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') sound like typical 1970s Eurotrash. Give me Elton John any time! Whatever else P. Moraz was able to do, he COULD NOT write a proper song.

How about the instrumental bits? These can roughly be divided in two categories, the first of which 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 that Moraz is a more skillful pianist than Rick Wakeman) and 'Symphony in the [sic] space' is an attempt to create a Mahler-type symphony movement using only electronic keyboards.

The second category, let's call it 'manic fusion', can be heard on 'Impact', 'Warmer hands', 'Cachaca (Baiao)', 'Indoors', 'Descent' and 'Rise and Fall': about twenty minutes altogether, or roughly half the album. For my money, these are the most exciting parts of THE STORY OF I. Moraz executes some astonishing solos on moog, some of them double-tracked. If you enjoy his contributions to RELAYER, you'll definitely enjoy these as well. Moraz also duets briefly with lead guitarist Ray Gomez and bass player Jeff Berlin, and many of his orchestrations for keyboards are 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 reminiscent of Walter Carlos) Vivienne McAuliffe sings English lyrics while Véronique Müller tackles French ones at the same time, so that the listener enjoys neither! Yet another example of Moraz' misguidedness, you might think, but our Patrick immediately develops the melody, turning it 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 sported ugly typos (e.g. 'Like a child is disguise'). Sure enough, on my Virgin Records CD reissue all the typos were perfectly reproduced. I suppose we ought to be grateful...

P.S. I update this review in 2023, after having heard Esoteric Recordings' 2019 remaster of the album. I must admit the remaster was quite an eye-opener. Compared to the old Virgin Records release, all of Moraz's moog solos (many of which are double-tracked) now sound spectacularly clear, and (with lead guitars, grand piano and funky bass well to the fore when required) even vocal tracks such as 'Best Years of Our Lives' and 'Dancing Now' manage to convince. I'm sure you could call THE STORY OF I overproduced: on side one there's such a plethora of synths, other keyboards, rhythm guitars and percussion instruments that Alphonse Mouzon's drums tend to get buried in the mix. On the other hand, instrumental tracks such as 'Impact', 'Indoors' and 'Rise and Fall' sound so dramatic - and cinematic - that I wouldn't hesitate to call them visionary. I started wondering if THE STORY OF I is better than any of Rick Wakeman's solo-efforts except perhaps THE SIX WIVES. I even considered awarding the album a full five stars but finally decided to limit myself to four, as there's no trace of any truly epic, heart-warming track along the lines of 'Firth of Fifth' or 'And You and I'. Indeed, the album's most unforgivable characteristic is that its final vocal piece ('Like a Child in Disguise') is a damp squid, with some of the most terrible lyrics I've ever come across. (Fortunately it's immediately followed by the two astonishing instrumentals that conclude the album.) Summing up: 'visionary' has to be the right word! Apart from Patrick Moraz, who else would have thought of combining numerous synths, Brazilian percussion, marimba, outstanding bass lines AND a jaunty Swiss children's choir in one jolly tune that just bounces along? (That tune even turns - temporarily - into a fairground waltz.)

P.P.S. Of the remaster's two bonus tracks, the first one is especially interesting. It features Moraz in great form on grand piano, accompanied by his trusted Brazilians, and seems to prefigure the duo improvisations he later recorded with drummer Bill Bruford.