BALANÇOIRE EN FEU

Balançoire en Feu is the last real Malicorne album that was written and recorded by the full band. It still contains of lot of good songs but it lacks both the innovative arrangements and the emotional intensity from previous efforts. The song writing has shifted from their usual modernized classic folk to a more French 'chanson' orientated style which would be the main direction Yacoub would take in his solo career. By consequence the album's relevance in progressive rock is minimal. Though it fails both to surprise and to convince, it's a worthy exit for Malicorne. Unlike so many other 70's bands, they did know very well when it was their time to stop gracefully.

I can understand why this album deceived some listeners, even among those who had followed and supported the group before : the sound is not folk anymore, it's a perfect radio sound, based on electric instruments most of the time and also often on pop rock rythms.

And it is a big surprise to discover that the lyrics have been written by a famous french songwriter, Etienne Roda-Gil (who wrote most hits of singers like Julien Clerc, for those who know a lttle bit about french popular music, and also made french translations for the italian singer Angelo Branduardi).

In this record, malicorne evolve like Clanad did too : closer to pop songs.

Nevertheless, the lyrics of Etienne Roda-Gil are subtile, in the style of old folklore stories ; the melodies are still remembering old french folk songs and all of them are quite beautiful, mostly composed by Gabriel Yacoub ; and the harmonies and the voices of Marie and Gabriel are pure and beautiful, as always so deep and moving, maybe more than ever thanks to the great engineering job realised on this album.

For these reasons, it has never been a real matter for me to accept the modern style and sound of this record and the pop oriented rythm section. There is not a song to be weaker than the others, even the shorter one, "Paysans sans peur", which appears to be the nearest to the french folk tradition ; even "La petite oasis", surely the only title to be a simple pop song far from this same tradition.

And the highlights, "Balanoire en feu", "Soldat de la rpublique" and "Quand le cyprs", will remain in your mind a very long time after a single listening.