VU D'UN CHIEN

Apparently the group went on a break after promoting their excellent Guet Apens album. For the major fans, this album is where Ange stops being good and it's easy to see why: Brezovar and Haas are well gone and if drummer Guichard remains behind the stool, he's still too fresh to make a difference. So with Vu D'Un Chien, we only have the two brothers remaining and no one to back them up properly. Indeed, replacing Demet, new axemen Defer is very (all too) audible, but obviously the man chomps riffs as if it was a real axe and he had lumber to chop down, but also doesn't play flute like his two predecessors. Gone is the theatrics and prog touches that had made Ange the most successful French group of the 70's all rock styles considered. OK, this album was recorded in the 80's, but it still sounds 70's enough, but much more mainstream rock than prog, but can not be compared to AOR that was now ruling on the other side of the pond. In some ways, this album could fit well in the mould of Eurock (Machiavel, Kayak etc?)

After the very upbeat UFO-ish hard rockin' Les Temps Modernes where Defer brutally overpowers the delicate Descamps harmonies, Lorgnons is a slower where the two bros are still bringing whatever finesse left in the music. The rest of the tracks on the A-side are not fillers, but are not exactly cornerstones either, especially the album-longest Sans Filet that overstays its welcome by a few minutes. Opening the flipside, La Suisse might even be a bit reminiscent of Saga, while the Montrose-like Au Bout Du Fil is ruined by a FM-friendly guitar, complete with a hysteric solo ala Eddie Van Schenker and the following Pour Un Rien is almost exactly that. The title track has again a Saga feel to it and was recorded live (part of it anyway) but it doesn't save the album either.

OK, VduC is a weaker album, but this is mostly due to the music, coz on the lyric side (for those ho master the French language), the texts are still fairly good, even if they might not reach the apex of a few years ago. Like most Ange fans, this is the type of album that usually gets a solid denigration (normally I do), but if you're into UFO meeting Saga, you might still find enough positive to like it.

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