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Eclat / ex Eclat De Vers - Volume 3 CD (album) cover

VOLUME 3

Eclat / ex Eclat De Vers

Symphonic Prog


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erik neuteboom
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars This weekend I witnessed a progrock festival in Paris, Eclat was one of the performing bands and I loved their gig, what a dynamic and exciting music! I decided to buy a CD after their concert, unfortunately the Volume 3 was not available. But today I was lucky and got this album from a Dutch friend so I could re-experience the splendid atmosphere during their concert. Volume 3 contains 9 songs and I have to say that this album showcases a bit more mellow climates than on the concert (dreamy with piano and acoustic guitar). The interplay between all musicians is amazing and we can enjoy many inspired and compelling guitar soli with hints from Frank Zappa. But the keyboards are also outstanding, from swinging piano and vibraphone to spectacular, pitchbend driven synthesizer soli. The rhythm-section often sound propulsive and energetic, especially the bass player delivers some powerful runs. My favorite composition on this CD is Mare Nostrum: first a fluent rhythm with a Spanish flavor featuring excellent interplay between keyboards and guitar, then it's solo time: a fiery guitar, swirling vibraphone and flashy synthesizer with pitchbend, it has some echoes from Al DiMeola on his track Race With The Devil On Spanish Highway, very exciting! If you like jazzrock and fusion inspired prog, this one is yours!
Report this review (#92108)
Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2006 | Review Permalink
tszirmay
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Eclat is one of those bands that stay hidden behind a wall of silence and too few prog adventurists get to witness what started out with a debut "Eclat de Vers", a refreshing symphonic prog in the classic French school of dramatic, almost theatrical poetry within the same rails as Ange, Mona Lisa et co?, a second chapter (foxily titled "Volume II") that goes even further despite ugly cover artwork and this "Volume III" that flies straight into jazzier Mediterranean realms with strong hints of return to Forever or Italy's superb DFA. Too bad because one "can scarcely believe all the pleasures inside"- quote from Strawbs- Out in the Cold !The leadership of Alain Chiarazzo is front and center, waving a magical 6 string arsenal that winks at all the greats (a lot of Akkerman as well as Zappa, Fripp, Hillage, Hackett, Holdsworth, Lifeson and DiMeola) and yet has a personal fire that is undisputable and worthy of wider recognition. The man is brilliant and yet unknown. Zut alors! He plays on the left channel while on the right; second guitarist Michel Isnard holds sway. "Elka" is rumbling instrumental powerhouse opener, very playful with solid playing (great bass rolls in the hands of Philippe Troisi and fanatic drumming from Fabrice diMondo) and a sublime guitar incursion, the first of many splendoured electric wailings on the disc. The superlative piano work is highly vivid; Thierry Massé has obviously learned his jazzy chops from people like David Sancious, Barry Miles (early DiMeola) or Allan Zavod (Ponty) and it shows. Stellar ivory tickling! "La Machine" is a bit more fittingly robotic; a slithering guitar exercise that flutters immeasurably, some sweet shredding that oozes class. "Le Grand Passant" portrays a more technical slant (that unmistakable RTF feel), an arrangement that graces more breathing space, giving the soloists a podium to shine and they do! The bass work again is Olympic, shuttling the groove ever stronger and ever higher, waltzing with the clever piano jangles and synth wisps. "La Madeleine" offers up amazing vocals, full of unfettered passion and pain that entwines the traditional French sympho prog style (that we all know and love) with some sensational guitar and breezy synths interplay, showing restraint as these guys have already proven that they can blaze with fiery fury. "Lovania" maintains the elegant and ornate Romantic style, brooding playing that aromatically hints at compatriots Minimum Vital , the medieval/Breton tinge obvious and pleasant , indebted to the time-honored tradition of chansons de geste (Wikipedia: The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds or lineages", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature.) Things get really intense with the epic "Sequoia", giving the not too shabby himself Isnard the room to roam eloquently (right channel) , using both electric and acoustic guitars while permitting some more intelligent work from Massé's lovely keys, a jazzy nearly 10 minute tour de force that remains impressive and compelling like a California Redwood forest. A stellar classic piece that needs an appreciative audience, darn it! "Nostalgia" is exactly that, a redolent sliver of nostalgia, fueled by a bar room piano sway that blows smoke in your eyes, the empty whiskey bottle as lone companion. Two minutes of subtle respite. "Mare Nostrum" (the Latin name for the Mediterranean Sea) is a welcome return to the speedy eloquence of classic jazz-rock that winks directly at DiMeola's "Race With The Devil On Spanish Highway" as mentioned on our site by my esteemed colleague Erik Neuteboom. The pace is brisk, evocative of running along the rocky beaches of Provence , aromas of rosemary and lavender in the air. The synth whistles like some St-Tropez beach guard on the prowl. My favorite track remains the closer, "Non Nobis" a medieval Latin sung in glorious fashion, highly hypnotic choir work that recalls the past glories of Charlemagne or Roland , musically close to Vital Duo or Malicorne, I admit being a sucker for this monastery style stuff!

This is a wondrous album that deserves a modicum of respect and it's severely lacking by the paucity of reviews. The sheer quality of the musicianship alone is to die for, let alone the shining material that constantly stretches the boundaries of convention and formula. Is that not the essence of prog? 4.5 shards of class

Report this review (#272414)
Posted Wednesday, March 17, 2010 | Review Permalink
4 stars Excellent work of the French band ECLAT. presenting a music full of energy, "walking" with authority among Latin themes (as in the track 1 "Ekla"), riffs that arrive close of the Heavy-prog style (as for instance the initial and final theme of the track 2 "La Machine", sweet ballads (track 4 "La Madeleine"), oriental themes (track 8 "Maré Nostrum"), and concluding the disk a theme almost "Gregorian Chant" (track 9 "Non Nobis") that reminded mea lot STEELEYE SPAN in the arrangement of "Gaudette." The influences vary of RUSH to RETURN TO FOREVER (in his phase "Romantic Warior" or "Hynm of the Seven Galaxy") some "pinches" of E, L & Palmer and some another that are quite diluted in the arrangements. Detach to Alain Chiarazzo's / guitars (close to the perfection) and the several keyboards timbres used by Thierry Massé; . My rate is 4 stars!!!
Report this review (#475623)
Posted Monday, July 4, 2011 | Review Permalink
apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars In 1993 Eclat organized a double concert in Marseilles along with Arrakeen, after which keyboardist Pascal Versini quit.Chiarazzo found himself playing both the guitars and keyboards, before Thierry Masse enters as the new keyboardist in May.The following year Christian Magro replaced Laurent Tomann on bass and Eclat played alongside Pendragon.His stint with the band did not last long, in 1995 Michel Isnard switches to bass, but Chiarazzo decided to dissolved Eclat.But in 1996 he reformed the group with new bassist Philippe Troisi and singer Jean-Marc Negre, while he also found his own Kezako Music label.In 1997 the new album of Eclat ''III'' was released.

Negre's addition was some sort of excess, as Eclat had taken a more instrumental approach by ''III'', while the Fusion elements start to become a regular entry in their music.They still made their strong dives into the world of French classic Neo/Symphonic Prog, but you can also feel the technical rise of the group, which now searched for more intricate and complex instrumental themes.At this point they remind me a lot of HAPPY THE MAN, they split their pieces between melodic, symphonic-oriented or groovy instrumentals and some more jazzier flashes with nice piano and guitar parts, while the music has become definitely more captivating, featuring lots of breaks and a slight TIEMKO/EDHELS touch in the parts, where guitar and atmospheric synthesizers dominate the music plus Chiarazzo's guitar moves start to flirt dangerously with an ALLAN HOLDSWORTH/ROBERT FRIPP style.ZENIT are also a good comparison at this point.The keyboard parts retain an obvious Neo touch with a light symphonic vibe, but the guitar and piano parts have more to do with the jazzier side of CAMEL in the smooth passages or the aforementioned guitar heroes' works in the more energetic moments.Surprisingly they appear to be equally efficient like in the past, despite moving to a different direction, while their music holds enough melodic overtones.

Nonetheless a warm, balanced work of instrumental Prog Rock with symphonic and jazzy touches.Not a fan of their mediocre production, but I like the music in here a lot and the album comes recommended to a wide spectrum of prog fans due to its stylistical flexibility.

Report this review (#1345267)
Posted Tuesday, January 13, 2015 | Review Permalink

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