LA MARMITE COSMIQUE 7 - UNCLE BIZARRE

Eclectic Renaissance man Arnaud Bukwald is back with his seventh installment of the La marmite cosmique series, and this time he lets his love for jazz, funk, and R&B come shining through within some undeniably proggy grooves.

1. "Prologue" (1:14) playful keyboard warm up using Fender Rhodes electric piano arpeggio chords (sounding a lot like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) and a slippery (Arp?) synth soloing over the top. (4.5/5)

2. "Daredevil" (1:52) funky soundtrack to some 1970s "Blaxploitation" film with some excellent interplay/conversations between the sax, synth, drums and bass. Excellent and fun! More of this, please. (5/5)

3. "Mermaid Lullabies" (17:20) one of Arnaud's epic journeys he takes us on in which he seemlessly, astonishingly, weaves together multiple seemingly-disparate musical styles together into one song. There are really three movements each expressing a totally different (and incongruous) musical style. The first is an example of what my daughter calls "White Man with a Guitar" as Arnaud sings in his amazing baritone like he's in a Beach Boys video. At 2:30, a slight key change occurs as the entrance of mezzo-soprano Cherry Pob's vocalise shifts this into a little different Prog Folk territory (which eventually comes to sound like Sweden's Moon Safari's Blomjlud). A pause and symbol crash at 4:24 signals the shift and entry into the second style that is that of 1958-61 Bill Evans/Miles Davis be-bop jazz. Sax leads the way over piano and "upright bass", but then at 5:35 there is another, gentler transition into a softer, "smooth" jazz realm similar to the stuff flutists Herbie Mann, Joe Farrell, and Hubert Laws were into in the late 60s and early 1970s. This shifts into Reggae land at 6:20 before a "dirty" Hammond organ takes over the lead at the end of the seventh minute. Flute returns at 7:20 before being joined by horns and multiple echoes of flutes in the wings, just before the bass elements re-enter and fill the bottom with a funky jazz stink. These synths are so Parliamentian! Pause for a very eerie section in which a discordant organ supports the haunting vocalise of Cherry Pob for a minute or so. Then, at 10:15 we fly into a new motif that still sounds like a soundtrack to a 1960s horror flick--but then we're off to Arabia for some sandy beach day dreams--thanks to zither, hand bells, and more of the amazing vocalise from chameleonic siren Cherry Pob. At 12:35 Zeuhlish keys and drumming with pulsing electronic bass signal another shift. We are clearly in the imaginary world of Kobaia (wherever that is) as Arnaud and Cherry team up to sing something in an extraterrestrial language known only to their kind (and maybe Christian Vander). At the end of the fifteenth minute the music shifts into something that sounds more Disney princess Cirque du Français. But then Cherry bursts my bubble by singing in English! while Arnaud subtly shifts the music more toward the stage musical for the big finish. (Okay, not so big.) Taking the song's title into consideration might help explain the drastic international shifts in musical styles that link together to make this suite. It's not really an epic so much as a tour--a peak inside the vast array of "favorite" mermaid hangouts. While not as cohesive in its flow, once again Arnaud (and Cherry) have taken us on a very interesting and enjoyable journey. (31/35)

4. "Woof Blues" (2:51) in pure 1960s Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention tradition, here Arnaud explores the perspective of a dog's life, with soulful French-accented English narration, in one of his comedic efforts--all set to the music of ABC's "Why Smokey Sings" combined with Martha Reeves & The Vandella's "Nowhere to Run." Very funny. Great musical choices. Frank would have loved it. (8.875/10)

5. "Floatsam" (1:50) another song that sounds like it came out of the 1970s Black film industry soundtracks--this one a tongue-in-cheek sexy-romantic piece. (4.33/5)

6. "Out of the Blue" (2:01) a jazzier take on Pink Floyd (and Clare Torey's) space-bluesy masterpiece, "The Great Gig in the Sky." Purely a study in imitation. (4.33/5)

7. "Moon Landing" (6:55) electronica taken back to use as a soundttrack to a 1960s sci-fi film. Interesting choice of sounds used to create this palette--including sitar. I like the experimental use of orchestra percussion panning/floating in the background. At 4:50 a Richard Wright (Pink Floyd) "Welcome to the Machine" synth (Prophet 5?) enters and takes the lead. In the final minute, wind sounds take over as the other instruments fade away, taking us to the end. Pretty cool! (13/15)

8. "The Wizard" (1:47) the resuscitation of the KING CRIMSON synth/Mellotron flute over/within which other synths, military snare, bouncy bass and violin keys join, all before an ELP "Lucky Man" portamento synthesizer enters to solo, to the end. (4.33/5)

9. "Fangs" (3:01) another interesting electronic and jazz combo that sounds very much like a tribute to Jean-Michel Jarre as much as to anyone else. The repetitive synth bass line gets a bit annoying pretty quickly.. I like the horn arrangements the best. I really wish Arnaud could have found a way to blend all of the last five or six songs together into one sci-fi kind of suite instead of offering these brife little "teases" that feel more like experiments to see if he could replicate--or find uses for--these "classic" sounds. (8.5/10)

10. "Nexus" (2:00) soul synth funk--George Clinton and Bernie Worrell would be proud--as would, I'm sure, some French pop artists that are unknown to me. Arnaud has such an amazing voice (like the late iconic 1970s, 80s, & 90s "Pillow Talk" DJ from WNIC FM Detroit, Alan Almond). I wish he'd use it more! (4.5/5)

11. "Maze" (7:54) another reflection/variation on classic PINK FLOYD sounds and songs. After the lengthy mid-song pause, the song turns into a variation on PF's opening movement of the "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" suite. (I keep waiting/expecting David Gilmour's lead guitar to invade the peaceful space-field.) (13/15)

Total Time 48:45

As always, Arnaud provides amazing sound production and gasp-worthy performances on his instruments--his mastery of so many instruments and mediums is truly astonishing. Arnaud does his typical nods to past classics by employing analogue synth sounds that were used in iconic (and often one-time) events--but then, as is also a pattern of Arnaud's, he will enmesh them within jazzy or funky or elctro-pop fabrics giving them a "fresh" or brain-teasing effect. Would that the prog world could be more receptive to this directional "push" toward electro-funk, I'd be a enthusiastic follower!

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of boundary-pushing retro-electro prog funk; an album that I think everyone would enjoy and that I highly recommend you check out for yourselves.