French prog band very much like Yes
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Topic: French prog band very much like Yes
Posted By: sturoc
Subject: French prog band very much like Yes
Date Posted: August 09 2014 at 23:17
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Trying to figure this one out if ya can help In 1985 I recorded off a college FM radio station a long track which sounded very much influenced by Yes. with a touch of early Pink Floyd The vocals were in French and the track had many passages.probably about 10 mins + Not being home where the song resides on my PC I cannot upload it and can only describe the band instrumentation along with some song structure Vocals : French all the way. There are some nice back up harmonies Keys : Mini Moog, ARP Solina /Omni or Crumar string synth ( very prevalent on the track) , Mellotron, Organ,Elect piano, Piano Bass : best guess a Rick Drums: full kit with some percussion , he is a bit heavy handed at times but very good. Guitar: Well this is the kicker he sounds soo much like Steve Howe that it could be Howe. the lead lines and arpeggios the choppy chordal work It's what really caught my ear when i heard the track and instantly started the tape recorder rolling. I heard it in 1985 but it may have been recorded earlier than that. Any ideas ? |
Replies:
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 00:59
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My guess it's Ange. Pity there isn't a band called Oui, that would have been my other guess.
------------- What? |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 01:24
| probably magma |
Posted By: The-time-is-now
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 05:15
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I would say Ange too. But the guitar isn't as complex as Howe's... -------------  One of my best achievements in life was to find this picture :D |
Posted By: PrognosticMind
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 05:17
| I was going to say, most likely Magma...? |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 05:21
Not if the vocals were in French...
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PrognosticMind wrote:Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 05:49
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I would imagine that very few French bands ever got played on the radio in the USA, even on college radio, so if it's not the "usual suspects" (ie Ange or Magma) then any guess is valid. ------------- What? |
Posted By: sturoc
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 09:55
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I ck'd out Ange. Vocalist does not sound the same and composition wise they are not similar. Am pretty sure that it is French vocals Have traveled the world a bit so think i can be sure of that. Unless there is a dialect that is close to it like a near border country like Belgium, Germany etc where languages can meld together and the group is then hailing from that other country etc.. Been shifting thru You Tube in my search definitely not Magma. Also the French bands from the early 70s sound too primitive against this track. also the ARP and Crumar string synths weren't around back then. So time period for this recording would be late 70s onward. If still unsolved in a few weeks when I get home I'll upload the track . |
Posted By: TheH
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 10:19
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As it was played in the States I would guess it's more likley
that you heared a Canadian band from the Quebec area. The best kown bands Ange and Magma sound nothing like your descrition. Magam doesn't sing in French and sound nothing like Yes, they also do not have very prominent guitar (most times there is no guitar at all). Ange sounds very French and have their very own style. |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 10:39
Mona Lisa would fit the bill as well. ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 10:42
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Goodness ... as I like to say ... there is so much more music out there that no one knows or has heard! And yes, it was played and then some! All first 6 Ange albums in my collection are on their 3rd LP. All of Alan Stivell on the 3rd LP. All of Atol on the 2nd LP. Heldon on the 3rd LP. Malecorne on the 2nd LP. Clearlight and Verdoux on the 2nd LP. Pulsar on the 3rd LP.
We haven't even gotten to my Italian bunch, yet! Almost all of them on the 3rd or 4th LP!
It's like most folks are musically deprived!
Ange
Mona Lisa
Malecorne
Magma
Heldon
Pierre Henri
Cyreille Verdoux
Clearlight Symphony
Dan Ar Bras
Alan Stivell
Memoriance
Atoll
Pulsar
Catherine Ribeiro
Tai Phong
Wapassou
Marquis de Sade
This is just a starter list from the top of my head. I will go through my index of SPR shows and list things for you from 1974 on. I keep telling you, that Guy's show was special. Unlike many folks in radio, he had an ear for more music and more different music! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: TheH
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 11:09
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Some of the better kown Frenh Prog bands
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Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 11:09
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Pentacle comes to mind except for the YES flavour which doesn't fit in my opinion but worth checking out the over 10 minute track that closes that album. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 11:12
| Maybe Harmonium? French Canadian - but the guitar doesn't really match the description... |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 12:00
*sigh* You're right, instead of attempting to answer the OPs enquiry logically and helpfully I should have simply displayed the full cosmopolitan breadth of my musical knowledge by listing all the French progressive artists I could think of.  ------------- What? |
Posted By: Triceratopsoil
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 12:33
| Guys I was joking when I said Magma holy sh*t |
Posted By: tszirmay
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 12:50
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My thoughts? it sounds a lot like you are describing Atoll. ------------- I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth. |
Posted By: apps79
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 15:44
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I would go for Morse Code actually, the first band that came to my mind with notable STEVE HOWE guitar work, a vast array of keyboards and French lyrics...not French though, but Canadians. ------------- When the power of love overcomes the love of power,the world will know peace... listen to www.justincaseradio.com , the first ever Greek Progressive Rock radio |
Posted By: sturoc
Date Posted: August 10 2014 at 22:46
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ATOLL !!!!!!!! Musiciens Magiciens Lp ! Fantastic detective work friends,and tszimay nailed it, I thank you greatly !!!!!!! Interesting how my taped off radio version of this track sounds way better than this YT upload more full and with more impact.. The track starts at 18:04 Was I good in describing the trk and instrumentation ? |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 00:54
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^ Fantastic band! Their second album is one of the strongest french prog albums of the 70's so check it out, The H posted a link for that album up there ^ |
Posted By: tszirmay
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 01:42
Avec plaisir! It took me .3 seconds to hit the Atoll button, so I guess you described it perfectly.  ------------- I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth. |
Posted By: PhideauxFan
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 02:43
I have thought about Step Ahead but the lyrics are in english.  http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nla4GjTPAk" rel="nofollow - http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nla4GjTPAk |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 08:49
You just don't believe me, that's all!
I have the tapes to show for it! Over 400+ hours between 1974 and 1979.
Eat your heart out, and the listing is not even one THIRD of it all. And that is the part that is hard to believe, and totally insane, because RADIO is crap and does not play music! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 09:00
 Of course I believe you have all those albums, stop being a snob, it's undignified. However this isn't a contest, we don't need to know how high you can piss up the wall or how big your hose is.The OP gave a very detailed description of the piece of music from the artist he was looking for. It transpires that you had listed the correct artist, but you'd also listed several artists (Clearlight, Heldon, Stivell etc) that could not possibly fit the description, and two bands that had already been suggested that he'd rejected. *sigh* Engage brain before posting. ------------- What? |
Posted By: sturoc
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 09:25
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Agreed while posting a whole slew of artists might yield a clue, that particular post seemed mainly to be a self pontificating one. We all have a vast collections, some have bands others never heard of. It's an adventure to discover those unknown groups. Not an adventure to sit and read one boast about how great their own collection is, etc. etc. Share it then instead flaunting numbers ! |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 10:41
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I was going to mention Atoll also ....the first 3 albums are all pretty good and the second. L'Araignee has a rating here over 4 stars.
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: calm_sea
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 11:57
| I really want to get my paws on the records from this Atoll band. They sound great. I'm down for buying digital copies until I can track down the vinyl. Are there any official places to buy the albums which will actually support the band members? |
Posted By: threaz
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 15:22
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There are some relatively cheap RE on discogs (cira 11$?), original LPs are much more expensive of course. This won't support band members as well.
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Posted By: sturoc
Date Posted: August 11 2014 at 15:45
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Thats a problem with recordings so ancient that the band's contracts have expired, split up, members passed on, Record co. folds, So trying to support the artists of defunct groups is tough unless they are still actively playing out and or recording for public release. I do find that MusicStack website is good for searching along with Ebay and any good local record shop that deals in used Lps Ya never know what will come thru that door ! |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: August 12 2014 at 08:36
So, supporting your own idea with a sentence is not the same thing?
The only concern is that your next sentence is NOT about what you want to say. You can not even appreciate someone mentioning that YES ... there were people out there .... that ventured into the unknown ... like so much of the music did ... and that is a "concept" that you can not understand or appreciate, any more than Dean does!!!
You guys have never heard anything like it, to know the difference. And myself, or any of the SPR folks that still remember it, know what I am saying, but this bored (not a board anymore!), is not intelligent enough to even realize what most of this music came out to be.
The only pontification happening here is that you think your butt is more important than anyone else's and that your socially-conscious-politically-kissed-and-correct reply to show how with it you are in the bored ... is more important than someone saying the opposite ... which, by the way, is more progressive than you will ever be! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: sturoc
Date Posted: August 12 2014 at 21:08
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Again, I thank the members who helped in searching for the answer to my first post here As for further responding to you moshkito it is a waste of time since you twist what people write into your own off topic diatribe |