ALBERT MARCOEUR

However despite all the differences from Zappa, MARCOEUR did exhibit some similarities which meant he was one of the few to engage in unhinged freewheeling idiosyncrasies that still almost 50 years later allow his music to sound utterly unique and unlike anything that i've ever heard. And much like Zappa, MARCOEUR was a professional perfectionist who studied his craft from every angle. His journey began at the Conservatoire National de Musique in his native Dijon, France where he studied clarinet and in the early 60s he played in several bands including The Lake's Men.

Beginning in 1970 MARCOEUR worked with the Kapak group as a resident musician in the Studio Frémontel where he met clients such as Jean-Luc Ponty as well as other notable musicians of the era and it was here that he gained an extensive knowledge in the multi-track recording process in the studio. After years of leaning his craft and developing his own warped sense of style, MARCOEUR recorded his own twisted sense of reality and released his eponymously titled debut album in 1974. Graced with cover art of a Frankenstein fusion of musical instruments, the artwork perfectly symbolizes the sounds contained within.

With playful yet manic and complex fueled by energetic quirkiness and avant-garde adventurism, MARCOEUR's debut album is a goldmine of experimental musicianship run amok. With an unorthodox roster of instruments involved, MARCOEUR displays his own eclectic mastery of not only his clarinet skills but also of exotic percussion, pipes, saxophones, piano, bird calls, horns and whistles but also includes a league of lineup musicians featuring trombone, bottles (alto and bass), recorders as well as a chorus of crazy choral singers only this may be considered vocal experimentation rather than singing.

The downside to this one for those who don't speak French is that all lyrics are in that language and play a vital role in the album's absurdity as it's laced in as much humor as it is freak fueled spastic outbursts of avant-prog angularities, however even non-Francophiles can appreciate this as the silliness and playful nature transcends language barriers. Basically this album is a bizarre musical journey unlike any other. It plays out like a Mr Bungle album where things change unexpectedly and the stylistic approach morphs through an ever-changing mix of timbres, textures, tones and time signatures which is all on display with the album's opening track "C'est Rate, C'est Rate" which features a bizarre oddly-timed funk groove with a dissonant guitar riff and freaky tape manipulations along with sporadic percussion and madman vocals en français.

Described as a cross between an unplugged punk band and a carnival barker, one indeed can hear the great Zappa's influence here although MARCOEUR does an excellent job finding his own musical vision. While the instrumentation and avant-prog wizardry are out of the Zappa playbook, the vocal style is much more akin to the schizoid deliveries of Captain Beefheart and the album crafts a nice mix between accessible moments and complete utter unhinged madness. Listening to this it's fair to say that this guy surely must have been on Mike Patton's playlist and has obviously been a major influence for some of the modern avant-prog bands from France particularly the equally jittery bands PoiL, PinioL, ni and Vazytouille.

If you're looking for something unique from 1970s France, don't forget to include ALBERT MARCOEUR on your list with Magma, Moving Gelatine Plates and Ange. This is indeed for fans of Zappa but will also please those who love Henry Cow, Samla Mammas Manna, Aqsak Maboul and Ma Banlieue Flasque. Love it or hate it, you cannot say you've heard any other album like this that crafts a dexterous mix of experimental rock, avant-prog and zolo. MARCOEUR has continued to release many albums over the years and has remained fairly obscure until the age of the internet has allowed his unique musical visions find a new audience. Personally i find this self-titled debut to be as worthy as any of Zappa's craziest moments and despite the all French lyrics, much of the album is dedicated to instrumental workouts that prognosticated the complexities of the world of avant-prog. Excellent!

Only the French seemed capable of this kind of maniacal goofiness in the early to mid 70's. Thankfully the vocals are recited in that language, leaving me non the wiser as to what's irritating him so much. The vocals are bleated out like a 70's French Film Star. When he sings it's like listening to prog geniuses 'Moving Gelatine Plates'.

This album is similar to 'Etron Fou Le Loublan' another French band who released similar wackiness from the same period. While Krautrock was at it's height in Germany, the French seemed to go in a different direction completely.

Tin cans, horns, pops and squeaks are all condensed into a fast flowing sea of madness, which gets more hilarious the further it progresses. By the end I've got a big 'Cheshire Cat' grin on my face like someone's been tickling my ribs. Sped up tape manipulation of zany sounds only adds to the fun.

It's like watching clowns at the circus in their tartan jackets as their car falls to pieces. The doors falls off, the steering wheel detaches, the engine backfires and the wheels go wonky. None of it makes any sense of course, but it has a light hearted playfulness that is missing from many recordings from this era. If only all music was carried out with such gay abandon I'd be a happy guy.

Sooo, the loops used inside the movie are the direct source of this album (or at least the start of more experimentations, made into a show called Travaux Pratiques in Dijon in June 07, and subsequently recorded afterwards to see release in spring 08? Right from the start Bourrée En La gives you the main ambiance with the quartet being the focus of the music throughout the whole album, sometimes with acidic lyrics Si Les Fumeurs) sometimes a bit deeper (Stock De Statistiques), but it seems that he is less humorous than previously. The music is also peppered with electronics, but keeps a slightly dissonant feel as it always had. While the quartet's string-only sound is modern-classic-sounding (ala Bartok), we're tempted to seea little of AZ or UZ in the music, and it's only partly so, because the music has much vocals, which not the case of these two formations. Is TP a more essential album than Apostrophe or any other Marcoeur album? I don't believe so, but then again all of his album are at least worth a hearing, beit from 35 years ago or from last year.

Fourth album recorded almost 5 years after A&C, but Albert keeps almost the same team, even if he lost François Ovide (guitars), replaced by Jacques Garret; and by now Herouville was a little passé so he changed studios, but it wasn't enough to change much to Albert's musical adventures. Again there are a bunch of shorter tracks, but the would-be title track is well over 8 minutes-long. And the original artwork has been changed apparently

Opening on two almost instrumental tracks, the first being about waking-up in the late morning and the music is fittingly relatively simple (by Marcoeur standards) as is the following Téléphone Privé. The album-long Joseph takes a different and repetitive beat and a harmonium and its dronal sonorities slowly bring new sinister moods that were not yet part of his vocabulary. The impressive Con Que J'étais dives into the breach and develops the new grounds and most likely Albert has heard Univers Zero and Present by now. And that track is easily the best track on the album. Ballade A Jean however returns to previous ambiances, as most of the rest of the album. The end of the album is less interesting with Bonne Entente and Comme Avant (like before) that nail the debate shut and ends like previous albums. Just another worthy album in Marcoeur musical endeavours, one that still hovers between Zappa, Samla, Area, Stormy Six and more of the same, even (and that's new) Univers Zero, but it's good to see that the RIO people kept a strong stance throughout the 80's and never allowed themselves to use that decade's dreadful studios techniques and samplings.

Indeed, right from the opening track Ici, and despite a difficult intro, once the track is ion, we get a good guitar-lead tune that opts for ultra nervous vocals, but on the whole the music is not too complex. Ditto with Emploi Du Temps including some normal solos, but the following Dame is not Albert's nicest idea, to say the least, despite a good instrumental ending and overall sound sonic foundation.(are you sure you're following me?) With the first instrumental Linge Sale (dirty laundry) serving a bit as an intro to Histoire d'Offrir and its piano line and the Kelzmer-influenced instrumental Ampoule Grillée doing as much for Reveil with almost Doo-wop vocals, A1C steers towards madness the no-return point at the turning of the disc.

There is an incredible moment halfway into Son Sac where the vocals go into canon-style delivery and the result is simply awesome (although you'd better understand French), and elsewhere the closing Bonjour Monsieur could've been written by Steve Hackett in his early solo effort (from Please to Defektor, but not on Mornings) and features two acoustic guitars, one with steel strings, the other with nylon strings. Interesting

A&C is an easier album to "get", mainly because the music is more evident (and accessorily more accessible) but don't get me wrong, this is not for every pair of ears, even for the ones frequenting our beloved site. Not as good as the debut album, but better than its sophomore effort , this is the third strike for Marcoeur, but he's scoring a run.

Other tracks are without much interest, not only musically but lyric-wise, like the percussive Jus D'Abricot (goofy & brassy) or Cueillette Des Noix (overstaying its welcome once it gets in the recitative mode) or the only non-Marcoeur track, Fermez La Porte, a short almost- concrète intro to Là D'dans. Later in the album, Marcoeur veers 10 CC with the less- complex Elle Etait Belle, which happens to be another apex in the album with again that same guitar counter-pointing decisively the rhythm, before the album ends in a non-end almost a capella Ouvres-Toi

Definitely not as successful as its predecessor, AAC is still worth a spin for the curious, but is not quite essential and will probably please only hardcore Marcoeur fans. Clearly Marcoeur could e quite successful as a "normal" songwriter for he has many good ideas, but cares not to exploit them by expanding them into commercial music. He prefers hiding his ideas and bury them deeply enough so he becomes a musician's musician.

Indeed, both frequently delve in avant-garde music and have a certain sense of humour (although Albert does not have Frank's derision), but Marcoeur's music is not as accessible as Zappa. Marcoeur involves his brothers for choirs with François Breant (see his entry), but his main musical pal is Patrice Tison on guitars, bass and even keyboards when needed, while Albert drums and blows in wind instruments mostly, but explores

I'm a bit of a late-comer to Marcoeur as I'm discovering his works over three decades after their initial release, but I find that I'm filling in an immense void in my musicology, as I also delve in Hector Zazou (still to be included as I write now), whom I would consider Marcoeur's spiritual son. Musically this is not far away from Stormy Six's L'Apprendista, mixed with a bit of Maltid. After the almost punkish C'est Raté, which offers a few grins as the music tries every directions to come back directly to itself, There is an instrumental Simone that starts gloomily over an alarm siren, before ending on a calmer line. Tu Tapes Trop Fort (you hit too hard) seems to be the logical follow-up of C'est Raté, not only sonically (same universe), but lyrically trying to violate a safe.

Appalderie recalls Simone's siren alarm at first before dissonant for the first time on the album and the album's centerpiece Que Le Temps Est Long , a lovely intimate song interrupted by a violently intrusive chorus. The darkest and most impenetrable track is P'tit Champs De Pomme (small applefield) where the music has definitely swung dissonant, and most likely improvised, sometimes reminiscent of Italy's Area. Closing (already!?!) on the album-longest and very percussive Qu'est Ce Que Tu As, (what's wrong with you? In this case) with a slow flute, the track soon embarks on Samla-ian boat and the repetitive staccato rhythms are ending in a surprise way.

Although this album's reputation of being a foundation of RIO (and Etron Fou Leloublan were very influenced by it), Marcoeur's debut album remains very accessible despite the dissonant moment in the second-last track. An absolutely essential album if you want to know about how RIO came to be.

(1.) Monsieur Lipousse is a short track, with some nice rhythmic things, but I think I hate the sound or at least the style of the vocals, whereas those previously mentioned French (language) bands' vocals are mostly nice.

Le Fugitif (2.) children's agent rock, quite bombastic, repetitive heavy jazz patterns.

Le nιcessaire ΰ chaussures (3.) - Of course Albert Marcoeur uses many vocal styles, so there's more raw, punk vocals here, and the music is blend of it, quite proto-punk (With touch of Captain Beefheart for example more glammy Roxy Music, like the song Virginia Plain), energetic, but there are lighter parts mixed. The song isn't very coherent all in all, though it's pretty simple. Albert Marcouer reminds me here and commonly of Central European experimental music, like Buldozer, Dvouletá Fáma, Psí vojáci, with their different view for pop/rock.

(4.) Le pιre grimoine is very nice song when the warm orchestration comes in, bluesy and symphonic but very colourful (see Arachnoïd - Le Chamadère, there's eg same kind of mood changes), but the vocals are so pitiful (well, I mean that the singer is whining like a sick person - it's nice nice concept but not working here so well) in some parts, that the art of it makes it difficult to understand. And again, the track could be longer (with more symphonicism).

Doctorine (5.) is pretty much like Alamaailman Vasarat, light desert jazz. This is maybe the only harmonic piece here, not so experimental, but still, I think Alamaailman Vasarat is even boring.

Le jus d'abricot (6.) is just an alive pop song, with more full orchestration of course, but the melodies just aren't working for me. The ending half emphasizes jazz (quite regular) from the first part, but there's not much special musically.

La cucillette des noix (7.) - Almost spoken word, and there's occasions when orchestra plays (there's also very nice vocals in one part). Could sound messed up, stupid experimental art, but here it works. It's like warm chamber orchestra with Italian folk influences (see for example Mamma Non Piangere). But also lighter Italian folk is here and there through the album.

Elle Ιtait belle (8.) - Stupid lightness with syrup vocals, and I also vomit. And once again, there's some nice parts, warm Gentle-Giant-like structures (but too few, too few!)

Fermez le porte (9.) is a short interlude with noise/speaking and lovely (warm, of course) classical ending!

Lΰ d'dans (10.) has some things that I've expected/hoped here. The briskness goes into weirder poppy things, with weird structures (well, it sound a bit like musical theatre / cabaret music, but it's more like rocky jazz). No complaints, and this is more like Gentle Giant (in some ways).

Ouvre-toi (11.) is light and windy ending, no complaints here either, but there's not much value, either.

Sickening art is art, too, and I almost think that purpose is in Albert's subconscious, at least. There's so many nice things that could be extended and not sillyfied. But I thin the irritating things aren't so irritating for some people, and all in all I recommend this album for anyone who likes a bit more avant-garde music.