Keyboard or orchestra?

The history

Since a quick click on Wikipedia can explain it better than a few lines here ever could, suffice to say it's a keyboard instrument created by Nick Awde in Birmingham in 1963. Equipped with a set of magnetic tapes with pre-recorded sounds, it was used to imitate strings, choirs and wind instruments. It also came with other settings (organ, accordion, guitars and so on), though these didn't appear on every model and were in any case rarely used.

The first to use it was Graham Bond, whose tracks haven't been included in this selection as they're extremely rough and naive. For the curious, the first rock song to feature a Mellotron is his "Lease On Love", released as a 7-inch single in 1965. 

From there until well into the mid-Seventies the Mellotron ran rampant, particularly in Britain, where it went on to define first a slice of psychedelic pop and then progressive rock as a whole. Among the few of that movement who didn't use it, Keith Emerson stands out, his virtuoso streak being a poor match for a keyboard that, since it essentially played a set of tapes, didn't allow the keys to be struck with too much speed or force.

The Mellotron slowly declined in the second half of the Seventies, gradually supplanted by polyphonic synthesizers, before all but disappearing at the dawn of the Eighties, when samplers made it look obsolete. 

In the Nineties, however, it made a comeback, particularly in Britain, where it was Britpop's guiding spirit Paul Weller who suggested reviving it. From then on several American bands would use it too, Smashing Pumpkins above all.

Nowadays the sound of the Mellotron is fairly widespread, though it's often faked on a computer.

YouTube links have been provided for every song (at least for as long as they last), while alongside you'll find the Spotify playlist, though unfortunately it's missing about fifteen of the selected tracks.

There's no claim here to establish which of these songs are the best. The tracks have been ranked just for fun, following criteria that are in any case personal and somewhat shaky, concerning not only their overall quality but also, and especially, the importance of the Mellotron part featured. That's why you won't find "Strawberry Fields Forever" by the Beatles here, widely regarded as a masterpiece of English psychedelia, but whose Mellotron part amounts to little more than a small flute score. After all, their producer, George Martin, never hid his dislike for the keyboard, which he found cumbersome and whose sound he didn't particularly appreciate.

The list also includes tracks that make use of the Chamberlin, the American forerunner of the Mellotron, from which - after a bit of legal wrangling - the English keyboard imported some of the tapes that later became its own standards, including those for strings.

Excluded, on the other hand, are tracks featuring digitally reproduced Mellotron sounds. For this reason - without taking anything away from the merit of their work - you won't find Opeth, Mercury Rev, Manic Street Preachers, Dismemberment Plan, and many others besides.

Finally, it should be noted that all the selected songs, even those ranked lower, are considered essential for a real understanding of the instrument's potential.

80. LIMELIGHT – Man Of Colours (GB, 1980)

Among the acts most tied to classic hard rock within the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Limelight were one of the movement's less fortunate bands. In this slow, martial track, guitarist Glenn Scrimshaw uses the Mellotron to steep the arrangement in a sea of strings and flutes.

79. SCREAMING TREES - Traveler (USA, 1996)

Strings blaring at full volume from the very first second, followed later by a flute, for what is probably the best Mellotron to be found on a grunge record. Playing it is Benmont Tench, longtime member of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers. There's admittedly very little grunge about this gentle acoustic ballad.

78. LED ZEPPELIN - Rain Song (GB, 1973)

The Mellotron only features in "Stairway To Heaven" in its live versions, and as for "Kashmir", most of the sounds are produced by real strings, even though a Mellotron does appear on it. But it's in the languid calm of "Rain Song" that the keyboard, played by John Paul Jones, truly takes over and blankets everything with its strings.

77. FAIRFIELD PARLOUR - Emily (GB, 1970)

Known until a couple of years earlier as Kaleidoscope (not to be confused with the American band of the same name), Fairfield Parlour arrived at the dawn of the Seventies with an album that was perhaps not revolutionary, but beautifully played. In the single "Emily", a sad little sketch about a woman's loneliness, singer Peter Daltrey's Mellotron doesn't come in right away, but from that point on its strings dominate the scene.

76. BIG STAR - Kangaroo (USA, 1978)

There's no need to go over yet again the string of misadventures that unfolded between the making and the release of Big Star's now-legendary third album. In one of the most representative tracks of this oblique, disoriented pop record, you can clearly hear the swells of fake strings, guided by the skillful hand of producer Jim Dickinson.

75. AEROSMITH - Dream On (USA, 1973)

In several stretches the Mellotron is either absent or buried under the guitars, but when it does emerge – in the intro with the strings, in the interlude with the flute, in the finale again with the strings – it's so iconic that it makes this famous power ballad's presence here mandatory. Playing it is Steven Tyler himself.

74. ALICE COOPER – Hello Hooray (USA, 1973)

Even in this cover of Judy Collins by the master of shock rock, the Mellotron isn't always audible. But the moments where it does surface are a cult favorite for every fan of the instrument. A subtle veil of strings in the verse, a brief but adorable flute passage, and the grand finale again with the strings. It's played by producer Bob Ezrin.

73. FAMILY – Voyage (GB, 1968)

Three things stand out from the very first listen: Ric Grech's violin (future member of Blind Faith), the theatrical voice of Roger Chapman (whose lesson would later be studied by heart by Peter Gabriel), and the Mellotron played by producer Dave Mason, at the time a member of Traffic. In this psychedelic pop track with strongly gothic tones, the instrument lavishes evocative string interludes.

72. HEART – Down On Me (USA, 1980)

The band of the Wilson sisters had already used the Mellotron on a couple of occasions, when Nancy decided to draw on it one last time. The result is a rocky ballad, in which bluesy guitar lines climb over layers of strings brilliantly warped by aggressive pitch-bending.

71. BLACK SABBATH – Changes (GB, 1972)

Tony Iommi plays piano and mimics strings with the Mellotron, in a heart-breaking ballad that reveals an unfamiliar side of Black Sabbath. The end of a relationship seen through the eyes of the person still in love, a romanticism we certainly wouldn't have expected from a band whose closest thing to a love song had until then been "Paranoid".

70. TALK TALK – Life's What You Make It (GB, 1985)

Flutes in the verse, strings just before the chorus, choir vocals within it. For a track that was one of the very few chart-topping singles to use the Mellotron in the Eighties, it really left nothing out. The hand behind it belongs to Tim Friese-Greene, one of the greatest producers of the era.

69. PAUL WELLER – Wild Wood (GB, 1993)

According to many, it's with this single from Weller's second solo album that the Mellotron revival begins, a distinctive feature of certain corners of Nineties rock, British rock in particular. The instrument doesn't dominate the ballad, but it at least colors its soul tonalities, thanks to the splendid bed of strings. It's played by producer Brendan Lynch.

68. PULP – Help The Aged (GB, 1997)

A string line reproduced on the Mellotron marks the chorus of "Help The Aged", the lead single from "This Is Hardcore" and a touching brit-pop anthem about a decidedly uncool subject: old age. There's no information on who plays it, but considering that on "Different Class" Jarvis Cocker was the only one credited with the instrument, you can put two and two together...

67. PINK FLOYD – Julia Dream (UK, 1968)

Written by Roger Waters, this splendid dreamlike ballad marked David Gilmour's debut as lead vocalist, and is also Pink Floyd's most brilliant Mellotron moment. It's played by Richard Wright, set to the flute sound and transfigured through heavy use of echo.

66. JOY DIVISION – Decades (UK, 1980)

It's the synthesizers and the melodica that lead the track closing "Closer", yet the Mellotron carves out an important, evocative space, building a wall of sound that props up the whole thing especially in the finale – when Ian Curtis asks, bewildered, "Where have they been?". There's no information on who plays it, but Bernard Sumner is suspected.

65. SMASHING PUMPKINS – Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (USA, 1995)

Ah, if only Billy Corgan had had the stroke of genius to call it "Mellotron Collie"! And that's not the only joke one could make, considering the drummer's surname is Chamberlin. Either way, the title track of the double album, with its scant three minutes of piano and fake strings, remains one of the most celebrated moments for the instrument in the Nineties.

64. SPLIT ENZ  – Sweet Dreams (New Zealand, 1976)

In April 1976, Split Enz flew to London to record their second album, with the help of Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music. On "Sweet Dreams", keyboardist Eddie Rayner's Mellotron accompanies the chorus with frenetic brass-like pulses, and also draws on the strings for an atmospheric interlude. The song is credited to Phil Judd, the band's mastermind at the time, though he was soon out of the picture due to friction with the restless Tim Finn.

63. NEW ENGLAND – Don’t Ever Wanna Lose Ya (USA, 1979)

Among the masterpieces of the arena-rock that deservedly swept the United States in the second half of the Seventies, New England's debut single climbed into the Top 40 and seemed to promise a brilliant career, which instead stalled after the commercial flop of the second album. Keyboardist Jimmy Waldo splits his efforts diligently between synthesizers and Mellotron strings.

62. FLAMING LIPS – Race For The Prize (USA, 1999)

The track that opens one of the Flaming Lips' most baroque records, arguably their best, with Wayne Coyne more than once giving the impression of channeling Jon Anderson of Yes. Played by multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd, with the band since 1991, the Mellotron indulges in blankets of strings and warps them with intrusive pitch bends.

61. NOTWIST – Pilot (Germany, 2002)

Listening to it again today, "Neon Golden" retains a wholly peculiar charm, one that in its own way remains unmatched. It's Roberto Di Gioia, a jazz-trained keyboardist and friend of the band, who plays the Mellotron here. Where indie-pop is concerned, the strings in the chorus of "Pilot" remain among the most emblematic sounds of the era.

60. CATHEDRAL – Introspect (USA, 1978)

Not to be confused with the British metal band of the same name, New York's Cathedral are a prog-rock band well out of their time, so far behind the curve that they could almost be considered forerunners of neo-prog. Pun aside, they bear a strong resemblance to Yes (Paul Seal's voice excepted) and make extensive use of Tom Doncourt's Mellotron. In this gripping suite you can hear it imitate choirs, strings and church organ.

59. PRETTY THINGS – Talkin’ About The Good Times (GB, 1968)

Keyboardist John Povey's Mellotron drives no fewer than five tracks on the rock opera "S.F. Sorrow”, the first ever of its kind, but for once it's worth shining the spotlight on this little-known single, released about ten months earlier. Amid sitar, psychedelic vocal interplay and possessed guitars, irresistible spirals of pre-recorded strings emerge.

58. TINTERN ABBEY – Beeside (GB, 1967)

Tintern Abbey formed in 1967, released a single and split up the following year amid general indifference. Over time, however, that single has become a cult object, particularly among lovers of the psychedelic era. With its faintly sickly atmosphere and the Mellotron's strings roaming freely all over the place, it's not hard to see why. Sadly, there's no record of who actually played it.

57. LYNYRD SKYNYRD – Tuesday's Gone (USA, 1973)

The last band you'd suspect of using a Mellotron, which only proves how – despite the imagery often associated with it – southern rock was in fact refined and complex music. It's Al Kooper himself who came up with the string arrangement on this massive, now legendary ballad.

56. ULTRASOUND – Sentimental Song (GB, 1999)

Crushed by the British press, who obtusely accused them of being too pretentious, Ultrasound remain one of the most precious hidden treasures of the Britpop era. Their debut album, “Everything Picture”, makes frequent use of the Mellotron, perfectly showcased on this poignant “Sentimental Song”, almost smothered by the strings of keyboardist Matt Jones.

55. RUSH – Tears (Canada, 1976)

A rare case of a Rush track written entirely by Geddy Lee, this sorrowful ballad is graced by the Mellotron of band graphic designer Hugh Syme, who colors it with strings and flutes. It would take the Canadian trio thirty-one years to make use of the instrument again, on the album “Snakes & Arrows”, though without ever recapturing the magic that breathes through these notes.

54. HERBIE HANCOCK – Hidden Shadows (USA, 1973)

The author of a string of albums that changed the face of jazz, an outstanding pianist and a genius of electronic keyboards, Herbie Hancock also summoned the Mellotron into his service. He makes extensive use of it in this jittery, repetitive jazz-funk piece, where amid every kind of alien sound, unsettling swells of strings can be heard rising and falling.

53. KOOL & THE GANG – Rated X (USA, 1972)

Among keyboardist Rick West's listed gear, neither Mellotron nor Chamberlin appears. Yet listening closely to the sound, it's fair to say that the strings in this futuristic instrumental funk track most likely come from a tape-replay keyboard.

52. CARAVAN – Golf Girl (GB, 1971)

Caravan rank among the classic progressive rock bands that almost never made use of the Mellotron. Their only track in which the keyboard occupies a significant role is “Golf Girl”, where its strings can be heard indulging in a pleasant solo. This is an exceedingly rare occurrence, since the Mellotron – due to its technical limitations – was usually used to enrich atmosphere, and almost never for virtuosic outbursts.

51. FOCUS – Le clochard (Netherlands, 1971)

Few Dutch artists in history have enjoyed the kind of success Focus achieved in the first half of the Seventies. Their albums from that period are progressive rock classics and make extensive use of the Mellotron. One standout is this enchanting, Spanish-tinged instrumental barely a couple of minutes long: nothing but Thijs van Leer's fake strings and Jan Akkerman's classical guitar.

50. HORRORS – Changing The Rain (GB, 2011)

The sonic stew invented by Horrors, which spawned several disciples in the UK, finds its perfect resolution on their third album, "Skying", still the band's biggest success to date thanks to its top 5 placing. Amid keyboards and samples of every kind, a Mellotron also turns up. Take, for instance, the phaser-warped blankets of strings audible on "Changing The Rain". It's likely played by Tom Furse.

49. CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD – Morning Glory / Life & Death Pt. I / White Rose / Life & Death Pt. II (USA, 1974)

Although split into four tracks, this is in fact a single piece, in which the celebrated soul quartet reworks "Life And Death In G & A", recorded five years earlier by the Abaco Dream under the supervision of Sly Stone. Already an energetic slice of funk in its original form, in the hands of the Chairmen Of The Board it becomes a behemoth, with a bass more saturated than ever and a cascade of keyboards: Mellotron strings and flutes, electric organ, synthesizer. Who played them remains unknown.

48. EARTH & FIRE – Memories (Netherlands, 1972)

The memory of Earth & Fire, hugely popular in the Netherlands and Belgium at the time, remains very much alive among Mellotron enthusiasts too, given how relentlessly they used the instrument. Released as a 45, "Memories" is a martial pop tune that shows the band had absorbed the lesson of Jefferson Airplane (or, to put it more lightly, of Shocking Blue), while adding to the recipe the towering orchestral sounds of keyboardist Gerard Koerts.

47. BEE GEES – Every Christian Lionhearted Man Will Show You (UK, 1967)

One of the most unsettling songs of the Sixties, with its contrast between the funereal tone of the verse – all Mellotron strings and Gregorian voices – and the liberating pop chorus. It remains a gem of psychedelia with a distinctly gothic flavour. The Mellotron is played by the late Maurice Gibb.

46. ZOMBIES – Hung Up On A Dream (UK, 1968)

"Odessey And Oracle" is rightly celebrated as one of the greatest pop albums of the Sixties, and a track like "Hung Up On A Dream" explains why. The Mellotron plays its part, colouring the arrangement with strings and flutes. It's played by Rod Argent, keyboardist and the band's principal songwriter alongside bassist Chris White.

45. MOVE – Blackberry Way (UK, 1968)

The melody, with its acrobatic shifts between minor and major, is well known in Italy thanks to Equipe 84's cover version, "Tutta mia la città". The original, of course, operates on an entirely different level. Besides Richard Tandy's harpsichord, the arrangement boasts a stark carpet of cellos, actually the product of Roy Wood's Mellotron, the band's singer and leader. It was the first song featuring the instrument to reach the top of the British charts.

44. MARVIN GAYE – Mercy Mercy Me (USA, 1971)

Played by Gaye himself, this is certainly not among the meatiest Mellotron parts, lasting barely a minute, but it's so distinctive that it demands mention. It's that slightly off-key choir that closes the track, leaving a sense of unease and insecurity perfectly in keeping with the lyrics, a reflection on the ecological disasters already making headlines at the time.

43. ANEKDOTEN – Ricochet (Sweden, 2003)

Anekdoten are one of the most respected bands of the Scandinavian neo-prog school. Their discography, comprising five studio albums, two live records and a rarities compilation, is saturated with Mellotron: it appears in practically every song, and three of the four members play it. "Ricochet", with its Porcupine Tree-like mood, stands out for its catchiness. Pre-recorded string, brass and flute sounds embroider it perfectly.

42. RAINBOW – Catch The Rainbow (GB, 1975)

Having abandoned Deep Purple to their fate, Ritchie Blackmore meets Ronnie James Dio and forms Rainbow. If the debut album isn't the band's best overall, it's certainly the best from a Mellotron standpoint: thanks to its seductive string backdrop, the ballad "Catch The Rainbow" is indeed one of the instrument's classics. It's played by Mickey Lee Soule, who would stay in the band for only a few months.

41. MOTORPSYCHO – The Golden Core (Norvegia, 1994)

Decidedly less heavy than the previous "Demon Box", "Timothy's Monster" sees the band taking great strides towards alternative rock. A track like "The Golden Core" is living proof of this, with its thirteen minutes of ecstatic crescendo, amid walls of guitar noise and the Mellotron's powerful strings. According to the credits, it's played by Deathprod and the band's leader, Bent Sæther.

40. MANFRED MANN – Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James (UK, 1966)

The first track to bring the Mellotron into the charts, reaching as high as number 2 in the UK. Manfred Mann, one of rock's greatest keyboardists, stands out here for his imagination, showing far more inventiveness than the Beatles would soon after. Not just flute, as in "Strawberry Fields Forever", but also brass and, towards the end, a kind of distorted accordion.

39. DAVID BOWIE – Big Brother (UK, 1974)

The Duke used Mellotron and Chamberlin far more than is generally believed. Not just the famous "Space Oddity", but also a good part of the B-sides of "Low" and "Heroes", not to mention some memorable live reworkings of "Moonage Daydream". His most creative legacy, however, is this underrated track from "Diamond Dogs", full of cosmic-flavoured choirs and fake saxophone solos.

38. ROLLING STONES – We Love You (UK, 1967)

"2000 Light Years From Home" also features an iconic Mellotron part, but the use Brian Jones makes of it in "We Love You" remains one of the most original of the era. Both for the Oriental-flavoured fanfare he places at the end, and for the horn-like groove he invents to underpin bass and drums. A very rare case of rhythmic Mellotron.

37. RADIOHEAD – Exit Music (UK, 1997)

The choirs Jonny Greenwood lays down when the track surges represent without doubt the most famous Mellotron part of its era, at least among alternative music listeners. It's probably Radiohead's most depressing, and at the same time most majestic, ballad.

36. T. REX – Tenement Lady (UK, 1973)

Far less remembered today than "Electric Warrior" and "The Slider", since no single was drawn from it, "Tanx" is actually a great glam rock album, proof of the maturity reached by the genius of Marc Bolan. Producer Tony Visconti's Mellotron is the first sound you encounter, its strings dominating the opening "Tenement Lady". A heavy phaser then kicks in, warping every sound that follows.

35. PALLAS – The Ripper (GB, 1981)

Among the bands of the first wave of British neo-prog, Marillion and Twelfth Night proved uninterested in the Mellotron, unlike IQ and Pallas. The instrument's peak in that movement was probably reached by the latter on their debut album, the ferocious "Arrive Alive", recorded live and sold as a giveaway with "Kerrang!". "The Ripper" is fourteen minutes of malevolent prog theatre, drenched in Ronnie Brown's fake strings.

34. SMOG – Prince Alone In The Studio (USA, 1995)

Ian O’Hey’s Chamberlin strings and flutes are a defining presence on the most epic track from “Wild Love,” which remains to this day the high point of Bill Callahan’s songwriting career, at least for this writer. Jim O’Rourke’s cello also plays an important role in the arrangement, though it’s easily distinguished from the sounds of O’Hey’s keyboard.

33. GRACIOUS – Blue Skies And Alibis (GB, 1972)

Featured on the posthumous album “This Is… Gracious!!”, this is one of the most thrilling fusions of progressive rock and funk, a sort of compressed version of Yes’s “Roundabout.” It’s driven by an infectious horn-like riff, played on the Mellotron by keyboardist Martin Kitcat.

32. PAVLOV’S DOG – Of Once And Future Kings (USA, 1975)

Perhaps the only true old-school progressive rock classic to come out of the United States, Pavlov's Dog's debut album is also a monument to the Mellotron. The standout track in that respect is arguably the closer, “Of Once And Future Kings,” where Doug Rayburn unfurls sumptuous string carpets. The flute, on the other hand, is said to be real and played by Rayburn himself, though opinions differ on that point.

31. JULIE DRISCOLL, BRIAN AUGER & THE TRINITY – This Wheel’s On Fire (GB, 1968)

The Driscoll-Auger-Trinity combo lasted only three seasons, but that was enough to leave a mark on British rock. Written by Rick Danko with Bob Dylan, and originally featured on the Band's “Music From Big Pink,” “This Wheel's On Fire” is transformed here into a psychedelic tableau thick with Mellotron strings and phaser distortions. Despite the elaborate arrangement and the woozy sound, the single achieved considerable success, reaching the British top 5.

30. SIMON DUPREE & THE BIG SOUND – Kites (GB, 1967)

Before becoming Gentle Giant, the Shulman brothers' band went by the name Simon Dupree & The Big Sound. With “Kites” they reached the British top 10, a result they would never even come close to again. It's a gem of English psychedelia, with a melody steeped in Far Eastern flavor, xylophones, the sound of wind, a spoken interlude in Chinese by actress Jacqui Chan, and of course the blanket of strings from Eric Hine's Mellotron.

29. BEGGARS OPERA – Time Machine (UK, 1971)

Led by Ricky Gardiner, who a few years later would play guitar on David Bowie's “Low” and Iggy Pop's “Lust For Life,” the Scottish band Beggars Opera enter the realm of the Mellotron with the album “Waters Of Change,” courtesy of the brilliant keyboardist Virginia Scott. The strings underpinning the epic prog charge of “Time Machine” are a shining example of this.

28. GREENSLADE – What Are You Doin’ To Me (GB, 1973)

Founded by keyboardist Dave Greenslade after the breakup of Colosseum, the band delivers a fairly sharp-edged brand of progressive rock, largely thanks to singer Dave Lawson, who brings to mind Peter Hammill. The Eastern-tinged “What Are You Doin' To Me” is a kind of hard rock without guitars, with the Hammond flaunting saturated riffs while the Mellotron strings color the background with exotic touches.

27. WOBBLER – A Faerie's Play (Norway, 2011)

Among the few still capable of giving real meaning to the word “progressive.” Heavily influenced by Yes and Gentle Giant, Wobbler have made the Mellotron one of their signature weapons. It's played by Lars Fredrik Frøislie, who also makes sure not to skimp on Hammond, Moog, Rhodes and the rest. “A Faerie's Play” isn't necessarily their best track, but it's certainly one of the most accessible and representative.

26. LANDBERK – Tell (Sweden, 1994)

The most original of the many Scandinavian neo-prog outfits, gradually able to take on the challenge of trip hop, Nineties electronica, and alternative rock. On this track, thick with jagged guitar work, Simon Nordberg's Mellotron lays out evocative string carpets, before spilling into an epic, dissonant finale.

25. BLUE ÖYSTER CULT – Nosferatu (USA, 1977)

Written, sung and arranged by bassist Joe Bouchard, it remains one of the high points of shock rock and one of the most emblematic string parts ever written for the Chamberlin. It captures perfectly the uniqueness of Blue Öyster Cult, at the time the only American band able to fuse the muscular impact of arena rock with the gothic flavor suggested by a certain novel by Bram Stoker.

24. NEKTAR – Look Inside Yourself / Death Of The Mind (GB, 1971)

Though based in Hamburg, all the band's members are British. Produced by Dieter Dierks, "Journey To The Centre Of The Eye" is a gem of progressive rock that hasn't quite shaken off the psychedelic era yet, but already points toward space rock. The Mellotron pops up in several tracks, particularly in these two closing fragments, impossible to separate from one another. It's played by keyboardist Allan Freeman and bassist Derek Moore.

23. KLAUS SCHULZE – Friedrich Nietzsche (Germany, 1978)

Though more associated with synthesizers in the collective imagination, Klaus Schulze made extensive use of the Mellotron in the second half of the Seventies. A shining example is the choirs that dominate this cosmic, colossal twenty-four-minute piece, which opens the triple album "X".

22. SCHICKE, FÜHRS & FRÖHLING – Pictures (Germany, 1976)

It's curious that Emerson, Lake & Palmer never used the Mellotron, yet this German trio shows us what the result might have been, with keyboardist Gerhard Führs and guitarist Heinz Fröhling both manning the instrument. The sixteen paranoid minutes of the suite "Pictures" are literally drenched in choirs, strings and flutes.

21. QUARTETO 1111 – Onde quando como porquê cantamos pessoas vivas. Side A, Side B (Portugal, 1975)

José Cid later became one of Portugal's most popular singer-songwriters, but it's in the first part of his career, devoted to progressive rock, that his most significant legacy lies. The lengthy title of this album conceals a suite of roughly half an hour, at the time split in two as required by vinyl, in which Cid's pop sensibility and delicate voice intertwine with synthesizers, guitar solos and the evocative orchestral layers of the Mellotron.

20. BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST – Mockingbird (UK, 1974)

The studio version of "Mockingbird", released in 1971, featured the band accompanied by an orchestra, but three years later, on the legendary "Live" recorded between London and Liverpool, it's Woolly Wolstenholme's Mellotron that dominates the ballad. Either way, it's one of the most representative songs of the progressive era.

19. ARCHIVE – Lights (UK, 2006)

This is the greatest Mellotron song of the last decade or so. Great in every sense, given that it runs over eighteen minutes. It's not always possible to make out the instrument amid the wall of sound laid on by the band, between synthesizers, samples and distortion. Still, in several passages the string lines and choral flare-ups emerge forcefully. It's played by bassist Lee Pomeroy.

18. KINGDOM COME – Spirit Of Joy (UK, 1973)

After the huge success of "Fire" in 1968, Arthur Brown never quite won back the public's favor. In the early Seventies, however, he released incredibly forward-looking music under the name Kingdom Come. If you didn't think progressive rock with a drum machine was possible, the album "Journey" will change your mind. It's also where "Spirit Of Joy" comes from, in which keyboardist Victor Peraino's Mellotron even mimics a Hammond organ.

17. SPRING – Golden Fleece (UK, 1971)

With six out of eight songs drenched in Mellotron and three of the band's five members playing it, there's no doubt that Spring's self-titled debut album is one of the instrument's great classics. It's hard to pick just one highlight from this thoroughly enjoyable progressive folk-rock record, marked by instantly catchy melodies and refined virtuosity. "Golden Fleece" is a triumph of strings and horn-like riffs.

16. KLAATU – Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (Canada, 1976)

Famous especially for the excellent version the Carpenters recorded a year later, it nevertheless remains unsurpassed in its original form. Klaatu were a Canadian band who came out of nowhere in 1976 and vanished back into it after their debut album's modest sales success (a top 40 hit in the US). On this gem of cosmic, progressive pop, Dee Long's Mellotron runs wild: strings, flutes, choirs, you name it.

15. FLEETWOOD MAC – The Ghost (GB, 1972)

The middle-period Fleetwood Mac — after Green's departure but before Buckingham and Nicks arrived — are probably the least remembered version of the band today. On this track written and sung by Bob Welch, the Mellotron reigns supreme in the guise of a long, hypnotic flute solo. It's played by Christine McVie.

14. MAGICAL POWER MAKO [with Keiji Haino] – Sora o miageyō (Japan, 1974)

A twelve-minute psychic epic closes the debut album by enfant prodige Makoto Kurita, who at the time had just come of age but was already able to handle any instrument and navigate a recording studio with ease. The first four minutes consist of a piano ballad, literally drowned in Mellotron strings and choirs, after which chaos breaks loose and it becomes nearly impossible to tell which instrument is producing what.

13. JULIAN COPE – When I Walk Through The Land Of Fear (GB, 1995)

Featured on "20 Mothers", the last Cope album to crack the UK top 20, it's something of a minor cult favorite among fans of the Druid. Choirs, church organ and strings, all reproduced on the Mellotron in a bold, powerful arrangement that only a fanatic of the instrument could conceive. And given the results, we can only thank him for it.

12. KULA SHAKER – Tattva (UK, 1996)

One of the masterpieces of Nineties Britpop and psychedelia, this hit that reached the UK top 5 features a prominent Mellotron part, courtesy of keyboardist Jay Darlington, usually more at home with the electric organ. The verse and bridge are dominated by a bed of strings and an obstinate flute figure, which can still be heard in the chorus too, folded into the surrounding chaos.

11. KINKS – Phenomenal Cat (UK, 1968)

The only genuine concession to psychedelia by the Kinks is also one of their most innovative songs. Ray Davies uses the Mellotron not just to recreate the flute, as many did at the time, but also for one of the electric guitar lines and for the drums. This makes it one of the first tracks to feature a rhythm of electronic origin, a year before the drum machine made its entrance into pop music.

10. ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK – Maid Of Orleans (GB, 1981)

The lighthouse in the night, the shelter amid the storm. Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey were the only musicians of any real stature to keep using the Mellotron consistently throughout the Eighties, the decade in which the instrument was almost universally cast aside in favor of samplers. In this epic, drum-driven pop song, dedicated to Joan of Arc, it enters after about a minute and from there submerges everything beneath strings and female choirs.

9. AIR – Dead Bodies (France, 2000)

The soundtrack to "The Virgin Suicides" is packed with Mellotron. In place of "Playground Love", beautiful but now familiar even to the rocks on the ground, we've opted for a lesser-known track. "Dead Bodies" starts out like a krautrock song, with a hypnotic beat and hammering piano. The Mellotron enters after about a minute and then takes over completely, with some of the most majestic choirs on record.

8. TRAFFIC – Dream Gerrard (UK, 1974)

Widely regarded as one of the greatest organists in rock, Steve Winwood only got around to tackling the Mellotron at the tail end of the Traffic adventure, but when he did, he went all out. "Dream Gerrard" is eleven minutes of progressive rock unexpectedly walking hand in hand with the dictates of minimalist composers. The fake strings enter after 1'50'' and from there dominate the arrangement in several waves.

7. TANGERINE DREAM – Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares (Germania, 1974)

Basically ten minutes of Mellotron strings and phaser experiments courtesy of the band's leader, Edgar Froese. It's the most romantic moment in the career of Tangerine Dream and one of the peaks of cosmic music. The album it comes from, "Phaedra", floated in the British top 40 from April to July 1974. Different times indeed.

6. KING CRIMSON – In The Wake Of Poseidon (GB, 1970)

Although it sold as well as the debut album at the time, the second effort by King Crimson has somewhat faded into the background over the years. A cruel fate, especially considering that the title track is packed with tons of Mellotron, with Robert Fripp having a field day among strings, horns and choirs.

5. MOODY BLUES – Tuesday Afternoon (UK, 1967)

The band that introduced the most typical use of the Mellotron, that of an all-enveloping orchestral carpet that would go on to define much of progressive rock. This alone would be enough to make the Moody Blues one of the most influential names of the Sixties, given that, despite selling millions of records, they remain to this day badly underrated by critics. It's Mike Pinder playing the instrument on this classic among classics.

4. GENESIS – Entangled (UK, 1976)

Written by guitarist Steve Hackett and keyboardist Tony Banks, this gorgeous acoustic ballad unveils a closing section that amounts to a genuine cathedral of Mellotron, where towering choirs blend with a solo from the ARP 2600 synthesizer. Dedicated to all the members of the "no Peter Gabriel, no Genesis" party.

3. STRAWBS – Hero And Heroine (GB, 1974)

The title track of Strawbs' finest album is an energetic folk-rock number with a gothic, Celtic flavor, one that Mike Oldfield must surely have listened to more than once. It's driven by a Mellotron riff with the horns blasted at an absurd volume, a genuine avalanche of sound. Choirs are added toward the end, sealing keyboardist John Hawken's triumph.

2. HAWKWIND – Assault And Battery / The Golden Void (GB, 1975)

Since they flow into one another, the two tracks that open "Warrior on the Edge of Time" can be regarded as a single piece. That's how its author, guitarist Dave Brock, sees it too, taking care to append "Part 1" and "Part 2" to their respective titles. This is Hawkwind at their peak, ten minutes of melodic, celestial space-rock, wrapped in the hazy Mellotron strings of Simon House, one of the wizards of Seventies electronics.

1. YES – Heart Of The Sunrise (GB, 1971)

It was easy to predict who'd end up sitting on the throne of this fun little game. After all, Mellotron means progressive rock first and foremost, and progressive rock means Yes first and foremost. Rick Wakeman joined the lineup with "Fragile", bringing along a set of keyboards that his predecessor, Tony Kaye, hadn't been particularly familiar with. Among them was the Mellotron, whose strings send the now-legendary "Heart Of The Sunrise" hurtling into the depths of the cosmos.

BONUS – Five songs for the Belpaese

A small separate space is set aside for the Italian artists who made use of the keyboard, in the hope of giving them particular visibility, and given that they have little to envy in the rest of the selection.

5. BALLETTO DI BRONZO – Epilogue (1972)

Taken from the album "Contrappunti”, the fifth Orme album in a row to reach the Italian top 10, it's a poetic acoustic ballad about the loss of innocence and remains one of the band's most beloved songs. The Mellotron, played by keyboardist Tony Pagliuca, comes in at several points, set to a string sound and backed by synthesizer.

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