HISTOIRE DE FOU

Ange is one of the 1970's prog bands that I missed back then, most likely because I never found any of their albums in the used record stores that I inhabited, nor did I ever hear them on the college radio stations that I was addicted to at the time. But this album, the first solo venture by Francis DeCamps, one of the founding members, does pique my interest in the band.

The first three of the five tracks are good, but not great. Droit Vers Le Soleil and Canicule are both light symphonic prog pieces, while Malédiction is more of a psychedelic song. On all three of these tracks the music is good, but the entire experience of the songs are lowered by DeCamp's overly emotive, and sometimes off-key vocals.

The final two tracks are where the real value comes in. Amédée Le Mal Maudit is a renaissance period symphonic piece, and reminds me a bit of classic Gryphon. And Amédée Le Mal Maudit is a more modern sounding symphonic piece, with a bit of experimental mixed in.

Three three star and two four star songs averages the album to three stars.