BÉBÉ GODZILLA

This is Patrick Gauthier's debut album released in 1981. Patrick played keyboards in the bands WEIDORJE, HELDON and briefly with MAGMA. He has a huge guest list here including many of his former band mates from the groups I mentioned. I should tell you that Richard Pinhas from HELDON helped to mix, engineer and produce this record, oh and he also plays guitar and adds some moog programming. Vander, Paganotti, Bertram and Widemann from MAGMA are on here, all the members of WEIDORJE, and also four members from HELDON. And many others.

"Bebe Godzilla" really impresses me because of Christian Vander's drum work and Paganotti's bass lines. Lots of piano from Gauthier here but check out Vander ! Pinhas comes in on guitar after 2 1/2 minutes making some wondrous noise. "Le Grand-Maitre Orient" is dedicated to Christian Vander and he also plays on it. Didier Batard from HELDON plays electric bass and we get the Guillard brothers from WEIDORJE on wind instruments.This is uptempo with so much going on. All these intricate sounds coming and going. Vander once again impresses. Some marimbas and violin as well. "Mixture-Trautorium" opens with electronics from Pinhas before David Rose comes in on violin. Auger from HELDON is on drums here. "Benoit Et Les Riverboppers" features three guys playing mini-moog. Bertram is on electric bass. This is a top three track for me. Love the bass, electric piano and drums throughout this song. So much going on. A collage of sounds.

"Heldon" is dedicated of course to Richard Pinhas. Kirt Rust from WEIDORJE is on drums here, Paganotti on bass. The piano sounds great from Gauthier.The tempo picks up before 3 minutes with some outstanding drum work. "Riding On White Horses" is a short piece with Steve Shehan on percussion. We can hear other sounds as well. "En Passant Par La Transylvanie" is another top three tune. Gauthier plays some Hammond on this one while Pinhas is on guitar. Lots going on with all these intricate sounds. Drums 2 minutes in with organ to follow. "Nor" is dedicated to WEIDORJE and is my final top three. Love the intro. Lots of guitar on here and Widemann offers up a mini-moog solo. The drumming from Rust is so crisp 2 1/2 minutes in. Pinhas on guitar 7 1/2 minutes in.

This is an all-star cast who came out to help out their talented friend Patrick Gauthier, and we are the ones who benefit in a big way. Great record.

I was listening to the Weidorje album and reading the liner notes for that excellent release and Bebe Godzilla was name-checked, given Patrick Gauthier was a key part of Weidorje.... I simply thought I must get this record, especially as I'm a fan of Heldon and Magma (and members of both bands are abundant on this excellent solo debut)....

First off, it sounds (to me) closer to Weidorje than to Magma or Heldon.... There is a fine ensemble sound but no Zeuhl vocals (a la Magma) and not much in the way of sequenced electronics, minimalist repetition and punk-heavy guitars (a la Heldon) ... [although track 3 is an alternative version of the second track from Heldon's excellent Stand By album]

The group playing on this record is immense - top players (Vander/Paganotti/Pinhas etc etc) at the top of their games performing material perfectly suited to what they can bring to the table, a high level of energy and groove from beginning to end, intriguing compositions, unusual rhythms, harmonies and textures.

In short - a masterpiece from start to finish ...