some absolute dreck - all on those core seven albums. I

happen to

> think that Tuesday Afternoon and Watching A Waiting are two of the

most

> beautiful songs ever recorded, and that a large percentage of

Question

> of Balance and EGBDF are absolute crap. I happen to think that

Hayward

> has a beautiful singing voice and that Pinder was the creative

soul of

> the band, and that his Mellotron playing put them where they

were. By

> the same token, if you want to hear some absolutely dreadful
> songwriting, just listen to the stuff that Denny Lane and Mike

Pinder

> were writing in the band's original incarnation.
>
> At the end of the day, I find early Crimson as being much closer

to the

> Moodies (musically Crimson were far superior, but melodically

closer)

> than to much of the material that Yes was putting out. Just my

opinion

> and your mileage may vary.
> best
> johnb
>
>
> Jason Locke wrote:
> > The instrumentation doesn't seem to weave in and out like a Yes

or a

> > King Crimson piece would. Maybe that isn't the goal, though, so
> > again, it's a preference. Nothing hits me in the gut, though.

What

> > am I not getting, because I want to understand! What aspects of

their

> > music do the fans here appreciate and enjoy?
> >
> > Jason
> >
> > *//*
>

--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, MAinPsych@... wrote:

>
>I find myself in agreement with this assessment of the Moodies

overall and a large part of their appeal for me was their use of the
Mellotron

I revisited the MB classic 7 albums over 20 years ago, when I bought
the CD's. I listened to those CD's once, skipped past half of the
tracks and haven't touched them since. Fairly good recordings for the
time period, but boring!

Clay

In reference to the Moody Blues and the "Had to be
there" commentary:

I would like to take this opportunity to point out
that attitudes toward music (listening, writing,
recording) have changed radically over the years in so
many ways.
Generally, music prior to the 90's was taken far more
seriously. That is to say that one was able to be
overly dramatic or cause-oriented and still be taken
in earnest. In the 60's and 70's (and for a big hunk
of the 80's) music was going to save the world. It
was a huge industry, communicating many ideas and
views, and the industry itself provided tremendous
power to back up these concepts. Come the 90's and
the grunge era, irony became the cool new thing. If a
band took themselves too seriously, they were
dismissed as pretentious and that continues to this
day, even more so.
Today, everything has to be taken with a grain of
salt. If you preach, you alienate your audience. If
you emote too readily or fervently, your crowd becomes
uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassed. I love the
Moody Blues, all of it, and I'm often embarrassed by
my love for them nowadays. But I'm a recordist, so it
often gets me by in times when I tell folks that Abba
were brilliant or that the 1st Boston album is one of
the finest recorded albums to come out in decades.
Not so cool, but I don't care and why should I?
These attitudes are especially pronounced with older
prog and metal. Original fans BELIEVED in these bands
and their message. Now the kids listen to the early
King Crimson and find it ponderous and silly, or Ozzy
and find him hysterical, as I'm sure we all do to some
degree. It's all part of a process of becoming
guarded in our opinions due to an overly critical,
conceptually intelligent listenership looking to be
into what's hip. It's funny how people demand honesty
in music, yet contradict that need so obliviously with
needless posturing. We live and create in odd times,
for sure.
That said, Happy New Year!
-Jack



____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for last minute shopping deals?
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

Agreed! Keep in mind, that last posting was pretty
general. There are exceptions.
However, that album brilliantly utilizes irony to
accomplish it's poignant goals. It's a fine example
of modern attitudes worked in such a way as to lend
power to it's cause.
I will say that among hardcore punk rock crowds and
musicians, that album is often considered pandering
and lightweight. To that sentiment, I do not agree.
But that is exacly what I'm talking about. That's the
indie rock, nay-sayer thing in action. "I only liked
the first record." and "They used to be good but
they sold out." These things get said often when a
band gets successful and because of that, are no
longer "cool" to like. It's maddening and
closed-minded, but still a very real problem.
-Jack


--- lsf5275@aol.com wrote:

>
> In a message dated 1/7/2008 8:04:07 P.M. Eastern
> Standard Time,
> e4103s@yahoo.com writes:
>
> I would like to take this opportunity to point out
> that attitudes toward music (listening, writing,
> recording) have changed radically over the years in
> so
> many ways.
> Generally, music prior to the 90's was taken far
> more
> seriously. That is to say that one was able to be
> overly dramatic or cause-oriented and still be
> taken
> in earnest. In the 60's and 70's (and for a big
> hunk
> of the 80's) music was going to save the world. It
> was a huge industry, communicating many ideas and
> views, and the industry itself provided tremendous
> power to back up these concepts. Come the 90's and
> the grunge era, irony became the cool new thing. If
> a
> band took themselves too seriously, they were
> dismissed as pretentious and that continues to this
> day, even more so.
> Today, everything has to be taken with a grain of
> salt. If you preach, you alienate your audience. If
> you emote too readily or fervently, your crowd
> becomes
> uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassed. I love the
> Moody Blues, all of it, and I'm often embarrassed
> by
> my love for them nowadays. But I'm a recordist, so
> it
> often gets me by in times when I tell folks that
> Abba
> were brilliant or that the 1st Boston album is one
> of
> the finest recorded albums to come out in decades.
> Not so cool, but I don't care and why should I?
> These attitudes are especially pronounced with
> older
> prog and metal. Original fans BELIEVED in these
> bands
> and their message. Now the kids listen to the early
> King Crimson and find it ponderous and silly, or
> Ozzy
> and find him hysterical, as I'm sure we all do to
> some
> degree. It's all part of a process of becoming
> guarded in our opinions due to an overly critical,
> conceptually intelligent listenership looking to be
> into what's hip. It's funny how people demand
> honesty
> in music, yet contradict that need so obliviously
> with
> needless posturing. We live and create in odd
> times,
> for sure.
> That said, Happy New Year!
> -Jack
>
>

__________________________________________________________

>
>
>
>
> Then please explain "American Idiot" by Green Day.
> It seems to defy
> everything above. Great record!
>
> I think the 60s defined, 'Cause oriented' music.
>
>
>
>
> **************Start the year off right. Easy ways
> to stay in shape.
>

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

>

____________________________________________________________________________________
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Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

Yup.  Very true on both counts.  That Boston album sounds soooo goood.

Jack Younger <e4103s@yahoo.com> wrote:

I will say that among hardcore punk rock crowds and
musicians, that album is often considered pandering
and lightweight. To that sentiment, I do not agree.
But that is exacly what I'm talking about. That's the
indie rock, nay-sayer thing in action. "I only liked
the first record." and "They used to be good but
they sold out." These things get said often when a
band gets successful and because of that, are no
longer "cool" to like. It's maddening and
closed-minded, but still a very real problem.
-Jack

>
>But I'm a recordist, so
> it
> often gets me by in times when I tell folks that
> Abba
> were brilliant or that the 1st Boston album is one
> of
> the finest recorded albums to come out in decades.
> Not so cool, but I don't care and why should I?
> These attitudes are especially pronounced with
> older
> prog and metal. Original fans BELIEVED in these
> bands
> and their message. Now the kids listen to the early
> King Crimson and find it ponderous and silly, or
> Ozzy
> and find him hysterical, as I'm sure we all do to
> some
> degree. It's all part of a process of becoming
> guarded in our opinions due to an overly critical,
> conceptually intelligent listenership looking to be
> into what's hip. It's funny how people demand
> honesty
> in music, yet contradict that need so obliviously
> with
> needless posturing. We live and create in odd
> times,
> for sure.
> That said, Happy New Year!
> -Jack
>
>
____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
>
>
>
>
> Then please explain "American Idiot" by Green Day.
> It seems to defy
> everything above. Great record!
>
> I think the 60s defined, 'Cause oriented' music.
>
>
>
>
> ************ **Start the year off right. Easy ways
> to stay in shape.
>
http://body. aol.com/fitness/ winter-exercise? NCID=aolcmp00300 000002489
>

____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
Looking for last minute shopping deals?
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools. search.yahoo. com/newsearch/ category. php?category= shopping

Drop-dead boring certainly. The other beef I have with them is that they
always sounded out of tune, and that is *without* the Mellotron.

Mike

ceccles_ca wrote:

>
> --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>, MAinPsych@... wrote:
> >
> >I find myself in agreement with this assessment of the Moodies
> overall and a large part of their appeal for me was their use of the
> Mellotron
>
> I revisited the MB classic 7 albums over 20 years ago, when I bought
> the CD's. I listened to those CD's once, skipped past half of the
> tracks and haven't touched them since. Fairly good recordings for the
> time period, but boring!
>
> Clay
>
>

--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "David Jacques" <djacques@...> wrote:

> All I can say is that you had to be there, living and growing up in the 60's
> and 70's, to truly appreciate the Moody Blues' music.

Interesting - as I wasn't born until around the time Seventh Sojourn (the last of the 7) was
released. My exposure to the MBs came in the early 1980s - my musical diet at that point
was Adam And The Ants, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and their ilk, along with The Mamas
and the Papas and a few other pop bits and pieces from my parents' era. Then along came
a Moodies compilation and I couldn't work out how they were making those weird string
sounds _without_ a string section (I couldn't do it on my Casio, and this was the 1980s).

I've never really listened to classic prog; to my perception, the bits I _have_ heard usually
seem to meander on for too long without getting to the point. I guess I like songs rather
than epics, and am not particularly bothered about the technical abilities of the players - if
the sound that comes out at the end appeals to me, I don't care whether the performer
can do six chromatic octaves in 10 seconds or whether it was created by a flock of geese
pecking at landmines.

It's all just down to personal preference. I like the Moody Blues, others don't. I can live
with that.

Owen

Mike Pinder- In my opinion no one has ever put the Mellotron or Chamberlin to better use,
or used a wider variety of sounds and techniques. His orchestrations made the music work
(which is what orchestrations are supposed to do). The songs are ,more or less, vehicles
for his beautiful mellotron playing. That is what makes the Moody Blues worthwhile and
the only thing that makes them noteworthy in a blog like this. The Moody's "minimal
songs allowed him to use a really big canvas of mellotron sounds. He didn't an intricate
band like Yes or Genesis to try and weave his parts around. Whether you can stomach the
rest of the Moody Blues or not I've got to give contnual credit to Pinder as a master.

--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "thinkingalouduk" <owen@...> wrote:
>
> --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "David Jacques" <djacques@> wrote:
> > All I can say is that you had to be there, living and growing up in the 60's
> > and 70's, to truly appreciate the Moody Blues' music.
>
> Interesting - as I wasn't born until around the time Seventh Sojourn (the last of the 7)
was
> released. My exposure to the MBs came in the early 1980s - my musical diet at that
point
> was Adam And The Ants, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and their ilk, along with The
Mamas
> and the Papas and a few other pop bits and pieces from my parents' era. Then along
came
> a Moodies compilation and I couldn't work out how they were making those weird string
> sounds _without_ a string section (I couldn't do it on my Casio, and this was the 1980s).
>
> I've never really listened to classic prog; to my perception, the bits I _have_ heard
usually
> seem to meander on for too long without getting to the point. I guess I like songs
rather
> than epics, and am not particularly bothered about the technical abilities of the players
- if
> the sound that comes out at the end appeals to me, I don't care whether the performer
> can do six chromatic octaves in 10 seconds or whether it was created by a flock of
geese
> pecking at landmines.
>
> It's all just down to personal preference. I like the Moody Blues, others don't. I can live
> with that.
>
> Owen
>

Woolly Wolstenholme

--- tomdcour <tomdcour@amnh.org> wrote:

> Mike Pinder- In my opinion no one has ever put the
> Mellotron or Chamberlin to better use,
> or used a wider variety of sounds and techniques.
> His orchestrations made the music work
> (which is what orchestrations are supposed to do).
> The songs are ,more or less, vehicles
> for his beautiful mellotron playing. That is what
> makes the Moody Blues worthwhile and
> the only thing that makes them noteworthy in a blog
> like this. The Moody's "minimal
> songs allowed him to use a really big canvas of
> mellotron sounds. He didn't an intricate
> band like Yes or Genesis to try and weave his parts
> around. Whether you can stomach the
> rest of the Moody Blues or not I've got to give
> contnual credit to Pinder as a master.
>
>
>
>
> --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com,
> "thinkingalouduk" <owen@...> wrote:
> >
> > --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "David
> Jacques" <djacques@> wrote:
> > > All I can say is that you had to be there,
> living and growing up in the 60's
> > > and 70's, to truly appreciate the Moody Blues'
> music.
> >
> > Interesting - as I wasn't born until around the
> time Seventh Sojourn (the last of the 7)
> was
> > released. My exposure to the MBs came in the
> early 1980s - my musical diet at that
> point
> > was Adam And The Ants, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode
> and their ilk, along with The
> Mamas
> > and the Papas and a few other pop bits and pieces
> from my parents' era. Then along
> came
> > a Moodies compilation and I couldn't work out how
> they were making those weird string
> > sounds _without_ a string section (I couldn't do
> it on my Casio, and this was the 1980s).
> >
> > I've never really listened to classic prog; to my
> perception, the bits I _have_ heard
> usually
> > seem to meander on for too long without getting to
> the point. I guess I like songs
> rather
> > than epics, and am not particularly bothered about
> the technical abilities of the players
> - if
> > the sound that comes out at the end appeals to me,
> I don't care whether the performer
> > can do six chromatic octaves in 10 seconds or
> whether it was created by a flock of
> geese
> > pecking at landmines.
> >
> > It's all just down to personal preference. I like
> the Moody Blues, others don't. I can live
> > with that.
> >
> > Owen
> >
>
>
>

____________________________________________________________________________________
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I have to agree. While others used only 2 or 3 different sounds,
Pinder used pretty much all that were available to him.

Bernie

--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "tomdcour" <tomdcour@...>
wrote:

>
> Mike Pinder- In my opinion no one has ever put the Mellotron or

Chamberlin to better use,

> or used a wider variety of sounds and techniques. His

orchestrations made the music work

> (which is what orchestrations are supposed to do). The songs

are ,more or less, vehicles

> for his beautiful mellotron playing. That is what makes the Moody

Blues worthwhile and

> the only thing that makes them noteworthy in a blog like this. The

Moody's "minimal

> songs allowed him to use a really big canvas of mellotron sounds.

He didn't an intricate

> band like Yes or Genesis to try and weave his parts around.

Whether you can stomach the

> rest of the Moody Blues or not I've got to give contnual credit to

Pinder as a master.

>
>
>
>
> --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "thinkingalouduk"

<owen@> wrote:

> >
> > --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "David Jacques"

<djacques@> wrote:

> > > All I can say is that you had to be there, living and growing

up in the 60's

> > > and 70's, to truly appreciate the Moody Blues' music.
> >
> > Interesting - as I wasn't born until around the time Seventh

Sojourn (the last of the 7)

> was
> > released. My exposure to the MBs came in the early 1980s - my

musical diet at that

> point
> > was Adam And The Ants, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and their ilk,

along with The

> Mamas
> > and the Papas and a few other pop bits and pieces from my

parents' era. Then along

> came
> > a Moodies compilation and I couldn't work out how they were

making those weird string

> > sounds _without_ a string section (I couldn't do it on my Casio,

and this was the 1980s).

> >
> > I've never really listened to classic prog; to my perception,

the bits I _have_ heard

> usually
> > seem to meander on for too long without getting to the point. I

guess I like songs

> rather
> > than epics, and am not particularly bothered about the technical

abilities of the players

> - if
> > the sound that comes out at the end appeals to me, I don't care

whether the performer

> > can do six chromatic octaves in 10 seconds or whether it was

created by a flock of

> geese
> > pecking at landmines.
> >
> > It's all just down to personal preference. I like the Moody

Blues, others don't. I can live

> > with that.
> >
> > Owen
> >
>

Absolutely. Just listen to the live recordings and you can really appreciate his work. Even when only playing two parts the orchestrations are beautiful.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

-----Original Message-----
From: "Bernie" <kornowicz@cox.net>

Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:12:14
To:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Second thoughts, an update


I have to agree. While others used only 2 or 3 different sounds,
Pinder used pretty much all that were available to him.

Bernie

--- In newmellotrongroup@ <mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com, "tomdcour" <tomdcour@...>
wrote:

>
> Mike Pinder- In my opinion no one has ever put the Mellotron or

Chamberlin to better use,

> or used a wider variety of sounds and techniques. His

orchestrations made the music work

> (which is what orchestrations are supposed to do). The songs

are ,more or less, vehicles

> for his beautiful mellotron playing. That is what makes the Moody

Blues worthwhile and

> the only thing that makes them noteworthy in a blog like this. The

Moody's "minimal

> songs allowed him to use a really big canvas of mellotron sounds.

He didn't an intricate

> band like Yes or Genesis to try and weave his parts around.

Whether you can stomach the

> rest of the Moody Blues or not I've got to give contnual credit to

Pinder as a master.

>
>
>
>
> --- In newmellotrongroup@ <mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com, "thinkingalouduk"

<owen@> wrote:

> >
> > --- In newmellotrongroup@ <mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com> yahoogroups.com, "David Jacques"

<djacques@> wrote:

> > > All I can say is that you had to be there, living and growing

up in the 60's

> > > and 70's, to truly appreciate the Moody Blues' music.
> >
> > Interesting - as I wasn't born until around the time Seventh

Sojourn (the last of the 7)

> was
> > released. My exposure to the MBs came in the early 1980s - my

musical diet at that

> point
> > was Adam And The Ants, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode and their ilk,

along with The

> Mamas
> > and the Papas and a few other pop bits and pieces from my

parents' era. Then along

> came
> > a Moodies compilation and I couldn't work out how they were

making those weird string

> > sounds _without_ a string section (I couldn't do it on my Casio,

and this was the 1980s).

> >
> > I've never really listened to classic prog; to my perception,

the bits I _have_ heard

> usually
> > seem to meander on for too long without getting to the point. I

guess I like songs

> rather
> > than epics, and am not particularly bothered about the technical

abilities of the players

> - if
> > the sound that comes out at the end appeals to me, I don't care

whether the performer

> > can do six chromatic octaves in 10 seconds or whether it was

created by a flock of

> geese
> > pecking at landmines.
> >
> > It's all just down to personal preference. I like the Moody

Blues, others don't. I can live

> > with that.
> >
> > Owen
> >
>

--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "tomdcour" <tomdcour@...> wrote:

>
> Mike Pinder- In my opinion no one has ever put the Mellotron or

Chamberlin to better use,

John Paul Jones didn't record with Mellotron much, but when he did, he
did it very well. (Kashmir and The Rain Song)

----- Original Message -----

From: JMoore6397@aol.com

To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 1:12 AM

Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Second thoughts, an update

Certainly Tim Christensen is a master as well. He is from Denmark and is one hell of a composer with excellent mellotron arrangements. If anyone can view his concert from Abbey Road in 2004 do so.

                                                                     Jimmy Moore

Although if you look closely, you'll see that he's using a Mellotron-shaped cabinet housing a short (4-oct?) MIDI controller... He owns two or three real ones, but presumably didn't want to bring any of them over. Great songwriter, both solo and with his old band, the appallingly-named Dizzy Mizz Lizzy.

 

Andy T.