20.11.2009.
Magma - Simples (@256)
Thanks to Bilek for the contribution.
(Review from progreviews.com)
Unbelievably enough, Magma did release a few singles during their heyday, presumably to drum up interest in more commercial corners than underground progressive circles could muster. The band edited a couple of album epics down to radio-length, and offered some otherwise unavailable short tracks. Despite their efforts, mass popularity was not Magma's fate, and this collection serves mostly as an odd, pseudo-schizophrenic sampling of the band's sound.
Perhaps the strangest music on the album is the embryonic version of Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh. It begins as a lounge-y bossanova (no kidding), with ultra-mellow zeuhl-scat by Blasquiz. After a short exposition, the more familiar strains of the epic appear. It's apparent that MDK needed a considerable amount of midwifing before its final realization.
"Tendei Kobah" is really the first two-and-a-half minutes of "Riah Sahiltaahk" from the 1971 album 1001 Centigrade. The actual piece contained glimpses of the martial, alien zeuhlscapes that would be the group's signature. Why they thought it had pop potential is another story.
"Mekanik Machine", easily the best track here, is an uptempo funk-zeuhl workout from 1975. Jannik Top's bass takes center stage, growling and gutteral, and Vander hammers down the beat like there's no tomorrow. Add a pinch of stinging electric guitar and some major operatic wail, and you've got a jam that almost redeems the disc. As it is, for completists.
Line-up:
- Christian Vander / drums, voice
- Louis Toesca / trumpet
- François Cahen , Gerard Bikialo, Michel Graillier / piano
- Francis Moze, Jannick Top / bass
- Teddy Lasry / soprano sax
- Jerry Seffer / tenor sax
- Brian Godding / guitar
- Klaus Blasquiz / voice
- Stella Vander / chorus
Track List :
01. Hamtaak - 2:37
02. Tendei Kobah - 2:50
03. Mekanik Kommandoh - 5:04
04. Klaus Kombalad - 4:27
05. Mekanik Machine - 5:17
Link in comments.
19.11.2009.
Magma - Mythes et Legendes (1985) (@256)
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is a pretty strange compilation. Not only is there only one complete song on this (all others are excerpts) - the rare single Klaus Kohmbalad - but the album also contains narration by Christian and Stella Vander (in French rather than Kobaian, fortunately!), explaining what the songs and excerpts are about.
The narration is interesting and pleasant to listen to, though. For instance when Christian tells us the story of Rďah Sahiltaahk, a song about a holy Kobaian who thought he could control the elements of nature and died because of it, or when Stella recites a few lines from the poem on the sleeve of 1001 Centigrades. Albeit it is only a small insight into the mind of Christian Vander, it is worth treasuring.
The excerpts expose the listener to a lot of Magma's typical elements while being gentle to the ears of those that have not heard any Zeuhl yet.
Track List :
01. Kobaia - 6:09
02. Stoah - 4:42
03. Riah Sahiltaahk - 6:44
04. Klaus Kohmbalad - 3:28
05. Theusz Hamtaahk - 8:39
06. Wurdah Itah - 3:08
07. Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh - 7:41
Link in comments.
18.11.2009.
Magma - Opera De Reims 1976 (Live) (@320)
(Review from waysidemusic.com, progarchives.com)
Magma live is always a special treat, because they always re-arrange their songs. This has the post-Hhai/Live band performing for nearly 160 minutes. Recorded in the Opera, Reims (France), in 1976, you've got everything but great content here -- spanning over 3 discs, comprising of 5 pieces.
Line-up :
- Klaus Blasquiz / vocals, percussion
- Stella Vander / vocals
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Gabriel Federow / guitar
- Patrick Gauthier / keyboards
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards
- Benard Paganotti / bass
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals
Track List :
01. De Futura - 24:32
02. Sons Et Chorus De Batterie - 26:39
03. Kohntarkosz - 33:32
04. Theusz Hamtaahk - 33:35
05. Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh - 42:29
Link in comments.
17.11.2009.
Magma - Theater Du Taur Concert 1975 Toulouse (Live) (@192)
(Review from progreviews.com)
Theatre du Taur is an official bootleg of Magma recorded in Toulouse on September 24, 1975. This is a companion piece to their Live/Hhai album and another subsequent official boot, Opera de Reims. As it stands, this is a pretty aptly title, as the 'Taur' in question is a raging bull in his prime by the name of Christian Vander.
Vander is all the reason you need to justify in picking this one up. Does he muscle his way into the spotlight? Not to detract from the other musicians, who are all in excellent form here, but Vander pretty much is the spotlight on this one, a simply all-encompassing presence throughout these two discs of music that is impossible to ignore. On the one hand, he conveys this sense of being finely attuned to what the other musicians are playing and ready to respond and assimilate, almost to the microsecond. At the same time, he gives the ultimate impression that whatever the hell they are playing is really just incidental and even moreso he is drumming along to the internal score of the music playing away in his head.
Because its set-list duplicates much that is can be found on the obviously much better-sounding Live album, this archival live album tends to fall in the shadow of Opera de Reims in terms of garnering recognition. It's somewhat a shame, since the performances on this one are arguably more unhinged (one exception being Reims' "MDK").
Line-up :
- Klaus Blasquiz / vocals & percussion
- Stella Vander / vocals
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Gabriel Federow / guitar
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards
- Patrick Gauthier / keyboards
- Bernard Paganotti / bass
- Christian Vander / drums
Track List :
01. Kohntarkosz - 32:29
02. Hhai - 11:19
03. Kobaia - 11:48
04. Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh - 38:16
Link in comments.
16.11.2009.
Magma - Live BBC 1974 Londres (@256)
(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)
These live BBC recordings of 1974, provide the earliest live versions of these two songs and in many ways it shows -- both songs seem to meander along at times, in no hurry at all.
Like "Wurdah Itah", "Theusz Hamtaahk" begins with a part called "Malawelekaahm", which is played here in what might be its definitive rendition. The vamp throughout its most intense moment is projected in slow motion, letting each note take full effect before the next is played. It's as if the band wanted to focus on the space between notes, taking full advantage of a somewhat pared down line up and the lack of a present and eager audience. Also of note is that aside from Blasquiz and Vander, none of the other members of this line up appear on future recordings of this song. As the line-ups changed and the song developed, it seems to have lost the passion with which it is put forth here on its earliest recording. The second half of the song is much less well developed, however, giving way to meandering and lack of balance. It wasn't as excited as it eventually became (seven years later), but this version has its merits.
"Kohntarkosz", on the other hand, is here played by most of the same band that went on to record it in the studio later that year. It doesn't really hold up to the studio version, however, missing the heavenly quality of Stella's voice, as well as the intensity of the changes. This performance is much more ethereal and sparse, which works amazingly well for the first twenty minutes or so. Claude Olmos' guitar is much more present that Brian Godding or Gabriel Federow's in future recordings, which gives this version points. The creeping chant of "Hallelujah" at the end is interesting and pulled the song back out of the ether, but Stella is still missed.
Without a doubt, this one is for the die-hards, but the restrained tempo and variations on both songs make it essential nonetheless.
Line-up:
- Klaus Blasquiz / vocals, percussion
- Claude Olmos / guitar
- Michel Graillier / Fender piano, keyboards
- Gerard Bikialo / Fender piano
- Jannik Top / bass
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals
Track List:
01. Theusz Hamtaahk - 30:03
02. Kohntarkosz - 27:26
Links in comments.
15.11.2009.
Magma - Mekanik Kommandoh Akt X (Live 1973)
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is one of the alternate versions of Christian Vander's most notorious/best loved work, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh. The official 1973 release is, quite rightly, regarded as the high point of Zeuhl music, but it did not fully do justice to Christian Vander's original vision. The bass and drums are rather low in the mix, and the brass section tends to dominate the arrangements. Later live versions emphasised the melodic side of the music, with the massed vocals (apparently inspired by Carl Orff's Carmina Burana) more to the fore.
This take ditches the brass section, pushes the massed choirs to the front and Christian Vander's nanosecond precision drumming is crystal clear, as is the bass playing, although sadly not by the scarily talented Jannik Top. There are other significant differences from the released version; there is no guitarist on these sessions, and in places the absence of Claude Olmos's marvellously fluid lead guitar is really noticeable. There is also a different introduction, featuring Christian Vander delivering a blood curdling speech in Kobaian over some extremely dissonant piano, before the familiar intro kicks in and he continues telling us that we're all unworthy beings doomed to be destroyed. Once we're past the intro, there are few deviations from the score (assuming you're already familiar with the piece) until the slightly extended closing section, featuring some more unearthly vocal stylings. The main difference lies in the arrangements, which emphasise the music's melodic strengths as opposed to the rhythmic power of the 1973 release. Some releases of this also include the 'Instrumental' version, basically the same piece with most of the vocal tracks removed.
This is a fascinating version of one of the most astonishing extended progressive rock compositions of the 1970s, and is essential listening for anyone who loves Zeuhl music. Newcomers are probably better starting with the original official version, but this stands up as a great album in its own right.
Line-up :
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals, organ, percussion
- Jean Pierre Lambert / bass
- Klaus Basquiz / vocals, percussion
- Jean Luc Manderlier / piano, organ
- Rene Garber / bass clarinet, vocals
- Stella Vander / vocals, choir leader
with
- Choirs De La Stochhaus / choir
Track List :
01. Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh - 37:50
Link in comments.
14.11.2009.
Magma - Inedits (Live 1972-75) (@256)
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is an interesting cross section of Magma history, featuring most or all of the definitive zeuhl musicians, sadly slightly marred by murky live recording.
"Opus 3" sets the standard with its cosmic electric keys and jazzy zeuhl rock variations with Jannick Top doing an extended bass solo, so this is obviously a required recording for maniacal born-again Kobaians. Although these songs were performed between 1972-75, they all remind strongly of the main "Kohntarkosz" theme, what with steady yet subtle rhythm work holding around one chord and those unique funeral jazz moments. It's been said that Kohntarkosz Anteria was written in 1972 and indeed, memorable snatches of the epic do appear on Inedits.
A definite highlight, "Om Zanka" is flowing piece of 7/8 jazz mood management with Vander soloing against the amazing Benoit Widemann, and neither buries the other. Frustratingly, the quality of the production is most punishing here. Once the duel is over (assumedly called as a draw owing to exhaustion) the traditional Kobaian choirs enter to weave in and out of Lockwood's violin melodies. It's stunning and frankly over far too quickly.
If you are under Magma's spell, don't disregard Inedits merely because it's not studio work. Magma fanatics should head here because it'll help them to come to terms with bootleg quality, and to put names to the songs on the ones they've already heard!
Line-up:
- Gerard Bikialko / keyboards (1,2,4,6)
- Micky Grailler / keyboards (1,2,4)
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards (3)
- Francois Cahen / keyboards (5)
- Jean Luc Manderlier / keyboards (5,6)
- Francis Moze / bass (5)
- Jean-Pierre Lambert / bass (6)
- Janik Top / bass (1,2,4)
- Bernard Paganotti / bass (3)
- Claude Olmos / guitar (1,4)
- Marc Fosset / guitar (6)
- Gabriel Federow / guitar (3)
- Didier Lockwood / violin (3)
- Klaus Basquiz / vocals & percussion
- Rene Garber / vocals, bass clarinet (5,6)
- Teddy Lasry / saxes (5)
- Jeff Seffer / saxes (5)
- Louis Toesca / trumpet (5)
- Christian Vander / drums
Track List:
01. Sowiloi+KMX-EXII-Opus3 - 13:47
02. KMX-BXII-Opus7 - 6:20
03. Om Zankaa - 5:37
04. Gamma - 4:10
05. Terrien Si Je T'ai Convoque - 4:03
06. Gamma Anteria - 7:58
Link in comments.
13.11.2009.
Magma - Bruxelles 1971 au Theatre 140 (Live) (@192)
(Review from progarchives.com)
This album is an 'official' bootleg recorded in Brussels at Theater 140 the 12th of November 1971. This was the first public performance of Mekanik Kommandoh which became the basis for their landmark Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh. We also have here the live versions of the fusionairy debut album Kobaia songs, from the line-up
The album contains three songs off of Kobaia. Stoah, Kobaia, and Aina. The whole of the 1001 degrees Centigrade album, and two works in the formative phases at that point. The aforementioned Mekanik Kommandoh, and Sowiloi which would turn up later on the outakes album Inedits. The one thing that really stands out between this album and the previous versions of songs, is the Rhodes Piano and it's central place in the live Magma sound. Many acoustic parts in Kobaia were played instead by the Rhodes.
Being an official bootleg, don't expect 100% perfect sound quality. That said the quality is never a hinderance to the enjoyment of the album.
Line-up :
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals, organ, percussion
- Francis Moze / bass
- Klaus Basquiz / vocals, percussion
- Teddy Lasry / clarinet, sax, flute, vocals
- Jeff Seffer / sax, bass clarinet
- Louis Toesca / trumpet
- Francois Cahen / acoustic & electric piano
Track List :
01. Stoah - 5:18
02. Kobaia - 7:32
03. Aina - 6:30
04. Riah Sahiltaahk - 19:13
05. 'Iss' Lansei Doia - 12:58
06. Ki 0ahl o Liahk - 9:35
07. Sowiloi - 7:22
08. Mekanik Kommandoh - 16:52
Link in comments.
12.11.2009.
Magma - K.A. (Kohntarkosz Anteria) (2004) (@256)
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is the Magma album that fans have waited almost 30 years to hear, and it's easily on a par with the best of their mid 70s work. Fragments of this work have been heard before on Inedits, and the closing 'Alleluia' chorus can be heard on the early version of Kohntarkosz on BBC Londres 1974, but this is the first time the whole work has been presented (or finished, for that matter). In the rather convoluted sequence of Magma's Kobaian epic, this piece would come after Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh and acts as a sort of prequel to Kohntarkosz.
Most of the album is closer to the Carl Orff stylings of Wurdah Itah and Mekanik Kommandoh than to the more instrumentally based Kohntarkosz or 1001 Degrees Centigrade, with Vander's trademark vocal arrangements sounding lovelier than ever. The new band are also true to the Zeuhl spirit, especially guitarist James MacGaw, whose clean tone and economical but melodic guitar lines recall the work of Claude Olmos in the 1973-74 line up.
Parts 1 and 2 are light and melodic pieces featuring dazzling interplay between piano, guitar and vocals, all underpinned by Vander's metronomically precise drums and some nicely judged bass from Philippe Bussonet. Part 3 opens with a lengthy instrumental passage (sounds like a synth but it was probably intended for flute or sax) which demonstrates the jazzier side of Vander's muse - it's surely no accident that a photo of John Coltrane is visible in the background of the snapshots of the band. Part 3 then builds to the kind of climax familiar from other Magma epics, culminating in what sounds like a distant cousin of the Hallelujah chorus.
This is also the best sounding of Magma's studio albums - modern recording techniques mean that every element of the complex arrangements is crystal clear, but thankfully the dodgy production values which spoiled albums like Merci have been abandoned in favour of a more natural sound.
Line-up :
- Stella Vander / vocals, percussion
- Isabelle Feuillebois / vocals
- Himiko Paganotti / vocals
- Antoine Paganotti / vocals
- James Mac Gaw / guitar
- Emmanuel Borghi / piano, Fender Rhodes
- Frédéric d'Oelsnitz / Fender Rhodes
- Philippe Bussonnet / bass
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals, percussion
Track List :
01. K.A I - 11:12
02. K.A II - 15:53
03. K.A III - 21:44
Link in comments.
11.11.2009.
Magma - Theusz Hamtaakh - La Trilogie Au Trianon (Live 2001) (@256)
(Review from allmusic)
Magma celebrated their 30th anniversary with two Paris shows, May 13 and 14, 2000. Of course, there was no better way to commemorate the occasion than performances of leader Christian Vander's most hallowed work, the Theusz Hamtaahk trilogy.
Comprised of the title suite, "Wurdah Itah," and "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh" (each movement occupies its own disc), this massive piece details a battle of the planets wherein the people of Earth travel to a planet called Kobaia and back again, all in the name of peace and self-purification.
This live album represents yet another chapter for the vital band. Particularly spectacular are guitarist James MacGaw and bassist Philippe Bussonnet, who join the ranks of the best musicians to ever have played with the group.
From the aggressive opening strains of "Theusz Hamtaahk", with deft choral phrases and heavily accented percussion, to the episodic, head-spinning cut and chase of the middle movement, to the incredible avant-fusion break in "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh", this performance of the trilogy highlights all of the reasons Magma fans are such a devoted lot. Where a more traditional progressive band might emphasize the purely whimsical or capricious, Magma's best music (as evidenced here) is literally of another world. There are arguably better performances of the individual movements elsewhere, but as a collection, the Trilogie au Trianon is practically indispensable for Magma fans.
Line-up :
- Christian Vander / drums & vocals
- Klaus Basquiz / vocals & percussion
- Bernard Paganotti / bass
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards
- Patrick Gauthier / keyboards
- Gabriel Federow / guitar
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Stella Vander / vocals
Track List :
CD1
01. Malawelekaahm - 6:28
02. Sewolahwehn ohn Zain - 6:42
03. Deumb leweless dolehn - 3:52
04. Zeuhl Wortz - 2:28
05. Gorutz Waahrn - 3:15
06. Tu lu li le ui du wii - 1:08
07. Se lah Maahri Donsai - 2:31
08. Slibenli deh Theusz - 5:21
09. Zortsung - 3:09
CD2
01. Malawelekaahm - 4:21
02. Bradia da zimehn iegah - 2:35
03. Maneh fur da Zess - 1:42
04. Fur di Hel Kobaia - 5:38
05. Blum tendiwa - 5:49
06. Wohlsunt mlem seweless - 3:08
07. Wainsaht!!! - 3:11
08. Wlasik steuhn Kobaia - 2:44
09. Sehnnteht dros wurdah sums - 6:00
10. C'est la vie qui les a menes la! - 4:32
11. Ek sun da Zess - 2:37
12. Se Zeuhl undazir - 6:11
CD3
01. Hortz fur dehn Stekehn West - 10:17
02. Imah suri Dondai - 4:13
03. Kobaia iss deh hundin - 2:07
04. Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik - 7:20
05. Nebehr Gudahtt - 7:39
06. Mekanik Kommandoh - 8:05
07. Kreuhn Kohrmahn iss deh hundin - 1:30
08. Da Zeuhl Wortz wainsaht (hymne de la Zeuhl Wortz) - 1:53
09. (unnamed final track) - 5:41
Link in comments.
10.11.2009.
Magma - Floe Essi Ektah (EP 1998) (@256)
(Review from progreviews.com)
This single, the first new music released by the band since 1984, featured Christian and Stella Vander fronting a fresh group of zeuhlers. Magma reformed in the late 90s to perform several concerts (mostly in Europe and Japan). These concerts culminated in May 2000 with shows celebrating the band's 30th anniversary. The songs on this set were recorded in November of 1998, and document a version of that touring band.
While Magma was dormant for most of the 90s, Offering (Christian Vander's post-Magma project) was not. The music here (particularly "Ektah") is reminiscent of Offering in that it eschews the dynamic repetition and dark overtones of the band's 70s work in favor of light melodicism and generally straight-forward instrumental textures. In short, Vander seems to have favored the more upbeat, inspirational aspects of Magma this time around (again, similar to Offering).
"Floe Essi" was written by bassist Philippe Bussonnet. Uptempo, zeuhl-fusion tune featuring classic group vocals that are unfortunately buried in the mix (especially Cardiet's booming operatic tenor). Bass and guitar are emphasized, playing nimble countermelody to a tune that could have easily fit on the first half of Udu Wudu, or Attahk. The song is very short (under three minutes), and seems to stop in midstream at an apparent climax. Was it a sampling of a longer piece?
"Ektah" is a Christian Vander-penned piece featuring his distinctive lead vocal (midrange, down from his 70s soprano trill). Again, this piece seemingly lies closer to the Offering tradition than to Magma. Generally simple rhythm, structured melody, Fender Rhodes (bringing out Vander's beloved modal figures), and perhaps most suprising, loose, relatively passive drumming from Vander. Highpoints are the textured vocal intro (very Philip Glass-ian), and the classic odd-meter breakdown in the middle. Although it's not quite an interplanetary overture of yore, it would be difficult to imagine this music coming from anyone else.
Line-up :
- Stella Vander / vocals
- James Mac Gaw / guitar
- Emmanuel Borghi / Fender Rhodes
- Phillipe Bussonnet / bass
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals, keyboards
- Isabelle Feuillebois / vocals
- Bertrand Cardiet / vocals
Track List :
01. Floe Essi 'La fille de la mer' - 2:58
02. Ektah 'Le Heros' - 5:52
Link in comments.
09.11.2009.
Magma - Merci (1984) (@256)
(Review from progarchives.com)
Magma's glory days were a long way behind them when they recorded this oddity. Vander more or less quit the drum stool for this album, and it took something like 18 months to record in dribs and drabs. It gets off to a shaky start with 'Call From The Dark', which sounds like a stab at Zeuhl Euro-Disco. The Linn drums really sound out of place on a Magma album.
Many fans would consider switching off at this point, but the album is worth sticking with. "Otis" is a tribute to the great Otis Redding, which sounds incongruous but actually works remarkably well - Vander always drew on a variety of sources for inspiration, and Redding was as outstanding in his field as Carl Orff or John Coltrane were in theirs. The album is really lifted by a Renee Garber composition, "Eliphas Levi", which starts and ends with some beautiful flute and is largely built around piano and massed voices. Haunting and beautiful, another side of Vander's muse which would be explored further in his future band "Offering".
The cast of thousands, and the absence of any of the core Magma players aside from Christian and Stella Vander, make this seem like more of a solo project than a proper Magma album. Persevere with the 80s production values, though, and there is plenty that is worthwhile on "Merci".
Line-up :
- Christian Vander / vocals, piano, Celeste, keyboards, percussion
- Stella Vander / vocals
- Guy Khalifa / vocals
- Benoit Widemann / synthesizer
- Simon Goubert / synthesizer (1,3)
- Francois Laizeau / drums, drum programming
- Marc Eliard / bass
- Phillipe Slominski / trumpet on (1,3,4)
- Christian Martinez / trumpet on (1,4)
- Michel Goldberg / saxophone on (1,3)
- Liza Deluxe / backing vocals
- Jean Pierre Fouquey / Rhodes piano on (2)
- Michel Gaucher / saxophone on (2)
- Freddy Opsepian / trumpet on (2)
- Christian Guizen / trombone on (2)
- Alex Ferrand / vocals on (3)
- Jean-Luc Chevalier / guitar on (3)
- Patrick Gauthier / synthesizer on (3)
- Paul Bayle / saxophone on (3)
- Denis LeLoup / trombone on (3,4)
- Arrigo Lorenz / Soprano sax on (3)
- Maria Popkiewicz / backing vocals on (4)
- Jerome Naulay / trombone on (4)
- Zaka / percussion on (4)
- Michel Graillier / Rhodes piano on (5)
Track List :
01. Call From The Dark (Ooh Ooh Baby) - 7:15
02. Otis - 5:20
03. Do The Music - 4:22
04. Otis (Ending) - 1:58
05. I Must Return - 6:38
06. Eliphas Levi - 11:04
07. The Night We Died - 4:15
Link in comments.
08.11.2009.
Magma - Retrospektiw I-II (1981) (@256)
(Review from progreviews.com)
After disbanding for several years, Magma held three concerts in June of 1980 at the Olympia in Paris. This two-disc set is a testament to those concerts, which reunited nearly everybody who appears on Magma's Live/Hhai album of five years before.
The self-titled movement of the "Theusz Hamtaahk" trilogy had never (at that time) been on any of their recordings until this one. The piece is a wicked repetitive Jaws-like rhythm which cyclically increases and decreases in intensity. At about 12 minutes into the piece, it shifts into a metronome beat pattern overlaid with dreamy, stream-of-thought synths that are very unusual for Magma. This too gradually increases in intensity, until it reaches a powerful plateau of strong male and female choir chanting. The next section starts back at the original hypno-rhythm for a few minutes, and then breaks back into the metronome rhythm, this time with some utterly bizarre sci-fi soundtrack buzzings and whirlings, and a single sustained flying saucer keyboard line. This intensifies again, and then a lighthearted fusion part, then a march with pompous ELP-like keys, and then a pretty lull with fluttering harp sounds and calm chanting. Again there is a repeat of the intense theme, with ominous choir, and the finale, with explosions of weird sound effects.
The second disc features a live version of the MDK album. The first half of it sticks fairly close to the studio version. About midway through the disc there's a break (I'm guessing it's where the original vinyl changed sides). When the music returns, we find ourselves in the middle of a monstrous bass solo which leads into a high power, high speed fusion similar to the MDK excerpt on the Live/Hhai album. Some very impressive work here from the bass, keys, guitar, vocals and violin.
Line-up:
- Christian Vander / drums, keyboards, vocals
- Klaus Blasquiz / vocals
- Stella Vander / vocals
- Liza Deluxe / vocals
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Gabriel Federow / guitar
- Patrick Gauthier / keyboards
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards
- Bernard Paganotti / bass
- Claire Laborde / vocals (2)
- Maria Popkiewicz / vocals (2)
- Jean-Luc Chevalier / guitar (2)
Track List:
CD1
01. Theusz Hamtaahk - 36:04
CD2
01. Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (3eme Mouvement De Theusz Hamtaahk) - 40:04
Links in comments.
07.11.2009.
Magma - Attahk (1978) (@256)
(Review from progreviews.com)
After Udu Wudu, Magma disbanded for a time, only to reconvene a year later under a slightly different direction than before. While drummer Christian Vander had maintained general leadership of the band since the early 70s, the new phase of Magma could almost be considered a Vander solo project. His interest in funk, R-n-B, gospel, and pop would come to the fore, and similar to many of his progressive rock and jazz fusion peers, he would mold the band's sound into something closer to "popular".
The music on this album is brighter than the previous album, emphasizing rhythm, lead vocals, and a fat bass sound over murky group vocals and extended zeuhl suites. Lead vocals, in fact, are handled exclusively by Vander, with usual Magma frontman Klaus Blasquiz vastly underutilized.
"The Last Seven Minutes" is burning zeuhl-funk, with some of Christian Vander's most explosive drumming on record. Although they weren't singing about interplanetary war anymore (although it sounds like they're still in Kobaian), the band never lost its intensity. This is getting closer to hard-edged fusion, a la groups such as Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, but nothing that features Vander's idiosyncratic wail is going to sound derivative. Fast, furious, and funky.
"Dondai" is a slow jam, Magma style -- if Barry White had sung this, nobody would blink an eye. Actually, this is fairly calm by the group's standards, and for a while, they actually seem capable of presenting relatively straightforward stuff. Some nicely restrained drum work, soothing piano and backing vocals, and the omnipresent trill of Christian Vander.
Fans of the earlier material tend to criticize this album for its lack of a "traditional" zeuhl sound in favor of a funk/fusion/zeuhl hybrid, and while it is markedly different than the preceding albums, it is one of the most exciting, and is certainly one of the most accessible.
Line-up:
- Christian Vander (Dehrstun) / lead vocals, drums, percussion, Grand piano, Rhodes, Chamberlin
- Guy Delacroix (Urgon) and (Gorgo) / "Earth" bass, "Air" bass
- Klaus Blasquiz / vocals
- Benoit Widemann (Kahal) / Grand piano, Rhodes, Mini-Moog, Oberheim polyphonic
- Stella Vander (Thaud) / vocals
- Lisa Bois (Sihnn) / vocals
- Tony Russo / trumpet
- Jacques Bolognesi / trombone
Track List:
01. The Last Seven Minutes (1970-1971, Phase I) - 7:35
02. Spiritual (Negro Song) - 3:16
03. Rinde (Eastern Song) - 3:05
04. Lirik Necronomicus Kant (Ourgon & Gorgo Meet) - 5:06
05. Maahnt (Wizards Fight vs Devil) - 5:29
06. Dondai (To an Eternal Love) - 8:02
07. Nono (1978, Phase II) - 6:23
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06.11.2009.
Magma - Live-Hhai (Kohntark) (1975) (@256)
(Review from progreviews.com)
While a great many bands from the 70s released double-live LPs, very few can claim that their live albums matched the quality of their studio releases, and even fewer can claim that their best album was live. Magma has that right. The eccentric French prog band, led by drummer Christian Vander, thrived in front of an audience, in the moment, when they were free to follow the course of their music without the boundaries set forth by the sides of a record.
The music of this album is actually atypical for what many remember the band: martial, relentless rhythm stomps, operatic howling, bombastic horn races. Here, they expose more fully than on any previous release their jazz-rock backgrounds, and subtle, masterful musicality. The first disc is mainly comprised of one of their great long works, Kohntarkosz. Beginning with the cry, "Hamatai!", the band launches an epic with many movements, colors, and moods. Perhaps most surprising is their ease with flowing, impressionistic soundscapes. Vander has stated that when artists in the mid-70s (such as Mike Oldfield) began to borrow his ideas, he was forced to come with a new type of music. Kohntarkosz was the fruit if his new labors, and the version on this album is definitive. Great melodic, eclectic prog, with hints of fusion as well.
The second disc is made mainly of shorter tracks, and a section of another Magma epic, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh. The highlight is the brilliant fusion-romp, "Hhaď." The track begins with Vander's own warbly-operatic soliloquy. It explodes into a high-energy 6/8 fireball with great guitar/violin interplay, and vocals by Vander, Stella Vander (his wife), and Klaus Blasquiz. Elsewhere, "Kobah" is actually "Kobaia" (mistitled during the original printing) from the band's first album. Heard here is a vastly different version; more squirrely, funky, fusionesque than on the first album. The band's improvisational skills shine on the last two tracks, which come from MDK. Didier Lockwood (only 17 or 18 years old at the time) emerges as perhaps the band's best solist, while Bernard Paganotti's bass solo at the beginning of the last track became infamous for its increasingly distorted sound.
Line-up :
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards
- Bernard Paganotti / bass
- Christian Vander / drums, vocals
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Gabrid Federow / guitar
- Jean-Paul Asseline / keyboards
- Klaus Blasquiz / vocals
- Stella Vander / vocals
Track List :
CD1
01. Kohntark (Part One) - 15:45
02. Kohntark (Part Two) - 16:14
03. Emehnteht-Re (Announcement) - 8:10
CD2
01. Hhai - 9:20
02. Kobah - 6:36
03. Lihns - 4:55
04. Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik - 6:14
05. Mekanik Zain - 18:57
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