MAHJUN

It's unknown to me what happened between the 1971-73 period, but there is a number of reasons to believe that Maajun were put on ice and regrouped again by their leader Jean-Louis Mahjun: First comes the change of name, which was now simple the surname of the leader.Then, it is the revived line-up, which featured only Jean-Pierre Arnoux from the first album.P. Beaupoil was now on bass/percussion/piano, Haira on organ, P. Rigaud on saxophone/trumpet and D. Barouh/Mouna on voices.The band even got a signing from the Saravah label and went on to its private studio for a second album.Here comes yet another reason to proove the fresh start of the band.The album was titled simply ''Mahjun'' and it was released in 1973.

The variations between the old Maajun and the new Mahjun do not stop here, because soundwise there are quite a few differences between the two albums.The presented work was now much closer to Jazz Rock with some dark and furious saxes in evidence, passing through more experimental Avant Folk fields with ethnic tunes and throwing in some strong elements from FRANK ZAPPA's humourous edges, both in the lyrical and music department.''Mahjun'' appears to contain elements even from Circus, Theater and Cabaret Music, led by the massive trumpet and the happy sax tunes.There are still some VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR touches in their style, but they have drowned into a mystical world of experimental, disjointed ideas.Apart from some short and directionless pieces with elements from Jazz and Ethnic Music, the album is certainly driven by its two long tracks.''Les enfants sauvages'' is a decent effort into Ethnic Jazz with crying saxes and trumpets, flavored by nice female vocals and percussion with only occasional help by the bass and electric guitar.Pretty weird stuff, but it has the charm of the genuine debut of the band.Unfortunately I cannot be that kind with the 13-min. ''Chez planos'', which is actually an attempt on Experimental Folk with some jazzy vibes, having a rather minimalistic sound and the sporadic, richer moments are only saved by a good rhythm section and the interactions between the trumpet and sax, but these minutes are too limited to appreciate this piece.

Much dissapointed by this effort, after listening to a very promising debut.It could be a nice addition for fans of Ethnic Music and Jazz Rock, but be warned that there are plenty of atonal and misleading parts in here.Not my cup of tea for sure...2.5 stars.