MUSIQUES ET INSTRUMENTS INSOLITES: FLUTE LIBRES/CAPTAIN TARTHOPOM

The very worthy Mio label reissued in 2003 two of France's most looked after vinyls by the experimental artiste Jean Cohen-Solal. Indeed both albums enjoyed a very collectible status due to the great experimental and psychedelic music, and unlike many sought-after artefacts, these two were definitely worth it. Mio records thankfully forgot a bit its usual Cd booklet presentation for this 2 on 1 deal, and tried to duplicate to its best the original artworks of both albums.

I'm not going to spend much time discussing the two album's merits in this review, so please refer to the individual album reviews. It's noteworthy to see that Flutes Libres has a more serious attitude than Tarthopom, but both are very experimental, both dealing with psychedelics, with a jazzy feel and some raga atmospheres thrown in there. Indeed, Jean Cohen-Solal is very tough to classify, so this writer chose psychedelic as it seems the best-fit for this crazy music.

As both albums were fairly short (leaving much space behind the two albums), Mio records asked Jean Cohen-Solal for a little bonus and he recorded a shorter version of Quelqu'Un especially for this release. The presence of this (excellent) updated version (comes with modern violins) gives even more weight to the Mio release: two expensive (and rare) vinyls or a cool Cd with an unavailable-elsewhere bonus track. I've made my choices, and most likely, you'll follow me.