LAGGER BLUES MACHINE

Anyway, Symphonie - Part 1 covers an awful lot in 13 minutes, mainly organ driven, but with some Zeuhl-style vocals, and more often than not led by a guitar riff that actually to me seems more reminiscent of Cream or Hendrix.

Darknessly is perhaps the most Zeuhl sounding track, in particular the haunting vocals. The rest of the album continues in a similar vein, but I must admit the whole thing is let down by the production - pretty fuzzy and distorted - so much so that I switched off a bit towards the end

In 1971 when Vincent Mottoulle (organs) and Carmelo Pilotta (flute, saxophone) joined the band, the focus shifted to a richer progressive rock sound borrowing not only from the jazz-rock fusion of Soft Machine's "Third" and guitar angularity of King Crimson but also on the strong emphasis of instrumental interplay much like that of Moving Gelatine Plates or Eiliff but in the rhythm department displayed much from the sensual bubbling zeuhl bass driven marches of Christian Vander's Magma. Despite the uptick in compositional interplay, LAGGER BLUES MACHINE still maintained a rather jam oriented romp through their instrumental gymnastics that carried through some of the heavy psych guitar and 60s hypnotic organs.

After several years of intensive touring the band was noticed by CBS records as they became one of Belgium's most important bands and finally in the year of 1972 they recorded and released their sole studio album which was eponymously titled. While brevity wasn't their goal with four of the five tracks near the seven minute mark all the way to the fourteen, in the nonchalant stroll through the progosphere, LAGGER BLUES MACHINE managed to take many detours into various strains of not only prog but heavier rock, blues, pure jazz and more detached psychedelia.

The opening "Symphonie - Part 1" doesn't waste any time with the band's progressive romp through the almost entirely instrumental album, a wise decision considering the few vocal appearances displayed represent a weak spot that shouldn't have been included. Where vocals do occur they are merely supplemental instruments to the greater musical drive. Described as symphonic jazz-rock, LAGGER BLUES MACHINE opens with a unique mix of twin hypnotic organ attacks enhanced by spooky flute sounds, avant-jazz sax runs and well adapted percussive accompaniments. The instrumental interplay is the strongest feature of this band where no musician steals the show but rather contributes to a greater sum of the parts.

A tad more art rock oriented than many of early prog's contemporaries, LAGGER BLUES MACHINE eschewed easy pigeon-holing and the seemingly aimless drifting through the challenging instrumental workouts meanders through symphonic, jazz-rock, hard rock and organ dominated heavy psych. The beauty of the album is the sophistication of the compositions, all of which will please the most hardened progheads out there. The weaknesses include the aforementioned weak vocals although they are quite sparse as well as the lackluster production which according to a review by Ashratom is much better on the original 1972 vinyl release than on the 21st century reissues. And to be honest, the vocals aren't always that bad, there are just some awkward moments.

Personally the sophistication of the music trumps any of the weaknesses. Despite the admittedly weak production job, the album exudes a raw underground sound straight from the heart and that actually appeals to me. This was a talented group of musicians that in some strange ways reminds me of an Anglagard type approach before the 90s prog revival would relaunch the prog revolution twenty years in the future. While this may not be the most essential of prog albums from the 1972 year when too many to count albums rank high on the must have list, if you are seeking extremely intricately designed obscurities that has amazingly instrumental workouts then you can't go wrong with this sole studio release from LAGGER BLUES MACHINE.

I have previously to this review spoken about the evolution of Zeuhl, and how it came into fruition through a multitude of various paths. This Belgian outfit describes the early development of the music beautifully - a music that very soon would transform into huge cataclysmic skyscrapers of sound. This branching started out as acidic jams and Belgian lager.

Lagger Blues Machine released their sole album in 1972, with this a live album popping up some 20 years later during the resurgence of prog rock in the 90s. By 1972 this group's sound had progressed from these hazy and fuzzy beginnings, that on here sadly are amplified grotesquely due to a very grainy recording. Damn...

Tanit Live sounds like a hard rock band jamming it out on stage after a case of beers and a pipe of space tobacco. The guitar work resembles the kind of blues riffing that Yardbirds once made famous, only here it is accompanied by plodding rhythm textures and the occasional reed tweet. It's hard recognising the future band to come - especially hearing the distinctive blurry psychedelics at work here, that more than often reveal a foot and a half safely planted in the preceding decade.

So no Zeuhl here then? No and yes. No, because the jamming character of the thing, leaning on fuzzed out psychedelia and hard hitting blues rock, leaves the rhythm section (that is the single most important ingredient in the Zeuhl mix) swaying and confusingly blurry. Yes, because Tanit still holds a good deal of pumping organ breaths, that on occasion approach the big booms of the Zeuhl genre - the ones that mimic grand symphonic sweeps of rock music......... Still, a very long ways from the terrific psychedelic take on the genre they conjured up two years later.

This should please fans of dirty jamming hard rock, and people with an interest in the history behind the teutonic branch of fusion. Moreover will it please folks who love the gritty and naive in music - live recordings that sound like they've been handed over to you by way of telephone chord and a prehistoric turntable from the time of Julius Caesar.

The sound of the album is very raw and the quality of the recording quite mediocre to present the band at its full potential.The opening ''Test about a rehabilitating personality'' is pretty much the most interesting track in here with a very adventurous sound in a Hard Prog vein, featuring some excellent guitar breaks and complex themes, not far from a cross between WARHORSE and KING CRIMSON or even some Kraut Rock monsters of the time.The quality drops significantly with ''Ode'', where the vocals are really unbearable, while the music is pretty average guitar-led Hard/Psychedelic Rock with some SOFT MACHINE influence in the middle part.With ''Mistake'' the presence of Christian Duponcheel is finally obvious and this is another complex Progressive Rock composition with obscure interplays and some fiery organ throughout, spoiled by the very long middle-part drum solo.The gig of Lagger Blues Machine closed with ''Firedance'', featuring a rough complicated Hard Rock sound with guitars on the forefront, delivering furious grooves with sudden breaks, again a uninteresting solo in the middle wasn't much needed, but these belongs among the activities of a live performance.

Considering the mediocre quality of this live recording along with the fact that these recordings already belong among a future Mellow Records release with all the stuff Lagger Blues Machine ever recorded, thIs LP comes only recommended to die-hard fans of Hard Prog and the strict circle of the collectors' zone.

"Symphonie-Part 1" opens with flute, piano and guitar before the drums join in quickly. Great sound here. Very relaxed. A change 1 1/2 minutes in as the guitar comes to the fore. Organ joins in too. It settles back with flute and organ .It picks back up before 5 minutes with organ. Drums and guitar 6 minutes in. A change before 7 minutes as sax and an upbeat rhythm takes over, then vocals arrive for the first time a minute later. I don't mind them here. They're a huge improvement over the vocals on the live album. Heavy guitar and organ come and go. A calm 13 minutes in with piano to end it. Fantastic track.

"Darknessly" opens with the drums and pulsating organ standing out. Some raw guitar joins in and it sounds great. Some vocal melodies follow and It sounds a little haunting.Then it kicks back in. It picks up before 3 1/2 minutes before settling again with another haunting section with vocal melodies. I like when the electric piano joins the guitar and drums before 5 minutes. Sax follows. Nice. "Tanit" is a short piece that opens with acoustic guitar as flute joins in. "Symphonie-Part 2" opens with keyboards only to be joined by a full sound rather quickly.The tempo shifts back and forth on this one. Sounds are a little dissonant here. Flute after 3 minutes. Vocal expressions 5 minutes in. Great sound 7 1/2 minutes in when it kicks in. Some flute here. It settles with flute and electric piano 9 minutes in. A short drum solo after 10 minutes then the vocal melodies and guitar join in. It settles again with flute. Raw guitar and drums end it.

Man I like this album. I read on the Gnosis site where the reviewer compared this album to a MOVING GELATINE PLATES record.That's a good reference point for those wondering what these guys sound like. A solid 4 stars.

"Born To Be Alone On A White Desert Island" sounds pretty good early with the bass, drums and guitar standing out. Vocal melodies and flute join in.The organ rips it up before 2 minutes.The drums and guitar amaze 4 minutes in.Vocal melodies are back as themes start to be repeated.

"Test About Rehabilitating Personality" kicks in with drums and guitar before a minute. Just a killer jam really. "Ode" is where things turn south fast. The vocals for one are bizarre and the sound quality is worse. "Mistake" features a prolonged drum solo. "Firedance" is another one where the vocals and sound disappoint. An incredible guitar solo though after 4 minutes.

Fans only for this one.Get the studio album if you can.