SI, PARTIE 1

Incredible how this stunning French progrock band succeeds to sound innovative after 40 years of progressive rock, Nemo is a genuine progressive rock band! A few years ago I got their second album entitled Présages as a promo and since then I am a fan from this band. I love their exciting and very progressive blend of rock, jazz, metal, symphonic and classic. Last year Nemo released the CD Immersion Publique - Live after three studio albums, unfortunately this was mostly overlooked on this site. So I hope that this new album will gain more attention, Nemo deserves worldwide recognition!

1. Douce Mort (14.24) : The first part starts with wonderful keyboard work (piano, strings, violin-Mellotron) and changes very flowing into Nemo their trademark: dynamic progrock featuring fiery and heavy guitarplay, sensational keyboard flights and an adventurous, powerful rhythm-section. The one moment it sounds very bombastic with organ floods and heavy guitar riffs, the other moment the atmosphere is mellow with fragile piano and and twanging guitars. The French vocals are very distinctive: varied and expressive but less theatrical than Christian Decamps from Ange.

2. Ici, maintenant (6.28) : It starts with classical piano and gradually turns into more bombastic featuring fiery electric guitar, sparkling piano play and dramatic vocals. The second part delivers a more mellow climate with piano and acoustic rhythm guitar.

3. Miroirs (6.40) : This track is based upon great interplay between guitar and keyboards, especially the spectacular synthesizer flights and heavy guitar riffs sound exciting!

4. Si (7.26) : A dreamy piece with melancholical vocals and twanging guitars, halfway a wonderful howling guitar solo. The final part sounds a bit too longwinding to me.

5. Apprentis Sorciers (19.59) : This is Nemo their 'magnum opus', the band at their best delivering a captivating and alternating 'progrock journey'. The first part contains a swinging up-tempo with powerful bass, fiery electric guitar and sparking piano and a howling guitar solo with great interplay between guitar, keyboards and rhythm-section. Then mellow organ waves and acoustic guitar culminating in a bombastic piece with wonderful violin play, exciting interplay and soli from wah-wah guitar and Fender Rhodes piano. The final part contains a compelling build-up with dreamy piano and emotional vocals and gradually swelling bombastic prog featuring fiery electric guitar, lush and varied keyboards and an excellent powerful electric guitar solo.

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I purchased this SOLELY based on previous reviews on this site as well as some VERY good recent french prog (Silver Lining, Seven Reizh, Xang, Taal and Maldoror: all EXCELLENT) and Guess What? This is a blast from the getgo. Absolutely riveting edgy prog from 4 kick ass musicians. The Louveton guitars are seductively powerful, very close to Maldoror's 6 stringer, devastatingly adapt at conveying the message. Keys, bass and drums add all the prowess associated with our beloved style: these guys can play. For those of us who speak french , we really do not see the outright similarities with Ange / Mona Lisa but to the non initiated, I guess the dramatics are typically french. Yes, this is very moody, atmospheric, theatrical and very inspired progressive rock of the finest vintage. I am striving to purchase their previous material that, by all accounts indicate more of the same. I have been playing this CD on my business trips throughout Western Canada and eliciting some real strange (but positive) looks from the locals when stopping at a traffic light. That alone proves that this CD deserves all the praise in the universe. Definitely check this out and see for yourself. 5 sub captains

This album has taken some time, like all the Nemo albums have, to really get into. But I think this one has taken even longer for me for some reason.

They start out the album, strengthening my Dream Theater comparisons on the last album, with the electronic blip sounds that ended the previous album. The comparisons pretty much end there though, as this band is much more interesting than DT and certainly can't be confined to the lable "prog metal".

I think what threw me off with this album is it is somewhat less complex than previous albums, and a bit more "arty". Perhaps a better way to say it is this is the most symphonic they have gotten on an album yet. Still, the Nemo sound is intact and there is no denying this is the same band. The new bassist, while good, seems a bit less talented than the previous one, but perhaps over the next few albums will show that observation to be false. In any case he certainly is not a detriment to the band or music.

First track, Douce Mort is a fairly dark and dynamic track that contains elements of their typical style mixed with some new elements. The main thing that is new, and perhaps is what threw me off on first hearing, is the darker, slower, more symphonic elements. The piano on this song is quite good and is featured in a few slower sections to great effect. Some of the heaviness of the previous album is found on this track, but over all this album seems to have left much of the Dream Theater prog metal behind. But, as always, Nemo leans towards the heavier end of the prog spectrum. Basically, this is great track that took some time for me to adjust to. But again, that is nothing new for Nemo and is often the sign of truely excellent prog rock.

Ici, Maintenant is another fine track, featuring a softer beginning and moving into more upbeat territory later on. Much more what I consider a "typical" Nemo type track (if there is such a thing).

Miroirs. For this track, we find ourselves back in the more prog metal territory of the previous album with JPL and Fontaine showing off their instrumental prowess to great effect. This is really the only song that compares to the previous album in terms of heaviness. A very good song.

The title track is classic Nemo. Starting off with quiet vibes (there seems to be at least one song on all their albums that starts off with and features them), this song features wonderful vocal melodies and becomes much heavier as it progresses. In fact, there is no doubt that this album features the best vocals by JPL on any of their albums overall. Good song.

The final epic, Apprentis Sorciers, features everything I love about Nemo and is by far their best epic. With one problem. I don't understand why the fade out at the end is so abrupt and happens just as what sounds like a fantastic guitar solo is hitting its stride. Perhaps since this album is Part 1 of a two album concept, this will make more sense when I hear the follow up. But for now this fade out really bothers me, as I don't usually like them to begin with, especially in prog. But with that gripe aside, this really is a great song.

So I struggled with this final rating, since this album did take some time to absorb and because I still find it to be somewhat lesser than their previous albums overall. But this feeling is, I believe, purely a matter of taste on my part. The musicianship is supurb, the writing well done, and the production first rate (especially for an indepent release). Due to the fact that I think this band deserves more attention than it gets, I am going with the full five stars. Though keep in mind I think this falls short of a masterpiece, but easily gets a solid 4.5 stars if not more. The only thing that probably keeps this band from having a larger appeal is the French vocals. But don't let that put you off. The singing, particularly on this release, is outstanding. And if you let non-english vocals put you off of prog albums, then you are missing a LOT of great music. Anyway, I highly recommend this album and band to anyone who enjoys somewhat heavier symphonic prog with some jazzy elements thrown in. Great stuff.

Of course you don't give 5 stars to any album, but this is one of those 5 stars albums!

The french band Nemo just keep getting better and better because this is IMO their best release to date. (It even beats Si Partie II :P) The Nemo sound is there as usual, but this time it's a concept album ( a trilogy if I am not mistaken actually ) and the lyrics really help a lot to appreciate the whole thing. The concept is about men fighting men, the questionning about whether science progress is good or not, if life in the future will be meaningless due to genetic transformations, etc. All of that is sung by a great french singer, who also plays the guitar at the same time. The music itself is superb; it only serves to complement the great story being told. There is a ballad on the album, which is really beautiful and along with 2 short songs there are 2 epics. The starting song and the end song are 16 and 20 minutes respectively and none of those minutes are lost.

Nemo really outdid themselves with this one and they are sure to please everybody who likes good symphonic rock! Don't hesitate, buy this one immediatly!

This is one of those perfect albums with which I can find no fault, and comfortably NEMO's finest moment (although their other albums are rather good too). The beautiful piano work, the interplay with the guitars, and great emotionally delivered vocals, all drawn together by some fantastic songwriting skills. Erik Neuteboom's review of the individual songs is perfectly accurate, so I wont repeat what has already been said. Suffice to say that the album is coherent, flowing beautifully from each song to the next, powerful, dramatic and engaging. This is essential modern prog, drawing some inspiration from some of the masters (hints of King Crimson, Pink Floyd and maybe even a tiny bit of Yes can be heard) while creating something unique and original. Highly recommended.

Very interesting release from France. These guys are experts at contrasting the mellow and heavy passages, and besides they also use mellotron. Enough said ? Not quite.The vocals are in French and add a nice flavour to their sound as he can be quite theatrical at times. I've really grown to love this record and like tszirmay said in his review i'm going to seek out their back catalogue now.

"Douce Mort" features so many tempo and mood shifts, but at almost 17 minutes in length you'd hope it would right ? It opens with different sounds coming and going including piano, drums, mellotron and guitar with no real melody until after 2 minutes. And it's a good one, with a nice heavy sound. It settles right down after 3 minutes and whispered vocals arrive a minute later that build in strength as mellotron waves wash in. This is all so good. The tempo picks right up as a full sound comes in. Vocals follow. We get some heaviness for 2 minutes.Yes ! A calm returns 8 minutes in with lots of piano for 2 more minutes. More heaviness, and it sounds amazing ! It's very catchy 14 minutes in as vocals, guitar, synths and bass lead the way to the end of the song. The bass is quite heavy. "Ici, Maintenant" opens with piano as reserved vocals come in. Heavy drums and guitar 1 1/2 minutes in as passionate vocals arrive. Great passage ! A calm after 3 minutes is broken 4 minutes in as it gets heavy with organ added this time. Ripping guitar follows. Vocals after 5 minutes are back. The final minute of the song is mellow with strummed guitar and vocal melodies. "Miroirs" opens with riffs as the organ screams. It settles when vocals come in. Lots of synths 3 minutes in and a heavy sound 4 1/2 minutes in. The vocals are almost spoken at this point although they become strong to end the song. "Si" is so fragile for the first 2 1/2 minutes as vocals tremble and keys and bass lightly play. Drums start to change that 2 1/2 minutes in. Here we go after 4 minutes as it gets heavier. Guitar solo 5 minutes in with some strong vocals a minute later with organ runs.

"Apprentis Sorciers" is the 20 minute closer, it opens with some fine bass as piano, guitar and drums create a jazzy flavoured sound. Synths open the way for a terrific guitar solo. This leads to a full sound 4 1/2 minutes in as organ arrives, and it sounds great. It calms down quickly before building to a powerful sound 7 minutes in. A catchy section follows that is again sort of jazzy before a guitar solo 9 minutes in. The song pretty much becomes silent 10 1/2 minutes in before vocals and then piano come back. Some bluesy guitar after 12 minutes. It's building again in power until 14 1/2 minutes in we're there. Nice. It settles right down again to a beautiful section with piano,guitar,light drums and then vocals 16 1/2 minutes in.Moving. It's slowly building until an incredible sound 18 minutes in including vocal melodies. The final minute is brighter with some great drumming, piano and guitar.

This was such a pleasure to listen to at the end of this long winter we've had. Prog helps when spring seems so far away. Lots of snow still just like on the album cover.

I will happily call this album the greatest of the year. Nemo all take the progress that was made with the fantastic Prélude à la ruine, all the potential that they have shown elsewhere, and make good on it. Whereas Prélude had 11 songs, here we find only 5, but each song here is not only lengthy, but extremely polished and individually characteristic. In this department, the sort of albums I feel compare to Si pt I are Close to the Edge, Relayer, Selling England by the Pound &c.

Lyrically, Si pt I is far darker than any of the previous albums; nowhere is this more in evidence than in the opener, the spectacular Douce Mort, perhaps their best song, certainly one of the bestmini-epics I have heard. Elsewhere, there is bombast and power in Ici, Maintenant, energy and drama in Miroirs, and a spectacular epic in Apprentis Sorciers. Si, meanwhile, which I guess has no little importance as the title track for the whole two album concept, competes with Douce Mort in quality; this is the perhaps the finest prog ballad ever written.

What with he quality of song-writing display here, the amount of depth in the structuring and flow of each piece, the array of brilliant musical ideas on offer, I struggle to think of any album by a contemporary prog band that is of the same stature. The sheer consistancy is what is especially impressive, as every single one of these songs would stand up against the finest few, if not the finest of all, written by most other bands, even great ones. I really cannot praise this album enough. Simply stunning.

Nemo's fourth studio album Si Partie 1 is much more mature, than it's predecessors. It captivate with its compact sound and complex compositions. Despite, not being with perfect musicianship and without any mistakes in the transition moments, it contains very strong compositions full of energy and original ideas. Remarkable songwriting for the album! Si Partie 1 consists of more agressive guitar works, than its successors, which alternate with some jazz elements (of course, the typical trademark of Nemo). I think you don't have to miss this album, because all songs and compositions worth. I can't mention favourite songs, because all of them are probably equally good. Perhaps Apprentis Sorciers (the last and the longest composition) contains the best moments on the album! All of them are quite over the middle quality, because of their feeling, that exceptional thin melancholic line and that dramatical french sense of making art. Almost full 4 stars and yet little under!

This album has taken some time, like all the Nemo albums have, to really get into. But I think this one has taken even longer for me for some reason.

They start out the album, strengthening my Dream Theater comparisons on the last album, with the electronic blip sounds that ended the previous album. The comparisons pretty much end there though, as this band is much more interesting than DT and certainly can't be confined to the label "prog metal".

I think what threw me off with this album is it is somewhat less complex than previous albums, and a bit more "arty". Perhaps a better way to say it is this is the most symphonic they have gotten on an album yet. Still, the Nemo sound is intact and there is no denying this is the same band. The new bassist, while good, seems a bit more talented than the previous one, though certainly the previous bassist was no slouch.

First track, Douce Mort is a fairly dark and dynamic track that contains elements of their typical style mixed with some new elements. The main thing that is new, and perhaps is what threw me off on first hearing, is the darker, slower, more symphonic elements. The piano on this song is quite good and is featured in a few slower sections to great effect. Some of the heaviness of the previous album is found on this track, but over all this album seems to have left much of the Dream Theater prog metal behind. But, as always, Nemo leans towards the heavier end of the prog spectrum. Basically, this is great track that took some time for me to adjust to. But again, that is nothing new for Nemo and is often the sign of truly excellent prog rock.

Ici, Maintenant is another fine track, featuring a softer beginning and moving into more upbeat territory later on. Much more what I consider a "typical" Nemo type track (if there is such a thing).

Miroirs. For this track, we find ourselves back in the more prog metal territory of the previous album with JPL and Fontaine showing off their instrumental prowess to great effect. This is really the only song that compares to the previous album in terms of heaviness. A very good song.

The title track is classic Nemo. Starting off with quiet vibes (there seems to be at least one song on all their albums that starts off with and features them), this song features wonderful vocal melodies and becomes much heavier as it progresses. In fact, there is no doubt that this album features the best vocals by JPL on any of their albums so far. Good song.

The final epic, Apprentis Sorciers, features everything I love about Nemo and is by far their best epic. With one problem. I don't understand why the fade out at the end is so abrupt and happens just as what sounds like a fantastic guitar solo is hitting its stride. Having heard the following album, it does indeed start with this fading back in, but it still bothers me and feels like the song has been cut short (and the following album is just not as good as this one). But with that gripe aside, this really is a great song.

So I struggled with this final rating, since this album did take some time to absorb and because this is still a fairly recent and "new" band. The musicianship is superb, the writing well done, and the production first rate (especially for an independent release). Due to the fact that I think this band deserves more attention than it gets, I am going with the full five stars. Though keep in mind I think this falls short of a masterpiece, but easily gets a solid 4.5 stars if not more. The only thing that probably keeps this band from having a larger appeal is the French vocals. But don't let that put you off. The singing, particularly on this release, is outstanding. And if you let non-English vocals put you off of prog albums, then you are missing a LOT of great music. Anyway, I highly recommend this album and band to anyone who enjoys somewhat heavier symphonic prog with some jazzy elements thrown in. Great stuff.

"Si Partie I" is an amazing album from one of the most creative, eclectic bands of these days. Fresh sounds and complex instrumentals make this album to a truly highlight of French progressive movement. Although I don't understand the lyrics, I like the French language and I think it fits perfect in progressive rock, Vocals in French are theatrical, melodic and sentimental, what we can hear, for example, on so appreciated ?Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison" This album full of emotional vocal parts is still convincing me to discover another bands from France and Nemo is truly worth of attention on this note.

What we have on the record are five strong tracks and classic structure with two epics, one on the beginning and one on the end of the album. I 'm more into the first one "Douce Mort". A magnificent beginning and numerous tempo changes make this track very dramatic. There are also a quite a few catchy moments on the record as on the end of "Douce Mort".

What makes the album one-of-a-kind is the vintage feeling what I really get only by releases from the seventies. It also could be called eclectic feeling, because it's somehow characteristic for bands in this genre. "Si Partie 1" doesn't lack of experimental parts and includes numerous innovative instrumentals. I consider the last track as the most creative relating to instrumental work. "Apprentis Sorciers" is a bit harder to get into, but it's truly a source of instrumental ideas. As opposed to that, the most remarkable track is for sure the title track "Si", particularly for expressive vocals and unique, dramatic composition. This release from Nemo is really worth listening and together with the second part a perfect introduction to this band.

A rich, dense and intelligent album by a group that really deserves more attention from prog rock fans. Clearly, most of the people on this site, when they listne to Nemo's albums appreciate their value, but I do think that their talent is not as known as it should (yes, I am a big fan of this group).

Their music blends several sources which are dominated by heavy/metal and symphonic prog, but including other elements such as jazz, funk, classic or folk. I could compare them to a lot of prog rock giants, but this wouldn't help very much, because they really succed in creating their own sound based on different influences.

For a detailed review about the songs on this album, I recommend you the review by Erik Neuteboom: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=70898

In fact Nemo pays very much attention to all aspects of their album: the CD artwork is good (maybe a bit less on this particular album, but still a interesting and in line with the music and lyrics. The songs themes are dense also.

For instance, Monsanto is the central theme of "Apprentis Sorciers" ("Sorcerer's Apprentice"), calling attention to the dangers of genetic engineering, and especially to the fact that a group of people can control the production of food at a global level. "Ici et Maintenant" ("Here and Now") is a thought comparing the fear of death to a "cul-de-sac", while we should make better use of the present. Note such a summary in a nutshell doesn't translate the quality of the writing, which opens doors without giving straight answers.

No doubt that Nemo is fully in line with the spirit of 70's prog rock: an attempt to make rock a real artistic work, and avoid easy or commercial recipes.

A confident and competent symphonic prog concept album by Nemo, who don't flinch from incorporating aspects of other musical genres (jazz in particular) into their playing if it'll help the compositions, Si Partie 1 sits in that very theatrical tradition of French progressive rock which flows from bands such as Ange. However, whilst Ange could sometimes let the theatrical side of their music outweigh the progressive side of it, Nemo do no such thing, constantly finding new ways to incorporate the influence of bands such as King Crimson or Van der Graaf Generator into their sound. I wouldn't call it a flat-out classic but it is a masterful effort.