SHYLOCK

An absolute must have for any rare prog collector / listener!

If you're into instrumentals, and not letting lyrics tell you what the song is about then this is for you! It feels like the music is taking you places once you put in on and start to listen.

I'm rating this five stars maybe because there's some personal bias as far as the good times this reminds me of, but I feel caliber of the music is well deserving.

It's just too bad the band didn't make any more recordings (after the island of fever) into the 80s and beyond, that would have been interesting to hear.

Like many a band that came too late to the prog party to find any financial incentives to stick around beyond an album or two, the French SHYLOCK was like hundreds of similarly minded bands who were inspired by the explosive progressive rock scene of the early 1970s only to find that by the time they joined the club the doors were closing. SHYLOCK emerged from the Nice area of France and on its debut which came out in 1977 conjured up a unique mix of classically infused symphonic prog with the darker and more dissonant guitar antics of Robert Fripp in King Crimson. The album may not have lit the world on fire but provided a fascination with those in the underground and the album would eventually provide the primary influence for bands like Anglagard and similarly minded band in the 90s revival of prog.

SHYLOCK followed up its debut the following year in 1978. ÎLE DE FIÈVRE or "Fever Island" sounded like a totally different band in many ways. On "Gialorgues" the darkened hypnotic grooves in the context of symphonic prog were fortified with avant-prog experimentalism but for this sophomore offering, SHYLOCK traded in the Rock In Opposition sensibilities for jazz-fusion. The trio of André Fisichella (drums, percussion), Frédéric l'Épée (guitars, bass) and Didier Lustig (keyboards) had expanded to include a fourth member, bassist Serge Summa and unlike the debut album which featured two lengthy tracks and a shorter intermission sandwiched in between, ÎLE DE FIÈVRE featured six shorter tracks that eschewed the ethereal trippiness of the debut and instead engaged in technical guitar and bass led jazz-fusion attacks. Two track still raced past the 10-minute mark.

In all honesty SHYLOCK was a band of serious substance that had the chops to tackle various styles of technically demanding music and had they hit the scene about seven years earlier very well could be one of the bigwigs of early prog given the talent and ingenuity of the compositions that are displayed on the band's sole two album run. This album still finds plenty of Crimsonian inspiration strewn throughout its run however the fast tempos of the symphonic prog demeanor have been completely fortified with a style of feisty fast tempo jazz-fusion in the vein of Mahavishnu Orchestra or bands that feature John Abercrombie as guitarist. The jazz aspects are by far the most dominant sounds heard on ÎLE DE FIÈVRE and although this may have proven to be too much of a musical departure that sealed the fate for SHYLOCK during its run, from a modern point of view this album is equally as enthralling as the debut even if not as experimental in nature.

What makes SHYLOCK stand out amongst the crowded golden years of 1970s prog is that not only were these musicians technically adept but they had the songwriting prowess to connect on a deeper emotional level which is the winning combo effect reserved for only the big boys of the early prog scene. For the most part ÎLE DE FIÈVRE sticks to the same formula, that being guitar and bass led jazz-fusion but the keyboards have not been tamped down at all. They just adapt to the new stylistic approach and offer the proper contrapuntal moments of contrast. The ostinato bass grooves from the debut are retained which provides the only commonality between the two albums. This one like the debut is 100% instrumental and although complaints of bad production have been made, personally i find the music too compelling to care. The sound is not that bad!

The stand out of the album meaning the track that is most easily distinguishable from the rest is the short "Choral" which features a synthesized choral affect along with beautiful harmonic vocals. The remainder of the album takes a journey through the vast world of guitar and bass jazz-fusion reminding me a bit of the more energetic bands of the 1970s Quebec scene. On a personal level i much prefer the dark and experimental approach presented on the debut album "Gialorgues" but as a jazz-fusion freak i cannot deny how beautifully constructed this sophomore release is! New releases feature the bonus track "Le Dernier" which fits in perfectly with the band's overall thematic approach. Another excellent album from SHYLOCK. It's really too bad this band didn't make it for more than five years when they disbanded in 1979. Frédéric L'Épée would continue with band like Yang and Philharmonie.

One of the many French progressive rock bands that existed during the second half of the 1970s, SHYLOCK along with Carpe Diem existed around the same time in the Nice area of France and developed their own respective uniqueness within the context of symphonic prog. Unlike Ange, Atoll and other similarly minded bands that looked towards Genesis, Camel and even Yes for inspiration across the channel, SHYLOCK consisted of three top notch musicians who not only worshipped the virtuosity of Yes but the progressive workouts of King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Henry Cow, Van der Graaf Generator, and Robert Wyatt.

Although a mere trio of André Fisichella (drums, percussion), Frédéric l'Épée (guitars, bass) and Didier Lustig (keyboards), these three guys crafted music something like the French version of Emerson, Lake and Palmer with classical underpinnings brought to symphonic prog rock life with wailing guitar solos in the Robert Fripp style accompanied by Bill Bruford-esque drumming and Van der Graaf Generator styled moody keyboard darkness. The band released a mere two albums with this debut GIALORGUES having been released in 1977. The album has been a big ticket item in collectors' circles for decades but luckily has been released on CD with bonus tracks by the Musea label.

The all instrumental GIALORGUES consists of a mere three tracks, two long ones and one short intermission. The opening "Le Quatrième" goes on a classical music ride with the melodic tinkling keys providing the basis for which the Crimsonian guitar dissonance and technical jazz drumming workouts follow. Providing instantly lovable melodic hooks the light and airy nature of the motifs bely the dark forbidding cover art. The latter part of the 1970s was a pivotal period for many symphonic prog bands who were developing sounds that would become neo-prog and SHYLOCK certainly seems to have been in on that one especially with the first track.

The short middle track "Le Sixième" is basically a near 4 minute military march on percussion with a hefty guitar soaring over the bass and drums. The keys are fairly muted on this one while the guitar and bass go into a King Crimson frenzy in the vein of the "Red" album. For a short track this one packs a serious punch as the music increases in tempo and once joined in by the atmospheric keys goes full rock with hefty guitar leads. Except for a small moment of chaos, the military march percussive drive doesn't miss a beat. An extra energetic track considering it's some sort of intermission but the biggest treat is the closing track.

"Le Cinquième" sprawls on for nearly 19 minutes and begins with a droning keyboard stabbing session and various percussion workouts. This track is extremely reliant on the wild and dissonant tones and musical textures from King Crimson but has also been cited as one of the major influences for more modern bands like Anglagard who have been huge SHYLOCK fans. This track doesn't hold back and allows the three musicians to showcase their extraordinary talent. Not only do they provide some finger blistering workouts but master the art of mood swings, build ups and satisfying climaxes. This is also the track where the Henry Cow influences become clear as the band deftly walks a tight rope act between the melodic classical underpinnings of symphonic prog and the more adventurous path into the world of avant-prog and experimentalism.

It never ceases to amaze me how many brilliant bands came out of the 1970s with no end in sight! It's a bottomless well of plenty and i'm all the more grateful for it. SKYLOCK was the real deal and for those who love some meaty chops in their prog with the virtuosity of Yes, the expansive emotional rollercoaster of King Crimson and the oddball timings of Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator then you cannot go wrong with SKYLOCK who crafted two excellent albums before going on hiatus. The CD rerelease adds five bonus tracks that were recorded in 1981 however they are less experimental and more like material off of Camel's "The Snow Goose." Perhaps GIALORGUES falls short of a long lost masterpiece but honestly it's not so overly far away from being one.

4.5 stars and i'm tempted to round up but i can't quite do that

After a series of concerts in 2012 where the reception of the public was very warm, Shylock decided to replay and re-record their most famous pieces to make a Best Of entitled: "The Sum of Parties". We also find the initial numbering of pieces, this counting shrouded in mystery which participated in the strangeness surrounding. Shylock's music has always taken on a special dimension on stage. For this reason, most of the recording was done in a live studio. The band insisted that, while remaining faithful to the spirit of the time, this music takes advantage of technological progress made in more than thirty years. With an original introduction and the short 'chorale' in the finale, 'Le Cinqui'me' is the piece that includes the most modifications. These additions replace the repetitive sections and the weird percussion passages unfortunately abandoned. The mixing and recording are at the top, although I regret that the bass is too far behind what was done at the time, especially on the album "'le de Fi'vre". Moreover, this Best Of does not include the pieces that had the influence of "Starless & Bible Black".

Magnificent result, Shylock fans will be delighted! And those who do not know, will be able to discover this group thanks to this inescapable masterpiece.

I always regretted that Shylock preferred, in their second effort, to name the pieces rather than number them. I loved this stripping shrouded in mystery which contributed to the strangeness of their music. That said, "Île de Fièvre" is my favorite track from the band. It is a frenzied composition of incredible richness. The tempo changes are frequent, the intricacies complex and very successful. With its final repetitive sequence embellished with percussions and sound effects, "Locksetal" offers us a return to the style of the first album (a nod to King Crimson's Devil's Triangle). "Choral" is a little mellotron interlude taken from an initial material that we will never know. The rest of the tracks seem to come straight from King Crimson's "Starles & Bible Black" album! They were recorded in the same state of mind, in jam session and present experimental music tinged with jazz-rock. The reissue of Muséa (1996) includes a bonus-track: the last piece composed by the group and recorded in 1979. The music is more accessible but the sound of mediocre quality. That year, after demanding more commercial music, featuring shorter and sung titles, CBS broke the contract with the band. Indeed, if André and Serge thought that Shylock should move towards a lighter and more accessible music mixing funk and jazz-rock, Frédéric and Didier wanted as for them, to remain in a progressive and authentic lineage. Note, a reformation in 2012 (after 33 years of silence) for a concert tour and the recording of a best of in 2014.

"Île de Fièvre" is a great addition to any progressive rock collection.

Unclassifiable masterpiece !

The Nice scene at the end of the 70th produced several progressive rock groups: Step Ahead, Edhels, and Shylock, in my opinion the most interesting. The album Gialorgue was initially self-produced before being accepted by a record company a year later, which excuses the poor sound quality. For the record, the Shylock trio (keyboards, guitar / bass, drums) had gone to seek inspiration in the wild valley of Gialorgue, perched between 2000 and 3000 meters above sea level, in the Mercantour park. They composed and arranged the titles in the church of St Dalmas le Selvage, the nearest village. The front and back of the cover represent these sources of inspiration. Many have compared Shylock with King Crimson, because of the fantastic guitar playing of Frédéric L'Épée and the use of multiple bizarre percussions (tubes, bells, musical saw, seized roll, etc.) of drummer André Fisichella that make you think to James Muir. On this subject, there is one that I still have not identified! A sort of noise which resembles the clicking of a freewheel on a bicycle but which is not, since this percussion is found at a given moment, thrown to the ground like a bag. Does somebody have an idea ? Well, I still only half agree with this comparison because Shylock offers rather repetitive instrumental music with slow developments where the influence of classical music predominates. This is not the case with King Crimson, sung music, more influenced by Jazz and rock. (The closest track would be The Devil's Triangle.) Another comparison comes to mind. It has not been raised by anyone so far. These long repetitive sequences with multiple variations and a rich sound register remind me of what Mike Oldfield proposed a few years earlier. Sorry if the comparison seems incongruous to you, but I want to!

In my life as a music lover, Gialorgue has established itself over the years as an essential piece in the history of French and international prog. And the poor sound quality will not prevent me from giving it a well deserved five stars! (After all, we didn't care for the Bird & Buildings albums ...)

The first album by Shylock is already quite distinctive but uneven similar to the second album. Especially with the bonus tracs included. Another complaint is about the not so good recording sound - some lows are missing and the sound is flat even when listening from a CD. The first. epic track is excellent, melodic while being clearly symphonic and progressive, a lot of variation, emotions and alternating between melancholy and more uplifting moments. It is possibly the most famous moment by Shylock to be only exceeded by the first track of the second album. The second track "Le Sixième" is quite experimental and fares well on its own as an intermezzo on the way to the next epic track, " Le Cinquième" has many mood shifts, also reflective moments. Very clear influence of King Crimson especially on guitar playing and mellotrons. Drumming is different and less jazzy than by Bruford. The bonus tracks are interesting to be heard but clearly non-essential and likely being ignored/skipped after multiple listenings. There are also some Genesis leanings of the keyboard player and he uses a lot of piano on the bonus part. "Prélude a l'éclipse" starts like "Firth of the fifth" but soon evolves into its own melody - melancholic and dark, the creepy synths suit it excellent. The remaining other two tracks are pleasant and short enough to be considered work in progress. Still enough to be rounded up to 4 stars, nevertheless hardly an essential piece of prog-rock.

The second album by Shylock brings a bit more mature record but without major changes in the sound and with equal appetite to experiment. You must get this album for the sake of the first track which is a gorgeous 13-minute piece and the best work created by Shylock. So many ideas, motives, artistic quality packed, there aren't more than 30 seconds with one static motive. That is the cornerstone of the record and will let you out of breath for a couple of minutes after the finish. The keyboardist and drummer are the main entertainers here seconded by a tasty King Crimson-like guitar player. Keyboards are not the most original one but very well absorbed from King Crimson, Pulsar (mellotron) and Genesis (synths, piano). The chords are sometimes very solemn - they represent this masterpiece very well. The drummer holds very well on his own - I can't compare his manners to any other band, he is quite distinctive.

The rest of the tracks is more experimental, less fluid and arguably of a lesser quality. "Le sang des capucines" reminds of the 1973 King Crimson - the guitar is fantastic and raw. It sounds like a power trio (no keyboards). The keyboard player compensates with lush and symphonic "Choral". "Himogène" is a grooving jazz-rock number, well played but a mediocre composition. "Laocksetal" is a dynamic workout for all players, pretty dark and experimental with melody. Percussions and mellotron are as close as it get to King Crimson. The long composition is fine but stretches for a bit too long. I actually prefer the more accessible melancholic "Le dernier" with melodic guitar and electric piano although the sound quality is as if coming from a demo session. My preference may be based on the fact that similar to the first track, we can hear echoes of Genesis (75-77).

Well, the first track is a 5-star quality and the other ones alternate between 3 to 4 stars so I give it 4 stars in the end. Shylock is a unique spot among my CDs as no other band sounds this way.

SHYLOCK "Ile of Fèvre" is a singular disk, because it mixes the progressive symphonic with a great jazz-rock dose and some quite experimental passages. Also presents several influences of bands with musical concepts many antagonistic styles, among the ones which King Crinsom (that is represented in the guitar passages and some very characteristic rhythms) Gentle Giant (for certain passages where there is a great prominence for the percussion, the case of the track 4 "Himogene") the already mentioned Jazz Rock in the vein of Return to Forever, as in the track 6 "Laocksetal", Symphonic Prog of Emerson Lake & Palmer as in the track 1 "Ile de fièvre." Due to this there is no monotony and in certain moments it doesn't seem to be the same band in all of the strips. è without trace of doubt a disk that deserve figurest in any collection of Progressive Rock! My rate is 4 stars !!!

As with their first album, I like it and also as with the first album, I don't exactly know what I like about it. Maybe that's this ubiquitous feeling that surrounds Anekdoten, King Crimson and others. You know that it's something special, yet it's undefinable (like this Monolith in 2001 Space Odyssey), like somehow beyond this dimension (or you can say divine, if you believe). And as you can guess, I don't agree with Ken Levine's opinion, because not only this is one of these groups where it works (Ile de fievre starting in classical mood, then turning into symphonic solo and then both. Yes, in some way of understanding, everything here is solo, as this is one of these "more" prog bands, leaving conventional structures and patterns behind completely, in the end of the song, we can hear somewhat a climax, that results in general into fine, epic track). It is by a long way good album and shouldn't be missed, if you want to enjoy good, instrumental symphonic Prog).

4(-), little bit worse than its predecessor