ZED

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Zed 
Visions of Dune 
Spalax (SPALAXCD14547)
France 1979 
Bernard Szajner, Oberheim synthesizer, Arp Odyssey, laser generators, Oberheim digital sequencer; with Colin Swinburne, guitar; Clement Bailly, drums; Hanny Rowe, bass; Klaus Blasquiz, treated voice; Anannka Raghel, synthesized voice 
Tracklist: 
1.  Dune — 4:52
2.  Bahsar — 1:34
3.  Thufir Hawat — 1:10
4.  Sardaukar — 0:59
5.  Bene Gesserit — 7:16
6.  Shai Hulud — 7:21
7.  Fremen — 4:09
8.  Harkonnen — 2:55
9.  Adab — 2:27
10.  Gom Jabbar — 1:24
11.  Ibad — 4:47
12.  Kwizatz Haderach — 5:46

total time 44:48 

Links: 
see all zed reviews at ground & sky

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Electronics abound as the seeming progeny of Eno and Richard Pinhas, Bernard Szajner, pays homage to Frank Herbert's Dune. As Zed, Szajner conducts a symphony of synthesizers which portray the attributes of a foreign world. Its a much more spacey depiction of the planet than its hostile elements might have inspired, but these are only two visions of a concievable many. It may take some special circumstances to warrant a full listen, but this album is a well presented concept with enough highlights to give it credibility. 
Somewhat like Pinhas' Chronolyse, another tribute to Herbert's novel, each vision stands as an ocean of electronics occasionally combined with added instruments, which I usually find the more interesting moments. The tracks usually flow into one another seamlessly, with the exception of a break between the two parts, which were initially the two sides of the LP. Most of the material could be compared to Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd or Hawkwind, as well as Pinhas and Heldon, with whom Zed shares a drummer. Despite the assistance of their members, what is heard here is only scantly reminiscent of Gong or Magma. 
This album is a trip, to be sure. I was in a trippy mood when I got it, and kind of expected trippiness, so I've been quite pleased with it for a few years now. I've since collected the solo albums of Bernard Szajner and found none of them even remotely appealing, but perhaps only because they don't sound as good as Zed. The electronics sound he presented on this album was so perfectly '70s, while his later work was quite dreadfully '80s. Visions of Dune is an album a few years after its time, but packages the sound for which it strived so well, and as such a loose concept, it stands as one of the great progressive releases buried in the annals of French history.