ALICE AU PAYS DES DÉLIRES

This is a difficult album for me to rate. First off, this is really my first full album of French Progressive Rock that I have listened to, thus it is also my first time listening to the band Magnesis even though this is their 10th studio album. Not being able to understand the French language very well, it also is impossible for me to follow the story of this concept album, but I think I am safe in assuming it is a variation or sequel to the Alice in Wonderland story. I do believe being able to understand the story here would most likely help in the appreciation of the album. However, the musicianship of the album speaks a universal language, and it is usually spot on.

This band was started by two school friends who had a shared love of music by Genesis and Marillion. A lot of their fans tend to compare the band to these bands. Really, the only comparison I see is that they all share the fact that they perform masked in the visages of the characters they are singing about in concert. They also author some complicated stories that they bring to life through their music. That is where the comparison ends. Their music is not really that similar to that of either band.

While it is true the music on this album does lean towards a neo-prog/symphonic style, it is apparently more similar to the French Progressive style, especially in the vocals of the lead singer. Personally, I don't care for the vocals most of the time on this album. That is not because of the flamboyancy, the over dramatic feel of the singing. It is because many times it just seems like he is singing out of tune. This doesn't happen on all of the songs, but it does happen enough to be a bother to me. This can sometimes distract from the amazing instrumentation and orchestration going on throughout the album. The performances of all of the other musicians is stellar. Throughout each song, there is plenty of tempo changes, mood changes and meter changes, but it is done in a way that each song still has its own character and nothing gets lost in over-complexity. There is also a nice use of dynamics.

There is a wide variety of styles here too, from sections approaching Progressive Metal to even sections of Progressive Electronic. But overall, the feeling is closer to Neo-Prog than anything and there is plenty here to keep progressive music lovers happy. But, if you are like me, you will have a hard time getting around a lot of the vocals here. Sometimes they are tolerable and at other times they are outright atrocious. Some of this could be because of the over-the-top 'role singing', but there are times when I have a hard time believing that when it continues for an entire song, sometimes mixed with the vocals to close to the front, sometimes obviously recorded that way on purpose. But the outstanding instrumental sections and the excellent guitar and keyboard solos throughout the album, more than make up for this.

The album is made up of 2 CDs. The first CD, I believe, is the album proper, and is the best of the two. It seems to have the main story on it divided into nine tracks, many of which run between 6 and 9 minutes. The 2nd CD is one 42 minute track. To me, it is less cohesive, even though it is mostly all instrumental. Now considering my previous statements about the vocals, you would think that would be a good thing since the instrumentals are the best part of the 1st CD. This is not so, however. While the music isn't really bad, per se, on the 2nd CD, it almost seems like it's a bunch of mini tracks that are unfinished ideas that don't really fit together so cohesively. Also, after 20 minutes, you are ready for it to end, but it still goes on for more than twice that amount. Maybe with some more listenings, it might get better.

So, the trouble it, how to rate this album. Just the first CD alone would have probably squeaked by with 4 stars, that's how good the musicianship is, even with the sometimes off-key and over-the-top vocals. But do I rate the 2nd CD along with the entire album? The single track just runs on for far too long, and probably should have been divided up to help with the understanding of the track, which seems to have something to do with General Patton maybe? There are some nice solo passages in there, but it mostly seems a bit disjointed.

I think I can give this album a benefit of a doubt and hope that the 2nd CD will grow on me some more and give this a 4 star rating and give it some time while I get familiar with it. I believe the instrumental sections on the 1st CD merit that, though I don't think I could ever get used to the vocals. Anyway, I would be glad to give this 4 stars, and welcome anyone to give me insight on the story line in the album or even more insight into French Progressive music if you would like to send a private message. I will probably come back in and edit this review in time if needed.