Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
6/23/2005
Format:
CD (Album)
There is so much great music that never made it to CD being released these days. I’ve said this so many times that I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. Although the cover might not suggest it, fans of electronic music should definitely have this on their “want lists”. The fine folks at MIO records have done a fabulous job remastering this one and I can’t stress strongly enough how excellent this disc is. Philippe Besombes and Jean-Louis Rizet were pioneers in the French electronic music and soundtrack scene and this album is a testament to their sonic explorations.
Named for the small French record label that originally released their works, Pôle was first released in 1976 as a double LP. When I first put on the album I thought this was going to be more of a krautrock type of thing similar to maybe Faust’s more electronic stuff or Tangerine Dream but the more I listened to it (and I must say I’ve been really hooked on it) the more I hear all kinds of different things.
The disc starts off with the 11-minute “Haute pression” (High pressure) and the pulsing synths at the beginning are what gave me the initial krautrock impression. A few minutes into the piece they introduce some really cool drums that have me thinking of Nick Mason and Pink Floyd. There’s a nice underlying Pink Floyd vibe through a lot this album as if it were a really cool experimental album that the band might have done in the mid-seventies. The next track “Evelyse” is much more mellow in a sort of early Brian Eno style with airy synth drones and eerie atmospheric sounds.
“Armature double” clocks in at 18 minutes and most likely took up an entire side of the original double LP. Again, this one reminds me quite a bit of Brian Eno’s music. I couldn’t really say that Eno influenced them; maybe it was the other way around. Towards the end of the track there are a couple minutes of really nice sequencer work on top of the moody electronic backdrop. “Lundi matin” is a little different and starts out with a few seconds of Rhodes piano and then switches to a sequencer rhythm that has me thinking of Vangelis, very similar to that really neat synth in “Spiral”. The piece also contains a nice sax solo.
“Montélimar” is a rather strange piece consisting of multiple layered keyboards with a bongo accompaniment. There’s also a bit of horn work on this too. The only minor complaint that I might have with this CD is that although there’s a very good essay in the booklet they left out any personnel listings. I’m just going to assume that Besombes and Rizet are playing everything. On that note, the next track “Rock à Montauban” is even weirder and it contains some really silly vocals. At only 3 ½ minutes, this fun little ditty is another nod to Faust and provides a nice breather in preparation for the grand finale.
“Synthi soit-il” is a 22-minute track and here the duo pulls out all the stops. A really great original keyboard work that I’m stumped for any comparison, this is a spacey, weird, cosmic masterpiece! The drums make another appearance and provide some excellent rhythmic counterpoint to the bizarre synths and sound effects. The song ends pretty strangely too, with a few seconds of slowly strummed guitar chords and quiet melancholy vocals before a quick electronic blip at the very end.
For all you gearheads out there, this album contains a staggering array of legendary instruments. A list of the keyboards used includes: VCS 3 AKS, ARP 2600, Electrocomp 101 and 500, Farfisa Synthorchestra, FY 1 Yamaha, Expender Oberheim, Solina Stringensemble, Crumor electric piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond Organ and Mellotron 400. So if those names make you drool uncontrollably, don’t hesitate to pick this excellent disc up. Hopefully, if we can support wonderful releases like this one, there will be lots more excellent music from the vaults released on CD in the future.
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