ALIQUANTE

1. "Vedra" (6:35) nice Fender Rhodes-driven jazz-rock fusion of the Third Wave. (8.875/10)

2. "À la source du rêve" (7:45) a song that sounds quite a bit like something straight off of JEAN-LUC PONTY's albums of the previous year, Aurora and Imaginary Voyage. For me, it's drummer Alain Gouillard that really shines on this song--especially in the second motif with some Bill BRUFORD-like sound and techniques. Marius Lorenzini's acoustic guitar play is quite like the modern Django-style that Daryl Stuermer uses on the Jean-Luc albums mentioned, while Ann Baellester's multi synth-dominated play is quite fresh and adventurous, though always quite melodic. She really shines. And, did I mention bassist Josquin Turenne des Prés' excellent funk play with his Anthony Jackson sound? A most engaging, enjoyable, and impressive song, even if it is rather simply constructed; the lively, energetic play of all of the instrumentalists makes something "simple" into an impressive display of complexity. (13.875/15)

3. "So Deep Inside" (5:45) Trying to blend with some Chick Corea/Al Di Meola riffs and themes with the There's even some part (in the fifth minute) that reminds me of UK's debut album! Like a lot of the music on the next band's next album, I can hear beginning strains of similarities to the quirky music of 2010s Camembert unconventional fringe Zeuhl. (8.875/10)

4. "Le temps d'un solo" (5:43) weaving their creative instrumental play with a somewhat STEELY DAN sound palette over another fairly simple (two-chord) construct allows for plenty of opportunity to show some flash--they're all doing it: from drummer Alain Gouillard's Steve Gadd-like rudiments to Marius Lorenzini's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter guitar tone and style, even down to Josquin Turenne des Prés' Chuck Rainey-like funk bass playing. Nice! (8.875/10)

5. "La ville en béton" (5:00) sounds very much, to my ears, like a slightly different instrumental palette performing a slightly more laid-back variation/version of the previous song. It's nice if a little pre-Yacht Rock smooth. Then add in the male vocal here and it only serves to add to the Steely Dan vibe. (8.875/10)

6. "La fille du ruisseau" (6:45) even more Steely Dan-inspired music that begins to show signs of some of the quirk that I associate with Pierre "Cheese" Wawrzyniak's fringe-Canterbury style band from Strasbourg, Oiapok. The addition of Ann Ballester in the vocal mix--with her Mélanie Gerber sound-alike voice--definitely contributes greatly to this feeling--while the bass, drum, and rhythm guitar render it so completely into the Steely Dan wheelhouse. Ann's Jan Hammer-like synth soloing with Marius' Larry Coryell-sounding guitar flourishes are the two elements that serve most to keep this song in the Jazz-Rock Fusion world. (13.375/15)

7. "Alone, Completely Unknown" (6:55) Ahh! Here we get the first serious evidence of the band's future direction and predilection! Some quirky Jazz-Rock Fusion founded, at first, in some of the basic tenets and lessons of Second Wave J-R Fusion, but then stepping down a pop-rock side street when the vocal motif starts. The signs of this being only the infancy of this path lie in the interesting vocal arrangement: alternating male and female dialogue similar to that which HUMAN LEAGUE will exploit in a few years on their monster hit, "Human." A cute, likeable song that, when compared to the much more sophisticated weaves of the next album, feels infantile and simplistic. (13.125/15)

Total Time 44:28

I can see why so many reviewers elevate this album above its successor: it's quite melodic and its simpler instrumental palette does make it a bit more accessible and engaging. The musicianship is also incredibly high, but the quirky, unusual complexity of the next album--with a full complement of five musicians working relentlessly on some very challenging and more mature compositions--makes it superior to me. Though Gong's Mireille Bauer (vibraphone, marimba, percussion) and one of Magma's great bass players, Francois Grillot, worked with the band during some late studio sessions for some songs that never got developed enough to be included on this album, they (and their songs: "Camara" and "Aurore") would become prominent members on the band's next album, their masterpiece, Horizon Digital. I'm not sure if I would have been dissing this album as much had I not started with Horizon Digital, but I am so glad that I did. This is wonderful music but definitely, in the contextual perspective of knowing the fullness and maturity of the compositions of Horizon Digital, this is, to my mind, analogous to comparing Genesis' Trespass with Nursery Cryme or Yes' The Yes Album with Close to the Edge.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. Highly recommended--but only if you promise to follow up with their next album, Horizon Digital.

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