Neil Merryweather (Canada/US)

Neil Merryweather  (US)

	Space Rangers  (1974,  43.45)  ***/TTTTT
	Hollywood Blvd. Step in the Right Direction Eight Miles High King of Mars Neon Man Sunshine Superman Road to Hades High Altitude Hide'n'Seek	Escape Sole Survivor

	Kryptonite  (1975,  37.11/67.34)  ***/TTT½
	Kryptonite Star Rider Always Be You Give it Everything We Got The Groove Real Life Love You Know Where I'd Rather Be Let Us Be the Dawn	[CD adds: Aren't You Glad That You Know City Boy Dust My Blues Flat Black You Must Live it Your Real Good Thing Local 149/Are You Ready]

Current availability:

• Space Rangers: BOD
• Kryptonite: Green Tree (Germany)

I think Merryweather was a Canadian who migrated to Chicago fairly early on, hanging around for a decade or more, releasing several albums in the process, but never really breaking through. After a two-album detour into Mama Lion in the early '70s (Mellotron/Chamberlin use unknown), Merryweather went back to his solo career with Space Rangers in 1974. Now this is what I call a Mellotron album! Except that it's a Chamberlin. For those not in the know, the Chamberlin was the Mellotron's direct precursor, and was still in production in one form or another up to around 1980. Merryweather got a guy known enigmatically as 'Edgemont' (which I've seen written as 'Ed Gemont'...) to play one on every track on it bar their cover of the Byrds' drug anthem Eight Miles High, mostly to great effect. For some strange reason, Chamberlins tend to 'disappear in the mix' far more than Mellotrons, and are often hard to discern. Not this one; for most of the album it's really 'in your face', to the point where I'd recommend this as a Chamberlin demonstration record. Not just the expected strings (apparently identical to the Mellotron's), but choirs, sound effects etc. Sole Survivor even ends with a lonely trumpet melody (which I should probably recognise, but don't), complete with pitch-bend.

So, er, what about the music, anyway? Well, it's sort of mid-'70s transatlantic hard rock with bits of prog, funk and other stuff thrown in. Bit of a mish-mash, to be honest, but not a bad listen, more for the Chamberlin overkill than anything else, really. On the cover version front, there's also their take on Donovan's seminal (it says here) Sunshine Superman, although it's almost unrecognisable. Overall, the vocals are a bit rough, but there's some decent enough guitar playing; er, bit of a three-star effort, basically. Saying that, if you want full-on Chamberlin, buy now.

A year or two back, I stated: "Interestingly, the music for Road To Hades appears to have been ripped off hook, line and sinker by Canadian band Symphonic Slam on their sole self-titled album from two years later, retitled Universe, unless there's an untold story here? There doesn't appear to be any connection between the two outfits, unless you know better (thanks to the estimable Joe Ellis for spotting that one - hi, Joe)." There certainly is an untold story... I've just been written to by Symphonic Slam's Timo Laine himself, who tells me that he didn't rip off Merryweather - Merryweather ripped him off, and the rest of his band. Laine wrote nearly all the material on the album, but had his writing credits stolen, making him feel more than justified in re-recording his own work! Apologies to all concerned for my inadvertent faux pas, but the story's hardly common currency... Let's hope this mention (and the one I've added to the Symphonic Slam review) help to set the record straight. Oh, and all the names on the album were changed: 'Michael "Jeep" Willis' is Laine, and the mysterious 'Edgemont' is actually keyboard player Bob Silvert.

Merryweather followed-up with Kryptonite, with a similar comic-art sleeve, and a more straightforward hard rock agenda, losing most of Space Rangers' disparate influences. More Chamberlin, probably by James Herndon this time, although I can't say for sure; Star Rider has one of the most upfront parts on the album, along with the proggiest track, closer Let Us Be The Dawn, which is swamped in Chamby strings. I've highlighted the opening title track, although it sounds more like synth strings to me; very hard to tell, to be honest. The album's probably less appealing than its predecessor, but still worth hearing for its string-replay work. The CD adds the entire contents of Merryweather's Neil Merryweather, John Richardson & Boers album from around '69, although I'm not sure they should've bothered. It's a pretty tedious blues/rock workout, although, paradoxically, the best track on this otherwise dull set is the near-eleven minute jammed-out closer Local 149/Are You Ready, which at least has some energy about it, despite the lengthy and unnecessary drum solo.

So; two so-so albums, but loads of Chamberlin all round. Your choice.