RON GEESIN

Who said that progressive electronic has to consist of tracks longer than 20 minutes? Geesin condensed his ideas into 19 very short tracks, none of them reaching 3 minutes of duration.

To give you an idea: try to imagine the Tangerine Dream of the Pink period shrunk into 2 minutes tracks with the addition of concrete music, sometimes in background, sometimes in foreground.

Tracks like "Syncopot" and "Bottling Plant" are quite reminding of "The Body", the soundtrack realised with Roger Waters in 1970. Thinking a bit, it looks like Geesin has decided to dedicate each of his albums to a single "instrument". A Raise of Eyebrows was all based on human voice, this one is based on Synths and Moog, instead.

Originally it should have been intended as just a collection of sounds useable for movie soundtracks, and this is evident in the sudden end of some tracks, but the whole has a sort of internal consistency.

For whoever likes psychedelia and electronics.

A dialog is followed by a grotesque instrumental in the vein of "The Body", that's where the listener can gain more pleasure as the dialogs can be funny but in general don't deserve further listens.

Another minute spoken and what comes after makes me wonder why Geesin is not in Avant. "The Middle of Whose Nights?" is a piece of chamber rock between Canterbury and Zeuhl. "Wrap a Keyboard Around a Plant" is a sonic patchwork with classical piano leading. Who has liked "The Body" now knows that Waters was marginal in the composition.

A two guitar piece reminding of Fripp follows. It's incredible how all the tracks are not longer than two or three minutes. Geesin is able to get the core of an idea and concentrate it in a piece. This "Twist and Knit for Two Guitars" is a guitar lesson.

Piano ragtime. Not only Emerson does it... "Up Above My Heart" is an excellent ragtime, a bit accelerated to be a classical rag. The background keyboard sounds weird.

"A Cymbal and Much Electronics" is what the title says. Enjoy this piece of pure avantgarde followed by "To Roger Waters Wherever You Are" that should be an invective against the former friend after a broken friendship (he won't be the only one during the years...). I interpret it as a parody of "Several Species...." and of all the gimmicks, winds and breakfasts . Another minute of piano, melodic but on weird sequences of chords, very nice. A minute of genius before another avantgarde moment. A jazzy bass and a speaker followed by keyboards then speaking again and..I can't get all the story. There's harp, very different moments that underline what I think is a satiric view of the musical establishment and radios.

"Concrete Line Up" is an organ solo very psychedelic. Barrett would have surely liked it. And fans of Barrett too, I think.

"Rise Up Sebastian!" is another parody. Something "Mexican" probably, as the accent and the flamenco make me think more to sombreros than to Spain. Another spoken song with flamenco guitar and gramelot singing.

"Looming View" sounds like classic contemporary. Other two excellent minutes more.

Another ragtime closes the album, but this time it's banjo and guitar.

Of course Ron plays all the instruments.

It's not an album easy to find, but it surely deserves to stay in a collection as it's one of the few approachable works of an underrated genius.

This 'two-for-one' cd release includes 'A Raise of Eyebrows' from '67 and 'As he Stands' from '73. This is like a more eccentric Ivor Cutler with many more dimensions and versatility.

Partly spoken word, partly piano, banjo, acoustic guitar with lots of additional sound effects, and electronics thrown in. Some of the spoken word parts are completely mental and downright peculiar, for example "Trot, trot old lady, how was your body in the bath - or were you just disgusted?" - thats the complete lyrics to 'Another Female!' The whole album is full of such idiosyncrasies.

A real oddity. In fact, one of the oddest cd's I own. Right up there in terms of weirdness with the best 70's 'Residents' albums. A very silly genius who will appeal to fans of the quirkier and more experimental parts of Floyd circa 'Ummagumma'.

There are one or two moments which sound like 'The Body' soundtrack which was recorded with Roger Waters, but this is a far better and more adventurous endeavour. Bewildering and beguiling, this is one strange cd that is right out there on the fringes of lunacy.

Very unique and off the wall.

If it's something stark raving bonkers trousers round the ankles you want in listenable form - this is the one for you. A criminally overlooked recording from a very loveable character who clearly didn't give a monkeys arse about sales.

Don't expect to hear music. This is a totally experimental album.

The title track is made of gimmicks only. No music at all and the sentence about the bricks in the garden at the end. "Freedom For Four Voices And Me" is highly experimental. It makes me think to Demetrio Stratos' experiments with his voice. In this song we have a choir, but it's not music in the normal sense, too.

"Psychedelia" is closer to "The Body" in the little instrumental part, but it's very short.

"Positives" is just Ron speaking about "problems", "people looking for solutions", "London's traffic noise". and mainly "Thinking positive".

"It's All Very New, You Know" is the first track on which some music can be heard. It's a piano solo with a touch of ragtime in the style of "Our Song", the opener of "The Body", but it doesn't contain "Human noises". It's just piano, well played and more consistent than in "Our Song". This is a 5 minutes track, quite long for Geesin (even if he is one of the composers of Atom Heart Mother, too).

Few seconds of speaking ("Female!"), and "Certainly Random" takes its two minutes. A strings instrument (a balalaika?) is played. After a randomic start, it's excellently played in a swing style while he sings like "Pingu" (who knows that cartoon can understand what I mean).

"The Eye That Nearly Saw" is another experimental psychedelic track, one of the most remarkable, similar to a classical contemporary composition.

"Two Fifteen String Guitars for Nice People" is similar to some of the things on The Body, but even if discordant and apparently meaningless, try to listen to how he plays guitars: a psychedelic/classical version of John McLaughlin. There are also little interludes with a bit of harmony.

"From an electric Train"...I'm not expert in classic contemporary, but I think this track fits well in that genre. I'd like to hear an expert comment.

"A World Of Too Much Sound": a crazy track of Ron speaking to his guitar, that's the only instrument that can't be heared. "....to make more powerful amplifiers....." repeated ad libitum.

11 seconds "another Female!", then Ron speaking on fast piano. This is "We're Going To Liverpool". Theatre? Also as pianist he appears to be skilled.

The last track is a happy joke played by piano and harmonica, the only thing on the whole album that has something to do with "music as we know it".

Rating this album is very hard. Experimental and challenging. Listening to it is an unusual experience that I can't suggest to everybody. That's the reason why I'm giving it two stars only. Not because it's bad or poor. Only because you must be wanting to listen to this kind of things to appreciate it.

It's something unique, in any case.