PHASE IV

For me this is the least enjoyable of the first 4 albums. It doesn't help in my opinion that this is a double album. Yes there is a lot of incredible music on this recording, but I also feel there is a lot of meandering and some average passages (average that is for Art Zoyd).

The first track as usual is brilliant, and the best of the lot. This really recalls previous albums, the way they contrast those intense sections with the calm passages. The first 4 minutes features a lot of horns,violin and piano and then we are hit with a dark, intense section with vocals. It becomes uptempo again 7 minutes in. Dissonant horns, deep bass and vocals all before 10 minutes. Check out the bass lines 11 1/2 minutes in as horns play on. Deep, dark hum sounds to end it. Classic ART ZOYD. "Naufrage" features piano and violin before a full sound 2 minutes in. Great soundscape a minute later that is very intense. A calm follows but it doesn't last long. "Derniere Danse" opens with violin, bass and horns. Cool sounding tune. Dissonant horns 2 minutes in before it settles down with some deep bass. The tempo picks back up before it ends. "Et Avec Vetre Esprit" is the fourth amazing song in a row. Piano and horns lead the way before bass joins in. Great sound. It calms down with choir sounds 2 1/2 minutes in. More tension 4 minutes in. "Ballade" is where I feel they start to lose me. This one is brighter sounding for the first 2 minutes then heavy bass and blasts of horns come in. Nice. It then settles back down. "Deux Preludes" is a short mellow track of horns and piano. "La Musique D'Erich Fals" is mere seconds of scraping violin sounds.

Disc two begins with "Chemins De Lumiere" a 15 minute killer track that starts with piano and a dark mood. Some suspense when the violin comes in around 3 minutes. Piano again takes the lead after 4 minutes as violin and horns take a back seat. Piano is the dominant instrument on this song. "Du Sang Sur La Neige" is my favourite from disc two. The dissonant horns and violin are incredible. "Vue D'un Manege" again features piano, horns and violin. Themes are repeated. Good tune. "La Nuit" is 13 minutes long and the most difficult to get through. There isn't much going on for the last half of the song. "Les Larmes De Christina" features dual piano melodies, horns and violin.

Barely 4 stars for me, this is a lot to digest. Certainly this is their most ambitous recording so far, but i'm just not enjoying it as much as the first three albums.