Some Claude Engel: 1972 99% Pop, 1973 More Creative Pop, 1976 Fantasmagory

 

Claude Engel is of course a French guitarist who was involved in Omega Plus, Magma briefly, Troc, and Univeria Zekt.  I posted the Lubat Louiss Engel Live in Montreaux back here.

Aside from those groups outings, he made the library records 99% Pop and More Creative Pop, plus an ST 1973 and then notably the 1976 Fantasmagory, the most progressive of the bunch.  That first solo 1973 one was more chanson and therefore I didn't include it here in this package.

As an ex. of the library styles, Ralentissimo A from 1972's Pop library:

I posted Teddy Lasry here and there in the past, with whom he collaborates (along with Lubat) on 1973's More Creative Pop.  Teddy's stunning Fiction Melody, obviously is a masterpiece of the prog genre, pretty much a textbook lesson in how to write creative and intense prog rock:

From the wonderful Fantasmagory which is all written by him, very much an acoustic guitar-based work, but with interesting chords, harmonies, and some funky passages (the second side's Martian Suite), plus ethnic importations, the title track feat. vocals:

Less electric than Alain Renaud but similar.  The beautiful solo guitar piece called Improvisation sur Colchique sur les Pres, sounds very much like classic Larry Coryell, which is a wonderful thing always:

I was not a little surprised I had never heard that album before, but happy to discover it now.

April Orchestra 48: Francis Rimbert + Frederick Rousseau

 

The music here is almost as good as the old classic AO's I collected way back when, see search function here.  This one I skipped over at the time.  And what a surprise to be back here with these guys and their seemingly endless library tracks.  Looking over the whole series, it's truly amazing how much great music there was on offer there in that little quiet and neglected local library.

This one came out in 1982, and it seems all the compositions are cowritten by the two artists.

Francis Rimbert:

Keyboardist and composer born at the 3rd of October 1953 in Val D'Oise (France). At an age of 5 he started to play piano and later accordion. At the age of 7 he started to play harmonium in the church. He studied at the Paris Conservatory (Paris, France) but didn't like the classical music ambiance. At the age of 14 he started his first band, which he didn't like, so he stopped this band. Later he founded FanChris together with a folk singer/songwriter.

In 1978 he start working at a music shop specialized in synthesizers in Paris where he start rehearsing on those synths. There his career started when his boss offered him to record an album: "Bionic Orchestra" and he quit FanChris. Some later he met Jean-Michel Jarre with who he works often.

And Rousseau, briefly:

French keyboardist and synthesizer player, sound engineer and composer.

Quai de L'enigme:

Marguerite Degarne:

More Romolo Grano Soundtracks:1974 Civiltá Sepolte; 1974 Ho Incontrato Un'Ombra; 1974 L'Edera

 

Information here again. On the strength of Kilimanjaro I decided to search around to see if there are any other big surprises.  The library music is sometimes quite improvised, abstract, and atonal, eg Musica Elettronica while the soundtracks are generally orchestral classical music, eg Mme. Bovary.

In the mid-seventies though there is a string of more fusiony and / or Morricone-like material which are these 3.

From Civilta, minimal info on discogs, with Paolo Renosto, Genitura:

From L'Edera (Title translates as "The Ivy - Original Soundtrack Of Scripted TV"), Fiume di Mare, with the Morricone wordless vocals:

While Suoni Antichi features Stravinsky polytonal chords in the strings:

Ha Incontrato from the same year has some fusion elements, note it's also 'Taken from the 1974 italian television movie in four episodes directed by Daniele D'Anza.'  See, for ex., Working in the City, with its lovely Herbie Hancock groove:

Big Amongst Sheep: 1982 Terminal Velocity, 1985 Hearts on Fire 7"

 

Discogs page here.  I see that prior to this 1982 release there was a cassette with many of the tracks that later appeared on the LP. Hugely rare that one.

Terminal Velocity has a bit of Quasar Light - Experience This feel to it, which is mightily endearing for myself, in other words, the nutty space / science / aliens / radioactivity lyrical references plus a late 1970s hard rock + synths, Rush-like feel.  It's a lot more interesting than it appears on paper, with the addition of flute here and there, odd chord changes, and the dated scifi subjects ('Astral Goldhawks,' 'Flying to the Future,' 'Radioactive Daffodils').

Anarchy in the Skies, with its oddball musical 'quote' from Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra (famous for its use in 2001 of course):

Out of this World is definitely exactly that, in a case of meta-reference or artistic autology:

Love that twirling arpeggio synth sound behind the chorus lines, and the background reverbed guitar chords.  Note the later sax solo.

Also reminds me a lot of my old Canadian favo(u)rite, Machines have Landed, though it's much less proggy than the old EP Artificial Intelligence it's similar in sound and feel.  Love the science-based lyrics.  In 1983 a live cassette was released too, sold only to fans I presume.

I also found a 1985 single called Hearts on Fire, which definitively steps fully into the 1980s synth new wave style. Sadly they also abandoned the crazy subject matters, like what happened to UK Comus. 

The title track tells you everything you need to know:

Back to Reynold Philipsek with Black and Blue 1985 [vinyl rip]

 

A lot has culturally, musically changed of course in the 5 years that passed since Reynold's brilliant 1980 masterwork Short Stories (which I still can't auditorily believe) and needless to say we are eras, ages away from the 1974 Sailor fusion work.  We are in the sweaty thick of the crazy dancing jumpy digital new wave 1980s of course, with the dreaded drum machines and staccato synth chords, deeply advanced into the (plastic) years of Duran Duran.  Music moved so fast back then, not like today, when hip hop is not only still popular, but unchanged from those very same 1980s, 40 years ago.  Nonetheless, despite the majority commercial throwaway pop and blues numbers, there are great gems in here.  Information can be found here.

The sheer brilliance of his presumably solo acoustic guitar work, Blues for L.G., just blows me away:

Child's Play with a lovely drumless synth performance seems surprisingly out of place, but side b also closes with an all-synth composition:

The title track is definitely worth the price of admission here, with its magnificent dark sound and unbelievably virtuoso guitarwork, really harking back to the minor-key guitar fusion of a Mahavishnu long since passed and critically derided:

Listening to it closely, for sure this track alone was well worth the hunt for this very rare LP.