CAILLOU

Unfortunately this album is remained a "one shot issue". I remember when I was involved in the evaluation of Callou (means "rock" or "stone" in French) . It was a no-brainer for Zeuhl, with the more atmospheric parts resembling of the other excellent one shot band of the same period, XING SA and the most rhythmic parts as a sort of MAGMA meets Jazz-rock fusion.

I think the garen dwarf on the album cover is quite iconic. Even after six years I recognize it immediately.

Of course, what matters more is the music. It's a very skilled quartet, each member coming from other bands to form a sort of supergroup, performing instrumentals which differently from many Zeuhl bands, don't indulge too much with obsessive repetitions. There are many variations of theme and tempo inside the same track, as common in other prog subgenres. Personally I prefer when they calm down as they are able to create an excellent soundscape which can conquer also listeners not familiar with this genre.

Instead of going track by track, just mentioning the opener "Hummm Hummm" and "Tomahawk", I want to spend few words on the last one: "Nebuleuse". Afer some minutes of usic there is more than one minute of silence then something new arises. I don't know if it's part of the same track or was intended to be a ghost track, but the last minutes are really remarkable. The music is so contaminated by jazzy elements that the name of PEKKA POHJOLA comes to my mind. I don't know if this album can be considered an absoulte prog masterpiece. Surely it's an excellent album full of good music, without weaknesses and with highlights, like the three mentioned tracks. Strongly recommended