AU-DELÀ DU DÉLIRE

Ange is one of the premier French progressive rock bands and this may be their finest album. Too many people seem put off by the marvelous Decamps vocals. Sure he's a drama-boy but if you'll stick with this album over time you will get used to his style. Like some of the theatrical Italian vocals they just take some time to grow. If you quickly write off such vocals you're going to miss out on some great music!

This is a beautiful and well written symphonic album that gives the listener a bit of everything from quiet acoustic to hard rock, from Decamps theatrics to rather odd sound effects, from heavy drama to humor. The material here is so good with elements of French folk balladry finding their way in. The only downside I can find is that the sound quality is not great, this album really needs a new remastering! The booklet contains no information, hardly worthy of this great album. What was Philips thinking with this bare bones release?

While Ange may not be the greatest virtuosos in the world they play every track with spellbinding emotion. The 9-minute title track that closes this album is a perfect example of why I love them: acoustic guitars, mellotron, great progression of music and narration. At 4 minutes everything stops and we hear birds and other environmental sounds. And then a grand finale it is! Jubilant and soaring electric solos that will have you air-guitaring in your car for the final 4 minutes before the creatures of the countryside come back to close out this masterpiece.

Even with all the great French bands out there like Pentacle, Carpe Diem, and Eclat, this album is at or near the top of the essential French list. A true joy for lovers of music!

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