SCIENCE & VIOLENCE

My first visit to Paris, in 1983, coincided with a student riot. Not quite the fall of the Bastille, it all went off like a damp squib in comparison to the uprising of sixty-eight when student 'strikes' provided the catalyst for a wildcat walkout that brought France to a standstill for almost a fortnight. For right-wing youth like Jack Marchal the events of 1968 were at the root of modern problems and those same events subsequently informed the music on 'Science & Violence' (1979). The album is ostensibly an inquiry into aspects of culture and human nature. It apparently proposes plans of revolution where nothing will be spared and where the risks will be great, although the upshot involves a return to roots where the certitudes are to be found.

However, this album is really more about disillusionment and sadness than revolution. For Marchal, the ten intervening years between the sixty-eight and the release of the album had seen the end of revolutionary myths; activists were gripped by apathy and had become more concerned with the trials and tribulations of their everyday existence. This is epitomised by the pensive sadness of 'Le Spleen De Paris', a brief guitar instrumental that takes its name from a collection of prose poems by Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire's 19th Century collection didn't so much advocate the reform of society as recognise the horrors of the modernising of Paris, something that perhaps reflects Marchal's own concern for French culture and his disillusionment with the then current state of affairs.

So, 'Science & Violence' came from a desire by Marchal and fellow musician-artist Olivier Carre to produce a nationalist-inspired rock album but they were unable to find other like- minded musicians in France. However they had an ally in Mario Ladich, the drummer and leader of Italian prog band Janus. The Janus album 'Il Maestrale' was like a messenger carried on the wind to the musically and socially isolated Frenchmen; it gave them something to aspire to, it convinced them they could do it. And in a spirit of mutual help, Marchal designed the Janus album cover while Ladich gave them the use of his Rome studio for the recordings.

Ladich also played drums on 'Science & Violence' (in spite of Carre being a drummer) and the Italian's loose, reckless stick work gives the music a primitive vitality. The album is actually considered by some to be a solo work by Marchal because he wrote all the music and played all other instruments. However, one of the key tracks is 'Derriere Ta Porte' with lyrics and vocals by Carre. His splenetic vocal deals with a megalomaniac's dream of power, driving an armoured car through society without realising the dream is actually a nightmare; the monsieur in the song is just a hapless fool who hides behind his door and doesn't let the world in.

The dynamic brio of the song can't hide that 'Science & Violence' was self-produced and is fairly rough around the edges. While it embraced contemporary punk to an extent, it largely turned away from the alternative music of the era to a comparatively more sophisticated sound. Marchal had a declared admiration for Pink Floyd but he also seems to have been indebted to Krautrock; the end result is an innovative blend of dramatic contrasts that hovers somewhere between uncompromising punk and a more elegant spacey prog. This is particularly evident on 'Parcours', the track which enjoys pride of place in this collection.

While they were on their jaunt to Rome, Marchal felt homesick and the idea of returning to his roots took on a new emotional significance for him. 'Parcours' is a reflection on Marchal's disillusionment with 1968 but it also charts a nostalgic odyssey around Paris. It's filled with contemporary descriptions of ordinary scenes and people, reminiscent of Victor Hugo's Parisian low life, placed end to end - the approach from the southern highway, a girl returning home alone after a party... The track is in four parts and incorporates some Krautrock hurtling along pell-mell and flanked by a couple of more thoughtful, reflective passages - all dominated by Marchal's fuzzed-out guitars. The whole thing culminates in a swarming silence of flickering synths and swelling organ - a powerful climax reflecting the deserted streets of Paris at night, in which Hugo sensed solitude and Marchal the idea of eternity.

The CD reissue includes two bonus tracks that differ in style from remainder of the album; these tracks were recorded in 1980 for an unfinished follow-up album. The music on these little divertissements is electronic, the tone ironic and playful in contrast to the more serious nature of this album, thus reflecting the change of atmosphere and of music in the 1980s. Assigning a star-rating to a piece of art always strikes me as absurd, but 'Science & Violence' is probably more of a rude nude than high art so 4-stars.

Rare Prog album with a strong political background, issued in Italy.Singer/lyricist Olivier Carre and multi-instrumentalist Jack Marchal were both attached to the right-wing parties of France and they always had the idea of writing down some music, as they had known each other for quite some time.They asked the help of Janus's drummer Mario Ladich, working for a band with clear right-wing tendencies.Ladich had also his own rehearsing studio and the album was recorded in just two days during September 79' in Rome, released independently by the trio.

Even if this one was issued in Italy, ''Science & violence'' is totally sung in French by Carre and recalls the early roots of PINK FLOYD as well as some of the best French Prog bands of the 70's.The material is pretty original, combining the psychedelic influences with theatrical lyrics, rockin' grooves and some soaring keyboards in a charming package.Some of its parts resemble to PULSAR with spacey synthesizers, crying guitars and French narration, others are more raw and outdated with scratching electric riffs meeting lyrical acoustic textures.But there are also some evident ANGE hints in the album, the material of the flipside sounds like if pre-72' ANGE existed, characterized by soft electric moves and over-the-top singing lines, surrounded by mellow keyboard themes, building a slight psychedelic atmosphere, which will eventually explode into lovely, melodic soloing with a discreet symphonic base.There are also sporadic, harder runs with the guitars in evidence and an electrified atmosphere.

Marchal apparently prepared himself for a sophomore release, which was never issued, but a couple of tracks made it to the album's 97' reissue on Cosmorecord with irritating titles like ''Les Nazis font des betises''.The style has nothing to do with the sound on ''Science & violence'', this is Synth/New Wave music with synthetic beats and colorless vocals, extremerly monotonous and boring.

Ladich continued his career as a member of Janus, but Carre died prematurely in a motorcycle accident in 1994, in which Marchal was also involved.

Genuine Progressive Rock, mainly composed by the talented man named Jack Marchal.Quite close to a more energetic PULSAR with strong psychedelic and light symphonic underlines.Pretty rare yet warmly recommended stuff.