TOUT FEU TOUT FLAMME

Year after year, Ange produced very poor albums in the eighties so far. This is their seventh studio album since the great "Guet Apens". Some miserable music has been offered to the first generation fans which have turned their back already at Ange, since the band did turn his back as well from its theatrical and great symphonic music. And with such a title, the worse could be expected for this one.

For this album, Ange recreates one very old song (1971) and updates it with an eighties sound. "Tout Feu, Tout Flamme" was a very good song (their second single). Jean-Michel Brézovar and Daniel Haas (founding members of Ange) joined for this song only. Even if the original was better, this 87 version is not bad at all.

With "Tout Contre Tout", the mood gets unfortunately back to the pure rock FM sound, but "Coquille D'Oeuf" is a tranquil song : gentle rock ballad with some nice sax.

"C'est Pour De Rire" starts as a madrigal. The text is really nice and emotional. It features a son talking to his dead father and asking him how it is on the other side. It is of course dedicated to the father of the Décamps brothers who had just passed away. The music goes from spacey to jazzy to rock. Not too bad but at times pompous and a bit too long.

"Sur Les Grands Espaces Bleus" holds even some prog elements ! The text refers to better times ("Au Delà Du Délire"). The track features some nice keys and guitar work. Of course, don't think that we are back to the level of their grandiose work of the seventies. Just above par of their most recent works.

But the nightmare will start again with "3 x 1 = Nous" and "J'Suis Pas D'Ici". Very poor French rock songs. The last song of the album (the longest one, just over seven minutes) "Il Est Le Soleil" is a mellow rock ballad for half of it and will turn into a pure rock song. Not great, I'm afraid.

What we got here is actually just standard French rock music. Even if Ange does not come back to the brilliance of their past, this album is at least not as bad as some of its predecessors.

Two stars. This will at least balance the previous rating of five stars (the masterpiece status !), but with no comment to justify this ...

Angel is looking for himself, the album before well how would I put it, I'm having trouble, so on a small box we had to find his successor!, it's done and hop all fired all of a sudden

1 Tout Feu Tout Flamme with a well-used sound, as if old tracks had been found, a hymn title from 1971 brought up to date, at the time when Ange was beginning his journey; brought back here in 87 to drown safely in the world of Angel with Jean-Michel and Daniel like in the good old days, sign for a restart? 2 Tout Contre Tout After the slightly traumatic Egna getaway, we return to a more direct, square sound. will say that Ange is finished... but Ange is immortal, a thrill all the same with a crazy verve at times 3 Eggshell for the fake sax piece with an egg that is not overcooked, soft where the synth has the upper hand, cutesy on Serra before its time 4 C'est Pour De Rire for the tribute piece that we would all like to play at this funeral that we dread, yes we don't want to see his dad leave; in short, even an angel must talk about it, life is just for fun, we won't avoid wars; a dynamic 7' at the limit of slow where you see yourself moving your ass, where you see yourself jumping suddenly during the chorus, where you see yourself taking up this solo; 4' and the symphonic break from sympho majestic before resuming these basic musical lines, a beautiful gift for the beyond 5 Sur Les Grands Espaces Bleus with still a very greasy electro-synthetic sound, between soaring and meditation, between the moon and the sun, even delirious perhaps; in short the sound evolves, less percussive but with blue notes of escape, plaintive notes and a slow declination, some bucolic noises of birds a nod to delirium precisely and Serge's solo which tears as it should be done lose the wings to the angels; when the whistle announces the end it's not over with this finale leading there or up there, far, far from this crazy world 6 3 X 1 = We for a crazy rockabilly, like that reminds me of the clip of Queen with the locomotive... revise a little too; pop to try (again) to get on the radio, while the biggest group seemed to spend its time being ignored by the channels and other TV sets, a shame; a test interlude, but I'm not sure of the result... doesn't that make 3? 7 J'suis Pas D'ici with a marked groovy spirit, for a sanguine nursery rhyme on one of the cruellest stories that still haunt us; boogy and boosted text but we will not have the solution on this piece 8 Il Est Le Soleil (Ritual / A Taxi For The Eternal / Perpetual) looks like Apsaras, yes you know this hovering-emo-ethereal band with a bit of the Tangerine dream of the 80s, well we're good there then; well, he's him, everyone has grasped him; break towards the 4 ' and crystalline notes, the synth which wants to be marshmallow; of course it's moving again on an eternal highway, bam accident, come on, we go back into gear and we don't stop to take the taxi that goes to 7th heaven, that's how it is; the end all in re-sweetness

Well, the album between two waters that I like for different titles, consensual and with pearl.