ART ZOYD 3 [AKA: SYMPHONIE POUR LE JOUR OÙ BRÛLERONT LES CITÉS]

I wonder how many people here have actually heard the first Art Zoyd LP? The line-up listed above is for the third LP -- the re-recorded version from July 1980. The original Lp was recorded in 1976 and released in such small quantities that it went out of print very quickly.

The first LP is from a stripped down band calling itself Art Zoyd 3. The LP version is definitely a masterpiece. The sound is crystal clear, instruments stand out. An analogy would be when Stravinski moved from the large orchestral sound of "Le Sacre du Printemps" to his Baroque period -- the goal was clarity. Art Zoyd had that sound right away. On no LP does Soarez' trumpet sound so "up front" and clear.

For the record, the line-up for the original LP version of this was Alain Eckert, guitar; Gerald Hourbette, viola; Thierry Zaboitzeff, bass & cello; Jean-Pierre Soarez, trumpet -- that's it, just a quartet.

But the LP is a rare, rare collectors item.

So what about the CD reissue? It is a masterpiece, as well. Most of the music is duplicated almost exactly, but with additional musicians. The one piece that sounds very different is Masques, which omits a few themes and keeps nocturnal.

In the end, there are two "Art Zoyds": the Zeuhl-like chamber rock band of the first few LPs, and the electronic modernists of the latter CDs. The first band broke new ground and, along with early Univers Zero, created a whole new "progressive" sound.

If you ever find yourself able to get the real first LP -- do it. But if not, the CD re-recording will do in a pinch. Both are worth five stars. (And then there is "Musique pour l'odyssee"!)