GIALORGUES

One of the many French progressive rock bands that existed during the second half of the 1970s, SHYLOCK along with Carpe Diem existed around the same time in the Nice area of France and developed their own respective uniqueness within the context of symphonic prog. Unlike Ange, Atoll and other similarly minded bands that looked towards Genesis, Camel and even Yes for inspiration across the channel, SHYLOCK consisted of three top notch musicians who not only worshipped the virtuosity of Yes but the progressive workouts of King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Henry Cow, Van der Graaf Generator, and Robert Wyatt.

Although a mere trio of André Fisichella (drums, percussion), Frédéric l'Épée (guitars, bass) and Didier Lustig (keyboards), these three guys crafted music something like the French version of Emerson, Lake and Palmer with classical underpinnings brought to symphonic prog rock life with wailing guitar solos in the Robert Fripp style accompanied by Bill Bruford-esque drumming and Van der Graaf Generator styled moody keyboard darkness. The band released a mere two albums with this debut GIALORGUES having been released in 1977. The album has been a big ticket item in collectors' circles for decades but luckily has been released on CD with bonus tracks by the Musea label.

The all instrumental GIALORGUES consists of a mere three tracks, two long ones and one short intermission. The opening "Le Quatrième" goes on a classical music ride with the melodic tinkling keys providing the basis for which the Crimsonian guitar dissonance and technical jazz drumming workouts follow. Providing instantly lovable melodic hooks the light and airy nature of the motifs bely the dark forbidding cover art. The latter part of the 1970s was a pivotal period for many symphonic prog bands who were developing sounds that would become neo-prog and SHYLOCK certainly seems to have been in on that one especially with the first track.

The short middle track "Le Sixième" is basically a near 4 minute military march on percussion with a hefty guitar soaring over the bass and drums. The keys are fairly muted on this one while the guitar and bass go into a King Crimson frenzy in the vein of the "Red" album. For a short track this one packs a serious punch as the music increases in tempo and once joined in by the atmospheric keys goes full rock with hefty guitar leads. Except for a small moment of chaos, the military march percussive drive doesn't miss a beat. An extra energetic track considering it's some sort of intermission but the biggest treat is the closing track.

"Le Cinquième" sprawls on for nearly 19 minutes and begins with a droning keyboard stabbing session and various percussion workouts. This track is extremely reliant on the wild and dissonant tones and musical textures from King Crimson but has also been cited as one of the major influences for more modern bands like Anglagard who have been huge SHYLOCK fans. This track doesn't hold back and allows the three musicians to showcase their extraordinary talent. Not only do they provide some finger blistering workouts but master the art of mood swings, build ups and satisfying climaxes. This is also the track where the Henry Cow influences become clear as the band deftly walks a tight rope act between the melodic classical underpinnings of symphonic prog and the more adventurous path into the world of avant-prog and experimentalism.

It never ceases to amaze me how many brilliant bands came out of the 1970s with no end in sight! It's a bottomless well of plenty and i'm all the more grateful for it. SKYLOCK was the real deal and for those who love some meaty chops in their prog with the virtuosity of Yes, the expansive emotional rollercoaster of King Crimson and the oddball timings of Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator then you cannot go wrong with SKYLOCK who crafted two excellent albums before going on hiatus. The CD rerelease adds five bonus tracks that were recorded in 1981 however they are less experimental and more like material off of Camel's "The Snow Goose." Perhaps GIALORGUES falls short of a long lost masterpiece but honestly it's not so overly far away from being one.

4.5 stars and i'm tempted to round up but i can't quite do that