Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

CONTACT

François Thollot

Zeuhl


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

François Thollot Contact album cover
3.84 | 20 ratings | 4 reviews | 15% 5 stars

Write a review

Buy FRANÇOIS THOLLOT Music
from Progarchives.com partners
Studio Album, released in 2002

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Ascension (6:03)
2. Histoire triste (4:30)
3. Promenade urgente (4:18)
4. 13e parallèle (5:38)
5. Étude plombée (4:11)
6. Blues du crabe (4:00)
7. Cyclopède (4:39)
8. Léon le hérisson (3:36)
9. Cabanon oriental (3:39)
10. Indéfiniment (4:35)

Total Time 45:09

Line-up / Musicians

- François Thollot / guitar, piano, composer & arranger

With:
- Philippe Bussonnet / bass
- Daniel Jeand'heur / drums, piano (2,3), synth (10)

Releases information

Artwork: Joseph Turner's (1775-1851) "Sunrise with sea monsters" detail

CD Soleil Zeuhl ‎- Soleil Zeuhl 09 (2002, France)

Thanks to avestin for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
Edit this entry

Buy FRANÇOIS THOLLOT Contact Music



FRANÇOIS THOLLOT Contact ratings distribution


3.84
(20 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(15%)
15%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(50%)
50%
Good, but non-essential (30%)
30%
Collectors/fans only (5%)
5%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

FRANÇOIS THOLLOT Contact reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars Francois Thollot is a very talented man who on his first album played all the instruments including the bass, drums, guitar and piano. On this one he calls in some friends to help out, namely Phillipe Bussonnet on bass (MAGMA) and Daniel Jeand'heur on drums (ONE SHOT). From the very first listen I loved this album, and the love has grown. Imagine Robert Fripp playing guitar in a Zeuhl band with a very accomplished Zeuhl bassist, and a drummer who recalls the great Jazz drummers.This is dark but not sinister in any way. The piano is such a key ingredient as well. It adds to the melancholic vibe found here.

"Ascension" is such an amazing song. The angular guitar melodies with piano and one of the best rhythm sections I have heard in a while. It's cool when the guitar and piano play the same notes 3 1/2 minutes in, and listen carefully to the way this guy plays drums. Impressive. "Histoire Triste" is more laid back with some beautiful guitar melodies, light drums and piano. Just a great sound. The song does speed up before reverting back to the original melody with those mournful guitar melodies. "Promenade Urgente" features some great bass lines while the drums pound away and the guitar grinds out some melodies.There is a brief calm before the magic comes back. "13e Parallele" opens with intricate guitar melodies that are joined by the piano playing the same melody. Nice. The bass is fantastic and the sound is heavy. The guitar is angular and dark just the way I like it. Check out the bass later on as well. What a song !

"Etude Plombee" made me say to myself "This guy can really play bass".Then I thought "Francois can really play guitar". You know what ? They are all incredible musicians. The guitar is firing off some angular solos while the bass continues to boggle my mind. Hey the piano and drumming are fantastic as well. Great track ! "Blues Du Crabe" has a Jazz vibe to it and the bass is relentless. Lots of cymbals too. As the guitar comes in the Jazz flavour goes away. "Cyclopede" has more angular guitar with some great drum patterns to enjoy. "Leon Le Herisson" is an uptempo tune with Fripp like guitar and piano. The bass playing really shines late in the song. "Cabanon Oriental" features some heavy bass and drums as the guitar plays slowly over top. Nice. "Indefiniment" is the only song with synths and they arrive 2 1/2 minutes in. The drumming is impressive as usual, as the guitar joins in to create a terrific melody. The guitar to end the song is a highlight.

I had no idea what to expect with this record but I didn't consider that it would become one of my favourite records. It has.

Review by SaltyJon
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars After reading John's review of this album and the lineup of musicians playing on it, I knew right away that I wanted to check this one out, as Philippe Bussonnet is one of my favorite bassists and I love Daniel's drumming on One Shot's albums and Pienza Ethnorkestra's. Unfortunately, this one wasn't the amazing masterpiece I was hoping for. It's got a lot of the right elements - great bass (of course), drumming, and good guitar playing. The keyboards remind me often enough of the keyboard sounds used on Weidorje's album, too. I think my main problem with the album is the compositions. They don't really draw any reaction from me, with a few exceptions here and there. For many of them, I find myself wondering if Thollot could have expanded on the ideas presented here and had something which I would have enjoyed more. Plus, most of the songs I like best end up being over just when I'm really getting into them.

Not a masterpiece in my opinion, nor do I think it's an essential album for most listeners. If you're a big fan of Zeuhl and sort of Frippian guitar playing, then you'd probably like it well enough, but for me it's not all that amazing.

Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars On his second album French multi instrumentalist Francois Thollot is supported by One Shot's rhythm section. That power trio have plenty of energy, believe me!

Bassist Philippe Bussonnet (Magma and One Shot) is a hero of the day on this recording. Thollot guitar are tasteful, elegant and heavy in moments, but almost on all compositions he sounds just as another soloing musician, after Bussonnet !

Such rhythm section (especially on the front of the sound mix) gives strong zeuhl vibes to all music, but One Shot's jazzy side besides of Thollot's quite jazzy musicianship just make musical direction of this release really fusion influenced.

Recorded by power trio without orchestration and overproduction, this album represent lighter form of zeuhl, almost jazz fusion with chamber elements and some dark atmosphere. Musicians all are high class, and music, if not very original, sounds really great.

Good release for zeuhl newcomers or fans of lighter and jazzier zeuhl.

Latest members reviews

3 stars Zeuhl Muzik comes in a wide variety of delicious flavours. There's the classic Magma Zeuhl: majestic, dense, many-layered, mythic. Or maybe your tastes veer more towards the wide-open, warm and embracing soundscapes offered by Weidorje. On the other hand, perhaps you'd prefer the brutal, post- ... (read more)

Report this review (#178702) | Posted by song_of_copper | Saturday, August 2, 2008 | Review Permanlink

Post a review of FRANÇOIS THOLLOT "Contact"

You must be a forum member to post a review, please register here if you are not.

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.