L'HEPTADE

This is HARMONIUM's third album and it does differ from the first two folkish albums. Drums are present this time and an orchestra. Not a fan of the latter, or the fact that this a double concept album. In fact I really didn't enjoy this recording that much. There were a few bursts of joy from me, but only a few. There are seven long songs along with an intro, an epilogue, and a short orchestral piece. I believe the seven songs represent the seven states of consciousness.

"Prologue" is pastoral with orchestral sounds.They get louder and settle back throughout. "Comme Un Fou" opens with vocals, acoustic guitar and piano as it builds. Drums and bass before 2 minutes as it gets fuller. It settles back as contrasts continue. Some mellotron in this one. I really like the catchy section before 5 minutes. "Sommeil Sans Reves" is a short pastoral orchestral piece. "Chanson Noire" opens with vocals, bass and drums. Some flute and acoustic guitar join in. Piano 2 minutes in as the tempo picks up. The tempo continues to shift. Horns and mellotron too. "L'appel / Le Premier Ciel" has these reserved vocals as violin comes in. The guitar replaces the violin. The tempo picks up after 3 minutes as it becomes catchy with vocal melodies. "Sur Une Corde Raide / L'exil" opens with strings then it turns mellow. Soft vocals after a minute but they do get passionate at times. The sound builds after 9 1/2 minutes as it kicks back in with vocals.

Disc two begins with "Le Corridor". This is again pastoral with piano and reserved vocals for the most part. It's better before 4 minutes as we get some acoustic guitar and some atmosphere with no vocals. Thankyou ! Orchestration 7 minutes in. "Les Premiers Lumieres / Lumieres De Vie" features more piano, acoustic guitar and almost spoken vocals. Some strings after 4 minutes and orchestration after 12 minutes. "Prelude D'amour / Comme Un Sage" opens with strings and harp. Yikes ! Acoustic guitar and almost spoken vocals around a minute. Male and female vocals in this one. Mellotron too along with more orchestration. This might be the best track actually other than the intro. "Epilogue" has these orchestral sounds throughout.

Man i'm not a fan of Classical music or this long double album. Many consider this a masterpiece though and I can understand where they're coming from. Just not my kind of music.