The Mellotron Group

Better Yet, tie a Mellotron 400 around his neck and throw him in the  
moat! If he floats, then he is a witch and we burn him. If he sinks,  
well we will dredge the moat for the "Soggy-tron".


On Oct 16, 2009, at 1:48 PM, Mike Dickson wrote:

> Burn him...burn him...what DARK FORCES be he MEDDLING WITH (etc)
>
> fdoddy@aol.com wrote:
> >
> >
> > You wanna hear heresy? I don't even own that album...never have.
> >
> > fritz
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mike Dickson <mike.dickson@gmail.com>
> > To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Fri, Oct 16, 2009 12:57 pm
> > Subject: [newmellotrongroup] Court
> >
> >
> > 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/
> >
> > Or http://www.last.fm/music/Mike+Dickson
> >
> > Or http://soundcloud.com/mikedickson
> >
> > Or http://www.planetmellotron.com/revd4.htm#mikedickson
> >
> > You
> >
> >
>
> -- 
> 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
>
>
>