MERCI

Call it sacrilege. Call it heresy. Call it blasphemy. Call it what you will, but I really like this record!! Perhaps to the chagrin of Prog purists, I am also a huge fan of funk, soul, and R&B music...particularly that from the years 1969-1985. This record is a middle ground between two of my loves...Magma's Zeuhl music and straight up funky soul! The tribute to the late Otis Redding would only work on a record like this, but it has no doubt become the standout classic from this outing, and a moving tribute it is, if not a little alien...but then, consider the source!

I rather like the Linn Drum programmed beats found here...it's the 1980's after all...I think they work splendidly in this context. The brass is tight and funky, the arrangements are sleek and sophisticated without being cheesy...I must say that it's strange hearing Vander and Co. singing in my native English language however!! I'm not sure what Magma were trying to accomplish with this outing, but just as the visionary, the genius, Miles Davis was venturing into more mainstream pop territory at this same time (see YOU'RE UNDER ARREST), I see this as just another facet to the incessant experimentation that endears Magma to us all.

Let it be said that this cannot be compared to the masterworks of Magma's heyday (you know the ones, I don't need to list them!), just as one cannot compare Yes' 90125 with the classics such as CLOSE TO THE EDGE or RELAYER. This is an entirely different animal, but one that I find quite satisfying in its own way.

Bottom Line: If you liked ATTAHK, and you don't mind a bit of pop sensibility, and a bit of 80's trappings, you will certainly enjoy MERCI! It's still Zeuhl...in places.

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