GERARD MANSET

Gerard Manset is a singer/ songwriter from France who plays piano, and he made a name for himself in France during the seventies. This particular album "La Mort d'Orion"(Death of Orion) is like a symphony for the end of the World. A melancholic album with plenty of vocals and spoken words from Gerard, plus we have male and female guest singers. And a string quartet! This comes across as very orchestral, string driven music with plenty of french vocals. A low key affair for the most part.

And while this may be his most celebrated work, and from 1970, it would be his 1975 release "Y'a Une Route" that sold 300,000 copies that would put Manset on the map. He was horrified. He never played live, feeling it was like being in a zoo. Never gave interviews or promotional appearances. I like this guy. He was a painter and very artistic with other interests so he certainly didn't need to stay in the music business if he didn't want to. But he did, and has released something like 25 studio albums including one this year!

The site shows the self titled opening track as being 24 1/2 minutes long which is shown on some issues. My cd has that track broken down into five named songs starting with "Introduction" and ending with "Final". And the self titled track is in there at song two and almost 8 1/2 minutes. So a little different than the original vinyl releases. I was into my second spin of this one when later in it I said to myself "There is something special about this record".

No it's not exactly my style with the vocals so prominent including the reading of texts and poetry, or the orchestral stuff, but I can't deny that between Gerard's vocals and those strings I'm sold on this. Maybe not as much as I am on some of my favourite solo artists like Pascal Duffard, Franco Battiato, Alan Sorrenti, Claudio Rocchi and many more, but it's that inventiveness and uniqueness that seems to rise to the top with these artists from Italy and France. I should mention there is sitar on here as well, and flute along with drums at times. The liner notes fail to tell us the instruments and players involved, just the vocalists.

A low 4 stars for this one, but I can't deny that there's something special about this recording.

— First review of this album —

'Comment tu t'appelle' written 19 years ago, 80s sound with the sax for a nocturnal ballad with the unknown of the night and this instantly recognizable tune and the heady chorus. 'It's always her' for one of the two big pieces and the reason for this column here; a melodic crescendo in the Manset vein with violin, drums and languorous vocals, echoes, redundancies to hypnotize the listener; the drug takes effect with this melodic and haunting title until the repetitive finale, on an absurd kidnapping story. Bewitching 'L'algae bleue', already heard and already in our heads with its heady riff between solemn blues and western music on repeat and the memory of the seaweed of Copacabana; addictive metronomic atmosphere defying time. 'Paradise Lost' with the piano, a solemn anthem with its phrasing voice, a morbid tone and raw images of naked children on a beach invaded by conquistadors. His gravelly voice on the acoustic guitar emanating oozing spleen, a crude keyboard pushing down the progressive melodic vein.

'Missing your life' with a piano over a narration to reassure yourself that you have to move or miss your life; relentless moment on his resonating, reasoning voice; divine orchestral rise and a marked depressive defeatist opinion. 'Monsieur' with a 60's organ continues to recount a moment of life; a voice duet with Lisa Spada as a guest who paraphrases, who tires, who bewitches; a hymn to the growing child becoming a gentleman set to warm orchestration.'Melancholy' is like rain; Minimal arpeggio tune then orchestrates in the distance for a spleen dripping with deep sadness. 'On the moon we dance' cinematic intro if he knows it exists; the rhythm starts with a convoluted dub reggae, surely due to the fact that there is no air on the moon; a trippy and compulsive title and a meeting on the edge of a crater with progressive content. 'We'll hide together' soft, crystal clear arpeggio of warm guitar; a grave rhyme of rabbits running through a patch of wild thyme, yes you read that right; the ferret is the bad guy, yes, yes, yes, for those who have already listened; the slap in the face of an insipid text on a tragedy of life.(3.5 originally on Progcensor)

— First review of this album —

1In A Country Of Gingerbread ... its modern, a good point, it had to be; the bass and the synth give the rhythm, a female voice denotes, why not it feels like you're in the islands, not worse; Gérard equal to himself with his voice, his words; ah he sentences again; his lyrics always intoxicating, ah but you have to get used to this too cold drum machine 2Le Crabe Aux Pinces D'homme returns to the sound of yesteryear, so much so that I hear snippets of Jean- Patrick with his crystalline guitar; frantic rhythm, trumpets, cheerful; more texts that you have to ask yourself to... listen to, the music wants to be consensual, more supportive, he said; well the trumpet-piano and overplayed bass variation, you have to swallow it... he said the Javanese pajamas well we know where we are 3 Hope beautiful heavy guitar with phrasing, we return to his previous albums, which I don't like; age, the desire to change, all that on a basic guitar arpeggio, it's very little, it's too little; yes it is well recorded but his words which made me dream no longer work... his age? his inclinations with little girls who wore white dresses? This implication irritates me from now on; yes the guitar is warm, warm, but too suggestive of his inclinations, ah hope was there freedom there? And the fox and the weasel were TRI-YANN, that's all; well finally the bomb that fell happened in 40 and so we are far from what you imagined 4 Pantera with ultra bass and organ for a title sailing between MANSET and CABREL, incredible with these backing vocals and the air that takes you away whether you listen to its words or not; the minimal but thunderous orchestration at the same time, much more modern and that's a plus even if it's a lot at once, MANSET evolves and kills the panther to save his skin 5 Marilou‐Marilou... lost illusions of a youth, of a lost love, of a youth where life was good in France; a sound with organ of the time, just to try to conquer Marilou and the western slide guitar just to have time to go up Route 66! Otherwise how does he manage to be able to speak-paraphrase for almost a quarter of an hour, he who was well known for his repeated verses...there it is torrent galore; the good part if Gérard doesn't want to go on the airwaves, he will be served there; if he would like to go on the airwaves, well that will pose a problem in the long run; but hey that would be known if we put quality on the airwaves 6 Black Sandals with the return of the echoing, redundant voice, finally you understand me; intimate ballad there, spleen guitar solo and stopping the electro synths for good 7 Leave us but leave me, where I feel the southern atmosphere, the warm one, for the long sunny evenings; and the return of his vocal technique, I always love that 8 A Love Story as an intimate lullaby for a moment of solitude or how to fall... in love! 9 But She Is There ah, she is there for the title lament, with a contemplative and depressive air, with a desire to heal her wounds, to move forward to avoid remaining in the past; the orchestration is intended to be dark, melancholic to leave this adventure cheerful 10 La Fontaine De La Vérité D'amour for the last title and a title with sung vocals and phrasing; the languorous violin behind the trademark and the electronic percussion more in the background... that you know it! The plus for the Manset versions for a while now is the melancholic slide base which no longer transports you to Thailand but to the great lands of the western; for his texts, listen and you will know more.

MANSET or how to achieve excellence far from the tumultuous world! 1 Kingdom Of Siam or the perfect title; my first listen, violins as required, dynamic drums, the soft guitar that comes from behind, the magnificent sithare that squirts and the air from there, just... perfect, the voice, his voice in reverberation, something of his own 2 Balanced the tune that hooks you from the start, the strident guitar, the redundant chorus, well remixed, yes the first version is more and more has-been and you have to listen to Manset the goldsmith who likes to rework his compositions; in short, do not swing to see the difference; what in the ditch more; the monotone tone is amplified by trumpets, yes the kind of instrument that repulses me but which has the opposite effect, ah if I could understand everything; I whisper his texts, I invest them, I incorporate them 3 The Sea Has Not Ceased to Descend Well I'll be quick, I love 3 titles more than anything including this one; why I don't know, probably an overdose at the time; today what is left apart from this bewitching voice, these texts... always the same one wanting to be right, this synth just neither too soft nor too present; in short a mantra this title that I can repeat in my head to fall asleep, that's how; captivating tune despite the very short duration of the pieces; what prog blood could flow in short titles too, but yes my brave sir, ah how I would like this expression to rub off on you 4 When Tu Portes guitar arpeggio in coulis on a flight of melancholic violins or how to fly away to the lands of Siam; a metronomic bass as a base and the journey again

5 Snow Is White .... the 3rd title is this one; crystalline piano, solemn air, we wait for the rest...drums hop here we go, from looking at each other, from not understanding...time is running out for me to tell you about it; ah this bass which made the LEDs of my first channel vibrate, ah this text, ah this text hey the snow is white ah no I was in a dream; 6 No More Belief or the eternal question about knowledge and youth leads far, far; hop serious sax and the drift, the progressive instrumental variation at donf, the moment when you know that you are elsewhere whatever happens; a long finale with the sensation of listening to the men who connect men ad by Phil COLLINS 7 The Day You Want to Leave with another kingdom-stamped intro, with tuned piano, guitar, drums and violin; the orchestral like a diamond in the rough, the melody with the crystalline piano note and... the birds fallen from the nest; when it is beautiful there is nothing more to write, the sound engraved in your memory doing the rest; but one day you will have to remember if you have forgotten; the MANSET sound is the invitation to stroll, stroll, walk along your brain and to actually compose osmosis to release a concept album without realizing it 8 Alone And Bald ooh that one is dated; piano and dark cello on a heady tune, basic but magnified by these captivating lyrics; the racing piano makes you prick your ears and prepares you for this piano-drum madness in a furious crescendo; that's it, it's gone, I'll leave you; the always tangy guitar adds a background to move you a little more if that's still possible, MANSET that's it!

Red Coat, The Sunda Islands, The Bridge, Your Happy Soul and The Mask on the Wall were added on a remix CD, but I'm telling you about the origin, just to keep the good memories of this cult album, a or my sister was surprised one Sunday before leaving for her midwifery studies to see me listening to her, such is life.

1. Jesus with the piano forward who trains Jesus ... Gérard in the footsteps of a redundant title where Jesus is his hero; Real or simple game, the future will give us an idea; Pop rock that could boast of having folk consonances with this mantranic air; The words, the sentences that intersect, overlap, with this idea of ​​being in the middle of a musical overloop where we get lost 2. The bridge with the acoustic guitar which flows more than it brings out its notes; A solemn violin, ah the piano and then Gérard with his unique voice, the melody has already arrived, a small riff nervous guitar, the vocal which rises and then this battery of François who slams dry. The guitar solo that comes to pose the melody, yes we had left; His voice in 'good vibration' unique personal process and the melody that leaves, the voice imposes. We are bewitched, ah I hold on, the voice bewitches; A guitar solo that could be stamped metal if he dared to let go a little more; The riff worthy of Barclay James Harvest who explodes for good 3. A man a woman with this intro who always reminds me of William Sheller; The syncopated, clear, incisive piano, the guitar that shears the air and Gérard the air Guilleret, speaking of the two entities making our earth vessel operate; The guitar leaves on a progressive country at the supertramp, well [%*!#]ed up; The chorus slightly heady with the irritating end, yes I know it is a man and a woman, but the guitar ah the guitar of David, that throws until the end 4. Friends for the ballad, not the rhyme, not the dark melodic spleen title, a little accordion that brightens up the acoustic guitar; The memory of having listened to it so long in LP with the crackles that it is now part of the sound; The melting nostalgic air, pro -friendly friends too?

5. 2870 ... just a sad child, listen; The progressive title without its atmosphere with the spinning electric guitar, the reverberation of the sound that goes back, yes strange as if the K7 band was corner and returned the time; At the start this memory of having listened to my K7 and thinking that she was poorly recorded. The sad future by the day after tomorrow of a sad child, in a glass city, yes I have listened to Manset's words since the time I write it; The monolithic break from a third party gives the floor to this cold guitar which screams more than it breathes, for time, time, time, on an avant-garde electronic ramification; Break at the last third, silence, voice that is long overdue, choirs upside down and it left; Dominique's piano imposes the base while Didier's bass gives the metronomic; The reverbent title from an imagined world that is cold in the back, good 2870 We still have time to change it; A progressive melted to tame missing for me of relief from 5 minutes paradoxically. 6.Ton happy soul as friends, the rhyme, sweet rhyme, suave, bewitched; A text naturally sung by Gérard assisted by the guitar of Marc, David, of them, always so acute that you would almost see the notes coming out of the handle.

In the early 70's the French EMI/ Pathe label released a handful of wonderfully weird albums that have long been sought after by collectors and music fans alike. Personally I'd like to give a big round of applause to their A&R department whoever they were or whatever they were on as this was some seriously creative stuff. Guy Skornik's trippy 'Pour Pauwels', 'Puzzle' by Michel Berger which shamefully has yet to be reissued, avant-garde composer Igor Wakhevitch's stunning 'Hathor' and Gerard Manset's 'La Mort D'Orion' are works that should be heard at least once by anyone with a remote interest in progressive pop and art rock.

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Gerard Manset is something of a renaissance man. Raised in suburban Paris, he's a musician, painter and travel writer with a vast catalog of albums that all have something to recommend although it's 1970's 'La Mort D'Orion' (The Death of Orion) that is widely considered his masterpiece. A science fiction concept album, it's a dark journey but space rock this is not. This is orchestral pop twisted into modern classical music akin to some of Franco Battiato's output. The opening title track clocks in just shy of 25 minutes and it's a remarkable piece of music. A small string quartet leads to a spoken word piece by Manset, followed by a female operatic interlude and light East Indian raga all within a minute and a half. Astounding and Manset's voice is wonderful on 'Vivent Les Hommes' (Living Men) backed again by soprano vocals and a crescendo of strings and piano while 'Le Paradis Terrestre' (Heaven on Earth) alternates between opera and pop effortlessly.

My command of the French language is non-existent, but that has never interfered with my enjoyment of this album. It's one of a kind and should be bookended with the Serge Gainsbourg classic 'Historie de Melody Nelson' and William Sheller's dazzling 'Lux Aeterna' as the best in early 70's French music.

The new Manset doesn't disappoint far from it this latest album finds Gerard in fine form. Once again the production is outstanding and the sound is immense. Over the years Gerard Manset developped his craft as a master songwriter and each album release is a true event. From the opening song Comme Un Lego to the closing track Dans Mon Berceau J'entends Manset captivates his audience. The second track Dans Un Jardin Que Je Sais, Quand Une Femme and O Amazonie are for me the highlights so far but the trick with Manset is that you discover something new with each listening session...A good 4 Stars as Manset seem to mature over time like an old wine...

Gerard Manset is one of the French poètes maudits, cultivating mystery, poetry, innovation far from the beaten tracks of French commercial, easy listening chanson. Few French musicians have this rich flavour except perhaps William Sheller. A great melodist and arranger, this man can play on words too. This first real opus is a gem. A concept album based on Science-Fiction, the story of a dying planet. A universe close to the first King Crimson's albums plus the French touch (stress on the vocals and lyrics), including an orchestra. More progressive by the attitude than by the typical prog sound as we mean today. But we are in 1970, aren't we? Very recommended. Recently reissued and remastered.