NEPTUNE

When Mellotron albums are talked about, we talk about the obvious ones like the Moody Blues, Yes, King Crimson, Tangerine Dream (and solo Edgar Froese), and Genesis, and the less obvious ones, but equally important and well loved, like Spring, Beggars Opera (Waters of Change, that is), Anglagard, Anekdoten, Museo Rosenbach, Celeste, Earth & Fire, Barclay James Harvest (mainly the 1974 Live album as most of their albums features much more real strings, and less tron than you imagine), and too many others. One artist completely missing is Chuck Minuto and his Celluloid project from the 1980s, not exactly tron friendly times. Mercury was the debut, and while it does feature some Mellotron, it mainly credits a computer, which was supposedly actually a rented Synclavier II. It's the next album Neptune that's a completely different story, and the reason it's barely discussed amongst tron lovers is because the album is very rare and hard to fine, and the only reissue is a dodgy 2-for-1 that includes Mercury. Neptune is created entirely on the Mellotron, and it truly is a Mellotron tour-de-force if there ever was one. I find it hard to believe he used only one tron, as it's clear he's using tons of tron FX as well as the tron standards like strings, flute, and choir. Also, where is he getting those synth sounds? Unless they were included as custom tron tapes, I simply believe he was using a synth that was hanging around his home. Regardless you'll never hear so much tron in your life. The music is often ambient and experiment, with all sorts of sound effects to stuff inspired by "Revolution 9", King Crimson, and Genesis. He does use a lot of reverb and echo boxes as well. It's clear this is a home-made affair so you're not getting a full professional production, but it's surprisingly well-down given Chuck Minuto was still a teenager. Hard to believe this was 1983. This was at a time when Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, The Thompson Twins, and even Talk Talk (they were still a New Wave synth pop act then) were on the airwaves, with MTV airing their videos, and hair metal was just starting to hit the scene with Quiet Riot, the now-makeup-free KISS, and Def Leppard going that direction with Pyromania. Neptune sounds more like an album that belongs in the previous decade, and in this case, all for the better. The original LP is naturally rare and expensive, but it's really worth it for all tron nuts out there!