LE FANTASTIQUE ENVOL DE DIETER BÖHM

LAZULI is a French group from the Gard terroir. He publishes here his 9th album on a concept of the life of a still alive man, quite singular it is true the tendency being rather with posthumous tributes. LAZULI is now one of the best French bands, using his native language in his compositions. LAZULI does LAZULI for world music, ethnic and eclectric tracks, but the progressive tendency is until now a little behind, with crescendo and final explosions. One particularity is the use of a Léode instead of a bass, an accident that forced Claude to find an instrument in his hand, which he does by transcending himself with now. Let's quickly see what is happening with this announced concept album. a prologue to launch "Sol" normal title which could pass as intro, the voice already slipping admirably among the notes; the tone is basic and gives the rhythm for the homo-erectus that we are!, waddling with the head, good point for a crescendo as knows how to do LAZULI with guitar soli by Gédéric and the Magic Leode by Claude. Chain with act 1 and two titles including "The Songs Are Bottles At The Sea" with cool, calm, a little spleen, even melancholic atmosphere but an atmosphere to take your breath away with this melodious, musical voice; a voice so well set up that I enjoy listening to it there, I reputed to listen to Prog only for the instrumental parts. Yes you already understood, this disc captivates me and makes me want to whisper the chorus in concert; the solo here is well placed, quite long, very nervous, just as I secretly and ardently wished during my last column on "Season 8". "Mers Lacrymales" hooked to the last track by a flight of planes ?, which shows the concept thought of the album, a track that flows like water to the sea, fast and with some convolutions. "Dieter Böhm" for act 2, also chained, which begins to retrace the story of this famous man, title a little behind with fairly simple choirs, but a rhythm on percussion that is fairly tribal and impressive, gives a boost peps (energy in France!) at the end of the track where you have to tune the radio. "Baume" then slides with the splendid, fragile voice of Dominique, a little piano, marimba and voila for a title of goldsmith, reminding me at times of magical titles that Peter GABRIEL was able to release solo, c is to say. Act 3 with a single title "A Lunar Face" on an acoustic guitar, we feel the title to rest a little that nay, a sudden rise with Léode and synths leaves the title thanks again to the crescendo voice of Dominique ; the Léode then goes first to show the extent of its capabilities, it is heavy, taking, bewitching, it is rave, we would like even more so the explosion was pleasant. Act 4 follows with "The flight" and an instrumental half-rhythmic, half-devilish which allows you to fly for a few minutes elsewhere, in an ethereal space, the time to see the arrival of "The Flying Man", that's good, for the title reminder in my opinion, title signed LAZULI, everything is there, atmosphere, sound, break, verses with lyrics highlighted, the musical sounds recessed at this time to better express themselves during the chorus; here, no spleen, a cheerful, enjoyable energy, a moment of rejoicing when "Dieter is beautiful and joins the guitars", yes I told you, this group is still incredible to reconcile instruments and voice in a progressive space in this almost perfect way; the solo part with synth and Léode who issues notes flirting with brass instruments at times gives a layer to the possibilities of the group. The epilogue "In The Hands Of Dieter" still chained, so 42 minutes nonstop in fact, with an instrumental intro eastern limit, ether again in my opinion with these voices in the distance, the title that tells you a happy end of history , a title without too many excellent passages, so no fireworks, but that's already a lot considering the score of the album, just the title reminder that lets you go with the waves of the sea; the title that closes the album with a trance-like voice that recalls his instruments for the orchestral, festive, enjoyable and Lazulian finale. Well, the long-awaited concept album is out, the baby is delivered and it is very beautiful! LAZULI therefore made a great album, less linear, less repetitive, more expressive, more based also on the quality of the instrumental; we find there the magic Léode and the guitar in prow on pieces cut for the scene, the progressive side explodes here there, even if we are already beyond the prog in fact. No boo here, besides I do not cite influencing groups, that too is a sign.

Brilliant, gorgeous, powerful and refreshing.

I've not read any of the other reviews of this album, I only saw the rating and decided to test it out. This is my introduction to Lazuli, and I wish we'd met long before this!

I speak maybe about a dozen words in French, although the ones I know don't seem to be in evidence on this album. But whatever the language, this album communicates brilliantly. It grabbed me from its beginning and kept me engaged all the way through.

Obviously, this is a tale of one Dieter Böhm, but I've no idea if Mr. Böhm is a fictional charter (I assume he is) or historical, etc. - but this story set to music is nonetheless such an enjoyable experience from beginning to end.

At some point, I'll look up a translation of the lyrics to find out what this story is actually about. But for now, the vocal melodies & harmonies and the solid song structures and flawless playing are more than enough to keep this on repeat in good ol' Winamp for me!

You'll not find Crimsonian dissonances nor Dream Theateresque fifty time changes and tandem 64th note runs. What you will find are solid, consonant songs of graceful beauty and majesty. There are no "filler" tracks, all seem to work gracefully and seamlessly within the whole. Although some standouts (to me) would include Baume (the melody of which I'll probably be croaking out on my deathbed) Les Chansons Sont Des Bouteilles A La Mer, and Dieter Böhm, but all of the tracks are excellent!

I'm hoping to come back at some point and re-do this review of an album that most certainly deserves to be heard, and I think is a definite 5 star ***** genuine masterpiece.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Grace and peace to you all. Cylli (Jim)

Lazuli are a French group that do eclectic progressive rock with a lot of emphasis on melodies and powerful and brilliant developments. This album "Le fantastique envol de Dieter Böhm" is their ninth work and it is the first I hear from them, but it has already catch me to the point that I am giving a good review of the rest of their discography. The axis of this band is the Leonetti brothers, one of whom, by only being able to use one hand, plays a curious instrument made on purpose called "Leode" and which has a very interesting sound. Also, I find very refreshing to hear an album of this style sung in French: it sounds very lyrical and it suits perfectly the epic style of musical storytelling. The melodies and the developments are really beautiful and they combine energetic moments with other ones more serene in a very intelligent way. An album that can be heard multiple times without losing its freshness.

'Le fantastique envol de Dieter Böhm' (The fantastic flight of Dieter Böhm) is the 9th studio album by Lazuli from France. If I had to describe this work in just one word it would be 'refreshing'.

Everything on this record seems flawless. The vocals by Dominique are mesmerizing, the musicianship is nothing short of amazing, very emotive. The track by track analysis would take A LOT of time, especially considering how many truly beautiful moments and intertwined melodies are here. My personal favourites are 'Acte IV: L'homme volant' (fabulous feel, killer passages), 'Epilogue: Dans les mains de Dieter' (love that spacey intro and the melodic flow), 'Acte I: Les chansons sont des bouteilles à la mer' (outstanding leode solo), however each song here is very enjoyable. I am 90 % positive that you can find something new with each listening. Retrospectively I think that production could have been done better but it is just a nitpick.

This came out in 2020 and here I am 3 years later totally fascinated by this masterpiece. Definitely a top 5 album in that year. Highly recommended.

French eclectic prog masters are back with their ninth studio album release since 1998--and this one's a concept album with a very theatric presentation than some of their previous stuff.

1. "Prologue: Sol" (4:29) sounds like an anthemic cross between COLDPLAY and THE BEATLES. (8.75/10)

2. "Acte I: Les chansons sont des bouteilles à la mer" (6:12) quite solid, if simple, song construction with instrumental performances all focused on the whole--on supporting Dominque Leonetti's lead vocal--until 3:50 when a wild 1970s- style slide electric guitar solo starts--and plays out ? until the end! I like the melodies and love the choral vocal sections, but that guitar solo! (Perhaps it's probably Claude Leonetti on the Léode.) Wow! (9/10)

3. "Acte I: Mers lacrymales" (5:04) another bombastic, almost anthemic song that peaks with another extraordinary, if shorter, electric slide guitar solo at the beginning of the instrumental passage at the song's end. (8.875/10)

4. "Acte II: Dieter Böhm" (5:32) more anthemic music (this kind of bombast reminds me of peak TEARS FOR FEARS as well as THE BEATLES). Great work from the rhythm section on this one. The instrumental end section sounds very much like the jam at the end of Peter Gabriel's iconic concert ending song, "In Your Eyes." (9/10)

5. "Acte II: Baume" (3:32) a very different change in direction: delicate upper register vocal with only spacey piano accompaniment--at least until the breakout chorus: there Dominique lets loose with some screaming "Ahh"s while more Peter Gabriel-like pseudo-orchestral instruments gently support. Quite lovely. (9/10)

6. "Acte III: Un visage lunaire" (4:15) yet another somewhat anthemic song that sounds very much as if it came from the Sgt. Pepper's/Magical Mystery Tour period of the The Beatles music production. More electric slide guitar in the end passage's instrumental section--not quite as good as those first two solos. (8.875/10)

7. "Acte IV: L'envol" (2:25) a little modern synth work in this poppy little instrumental interlude ditty. (Filler). (4.25/5)

8. "Acte IV: L'homme volant" (5:36) more modern synth use in the drum programming and treatments of the principle string instruments (not the bass). When Dominique enters his voice gives the song a SIMPLE MINDS or even SYLVAN feel. I love the music here. (8.875/10)

9. "Epilogue: Dans les mains de Dieter" (5:38) opens with some distant radio playing the previous song's melodious vocal. Then organ and Theremin-like sound enter. It's not until 1:10 that anything "solid" enters: Dominique's voice. Spacious piano chords support Dominique's plaintive voice before backing off for weird psychedelia section. At 2:30 the full band finally begins to kick into the song, delivering support for the recapitulation of the dominant melody theme (from the last song) with some synths and fiery background lead guitar play. Bombastic and theatric but something feels to me as if the story--the "play"--is only just getting off the ground--as if it is unfinished--should keep going another half hour or so. (8.875/10)

Total Time 42:44

I've liked several of Lazuli's previous releases with 2006's En avant doute ? being my favorite , one thing I really like about this album is that the clarity of the track renderings (along with Dominique Leonetti's distinct pronunciation of his native French) allow me to hear and comprehend the words to the songs--something that is usually difficult for me.

B+/4.5 stars; an outstanding album with a great flow of very theatric themes with many surprising elements (including continuity and flow) making for a wonderful listening experience for any prog lover. Definitely a near-masterpiece. (I'm actually not sure what they could have done to make it better--perhaps a little more flair from multiple instruments or more twists and turns within the individual songs.)