Fontessa
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1973) - Shell Schellekens -- drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, bass - Frank van der Kloot (aka Frank Vanderkloot) -- vocals, guitar
supporting musicians (1973) - Ritchie Hamilton -- vocals - Eric Tagg -- keyboards - Peter Vink -- bass - Jan Visser -- bass
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- Big Wheel (Shell Schellekens) - Bobby's Children (Frank van der Kloot) - Brainbox (Shell Schellekens) - Cashmere (Shell Schellekens) - Drama (Shell Schellekens and Frank van der Kloot) - The Incrowd (Shell Schellekens) - The Rainbow Team (Shell Schellekens) - The Rest (Shell Schellekens) - Shelby the Clap (Shell Schellekens) - Frank van der Kloot (solo efforts) - Hans Vermeulen's Rainbow Train (Shell Schellekens)
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Genre: jazz-rock Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: Fontessa Company: Pink Elephant Catalog: PE
877 055 Country/State: The Hague, Holland Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $200.00
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As a rule it's hard to find anything on the Dutch Pink Elephant label here in the States. It's become even harder in the wake of the current administration's fever dreams surrounding how great tariffs are for this country. Anyhow, good luck finding an original copy of "Fontessa" in the US marketplace these days. (The good news is the album's been reissued by the Japanese Vivid Sound label.)
Guitarist Frank van der Kloot's career included an early 1970s stint with Bobby's Children and an album with the band Drama. In 1973 van der Kloot and Drama drummer Shell Schellekens decided to strike out on their own. As Fontessa the duo were signed to the Dutch Pink Elephant label (coincidently the label that released the Drama album..
Produced by the
trio of Michel Damen, Schellekens and van
der Kloot, 1973's "Fontessa" featured a collection
of six Schellekens - van
der Kloot originals. Ritchie Hamilton provided E
"Fontessa" track listing: 1.) What Is Man (Shell Schellekens - Frank van der Kloot - Ritchie Hamilton) - 6:38 rating: ** stars A slinky blues number, "What Is Man" suffered from a pedestrian melody, Ritchie Hamilton's throwaway lyrics and numbing spoken "jive" vocals. The song improved about halfway through when Hamilton finally stopped talking/singing, but even then it wasn't anything special. Unfortunately Hamilton reappeared to close the song out. 2.) Victum of the Past (Shell Schellekens - Frank van der Kloot - Ritchie Hamilton) - 15:32 rating: ** stars Their spelling, not mine, "Victum of the Past" offered up a funky feel, but suffered from another bout of Hamilton's irritating spoken word raps. Hard to imagine him ever scoring with a woman using these lyrics. As on the opener, the song improved when Hamilton shut up leaving van der Kloot and Alquin bassist Jan Visser to jam through rock, progressive and jazz-rock sections. Admittedly the song was about ten minutes too long. Docked a star for Hamilton's participation, Schellekens needless drum solo and the absence of judicious editing.
(side
2) Showcasing van der Kloot on guitar and vocals, the pastoral ballad "I'll Never Let You Down" was the album's prettiest melody. It certainly made me wonder why they featured Hamilton on the two earlier tracks. 2.) Necernomicon (instrumental) (Shell Schellekens - Frank van der Kloot) - 5:32 rating: *** stars Giving Schellekens a bit of spotlight time, the instrumental "Necernomicon" was the album's most jazz-rock number. I'm not a big jazz-rock fan, but from the technical standpoint the tune was interesting for showcasing van der Kloot's speed of light guitar runs. 3.) Friends (instrumental) (Shell Schellekens - Frank van der Kloot) - 4:50 rating: *** stars The only track to feature American keyboard player Eric Tagg, the instrumental "Friends" was another tune with a strong melody, powered in large measure by van der Kloot's rapid-fire guitar licks and bassist Visser. Never quite understood the brief fade out about three quarters of the way through the performance. 4.) Epilog (instrumental) (Shell Schellekens - Frank van der Kloot) - 2:25 rating: ** stars Again, their spelling, not mine ...The instrumental "Epilog" was essentially a van der Kloot solo efforts ending the album with a brief, forgettable jazzy interlude.
© Scott R. Blackerby October 2025
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nglish lyrics and
horrible spoken word "vocals" for the first two track. Imagine a
third tier Isaac Hayes mumbling his way through a bland funk track.
(Hamilton's a complete mystery to me - perhaps an American GI who elected to
stay in Europe rather than going back to the States?) Owning a copy of
the Drama LP, I guess I was hoping this one would be in the same general
vein - a mildly engaging mix of blues rock, hard rock and psych moves.
It really wasn't. In terms of musical styles the collection wasn't
particularly consistent, bouncing between blues ("What Is Man"),
funkier moves ("Victum of the Past" - their spelling; not mine)
and jazz-rock ("Epilog"). The performances were professional
and van der Kloot was occasionally quite impressive - check out his
speed-of-sound runs on the instrumental
"Necernomicon".
Unfortunately to my ears nothing here was mesmerizing, or particularly
memorable. Best of the lot was the ballad "I'll
Never Let You Down" which featured van der Kloot on guitar and
vocals. All
told it was a disappointment ...