M. FROG

After Walter (now Wendy) Carlos released the groundbreaking 1968 moogsploitation album "Switched-On Bach," the world took notice and the race was on to take the world of electronic music into strange new worlds. While albums would soon be dropped from all over the world with new freaky musical expressions (such as Canada's Signs of the Zodiac in 1969 and US modern classical wizard Terry Riley's late 60s classic), the Germans Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze seemed to develop the most sophisticated new strand of electronic music that is now referred to as the Berlin School branch of progressive electronic.

However neighboring France wasn't far behind with its own wild interpretations of where electronic music could venture but it would take a few years for class acts like Jean Michel Jarre, Heldon, Philippe Besombes and the legendary Pôle Records to emerge. Before any of that there was JEAN-YVES LABAT, probably best known for his stint as keyboardist in Todd Rungren's Utopia however just before his joining ranks of the Utopian team, LABAT was experimenting in the studio under the guise of M. FROG aka Mr Frog Labat or Frog & Roll. Under this moniker, LABAT released one little obscurity under the M. FROG persona in 1973 and then quickly moved on to bigger and better things.

Released on the same Bearsville label that would find both Todd Rungren and his Utopia in its midst, M. FROG was an early experimental electronic album that didn't just noodle around for the sake of crafting bizarre sound effects that have no Earthly connection but rather constructed a slew of catchy pop rock songs to serve as the foundation to wrap the electronic wizardry around. The result was a bizarre little album that was half anchored in the world of sugary bubblegum pop of the late 60s and the wild freeform world of progressive electronic that took the 70s into the space age. In many ways M. FROG was taking the stylistic approach of the 1968 approach of the American band The United States of America with a psychedelic pop foundation and then gong bat[&*!#] crazy in decorating them with moogsploitation run amok.

A strange little electronically fueled art rock to emerge in 1973, M. FROG self-titled stand alone album (LABAT would release two more album later under his own name), the album sounded a bit anachronistic with firm ties to 60s psych pop but also looked forward to the more experimental electronic albums that scrapped the training wheels and simply went spiraling into the world of total musical freedom. Featuring 10 tracks at just over 35 minutes of playing time, M. FROG dropped a bizarre little obscurity onto the world that still remains buried in the long lost artifact pile. While not the best known example of early progressive electronic, it certainly is a strange little novelty album that rocks the electronic in the context of catchy, often cheesy pop tracks that had lost their luster some time before.

With just as many funny vocalizations as weird electronic contributions, this album comes off as rather comedic sometimes. While this was the LABAT show with him playing every instrument and singing, a few tracks such as "Monkey People" feature an uncredited female singer. The album is actually quite diverse in its approach with many styles of embellishment accompanying the catchy pop songs with a few unexpected deviations from the rather orthodox song structures. The album is orchestrated quite brilliantly with sounds of theremin, faux horn sections and of course plenty of moog organ contributions that make this sound very much connected to the era it was released in. The album also showcases some pop free moments with the electronic meditation freakery "Welcome Home" which offers a respite from the regularly scheduled program.

While not exactly one of the prime examples of the world of progressive electronic in the early 1970s, if by chance you were smitten with the psych pop meets electronic experimentation style of The United States of America's 1968 classic release then you will find yourself loving this one as well. This is one of those albums that straddles two completely different worlds and yet finds clever ways to bridge them. That is the attribute i find most appealing about M. FROG's sole offering to the world. The pop songs are instantly warm and fuzzy and bring back that good old 60s feel good vibe whereas the dark electronic additions offer a bizarre contrast that Wendy Carlos never could have foreseen. Overall i like this one a lot and appreciate the bold leap into two completely different worlds and somehow finding resolve.