LA GARE DE TROYES

Well! Before giving an opinion about this album, take into consideration that this is my first review and I don't know the absolute truth about music. I just will give a personal opinion based in my own experience. I found this CD in a near music store and I decided to buy it right away because I had read very good recommendation of this band. I had heard a song, not of this album and I like it a lot. The problem was that the song I heard was not in this album. The first time I heard 'Le gare de Troyes' I felt so disappointed since the first song to the last. I had to listen ten times to get into it and now I don't dislike it but I concluded that it is not my cup of tea. The unique song that really fills me is 'Questions d'generations' an interesting conversation about a father and his son about the course of History. It's not bad album but if you're looking for a real must for your prog colection the 80's is not the recommended place. This album is not progressive though it has some few elements of progression like emulator sounds and sax arrangements, but it sounds insipid and lacking of music elaboration in comparison to other French bands. However I don't either consider it cheap 80's pop because it has a particular and why not interesting style. The lyrics are well-thought but the package, I mean the music itself, is not the best way to enjoy them. If you speak French language, probably that you will enjoy them it but you are a lover of French worthwhile music I better recommend you to listen to WLUD or Halloween. If anyone would ask me for a recommendation about this album I would told him/her to listen to it carefully before buyng it. Two stars for the initiative of the band but anyway an album recomended only for fans or collectors.

The last two Ange albums were not really prog gems. This one is on par. Unfortunately. Line-up is the same as for their previous cover (and dispensible for most of it) album.

The beat will be almost the same : a mix between jazz, pop and disco. It is really hard to listened to it in a row (I hope I will once get a medal for this). "A Saute-Mouton" being probably the worst of all (but there are so many that it might as well be " "Questions D'générations" is only saved by the lyrics, but if you not into French, the awful rhythm of the song will kill you before reaching the end of it.

The first song to be a bit different (better ?), is "Va-T'en". Jazz-rock song wich breaks the ambient and dull disco mood. But it will be back again as soon as the next starts "Les Moments Bizarres" (of which the chorus is not too bad).

"Shéhérazade" is the first good song. Great interpretation from Christian, a nice soft- rock song with great and aerial keyboards. Almost like Ange used to produce. A rather pleasant track, honestly. "Les Jardins" are also more into the Ange tradition. At least the boring disco beat is abandoned. Again, keys play an important role in this song.

Since the fantastic "Guet-Apens", Ange did not produce a lot of songs of this caliber so, even if it does not compete with the great Ange songs, it is very much welcome here. "Neuf Heures" is a bit chaotic but also holds some romantic passages which are not too bad.

When I saw that the closing number clocked at over nine minutes, I thought that there was maybe hope to get back to the great Ange epics. But an epic is not only a matter of lenght. And this song, even if at times it sounds not too bad, is far from being a masterpiece.

As in their cover album "A Propos De", the listener will have to wait for more than half an album to start listening better stuff. But I can tell you that to bear the first three tracks of this album is truely painful. Most of the rest is average to good, so it is absolutely not an album to start with (even if you can get it for cheap).

"Caricatures", "Au Delà Du Délire" and "Guet Apens" remain the reference for me and I can only advise you to listen to these ones. "La Gare De Troyes" remains an anecdotal episode in their long career.

For devoted fans. Two stars.

Ange is without doubt the most famous and important prog band France ever had similar to british contemporaries such as Genesis, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant , King Crimson, Yes,etc , they developed right from the start their own sound and manner of composing combining symphonic prog with folk tentencies over theatrical vocal lines. They were really big in the '70's not only in France and Benelux but in Europe in general. Like some bands from old school from Britain like Genesis, Yes, their sound turn dramaticaly in the '80s from lush symphonic prog orchestrations to some pop vagualy melted with progressive moves. This is the case with La gare de Troys issued in 1983. While to my ears is far from a bad record, this album offers a kind of progressive pop is kinda far from what they offered in their glory days. Sythetical keyboards typical for first part of the '80s, but not bad at all composed, just listen to the title track , quite good. Another great pieces are Les moments bizarres with great chorus and mid tempo almost mellow Shéhérazade . The last tune clocking around 9 min named Tout bleu vagualy resemblance the great moments of Au-Dela Du Delire, Par Les Fils De Mandrin or Guet apens. All in all I like this album, is not fantastic , is not groundbreaking but 3-4 pieces from here are great, the title track is one of the Anges's most played pieces in almost every concert since is appeared. 3 stars, I simply love the cover art.

It's the nineteenhoundredeighties and Ange wasn't the same they were in the seventies. Something essential was missing and a part of me is sad they still called themselves Ange. Though is this not a bad record and I still stink it's interesting to follow this band from the stone age to modern tunes. Before this record the band had done four very good records 1972-1975, one less interesting 1976 and them to more very good ones 1978-1981 before they fell down into inferior records. "Moteur!" was very weird and next thing was ok and now we have "La Gare de Troyes" from 1983. It's Ange's tenth record and a decent one, the best in three years. What's back of old Ange here is the magnificent cover I love. It's so strong and artistic. Unfortunately the cover is the far best feature of the record. The musicians are the brothers Decamps: Christian(vocals, keyboards), Francis(keyboards and vocals), Serge Cuenot(guitar), Jean- Claude Potin(drums, percussion) and Laurent Sigrist (bass).

La Gare de Troyes is made up by nine tracks and it's an even disc we hold in our hands. What I missed on the two precursors was the special emotional vocals and I think they are back on this record. Christian Decamps sings very emotional and unique. To hear him is to scent there is something left. Even if I don't understand french it's a pleasure to here him singing and that is the biggest advantage here. The title track "La Gare de Troyes" is a greta example of how the vocals are almost as good as before but the instrumentation is very boring and shows the blandest of the eighties(6/10). I would say that is present in every other track as well. "Va-t'en" (6/10) is sad and calmer and also consists of a saxophone solo and fine guitar in the end, "Shéhérazade" also contains nice saxophone(6/10). The best tracks on this record is "Neuf heures"(7/10) with more power than the others songs and especially "Tout blue!" where some form of progressive rock is left. This song has many nice passages and more interesting instrumentation such as heavy drums and fine guitar(7/10). The least interesting thing on this record is "Les jardins" do I think; it's the most bland track.

I found this listening nice and fully enjoyable and will continue my Ange journey later. What I most missed were the blatant organs of Ange. That heavy and sometimes a little ugly organ sound was what was so special fore Ange. I hope they will come back to that because these 80s keyboards aren't interesting.

1. La Gare De Troyes yes the synth, the hypnotic riff, the voice, it's always ANGE; well you have to listen to the words even more, the sounds are in the ambient air; you must not do this, you must not do that, so you do what you can; repetitive feeling with these keyboards that are too modern perhaps; a nod of course to my station since I don't gravitate too far from it ultimately to the point that I believed that this title was just for me at the start 2. A Saute-Mouton romantic marshmallow ballad, the air thing that sticks to your ears and clings to them; title which becomes sensual... on all fours all the same, and Serge who tries his hand at soloing well supported by Francis on a funky final genre 3. Question of Generations yes 40 years later the question continues to arise; yes after 68 we are still there discussing these questions; you don't have 100 balls let's move on to something else, there's his train that's going to leave, yes it's all about this train.. concept? in any case the ANGE sound has evolved, good or bad it is no longer the same and it's good to have something on hand 4. Go ahead, it is said; what violence, what sentence you face; the concept album I tell you about these conflicts, about family, about disagreements; well let's come back to Marc Fontana's sax at once, in the vein of 'Subway' which will be released 2 years later, but don't pull the trigger 5. Bizarre Moments yes it's strange to discover a new ANGEL with syncopated drums, a metallic sound and 80's keyboards without Francis' hook; yes it's weird, it's funny Chaumont, Troyes, yes this strange break on 'Atlantis' and this cavernous voice, well a little prog blood there and a great adventure

6. Sheherazade for the melancholic ballad or almost; for the melody and its hypnotic riff, this bass concocted by Laurent Sigrist, yes the members begin to parade, yes even with white gloves it began to 'sound false', an implacable observation of this society, of this world in drift; sax again for the velvety effect on this riff which still follows me, easy sometimes; hello the beautiful Sheherazade 7. Les Jardins yes there was 'About ' before and I often think of the laze ball while listening to that one; yes this keyboard captivates me, yes the chorus counters the verse well, yes the basic but effective rise and the guitar solo on a spleen melting chocolate cake always makes me shudder; yes simple but... so effective since I have the impression that it's the longest title, ah crescendo of hell 8. Nine Hours piano and I hear Tristan on vocals, weird that... the voice on a bar jazz ballad to make you melt; well listen to the text everything is in it; well listen to this cold... yet there should be no more war; dramatic this piano, yes you have to wait but this title makes you spleen to the highest level with this orgasmic rise 9. All Blue! ... that's just from the intro we understood; blue my favorite color, blue the feeling of being drowned; prog metal title all at once with the riff, the drums, everything to set the rhythm; the chorus which returns to a more angelic sound, the musical moment which melts; the end is not the break with this mysterious synth and we go underneath; the last straw is there, the monolithic dark space with Christian's rambling...and who loves me follows me, time has stopped with this progressive moment; the pompous finale, with a brutal sound of drums and choirs, to escape and dream of a better world; in short why I love blue!!