EGNA

It appears that Christian Descamps once said that if one Ange album was an anagram of the band's name, it would mean the end of it. We know by now that Ange will still release lots of album after this one, but we remain really in the very poor territority with "Egna", believe me.

No question of prog here. I can cope with the facxt that a band has to evolve but the change of musical direction is completely unbelievable in the case of Ange.

Unfortunately, "Egna" will be the sixth poor Ange album in a row. We are zillion miles away of their brilliant music of the seventies. I can understand that a band is less inspired but with this regularity is rather unexpected. The opening number "C'est Après Coup Que Ca Fait Mal" is absolutely dreaful.

The first song to escape this awful sound is "Les Dessins Animés". But its spacey background music won't save it from mediocrity. Ange will even propose a mellow and naive rock/pop/ballad with "Coeur De Paille Coeur De Pierre". Press next.

Of course, the rock FM style won't be ignored : "Le Dernier Romantique" has nothing to do with romanticism. Pure boredom.

After a weak intro "Le Cul Qui Jazze", is probably the least weak number on this album. But this jazz-rock piece is far from being great. The second average song on this album is the closing number "Tout Comme Dans Un Livre". A melodic rock ballad. At least it is bearable. But there are hundreds of French songs of that type produced every year; so one really deserves more from Ange. But again, not this time.

One miserable little star.

Egna is Ange 1986,and the music is different from their classic 70's days in as much as shorter,snappier songs with strong guitar,synth strings ( not the Vicount organ here!),and a more 80's new romantic beat. As a progressive rock album,this is not,maybe apart from the moody closer Tout Comme dans Un Livre.As an album by Ange I would repeatedly listen to - yes certainly. Love Le Cul Qui Jazze.Love Christian's voice and performance.Les Dessins Animes is another Jour Apres Jour- lovely and delicate.The final track is nearer the Ange of the classic period. So as a prog album,no - as an album by a prog band,good.

Egna from 1984 is perhaps a little bit better than Fou! It is Ange's twelfth record and made in the same year as Tou! The cover picture is mostly blue and shows the name of the band as a reflection, which throws around the letters to "Egna". We can se two legs in the air and a woman in the top. Christian Descamps, Francis Descamps, Serge Cuenot, Laurent Sigrist, Francis Meyer and Martine Kesselburg made this record which is far from fantastic.

The sound of these songs is not special at all. The spirit is plastic and uninspired. I miss something unique or more honest. This music is just too bland. Some songs are nice. My favourite is the soft typical eighties song "Coeur de paille coeur de pierre" with great melody, vocals and for sure saxophone(6/10). Also "Tout comme dans un livre" is a nice and melodic track(6/10). I also find something of spirit in "Fais pas la Guele"(5/10) and the vocal work must be acknowledged in "Le cul qui Jazze"(4/10). But otherwise is the record very boring and have not anything particularly of interest. There's no prog to find here and perhaps you will find something else. The music doesn't sound very bad but for existing here at Prog Archives it is quite bad. I recommend the tracks five and eight and give the record two stars.

Listen to: "Coeur de paille coeur de pierre" and "Tout comme dans un livre".

1 C'est Après Coup Que Ça Fait Mal frank attack, rock prog pop from the 80s with the dry side of the drums and synths, the mold becoming YES or ASIA; in short, new-wave has passed there and there is electro too, a new genre, Martine's voice coming to support the Father, a zest of jazzy with a fresh groove, a avant le cul that jazzes in fact, would there be a link?; the medical break with SERRA's bass, on 'Subway' and before the phenomenal 'Le grand bleu'; the c'est l'amour? which refers for a time to 'Fou' but that's all: in short, Laurent scratches well and Serge's solo is very much in tune with the times; but it hurts the old fans to see their group evolve; long repetitive outro 2 Fais Pas La Gueule! yes that's the goal, a title that shows the path that music took during the 80s, synthetic, cold above all, even Francis' languorous keyboard becomes Olympian on a snowy mountain; the Kleenex rock sound comes a little here by offering a very nice soft melody but where the duration and the end demonstrate a certain weariness 3 Rewatch The Witches of Salem? ah the synth in front and the air that wants to be progressive, in search, a form of latency that hits the mark; Christian tries between the softness and the choir with Martine again who comes to support him; the typical sound, a superb guitar solo and Francis who launches fruity notes, very much in tune with the times; but where are these witches in fact? Oh I forgot, a finale that rocks 4 Les Dessins Animés on the keyboard, a phonic whiff of 'La gare de Troyes', it's the voice that also starts on 'Par les fils de Mandrin', a melting pot of the progressive sound of the 80s that necessarily adapted to not die again and again; Francis' velvety synth always melts me.

5 C?ur De Paille, C?ur De Pierre go sax plays; a beautiful melody with proven spleen; a marshmallow romance that gives change, where the prog spirit is nothing more than smoke; the sax typical of the 80s after the heroic one of the 70s of SUPERTRAMP; the end is near there, FM rock with a French sauce 6 Le Dernier Romantique for the title that still appeals to me; an attempt at nervous rock, an attempt at fishing, but not romantic, ANGE has gone on a soft new-wave attempt, surfing on a number of wandering groups, there remains the monolithic bass to hold on to; well let's talk about this break where the imprint of YES from '90125' is very present, Serge's acid solo is the most of this repetitive title which takes place in lack of romanticism, snub 7 Le Cul Qui Jazze ... well let's be clear, 'Fou' had amazed me 2 years earlier for this gentle madness; this piece from the intro has a bit under the leg; crazy intro plus symphonic rise, I knew that ANGE was not dead; this solemn synth so in phase for 2 minutes and that's enjoyable; after the bellows comes down a little with the air on Michel JONASZ, well it's cool but it stands out; let's be clear we'll have to get used to it; the more this outro that comes back to the base, let's resume the normal course of this ... Dolby finale, a must progressive enjoyable 8 Tout Comme Dans Un Livre and finally the 2nd title of more than 5mn; the melting intro, the guitar solo that spurts out suddenly; it settles down, Christian has a very beautiful voice, I insist; the air come on I like to quote APSARAS for his ambient electronic music, soft as a tangy Harlequin, a chorus with the word that makes us all dream, the word Absolute and a guitar solo for the slow of the 80s that kills; come on my girlfriend so we can have a ... slow between us, just like in a book; ah ANGE will surprise me again and again, this piece is immense whatever people say! (2.5) (4 for the two last).