ECLAT II

Eclat's second album is designed on the patterns of sensitive beauty, stylish instrumental interplays, and versatility, all of these comprised in a combined realm of neo-prog, jazz- pop, ethnic and folk stuff. Elegance is the name of the game played all throughout the repertoire in 'Eclat II'. The notable virtuoso skills of guitarist Alain Chiarazzo (also, the main writer) come to the fore over and over again, finding a perfect compatibility with the rhythm section and the inventive textures and occasional solos elaborated by keyboardist Pascal Versini. All in all, the exhibition of the performer's skills never reaches the point of sheer pyrotechnics: the melodic lines and harmonics are always clear to the listener's ears. Eclat's music comes out as very reminiscent of Minimum Vital , early Edhels, and 80s Camel. The exotic stuff that appears now and then keeps Eclat flirting with the usual nuances of new age. 'Le Chemin vers les Normes', 'Cinq-Quart' and 'Opera Magique' are the most accurate examples of Eclat's modern symphonic facet. 'Circus' brings the same vibe, yet enriched by its circus-like colours, which make it related to the typical gypsy celebratory spirit. 'Vitrol' and 'Tau' are more accessible, quite poppish actually, but not dispensable: they show a more relaxed mood in Eclat's music. 'Se Tu An Tan' takes us back to the times of Early Renaissance troubadours; 'Page Orientale' is a musical portrait of Eastern landscapes; 'Le Moissoneur' is a tour-de-force between an acoustic and an electric guitar, performed by Chiarazzo at his finest - an interesting mix of Hackettian sensibility and Fripp's inscrutable fire. While not being essential in itself, 'Eclat II' has its own merits, which make it a good addition in any prog collection.

Eclat are a Marseilles based band which was formed in 1989. They started with the name Eclat De Vers and in 1991 released their extremely short first album. They were once listed under JR/F because of their more fusion style adopted from their third album on, but now were moved to symphonic which is maybe a more suitable spot for them especially regarding their first two albums. The band is led by the virtuoso guitar player Alain Chiarazzo but it doesn't mean their music is a guitar show off, it's clearly a band effort where everyone of the members is notable. Despite the fact that Eclat have been around for almost 25 years and up till now have released 5 albums and two live ones, they can't seem to shake their obscurity bounds, and still remain in the shadows of other successful french bands. Even here they don't get any mention except for a handful of reviews covering their whole discography. Well...I hope I can slightly change that.

Their music on this album can be considered as melodic symphonic prog but it's more on the eclectic side. Very classy, very elegant, beautiful and always clever. Everything is thought out so well and effectively constructed. The playing is very tight and it's most notable on their exquisite and sophisticated breaks. Special mention to Bruno Ramousse on bass, playing some beautiful bass lines, very easy and very elegant. Vocals are good if you don't mind french. The album comprises of 9 tracks ranging from 3 to 7 minutes, still there are plenty of instrumentals, interludes and brilliant playing to choose from. Their sound would not appeal to every one, this is as far from the 70's sound as it can get, I'm not too keen about 80's sounding albums but I can still have the highest appreciation for this one. The production reminds me of bands like Minimum Vital and early Halloween, with chorused guitars and overall a clear and shiny sound, but don't let that scare you too much because it's still warm and unique.

"Le Chemin Vers Les Nornes" is one of the highlights here, it starts the album and slowly builds the tension and as you think it's gonna explode it falls into the most charming vibraphone and guitar main riff on top of an elegant bass, simply beautiful. Half way thorough it changes to the coolest medieval interlude and goes back to the main riff as towards the end Chiarazzo unleashes a three part killer guitar solo giving the song exactly what it needed to leave you wanting for more. "Vitriol" is one of the rockiest songs on this album. It demonstrates how furious Chiarazzo is, playing lightning fast solos but still remains passionate and never falls in the virtuoso trap. Good performance by all. "Se Tu An Tan" is an example of how maybe the weakest song on the album is still beautiful and doesn't detract anything from my enjoyment. "Cinq-Quarts" is another high point here, the band shows their skills of song writing and performance, demonstrating how progy they can get as they go from one idea to the next so easily without sounding too far off. "Page Orientale" is like a tribute song to Jimmy Page reminiscent of his playing in songs like White Summer and Black Mountain Side. This one brings some variety to the album's material because of its instrumentation, acoustic guitars, tablas and some silent keys. Needless to say that Chiarazzo's playing is sublime. "Tau" is a short acoustic song consisting of a beautiful bass work and vocals. I wouldn't consider it as disposable. "Opera Magique" is darker with heavy vocals on top of a slow rhythm. Half way through it breaks into a swinging medieval interlude. Nicely done, but hardly the album's highlight. "Le Moissonneur" is a platform for Chiarazzo to go wild featuring his soaring fierce guitar playing. It's a short instrumental comprising of only acoustic guitars and a soloing electric guitar. Quite a joy listening to this one, especially if you're a guitar freak.. "Circus" is another successful attempt of writing a clever and elegant progy song. Delicious instrumental, intricate interplay and a lot of ideas mixed together creating another high point in this album.

So this is another beautiful symphonic obscurity that should appeal to a lot of you. The next album would see the band develop more of a fusion kind of prog, still interesting but personally I find this album to be their strongest. Highly recommended. 4.2 stars.

In 1992 singer Denis Carnevali parted ways with Eclat de vers and the same year the group came in touch with Musea for the release of the second album.Their name was now reduced to simply Eclat and the vocals were now handled by the band's leader Alain Chiarazzo.The new album was entitled ''Volume 2''.

The significant changes in the line-up and name of the group had nothing to do with the Eclat's style, which remained a passionate and dynamic Neo Prog with symphonic references.The stunning opener ''Le chemin vers les nornes'' gives a good idea of their style: Well-crafted Progressive Rock with excellent guitar moves and breaks, nice synthesizers, theatrical vocals and Classical inspirations in a couple of keyboard themes.The rest of the album contains shorter tracks with a bit more reduced keyboard interludes and more dynamic guitar plays, the instrumental textures are increased, but the inspiration is still there to offer some very nice tracks.The overall style is very close to the approach of compatriots ELIXIR.The guitar work of Chiarazzo is definitely the driving force with some fine lead parts and solos, while the keyboard passages offer delicate background themes and even some fronted solos, although their sound at moments is too plastic.But the more important profit for the group is surely Chiarazzo's great vocals, which are simply delightful with a light theatrical color in a typical French style of singing.

Another winner for this French band, great and recommended item for any fan fond of 90's Prog's resurrection.As the running time of the first two Eclat/Eclat de vers albums is less than 80 minutes, a nice package with both releases was released a few years later in a nice move by the group.