THE STORY OF I

Opinion is sharply divided on this one. Folie de grandeur or 'fusion' masterpiece? Much of the album certainly sounds like folly to me. The lyrics suck, the concept doesn't make sense, the tracks featuring a male solo singer ('Best years of our lives', 'Dancing now' and 'Like a child in disguise') are annoyingly 1970s pop. Give me Elton John any time! Whatever else P. Moraz could do, he COULD NOT write a decent song.

How about the instrumental bits? These can roughly be divided in two categories. The first is "romantic pastiche". 'Impressions', for example, is a three-minute excursion on grand piano which reminds me of Franz Liszt (it also seems to prove Moraz is a more skillful pianist than Rick Wakeman), and 'Symphony in the [sic] space' is an attempt to create a Mahler-like symphony movement through the use of electronic keyboards.

The second category, let's call it 'manic fusion', can be heard in 'Impact', 'Warmer hands', 'Cachaca (Baiao)', 'Indoors', 'Descent' and 'Rise and Fall' - about twenty minutes altogether, or half the album. For my money, these are the most exciting parts of THE STORY OF I. Moraz plays some astonishing solos on moog, some of them double-tracked. If you liked Moraz' contributions to RELAYER, you'll definitely enjoy these. He also duets briefly with lead guitarist Ray Gomez and bass player Jeff Berlin, and many of his orchestrations for keyboards are just masterly. He effectively uses female voices and a Swiss children's choir. Most of the instrumental tracks are supported by Brazilian percussionists, who were recorded separately in Rio.

Last of all, let's not forget the notorious 'Intermezzo', on which (after a cod-baroque opening in the style of Walter Carlos) Vivienne McAuliffe sings English lyrics with Véronique Müller tackling French ones at the same time, so that the listener can enjoy neither! Yet another example of Moraz' misguidedness, you might think, but our Patrick immediately develops the main melody into an exciting flamenco-style piano excursion (accompanied by a certain René Moraz on castagnets) - you have to admire his pluck!

Summing up, listeners of a puritan bent may curse the record company for ever allowing Patrick M. near a record studio; others will probably enjoy the fun parts of THE STORY. When I bought the original LP back in 1976, it annoyed me no end that some song titles (e.g. 'Like a child is disguise') sported ugly typos. Sure enough, on my Virgin Records CD reissue all typos were perfectly reproduced. I suppose I ought to be grateful...