ECLIPSE

I think that Sean Trane said enough about this one already when he said that "Night and Day" is "to be avoided at all cost", but I feel that by having an average score of 1.05 at the time of me writing this, this album has been treated far too generously by this website. It really has got to be one of the worst recordings I've ever heard.

After a debut which featured the gorgeous "Vision Intérieure", those involved with Eclipse must have gone through some sort of traumatic incident that stole their souls, because "Night and Day" is absolutely hideous. The music on this album is exclusively synth-pop and disco shrill that ends up butchering several classic rock songs and the cover makes "Love Beach" look like a Roger Dean masterwork. Seriously, what is up with those eyes on the far left? Put simply, there is no point in owning this album, except perhaps as a conversation piece or, more realistically, a torture device. This may very well be the single *worst* entity in the entire progarchives database. 1 star, rounded up.

I bought this at a record fair in Eugene, Oregon. Honesty, this was never been a favorite of mine, many other groups from Quebec getting my attention much more: Harmonium, Pollen, Sloche, Et Cetera, Dionne Bregent, and Michel Madore. Eclipse was a band lead by Pierre Gauthier, formerly of Aut'Chase, and this was the debut, from 1976, released on CBS. They released a second album, Night & Day, in 1977, with a complete lineup overhaul, aside from Gauthier (apparently is a much worse album, apparently firmly disco, who needs disco versions of "You Really Got Me" and "Born to Be Wild"? Songs like that should never get the disco treatment). This debut really puzzled me. It seems Gauthier really had some absolutely brilliant ideas, but for the most part, the music sounded like an unholy cross between Pink Floyd and ABBA, complete with female vocals. This album is really confused, between mainstream credibility, and the more obvious prog/electronic ambitions of Gauthier himself. During the more mainstream moments his synth plays really seems to clash. Three songs really did leave an good impression of me: "Le Rêve de John W.", "Pleine Lune", and "Honey #36". The first has a bit of a funky thing going on, with some really nice Moog playing. "Pleine Lune" is really what I felt the ideas Gauthier had in mind. A rather ominous sounding piece that's very far from the lightweight fluff on this album. "Honey #36" sounds a bit like Pulsar with female vocals. But the mainstream stuff on this album is a bit too close to ABBA territory, a good example going to "Du'attends-tu do Moi". It's as I expect them to do a French language version of "Take a Chance on Me" with spacy synths here (OK, so "Take a Chance on Me" did not exist in 1976).

I have been dismissive of this album because of this approach is a bit too jarring, but I've grown to like it. I wouldn't call it some sort of lost gem the way I felt Michel Madore's Le Komuso a Cordes is. I really think I'd dislike it much more if it weren't for Gauthier's synth playing.

I am rather amused that the back cover reads: "Eclipse utilise exclusivement les synthesizeur Moog (using the Moog logo)" (more or less translating as "Eclipse uses exclusively Moog synthesizers") except that's false. Certainly Daniel Barbe's only synths are Moog (Mini-Moog and Satellite), but the inner sleeve clearly shows Pierre Gauthier with a VCS-3, which I clearly hear one being used on this album, mainly for synth sound effects (which they're best for).

I don't know what to think of this, it's not total rubbish, and I'm sure after hearing Night & Day, this would look like a masterpiece.

Another dandy from the glorious Prog Quebecois era in the 70s.

Visited Toronto Canada in 76 and frequented many record stores, and spotted this on the new release wall.Loved the cover and after few glances and flipping the cover over a few times,bought it.

Compared to most prog Quebecois I have heard,this is more spacey and very keyboard/moog driven.I would go as far as calling this a spacey prog pop album.Right up my alley. Eclipse is mentioned as being Floydish,and that really shows in the mellow 11 minute first track. Track 2 after it's perky intro sets in to a funky melody with plenty of synth and guitar duelling. Track 3 is a 1 minute filler. Track 4 is a nice jangly pop song with a good drive. Track 5 could be a droney instrumental track taken straight out of Hawkwind's Warrior of the edge of time.At 8 min. it is probably 3 min. too long. Track 6 is another 1 min. filler. Track 7 is like 2 nice prog pop songs put together into one.Nice and catchy. Last track could easily be an Earth and Fire song,sung in both French and English,with a nice Hawkwind finish of the song.

The instrumentation is very good here and Marie-France got a very nice voice that suits the music nicely. The pop aspect (commercial) of this album,and my description may sound like it's a mess ,and may scare off people,but I think it works very well here.One of a kind.

Eclipse's second album in PA's database is one of those to be avoided at all cost, being one of the worse disco offenders with Alan Sorrenti's later 70's slice wax. Given their debut's promise, this album even received a German release on the Casablanca label (Kiss and Trees, a.o.) with a different artwork, although that one is a lot more fitting for the album's musical contents. Indeed, the Quebecois prog boom of the early to mid-70's received a slow & ugly death throe from the Disco tsunami that swept the "la belle province" from 78 onwards, but Eclipse preceded that by a few months.

Opening on the album's typical track Space Love (the only Eclipse original on this side), a spacey-electronic affected groove that's stuck on a simplistic disco beat >> yuckkkk!!! Similarly (and surprisingly) the Steppenwolf cover Born To Be Wild receives the same treatment, thus making it potentially the worst cover of any kind?. Until you hit Donovan 's Sunshine Superman following it, but worse is yet to come with the simply atrocious Kinks punky classic "You really got me" getting rthe disco treatment. The flipside can't fare worse, even if the energy level is slightly superior, some tracks that could eventually fit in the AOR mould (Bring It Home, Lady) or in the soft-rock vein (Losing our love) and absolutely nothing to redeem the album to the proghead's ears. Best avoided if you ask me.