Christine mellotron?
 

I forget where I read it, but Christine claims to have/had one of the first Mellotrons ever made, which isn’t too far fetched, since those were invented in Birmingham.

Going back and listening to the Peter Green stuff, I’ve been wondering if all of the strings/orchestra parts on songs like “Need Your Love So Bad,” “Oh Well, Pt. 2,” and “Searching for Madge” are actually Christine on Mellotron.

I’m positive that’s her playing one on “The Ghost” (“flute” solo) and “Why.”

Thanks for posting. I'm going to go and listen.

It is Christine on a mellotron... at least on "the Ghost".. below is from one of Bob's Q & As ... not sure how to embed it properly here and the link to the Q & A doesn't seem to work, but the link to my post does..

https://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showt...t=55214&page=2

In an interview from 1979, you stated that your earlier involvement in a 60's R&B outfit called "The Seven Souls" may have evolved into similar musical styling of Earth, Wind, & Fire. Have you ever had the desire to make a dance-able 70's style jazz-funk album?

I understand that your early musical training was on clarinet, which I recall that you accidentally broken onto pieces on purpose when you were young. Did you ever play the flute/clarinet parts for that wonderful song called, "The Ghost" from the Fleetwood Mac LP "Bare Trees?" Besides playing guitar, did you ever play bass on any Fleetwood Mac LP's?

I don't mean to get too personal, but how many times were you married and do you have any children? (K.E. Gil, Los Angeles, California, USA)

The Seven Souls were actually part of a large group of players in LA, that were all in different bands, but sort of trying to do the same thing. There was the 'Souls, there were the guys, Bobby Watson and Tony Maiden, who later, with Chaka Kahn, turned into "Rufus",. Up north, there was the disc jockey on KYA, Sylvester Stuart, who later was "Sly" of "Sly and The Family Stone".. CBS records was going to sign either the Seven Souls, or Sly Stone to a recording deal. They picked Sly...good choice, much more original than our band was.You even had bands like "The 5th Dimension", actually they were a singing group, who the Seven Souls used to back up when they were still called "The Versatiles". Then you had all the Ike and Tina Turner review alumni, like "Nose", and David T Walker of "The Kinfolks", who later became a much recorded session player. All of us sort of knew each other, from the clubs, we had the same friends etc. The Seven Souls even played at Jordan High School in LA for Motowns debut of The Jackson 5. And Larry Williams, he of "Bony Marony" fame produced one of the Seven Souls two singles. It was a "tight" scene"!
I took Clarinet lessons for about 6 years, and played in the school orchestra, when I suddenly realized that the girls didn't think guys with clarinets were 'cool".

The flute parts on The Ghost, were played by Christine McVie on a "Mellotron". I played bass on quite a few Mac songs ;"Revalation", and "Keep On Going" come to mind.

I've been married 3 times, and never had any kids, just 2 dogs ! ;-)

http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bobwelch_qa2.htm

Doesn´t sound like mellotron on the 60´s tracks mentioned above.

I agree. I remember reading that strings were overdubbed on “Need Your Love So Bad” (to make it more commercial) and that Green had a cello and played on “Oh Well”. I’m thinking “Madge” might have been recorded straight from a record (sampling), but it’s only a hunch.

I’m not so sure. There’s a very “Knights In White Satin” vibe in some spots in OW, Pt II, and that song used a Mellotron in the body of the song.

I’m not talking about the Sandra’s recorder or the solo cello.

ETA, go to about the 4:30 point in the song.

Christine’s mellotron was rarely used on those 71-74 records. “The Ghost” is an obvious example, as others have noted. I do remember reading a book on the band where a 1972 concert was reviewed: Christine played parts of “Black Magic Woman” on the mellotron, too.

She was a quiet pioneer. She had one of the first arp string ensembles (which she used for “Why,” “Prove Your Love,” and “Come A Little Bit Closer.”) I believe real strings were arranged for “Keep On Going”— but I could be wrong.

Tony, am I all wet or do I remember her arranging the strings for Keep on Going? And, saying something like her family would play strings when she was a child.

I’ll check it out tomorrow. At the end of “Closing My Eyes” there is an organ, I believe. I know a bunch of instruments are layered on top of one another, it could be harmonics interacting.

I never read any comment from her about this song, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she herself arranged the strings there....

From the later period, Crystal and Oh Daddy both had Mellotrons. Partly what makes them my favourite tracks on their respective albums.

I think, perhaps, they were electric organs???

That's what I've always thought as well. Organs.

The Mellotron strings and woodwinds don't sound like actual strings and winds. They don't breathe the way real strings breathe, they flutter and wobble electronically, and they decay unnaturally. (Probably every actual string or wind player can immediately hear the difference.) NEED YOUR LOVE and WHY are real strings. The break in MADGE is electronic and THE GHOST is electronic. NEED YOUR LOVE sounds real to me but poorly arranged and possibly poorly recorded, which might be giving it that electronic warble.

“Need Your Love So Bad” definitely features real strings. I believe it’s in the Hjort book where there is a blurb about Mike Vernon producing a recording session with strings as an overdub to make the song more commercially appealing.