LIBRE SERVICE - SELF SERVICE

Maneige went through a second phase starting with Ni Vent... Ni Nouvelle where they were going for a more electric approach and for shorter pieces. Even with that, I can still tell it's Maneige. Libre Service - Self Service was their second album and there was a very rare version of this album with a more cartoon gas pump on the front cover that was instantly removed, probably because they felt it people weren't going to take that cover seriously, so a new cover was in its place, the one we're all familiar with. They take on a more funky approach (that use of slap bass is quite noticeable on this album), with Latin rhythms (which will scare some people away, but it actually works quite well, but other pieces they find themselves hearkening to their older sound. What I find really interesting is how the opening part of "La Belle Et La Bête" sounds like the theme song to TV series Unsolved Mysteries, although that one was American and didn't appear until the late 1980s. I also found "Noéme" reminding me strangely of Echolyn, those piano chord progressions sounds like something off As the World. "Bagdad" unsurprisingly has a Middle Eastern feel to it. "Les Péntocles" is a great proggy piece, and a favorite of mine. The second half of the album at times hearkens back to the sounds of Ni Vent... Ni Nouvelle, if not occasionally their Harvest-era material. This is a rather accessible album, but they didn't sacrifice quality, even if the lengthy suites of their first two albums were long gone. I am a minority, but I actually prefer Self Service over Ni Vent, as I rank it up there with Les Porches as my favorite Maneige album.

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