CATALYSE

Considered as one of the first trully progressive rock bands in France,AME SON were the brainchild of Marc Blanc and Patrick Fontaine,who both had played with Daevid Allen in Daevid Allen's BannanaMoon during a year period between 1968 and 1969.They decided to form their own band in 1969 in Paris along with Francois Garrel and Bernard Lavialle.AME SON signed with BYG Records,recored the instrumental parts of their first album in London within two days with the final mixing taking place in October 69'.In early 70' ''Catalyse'' sees the light.A CD re-issue on Spalax brough this work out of darkness.

STYLE: Having played next to Daevid Allen,it is rather impossible both Blanc and Fontaine not to be influenced by this significant figure.AME SON blended 60's Psychedelia with a newly established complicated rock sound full of free jamming parts and weird passages to contribute on their own way to what we call today early progressive rock movement.All tracks contain plenty of obscure flute parts,trully psychedelic vocals,somewhat dated and trembling guitars but also stable performance on bass and deep drums all the way.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: GONG are the first band that sticks to your mind and it is more than sure that AME SON have given their albums a lot of spins to inspire themselves...but add also some elements of pre-70's PINK FLOYD in the mixture.

PLUS: This is very obscure and experimental music,considering the time of its release.Quite long compositions ranging from 6 to 9 minutes are a daring step for 1970.The flute parts are dominant and, for me, this is certainly the strong point of this album.A very interesting rhythm section makes the album even more challenging.Vocals are at times expressive and intense. A few bizarre melodies,again based heavily on flutes, are very captivating.

MINUS: As I am not a big fan of GONG or early FLOYD,this style of music leaves me a neutral taste.Additionally guitars are very dated,if not the whole album.The parts of the album closer to Psychedelic Pop leave me also cold.Some jamming parts are good,but other one sound totally meaningless to my ears.Vocals are mediocre for most of the album's running time.

WILL APPEAL TO: I would dare to say that ''Catalyse'' would be a moving experience only to those who were part of the 60/70's transession from Psychedelic Pop to Psychedelic Rock.Anyone deep into GONG or Syd Barrett-era PINK FLOYD will also like this one.

CONCLUSION/RATING: I think I will rate this album having in mind how important it was around the time it was released and I will give ''Catalyse'' 3 stars,though my true rating is closer to 2-2.5...''Catalyse'' didn't stand well against the sands of time,but it remains a ground-breaking experience for early 70's.Approach,after listening to some samples.