Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

RETROSPEKTÏẁ III

Magma

Zeuhl


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Magma Retrospektïẁ III album cover
4.02 | 103 ratings | 6 reviews | 37% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

Write a review

Buy MAGMA Music
from Progarchives.com partners
Live, released in 1981

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Retrovision (18:13)
2. Hhaï (version intégrale) (13:23)
3. "La" Dawotsin (4:10)

Total Time: 35:46

Line-up / Musicians

- Christian Vander / drums, piano on (3), vocals on (2)
- Rene Garber / 1st Lieutenant
- Stella Vander / vocals
- Liza Deluxe / vocals
- Maria Popkiewicz / vocals
- Guy Khalifa / vocals (1,3)
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Jean Luc Chevalier / guitar (1,2), bass on (3)
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards
- Bernard Paganotti / bass (2,3)
- Jean Pierre Fouquey / Fender piano (1,2)
- Francois Laizeau / percussion (1,2)
- Dominique Bertram / bass (1)

Releases information

CD-Seventh-REX XV

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to James for the last updates
Edit this entry

Buy MAGMA Retrospektïẁ III Music



MAGMA Retrospektïẁ III ratings distribution


4.02
(103 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(37%)
37%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(46%)
46%
Good, but non-essential (13%)
13%
Collectors/fans only (4%)
4%
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
1%

MAGMA Retrospektïẁ III reviews


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

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by bhikkhu
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars One of the advantages of living in an eclectic university town, like Ann Arbor, is the abundance of used music shops. This is a very diverse place, and is quite international. This means that you get a wider variety of musical tastes. It also means that if you find something unique, you'd better grab it. There is a good chance someone else is also looking for it. This was the case on one of my many visits to my favorite shop, and I noticed a MAGMA album in the M's. At the time, I was just beginning to explore different music. I had head MDK a couple of times, but I still didn't know any Zeuhl that well. I had no idea what "Retrospektïw III" was (I didn't remember even seeing it listed on P.A.), but I had to follow my own guidelines and pick it up.

Once I put it on, I was extremely happy with my purchase. It just grabbed me right from the beginning. The funky bass, tight drumbeats, and crazy chatter are instantly infectious. The jamming then ensues. And jam they do. This is actually a very upbeat affair. The selections are three of their most accessible, played with incredible vigor and joy. The band is very tight (as you would expect), and the vocals pristine. They do get a bit dark at times (it is Magma after all), but it is generally positive, and very soulful. I think they must have been listing to some funk, and a lot of Soul before this show.

This could actually be the most, dare I say, fun album in their collection. It might also be the best place for a novice to enter into MAGMA, or maybe even Zeuhl in general. The selections are not the most complex or groundbreaking things they could have chosen, but it doesn't fail to show the originality and excellence of Christian Vander's musical vision. It's also a great representation of the energy of a live MAGMA experience. This may have been recorded in 1981, but I can tell you that even in 2007, they haven't lost a bit of it.

If you are a big time Zeuhl fan, or just becoming interested, go get this one. You'll be glad you did.

H.T. Riekels

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars The second of two sets of extracts from the epic June 1980 reunion concerts put on by Magma focuses on post-Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh material. The opening Retrovision presents a much more convincing fusion of zeuhl with funk and gospel than was achieved on the Attahk album (extracts of which appear in the song), whilst Hhai appears in the classic zeuhl style much as it was on Live/Hhai and the album is rounded off by a sparser and quieter closing ballad. The material here is not quite as iconic as that on Retrospektiw, but Magma fans will still most likely find it enjoyable.
Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars I do refer "Retrospektiw I-II" to this one even if they were both taken from the same series of reunion concerts they did in June of 1980. They did three nights in Paris at L'Olympia. It's that opener that I have some minor issues with but overall I can't not give this 4 stars, just a really enjoyable recording. And it's funny I'm at work this past week and a few times I had "Hhai" stuck in my head which I thought was humerous. I mean who gets a MAGMA track spinning over and over in their mind. At least that main melody. I really like that "Hhai" version especially when Lockwood trades off with his violin with the keyboardist. Not sure if that's clavinet or synths but it's a cool section starting after 4 minutes. Love the female and male vocals here too. Christian is featured as the male singer while on the other two tracks it's Guy Khalifa. Stella is here with Liza and Maria as far as female vocals go.

What I do like about the opener "Retrovision" is the guitar that arrives around 8 1/2 minutes replacing the female vocals. And how about when that sound turns heavier and more determined before 11 1/2 minutes then the female vocals return. More of that determined sound after 14 minutes and check out that bass 16 minutes in. That would be Mr. Bertram. Paganotti does the bass on the other two tracks. The closer is short at around 4 minutes but a nice edition as we get mostly piano and vocals and it does get intense.

So yeah another MAGMA release that I seem to need to keep around.

Latest members reviews

4 stars I bought this LP from Brussels some weeks ago with Retrospective 1 & 2 (Univers Zero's fantastic concert took place on the same day there). On this Retrospective 3 we can hear three quite different compositions. The first one - "Retrovision" - is a side- long "retrospective-medley" from Attahk- ... (read more)

Report this review (#97494) | Posted by Rainer Rein | Tuesday, November 7, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars this album showes that magma was able to incorporate many different musical styles, track one is the first ten minutes something of a zeuhl/funk/gospel piece, then moves into more darker territory, very good, track two is something of a pinnacle displaying christian vander`s incredible vocal s ... (read more)

Report this review (#82923) | Posted by | Thursday, July 6, 2006 | Review Permanlink

5 stars I bought this album when I was eighteen. For more than twenty years I have been a "prog" fan, and I heard hundreds of albums from prog artists. I still believe that "Retrospektiw 3" from Christian Vander and GO from Stomu Yamashta were my most important "discoveries", I mean the best albums I ... (read more)

Report this review (#60777) | Posted by | Monday, December 19, 2005 | Review Permanlink

Post a review of MAGMA "Retrospektïẁ III"

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.