MAGMA [AKA: KOBAÏA]

Magma's fascinating, if overlong debut is generally not associated with the proper Zeuhl genre they're known for inventing, but it's funny how many descriptors are nonetheless common between the two. Classical composition is blended with jazz fusion of the weirdest order, in far too sporadic a manner to rightly compare it to the Third Stream composers who tackled similar marriages of style. Christian Vander formed the band to fill the void left by the passing of jazz genius John Coltrane; given the extreme expectations he had placed on himself and his work at such a young age, it is little wonder that Kobaia is so ambitious in its undertaking. That Kobaia often stumbles on its own weight can be excused in hindsight. Magma's reach had not yet matched their aims, but the ground they covered here sounds much fresher today than the output of most of their contemporaries.

It's nigh-impossible to consider Kobaia without comparing it to their full-bodied albums. While the lack of sophisticated vocal arrangements is enough to distinguish the album from Zeuhl proper, I get the sense that Magma didn't yet have the confidence necessary for effective minimalism. Even at their least inspired, Magma would have no trouble taking an idea beyond their expected limit. Repetition has long been one of Christian Vander's greatest allies, and while it is no doubt used by some lesser musicians as a way to needlessly extend, or 'pad' their material, Magma has usually operated with the confidence that their ideas are worth repeating.

With Kobaia, Magma harness their weird ideas in a more economical (read: conventional) way. The tracks will hop-- sometimes abruptly so-- between ideas, jumping from driving fusion to abstract free jazz or classical or ambient soundscapes as if Vander had an eye on the clock and his heart set on impressing his target audience as much as possible within the given time. There is a bit of irony between this and the fact that Kobaia is nearly an hour and a half in length-- that's something you don't often see in debuts even nowadays. Clearly Magma had a lot they wanted to say this first time around.

Fortunately, most of it is really good. I've said many times that the first few minutes of the title track "Kobaia" will be etched into my psyche 'til the day I die. The bass groove is as good as any I've heard in jazz or rock. While Christian Vander had already founded the invented Kobaian language and put it to favourably weird effect (see: the song titles) the vocals themselves are fairly weak. Stella Vander and the otherwise feminine side of Magma is nowhere in sight on Kobaia, and while Christian would become a legendary vocalist himself, the singers here are quiet and unsuspecting. The title track can also be used as a good example of the album's aforementioned issue with confidence in its own ideas. Halfway through, the song breaks down, giving up its momentum abruptly to develop upon entirely unrelated experimental ideas. The new approach isn't necessarily uninteresting, but it does nothing to further the progress they had already made.

While the album's first disc is relatively strong, the latter half makes me wonder if Magma really needed double the usual time to introduce themselves. The latter half is decidedly more experimental and hazy; it's pretty common to hear the band transforming their approach several times within one track. Although the band are usually interesting whether they're playing jazz or symphonic prog or some avant-classical manifestation, the music becomes less about great compositions than it is about strong individual ideas. Once again, this is in keeping with the idea that Magma had amazing creativity early on, but lacked the confidence and tact to put it to its fullest potential. While nothing else on the album dares to hit me as hard as the first song, the only full-fledged blunder on Kobaia is "Stoah", an annoying wreck of a piece that drifts aimlessly from one irritating prospect to another. Of course-- I'm sure there are fans out there who will disagree with that last opinion; it's arguably the first recorded instance where the sonorities of the Kobaian language are given front-centre attention, but it's always struck me as an obnoxious handling of ingredients they would later go on to perfect.

One way to appreciate what Magma with Kobaia is to compare it to the debuts of some of the other progressive rock legends. Yes and Genesis introduced themselves as relatively typical hard rock and pop exploits respectively. Pink Floyd and Gentle Giant both released arguably better debuts than Magma's, but even then, neither offered such a departure from familiarity as Kobaia. The only other progressive debut that made such a forward-thinking artistic declaration was King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, whose legendary status no doubt precedes it. In hindsight, Kobaia is rough and flawed, and it would not be long before Magma left it in the dust, but the surge of untempered creativity is a must-listen for fans of the band.

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