MARC MOULIN - SAM SUFFY

The gradual demise of Placebo was a slow process, the group playing its last concerts during 76, but by that time, their leader Marc Moulin was already working on different project, often messing about with Cos, but also released his first solo album in early 75, which would, like Placebo's albums, become highly influential, especially in acid jazz and trip hop circles around the millennium change. Strangely enough, Moulin returned to CBS to release Sam Suffy (a pun on the expression "Ca me suffit" >> It suits me fine) with an artwork depicting the justice's highest court on a sandy beach of the North Sea, making it a semi-legend in its own country. With an un-credited bass player, wind player Rousselet (ex Placebo), the drum stool shared by Morales (ex-Placebo) or Castellucci, Marc Moulin handles all of the keyboards himself, except on a short track.

Musically, Sam Suffy is not far away from Placebo albums, but if anything the album is more even, because unlike the group efforts, SS had few covers (just one, a short Monk composition), which was always the weaker side of Placebo. So MM develops a superb melodic funky jazz-rock that will work wonders in samplings three decades later. Some will say that SS owes much debt to Hancock's Headhunter, but these typical Placebo grooves existed since their earliest albums, so it's not like the similarity is inspired or influence by Herbie.

The opening Le Saure is an enthralling funky piece with a cool groove, where Moulin switches from one keyboard to another, a bit like Herbie does. The short Thelonius Monk-penned Misterioso is probably the more experimental album with Rousselet's flugelhorn drawing monster sounds. The short From track is keyboard bonanza with Jasper helping out on electric piano. An interesting exercise, where Moulin toys with a Moog. La Blouse is another smooth-gliding funky groove, so typically early 70's. The short Bougie is a duo between Rousselet and Moulin's bluesy piano, probably the weaker track around. The closing playful jumpy Beau Galop has Marc tripping on his keys happily, without a sole care in the world.

The flipside is made from the sidelong five-movement suite, lasting (17 minutes) with Castellucci on drums (as opposed to Morales on the other side). The moods range from happy to sinister, from the sublime to the orgasmic, from dissonance and animal noises (the third movement) to pure heavenly grooves, with Rousselet blowing from a Miles Coltrane to a Ornette Sanders, the bassist pulling from you some spine shivers with his delightful touch.

Reissued in the late 90's on the Counterpoint Records label (also doing the Placebo compilation), the Cd came in handy for those looking to investigate Moulin's early 70's music, because the vinyls were fetching a small fortune, because eagerly searched for in the acid jazz and trip hop circles. MM's SS album is probably Marc' best works of the 70's, and this Cd is warmly recommended to everyone into JR/F, easily earning its fifth star.

4.5 stars. While this is listed here as PLACEBO's fourth studio album this is in fact Marc Moulin's debut solo album. PLACEBO blessed us with three studio recordings in the 70's and while their debut "Ball Of Eyes" failed to do much for me because of how inconsistent it was, the next two are very good 4 star albums. This one tops them all though and features three former PLACEBO members helping out on various tracks plus some non- PLACEBO members like Jasper Van't Hof from ASSOCATION PC on keyboards but again like the former PLACEBO guys he's not playing throughout "Sam' Suffy" just one track for him. Two different drummers including the former PLACEBO member, a horn player from Marc's former band, as well as Philippe Catherine(ex PLACEBO) adding guitar I believe on just one track.

Marc Moulin is one of my favourite keyboardists, I'm not into the speed and flash that most are impressed with, give me that tone please. He would be part of the avant Belgium band AKSAK MABOUL, as well as the incredible COS. He is so funny, he is a border line comedian and I will always feel indebted to him for also releasing under his own name a compilation record of the best tracks from the first three PLACEBO albums that couldn't possibly be more perfect. These two recordings blow me away and show in part the kind of legacy Moulin and PLACEBO left behind.

I can't get over the sound of this record. It's like listening to Miles at times and many of those incredible American Jazz/Fusion bands of the early seventies. I have had this on repeat the last two days just refreshing myself with this beautiful album. It's so consistent and high end that I just have to bump this up to 5 stars. Of the seven tracks only two of them would I give less than 5 stars to as far as songs go. One is the only cover on here of a Thelonious Monk tune but under 2 minutes and then "La Bougie" also under 2 minutes and both are good but man the rest is gravy all the way.

Released in 1975 and under 40 minutes, it also includes the side long suite called "Tohubohut" at over 17 minutes which is broken down into five tracks. I mentioned Marc's humour, check out part III that had me laughing out loud the first time I heard it and still continues to make me smile. It sounds like two horns talking to one another and laughing too. Has to be heard, hilarious. When I mentioned American Jazz/Fusion like Miles that is especially heard on the opener "La Saule" and "Le Beau Galop" two tracks that take their time and offer the most incredible sounds including this bass driven groove I love. Why am I thinking Bill Cosby here, I have a hard time putting into words how this album sounds and how meaningful it is to me.

The flugelhorn/trumpet, electric piano and bass just could not be more perfect and the bass player is uncredited which bothers me because it is so important to the sound here. Who was it? My music!

Though I was first introduced to this music via a YouTube posting of the 2005 release with all of MEDIAMOTION's remixes, I decided to go back to the original vinyl for my definitive review.

A1. "Le Saure" (6:00) since this was before sampling existed, I am going to go out on a limb and guess that Marc himself took on the duties of laying down the awesome electric bass track. The rest of the music has wah-wah-volume- pedal-controlled Charles "Skip" Pitts/"Shaft"-like rhythm guitar and piano-like electric piano with a whole bunch of interesting experimental synthesizer sounds parading around on top. I surmise that it is Marc, as well, who undertook the guitar part as it is also uncredited as otherwise. Awesome rhythm track. (9/10)

A2. "Misterioso" (1:43) Marc and Placebo-mates Philippe Catherine (guitar) and Richard Rousselet (flugelhorn) playing an indiosyncratic tribute to Thelonious Monk over drummer Garcia Morales funky/syncopated drum play. (4.375/5)

A3. "From" (3:35) mysterious cinematic music performed by Marc with keyboard maestro Jasper Van 't Hof and Garcia Morales' orchestral percussion support. But who played the STEVE HILLAGE-like "floating" guitars and the autoharp? Interesting and effective--even memorable. (8.875/10)

A4. "La Bougie" (4:14) fast-panning heavily-reverbed electric piano chord play opens this before Marc's synth bass and Garcia Morales' solid, driving drum track establishes a funky and rhythmically-mathematical rhythm track. Here Marc toys around with a synthesizer for his initial leads before giving way to his solo Brian Auger-like (electric? or electrically-enhanced?) piano. Whereas the bass lines offered on some of the other songs must come from a stringed instrument, this one is obvious that it's a synthesizer bass being played by the keyboardist's left hand. (8.75/10)

A5. "Le Beau Galop" (1:58) bluesy piano and trumpet. N'Orleans here we are! (4.25/5)

A6. "Le Blouse" (4:37) a deeply-hypnotic EARTH, WIND & FIRE/BOBBY CALDWELL-like rhythm track that has my sampling-self salivating (I can understand the crowded lineup of Acid Rock and other 1990s and 2000s Hip Hop artists for sampling this.) Everybody will recognize this enticing groove for its presence in slightly adulterated form in "La femme d'argent" the massive hit from French band AIR's downtempo electronic classic 1998 debut/breakthrough album, Moon Safari. Steely Dan-like piano chord hits are peppered effectively throughout the song, over the amazing bass 'n' drum rhythm track, and the bass line is doubled up by a heavily-treated synth "boing! (spring)" sound in the main meaty sections of the song. Marc chooses an odd synth to quietly, almost unobtrusively, lead for the first half of the song, alternating with his "piano" for the choruses and electric piano for the solo in the extended instrumental passage that takes us to the end, but, otherwise, there's not much to this! (8.875/10)

B1. "Tohubohut" (17:20) (35.25/40) a. "Tohubohut I" (5:11) single piano chord hit, water in the tub-or-sink splashing sound, bass drum hits, toms, eventual awesome BARRY WHITE "(I'm Gonna Love You) Just a Little More Baby"-like solo drum track build before the synth bass and synth horns and, later, real trumpet form the meat of the tune. Nice Acid Jazz beat before there was such a thing as "acid jazz." If Bruno Castellucci is this good at imitating the drum patterns of Barry White songs (especially this, Barry's best song ever), it's no wonder that his drumming on Jan Akkerman's 1977 masterpiece, Jan Akkerman seduces me so. (9.25/10) b. "Tohubohut II" (4:09) 90 seconds of synth sound experimentation through chord progression hits, sounding exactly like the work of synth pioneer LARRY FAST on his early SYNERGY albums. Around the two-minute mark the music shifts into a funky Cobham-like drum, bass and reverberating Fender Rhodes groove over which Richard's "distant" wah-wahed muted trumpet solos. Then Marc steps to the fore with his right hand on the piano while his left continues to play the reverb Rhodes chord pattern (and funky synth bass line). (8.875/10) c. "Tohubohut III" (2:10) Richard Rousselet's trumpet soloing in what sounds like animal sounds (predominantly elephant) while something Marc is playing makes warthog grunting sounds--for two minutes! Quite playful, somewhat humorous, but, ultimately, selfish and masturbatory. Not sure I really wanted or needed to hear this! (4/5) d. "Tohubohut IV" (2:07) really fun, oddly-timed, hugely-spaced piano and trumpet hits. It's like performing (or being subjected to) one of Miles Davis disciplinary exercises--the ones that mess with your mind! I have to admit that it's kind of cool though not exactly the kind of music you want to listen to for relaxation, love-making, or background ambiance. (4.75/5) e. "Tohubohut V" (3:40) provides a return to the theme, palette, and style of the suite's opening movement. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 38:46

A lot of the music on this album feels quite experimental. In fact, I'd say Marc was more interested in fooling around with all of the new technologies in sound and sound engineering--especially with his synthesizers--than he was in creating new masterpieces of music that other musicians will want to emulate. It's all for entertainment: for both Marc and his perceived audience. (Witness the bass synthesizer throughout the album.) The music is smooth, funky (but not stanky), and quite serene, never really disturbing or grating. Marc's melody lines and chord progressions are, I'm sure, advanced and jazz-calculated but, like Bob James, they rarely stray outside the average, uneducated listener's comfort zone.

B/four stars; eminently entertaining and futuristic smooth jazz that is powered by Marc Moulin's creative curiosity and his drummers' considerable prowess. Just not the masterpiece other people are claiming (that I was sincerely hoping to find).