Best use of melodica in a song?

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Daddy, I want to play melodica ...
... No problem little boy !!!
http://saintgui.free.fr/Melodica/Divers/garcon_melodica.gif

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 04:30 (twenty years ago) link

I think melodicas used to be used solely by schoolchildren.
The first man who called himself Augustus Pablo--Glen Adams--took to playing it. Horace Swaby met Glen while the two were working in Kingston studios, and Glen let Horace take ownership of both the name and the instrument.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 04:40 (twenty years ago) link

The Good Life by Saloon.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 06:53 (twenty years ago) link

CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA. Obviously.

― Dave M. (rotten03), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 06:54 (twenty years ago) link

(actually it's the only one I can think of right now)

― Dave M. (rotten03), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 06:54 (twenty years ago) link

Best: Your Silent Face by New Order

Worst: ANYTHING by Gorillaz. Go away, you puffy-faced twat.

― kate (kate), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 07:00 (twenty years ago) link

The first man who called himself Augustus Pablo--Glen Adams--took to playing it. Horace Swaby met Glen while the two were working in Kingston studios, and Glen let Horace take ownership of both the name and the instrument.

Is this true? How astonishing.

I'd vote for Pablo's "Pablo Meets Mr Bassie" as one of my favouritest pieces of music ever.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 07:04 (twenty years ago) link

'Star' by Primal Scream (played by Augustus Pablo)
'Sleep on the Left Side' by Cornershop (I think it's a melodica)

& King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, obviously.

― bham, Tuesday, 7 October 2003 08:23 (twenty years ago) link

Best: Gang of Four - 5:45

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 10:26 (twenty years ago) link

Is it just me who HATES these things with a passion? Stupid parpy farty things, they sound fucking horrible. Most of the time anyway, I'm sure someone somewhere has made one sound nice, but I've sure as hell never heard it.

― Steve.n. (sjkirk), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 12:10 (twenty years ago) link

Is this true? How astonishing.

Was it also Swaby then who played melodica on the early instrumental piece by Bob Marley & The Wailers, "Memphis"? (For it wasn't Pablo on that track, I've read somewhere)
It's a search-worthy track anyway.

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 12:13 (twenty years ago) link

"Someone Somewhere" by the Wannadies was a good one, because without the melodica it would have been no fun.

― edward o (edwardo), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 12:18 (twenty years ago) link

"Is it just me who HATES these things with a passion?"

While I like the sound of them, I have a friend who absolutely hates them. Calls them 'Jamaican bagpipes'.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 12:41 (twenty years ago) link

(Nod to Jay Kid) Deltron 3030 - 'Time Keeps On Slipping'
Money Mark - 'Monkey Dot'

― Barima (Barima), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 13:28 (twenty years ago) link

Jack DeJohnette plaid melodica on his first solo record, "The DeJohnette Complex", years before Augustus Pablo. "Equipose" from that LP, for example, is a wonderful melodica/tenor sax duet between DeJohnette and Bennie Maupin.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 13:55 (twenty years ago) link

Jack DeJohnette plaid melodica on his first solo record, "The DeJohnette Complex", years before Augustus Pablo

About a year and a half or so, more like?
With "The DeJohnette Complex" being recorded in late December 1968, and the young Pablo/Swaby doing his first playing in the studio in 1970, as it's chronicled.
;)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:10 (twenty years ago) link

(Was it also Swaby then who played melodica on the early instrumental piece by Bob Marley & The Wailers, "Memphis"?

Woops! Was it *Glen Adams* then... - was wot I meant. Me bad.)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:24 (twenty years ago) link

Melodica 2 by International airport is very good

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 14:38 (twenty years ago) link

That Tortoise tune on TNT, and "It's Her Factory" by Gof4.
And lets not forget Big Chocolate Flavour!

― peepee (peepee), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 16:00 (twenty years ago) link

I think New Order also used it at the start of "Love Vigilantes".
Cracking tune.

― Neil FC (Neil FC), Tuesday, 7 October 2003 20:54 (twenty years ago) link

RFI: Melodica

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 05:27 (twenty years ago) link

Heh, I don't remember that thread. Why was this one more successful?

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 05:31 (twenty years ago) link

i hate when people resurrect threads and i say the exact same thing on both of them

― JasonD (JasonD), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 05:34 (twenty years ago) link

Cause nobody knows shit about the melodica itself but are eager to point you towards a tune the like that features it?
Or maybe cause you started it, Mr. Dreamboat. *bats eyes*

(xp) I think EVERYone said the exact same thing on both threads.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 05:36 (twenty years ago) link

With "The DeJohnette Complex" being recorded in late December 1968, and the young Pablo/Swaby doing his first playing in the studio in 1970, as it's chronicled.

Well, okay, but according to the liner notes of "The DeJohnette Complex" DeJohnette had been playing melodica for quite some time, and this was only the first recorded example of him doing so. Still, I'm sure Pablo had everything to do with popularizing the instrument, since DeJohnette rarely played it after that one record.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 07:00 (twenty years ago) link

Plus, I doubt Pablo knew of DeJohnette's dablings.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 8 October 2003 07:05 (twenty years ago) link

two years pass...

1. Pablo "Jah in the Hills"
2 Pablo "Baby I Love You So"
3. New Order "Your Silent Face"
4. New Order "Love Vigilantes"
5 Dub Narcotic "King Harvester"
6 Bauhaus "She's in Parties"
7 Joy Division "Decades"
8 New Order "Hurt"
9 Big Sugar "Cass Corridor"
10 Smashing Pumpkins "Glynis"

― Duke Dubuque (Duke Dubuque), Saturday, 21 January 2006 17:36 (eighteen years ago) link

tourists ( pre-eurythmics)- don't say i told you so
did the b52s use one ?

― retrogurl, Sunday, 22 January 2006 04:09 (eighteen years ago) link

Bob Marley - Sun is Shining has a pretty great (what I think is a) melodica part.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 22 January 2006 06:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Bernie Worrell played some great stuff on "You Hit The Nail On The Head" and select other Funkadelic songs.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 22 January 2006 08:00 (eighteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Joy Division - Decades
New Order - Truth & Your Silent Face

I should probably listen to more reggae & dub

― Ian Dyster, Wednesday, 19 April 2006 02:18 (eighteen years ago) link

Charlie Palmieri - Tiene Sabor

Great, great song (except for a purely Geirist sensibility--I would steer him away from this song if he happens to read this thread). The melodica (which I initially thought was an accordion, here) comes in after the song is about 3/4 over, and it really took me by surprise. (I wonder if Charlie Palmieri was listening to reggae in the 70s. I'd kind of be surprised if he hadn't at least checkde it out.) I hope Fania issues a remastered version of The Heavyweight in short order.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 17:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Maybe not the best, but I wasn't expecting it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtXXRsQrin0&search=shiina%20ringo

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 22 April 2006 20:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Have you even not known you needed something, till you got it?

thats how i fell about that last clip.......

― danny boy (danny boy), Sunday, 23 April 2006 10:14 (eighteen years ago) link

have you ever not know you needed somehting till you got it?

thats how I feel about that last clip.....

― danny boy (danny boy), Sunday, 23 April 2006 10:15 (eighteen years ago) link

"Alabama Blues", St. Germain (Todd Edwards remix)

― hank (hank s), Sunday, 23 April 2006 12:38 (eighteen years ago) link

have you ever not know you needed somehting till you got it?

That's how I feel about Shiina Ringo in general.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Sunday, 23 April 2006 12:45 (eighteen years ago) link

I thought Alan Wilder was the one playing the melodica in 101!

Regardless, it's still the best.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Sunday, 23 April 2006 21:36 (eighteen years ago) link

Augustus Pablo, obv.

Although I do quite like the melodica in Blue's "All Rise" too (the only thing I like about that song tho)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 24 April 2006 11:46 (eighteen years ago) link

Augustus Pablo, obv

Too much improvisation! ;-)

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Monday, 24 April 2006 12:24 (eighteen years ago) link

I Couldn't Wait from the Kurt Wagner/Josh Rouse work-up is quite nice.

Roland Kirk's clavietta work deserves mention, even if he does play it with one nostril.

― christoff (christoff), Monday, 24 April 2006 13:34 (eighteen years ago) link

New Order are all over this thread, but no-one's mentioned "In a Lonely Place" or "Turn the Heater On" yet?

― David A. (Davant), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 01:17 (eighteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Nice soprano melodica solo in Belle and Sebastian's "Electronic Renaissance".

― absolutely no one of any stature, Sunday, 14 May 2006 19:09 (seventeen years ago) link

Other than anything by Augustus Pablo, 'Love Vigilantes' by New Order and 'Fishes Eyes' by New Fast Automatic Daffodils.

― yer mam! (yer mam!), Sunday, 14 May 2006 20:14 (seventeen years ago) link

The Handsome Family - "Weightless Again"

― Eazy (Eazy), Sunday, 14 May 2006 22:23 (seventeen years ago) link

Neutral Milk Hotel - Naomi

― Steve Goldberg (Steve Goldberg), Sunday, 14 May 2006 22:30 (seventeen years ago) link

I will cast another vote for "It's Her Factory."

― J (Jay), Sunday, 14 May 2006 22:31 (seventeen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Another song with Shiina Ringo playing melodica (awesome):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0rjMO7JE4&search=tokyo%20jihen

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 01:28 (seventeen years ago) link

three months pass...

I can't emphasize enough how worthy the Charlie Palmieri's use of melodica is on The Heavyweight.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 22 September 2006 01:40 (seventeen years ago) link

four years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-IXJLgRnvs

Live performance of this classic song with an awful-sounding melodica solo starting around 1:35. It goes on and on and...yeah, wow. Is that in the studio version at all? Are they just trying to expand their sound?

― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 2 April 2011 06:07 (thirteen years ago) link

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