PATRICK FORGAS

Some 17 years(?) since Forgas' last solo effort, Art D'Echo (1993).

This begins with the soft, spacy "Animus", light and airy synthesized musics [reviewing this back after listening... this is the album as a whole]. It does ramp up at the end to add a little percussion. It's decent.

The similarly titled "Anima" is again soft, and opens with simple guitar (one of two tracks with guitar--ya heard of guitar?). Nothing of note really happens until nearly the 5 minute mark, but... uhhh... pretty flat. Is this how the whole album is [yes, yes it is]? This may be one of these moments where I'm a bit confused at the general consensus...

"La Persona" didn't do much. Like literally, not a whole lot here. I guess this is New Age? 'T'ain't Prog! lol. "Les Nombres" to follow at least has some saxophone... The only good thing I have to say is that the production isn't super plastic. But like... whatever.

I don't know what there is to say here. Closest thing to be... of interest... was "Le Soi", but like not really; not by much.

True Rate: 1.5/5.0

Very much, as with the last, an electronic-heavy album, but actually with interesting rhythms and melodies. Most of it is, of course then, keyboard-based. To suggest, though, that this music is in any way "of the time" would be misleading. Still looking back to SOFT MACHINE-led Canterbury for inspiration, we have free, somewhat dark and somewhat moody Jazz-Rock. The strongsuits are percussion and reeds/woodwinds. Even when it's sort of the hollow electronic drums (see "Plus Fragile Qu'une Poubelle"), the percussion really is the life of the party. In the case of "Bossa Bergolia," an otherwise dry, flat track was nearly saved by an excellent sax solo. Nearly.

Back to "Plus Fragile...": it's a great example of when I am judging a song based on the prescriptions of the Canterbury Scene, and not Progressive Rock as a whole. In this category, it is an excellent addition, and I definitely recommend you check it out if you're a fan/appreciator as I am.

Throughout, there's a definite vibe that I can't quite place, though my mind finds it adjacent to the sort of horror- inspired musics of ART ZOYD and GOBLIN. It's often less dynamic than they and therefore, overall, just alright. [I was tempted to give a True Rate of 2.5/5.0]

"Automne 69" opens with guitar and drums along with upfront bass and I have to say Prevost's bass playing is something special on this album. Soft vocals then keys join in. Light and breezy except for the bass. "Monks(La Danse Des Moines)" opens with this dirty sounding guitar as bass, drums and more help out. Horns too then flute after 2 minutes. The violin then takes over. A killer jam right there. "Reflet D'Ail" opens with flute, guitar and more as the bass kicks in then vocals. Nice sound here. A flute solo just before it ends.

"Coeur Violon" is a short piece with drums, violin and bass standing out. "Orgveil" is another shorty with some interesting guitar as the bass and drums support. "Vol D'Hirondolles" opens with keys as vocal melodies and more join in. It's building, violin too. "Cocktail" is bright and a feel good tune all the way. Sax over top except when the flute leads briefly then the sax returns. "Rituel" is just over a minute of drums, bass, guitar then vocals and keys. "Rhume Des Foins" is catchy with the beats and bass as violin, sax and flute come and go. This trips along beautifully.

"My Trip" has some energy to it with drums, guitar and bass leading early on. Violin and sax will help out as it calms down but contrasts will continue here. The violin gets plenty of face time. It's not until those desperate, urgent sounding vocals arrive that I'm thinking "Oh, it's that kind of trip". I like the section starting around 7 1/2 minutes when it calms down and the focus is on the vocals. Electric piano and bass lead a minute later as the sax comes and goes, no vocals. Violin and vocals lead 11 minutes in. A calm before 14 minutes but nor for long as a sax solo follows. Spoken words after 16 1/2 minutes as the sax steps aside.

The hype is worth it for this particular album and certainly Canterbury fans should check this one out.

The first ten tracks - most of them no longer than a couple of minutes - are those featured on the original version of the album. The 18-minute suite My Trip, strategically placed in the tenth slot, comes in a way as a surprise. The album's undisputed highlight, it is one of those compositions that are almost impossible to describe effectively, on account of its extremely diverse structure. While all the instruments contribute to the build-up of this tour de force, the real star of "My Trip" is Gérard Prévost's bass. A former member of Magma offshoot Zao, Prévost really makes the difference here, his stunning performance holding an otherwise rather fragmented track together. Opening in classic jazz-rock fashion, with echoes of Bruford here and there, it then turns more experimental, with Forgas' scat-like vocalising, and lyrical violin strains to soften the atmosphere.

The bass is also at the forefront in the brisk, uptempo "Orgueil", coupled with clear, tinkling guitar; while "Monks", which also features Canterbury's trademark fuzzed-organ sound at the beginning, is built upon a steadily weaving main theme, enriched by violin and flute. Forgas' elegantly measured drumming is a core feature of all the songs, enhancing even very short offerings such as "Reflet D'Ail" or "Vol D'Hirondelles". His peculiar singing style (a falsetto that sometimes reminded me of The Northettes, even more so than Robert Wyatt) fits the nature of the compositions, in which classic Canterbury stylings meet with funky touches (as in the almost danceable rhythm and vocals of "Rhume Des Foins"), besides the more obvious jazz influences. The latter are very prominent in the title-track, whose smooth, almost lazy flow reflects the carefree attitude implied by the album cover artwork.

The thirteen bonus tracks include alternate versions of some of the original songs, as well as previously unreleased material. The latter ranges from the oddly infectious tune of "Magie Major" to the darker, electronics-infused atmosphere of "Arrête-Toi" and "Espoir". Somewhat frustratingly, none of those tracks (with the sole exception of the demo version of "My Trip"), is longer than four minutes. While all adequate, they are not what I would call indispensable: the bass-driven "Nos Cheveux Emmelés", with its relaxed, jazzy pace and Canterbury-style organ in the background, is the only song that actually stands out. In spite of the album's undeniable strengths, it should also be stressed that 73 minutes are a bit excessive for the average listener's attention span, in particular for those who prefer to listen to albums in one sitting. On the other hand, Musea Records deserve praise for having rescued it from oblivion, even if not all the bonus tracks are up to scratch. Highly recommended to Canterbury and classic jazz-rock/fusion fans, as well as to those who appreciate an outstanding rhythm section, "Cocktail" is a very enjoyable, uplifting effort, worthy of a solid 4-star rating.

As usual with such a type of project, Forgas (atural multi-instrumentalist) chose to play the vast majority of instruments, meaning he also chose to cut costs of some more, including drums and bass. Remembered we are still at the start of the 90's where these were common practices (from Ain Soph to David Cross, sampling and bad synths were deemed cool as even Malherbe screws around with them ). Sparing the atrocity of describing you track per track, just know that Forgas's supposed admiration for Wyatt's persona is really mostly vocal and again not that evident (except on a few spots), but musically we are in a jazzy feel, but very close to awful pop stuff also, some (Electro-short) even sounding new wave some ten years too late. The album comes with two "bonus" tracks supposedly from the 70's, but rearranged and souped up to fit the wanted modern ambiances. While just as excruciatingly bad as the rest of the album, they cannot help save the album either, as it is difficult to believe those two tracks were written back then. Well My trip is supposed to be a rework or first version of the track of his 77 album, but it is unrecognisable from its vinyl version. Forgas will again exploit that track to a much better result in his following album Art D'Echo.

Strangely enough (or maybe not;-) after a second album, Forgas' career will come to another stop and he will give another kick-start by starting his Forgas Phenomena Band around the millennium, this band still playing nowadays. Best avoided if you ask me, this was probably not helping Musea's plight to survive, L'Oeuil being one of their worse release. Avoid at all cost, really!!!

The first side of the vinyl is comprised of mostly very short tracks, with two notable exceptions, that brought a very varied atmosphere, generally light, funky and humorous, but none are actually really interesting either, as they seem to be serving as fillers. Only the longer Monks and Rhume De Foin (hay fever), the first with its almost 5 minutes seem to bring more depth, with a great groove underlined a superb bass line, with divine flute, sax and violin interplay. The second (and A-side closer) is a more reflective piece sounding like Traffic around the John Barleycorn Must Die album.

The B-side is taken-up by the lengthy (18-min+) My Trip, which actually is a fitting title, because this is one hell of a ride. If the first side was entirely instrumental, this track holds some vocals, which are not very strong though, resembling the usual French symphonic rock singing in the 70's. Again there is some particularly exciting violin playing (Tilleman plays on most of the better tracks of the album) very reminiscent of Ponty's then-contemporary albums, some dynamite sax (here Bruce Grant instead of Debricon on the flipside)

While Forgas might have appeared as an original and zany character in life, the music fails to represent this fully. For some reasons, as much as it is loaded with all the trumps, the album is a bit of a miss, but not far from a hit either. Hardly essential but still much worth a spin on your turntable.