NOIR & BLANC

French guitarist/bassist/singer Jean-Pierre Louveton begun his career as a teenager in late-80's with the Heavy Metal band Anesthesia, moving to several small groups in the 90's, like Hard Rock band Lazy Lizard, Funk Rock act Lazy, Jazz/Fusion band No Comprendo and others, before settling at the end of the decade, forming Nemo, one of the significant names of later-day Prog.Simultaneously he started working on solo albums, releasing ''Bienvenue sur la terre'' in 2002 and ''Noir & blanc'' the following year.Among the album's participants one finds Nemo's keyboardist and Louveton's bandmate Guillaume Fontaine.

''Noir & blanc'' is a nice example of Louveton's diversity as a composer.Basically a Guitar Rock release, ''Noir & blanc'' borrows influences from French Rock, Jazz/Fusion, Progressive Rock and Pop Rock and mixes them into a decent amalgam of instrumental and vocal tracks, that sounds charming, though not as compelling or even powerful as NEMO's works.Part of the album sounds like later-era ANGE or MONA LISA, residing into the melodic side of French Art Rock and containing very warm vocal parts and a few striking melodies, followed by memorable themes, always led by Louveton's guitar runs.The instrumental ones are a different story.They remind a lot of Canadian bands in the vein of KARCIUS and SPACED OUT, heavily driven by Louveton's virtuosic guitar workouts and dynamic solos amd having overall a strong Jazz/Fusion edge.At moments the musician seems to visit his early career with the music being based on angular riffs and more powerful rhythm guitars in the harder moments or even having a funky vibe in the shorter instrumental pieces.Fontaine's contribution, although rather limited, adds a beautiful color in the instrumental parts, offering good orchestral keyboards or more atmospheric synth lines, not very far from the work of the duo with NEMO.

This album has a chance to be appreciated by a wide range of Rock fans.Guitar Rock buffers will taste another decent discovery, lovers of French Art/Rock will get another enjoyable listening and followers of more technical and Fusion works will be blown away by Louveton's accomplished talent.Recommended.