GIALORGUES

The Nice scene at the end of the 70th produced several progressive rock groups: Step Ahead, Edhels, and Shylock, in my opinion the most interesting. The album Gialorgue was initially self-produced before being accepted by a record company a year later, which excuses the poor sound quality. For the record, the Shylock trio (keyboards, guitar / bass, drums) had gone to seek inspiration in the wild valley of Gialorgue, perched between 2000 and 3000 meters above sea level, in the Mercantour park. They composed and arranged the titles in the church of St Dalmas le Selvage, the nearest village. The front and back of the cover represent these sources of inspiration. Many have compared Shylock with King Crimson, because of the fantastic guitar playing of Frédéric L'Épée and the use of multiple bizarre percussions (tubes, bells, musical saw, seized roll, etc.) of drummer André Fisichella that make you think to James Muir. On this subject, there is one that I still have not identified! A sort of noise which resembles the clicking of a freewheel on a bicycle but which is not, since this percussion is found at a given moment, thrown to the ground like a bag. Does somebody have an idea ? Well, I still only half agree with this comparison because Shylock offers rather repetitive instrumental music with slow developments where the influence of classical music predominates. This is not the case with King Crimson, sung music, more influenced by Jazz and rock. (The closest track would be The Devil's Triangle.) Another comparison comes to mind. It has not been raised by anyone so far. These long repetitive sequences with multiple variations and a rich sound register remind me of what Mike Oldfield proposed a few years earlier. Sorry if the comparison seems incongruous to you, but I want to!

In my life as a music lover, Gialorgue has established itself over the years as an essential piece in the history of French and international prog. And the poor sound quality will not prevent me from giving it a well deserved five stars! (After all, we didn't care for the Bird & Buildings albums ...)

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