COCKTAIL

Patrick Forgas a self confessed Robert Wyatt fan really delivered the goods on this his debut from 1977. Very much in the Canterbury style as this so called French Robert Wyatt drums and sings(what else) with seven other musicians helping out. I'm surprised at the Zeuhl musicians on board here in keyboardist Jean-Pierre Fouquey(MAGMA), bassist Gerard Prevost(ZAO, RAHMANN) and violinist Patrick Tilleman(ZAO, TERPANDRE). Lots of flute and sax as well along with the usual rock instruments. I actually discovered Patrick through his nineties project called FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA which is excellent as well. We get a side long suite here of 18 1/2 minutes plus a lot of shorter tracks. This is probably closer to 4.5 stars actually.

"Automne 69" opens with guitar and drums along with upfront bass and I have to say Prevost's bass playing is something special on this album. Soft vocals then keys join in. Light and breezy except for the bass. "Monks(La Danse Des Moines)" opens with this dirty sounding guitar as bass, drums and more help out. Horns too then flute after 2 minutes. The violin then takes over. A killer jam right there. "Reflet D'Ail" opens with flute, guitar and more as the bass kicks in then vocals. Nice sound here. A flute solo just before it ends.

"Coeur Violon" is a short piece with drums, violin and bass standing out. "Orgveil" is another shorty with some interesting guitar as the bass and drums support. "Vol D'Hirondolles" opens with keys as vocal melodies and more join in. It's building, violin too. "Cocktail" is bright and a feel good tune all the way. Sax over top except when the flute leads briefly then the sax returns. "Rituel" is just over a minute of drums, bass, guitar then vocals and keys. "Rhume Des Foins" is catchy with the beats and bass as violin, sax and flute come and go. This trips along beautifully.

"My Trip" has some energy to it with drums, guitar and bass leading early on. Violin and sax will help out as it calms down but contrasts will continue here. The violin gets plenty of face time. It's not until those desperate, urgent sounding vocals arrive that I'm thinking "Oh, it's that kind of trip". I like the section starting around 7 1/2 minutes when it calms down and the focus is on the vocals. Electric piano and bass lead a minute later as the sax comes and goes, no vocals. Violin and vocals lead 11 minutes in. A calm before 14 minutes but nor for long as a sax solo follows. Spoken words after 16 1/2 minutes as the sax steps aside.

The hype is worth it for this particular album and certainly Canterbury fans should check this one out.