:::Jazz Europe Express – Switzerland:::
Posted: Wednesday, 15 December 2010 by jazzlover in Etykiety: Island
One of the best things to come out of Switzerland (musically speaking , no offence to Chocolates and Cheeses ), along with the fantastic CIRCUS to which it shares a few points : they both are Alemanic , have no electric guitar , winds instruments play a vital role and they recorded around 76/77 .
I was intrigued by some reviews , not only on this site but also Guts Of Darkness site , which were quite ditjyrambic about the music on this sole album.
From reading them again , before writing this review after four weeks of spinning in my deck , I can tell you that most of the review are fairly acurate (the ratings , however , are ...... over-rated) but there is one very obvious influence that has not been mentionned before . Before mentionning the group , I would like to say that there are much ZHEUL leanings on this record. Zheul , you said? You mean MAGMA ? Well certainly as far as the bass is concerned , but the overall style of the music on this album , this all yells out Zheul.
I found the singing perfectible , the KB a tad too Emersonic , but the VDGG and GG influences just fine and nothing too hard to comprehend and like (although I now appreciate these last two bands , it took me more than fifteen years to get to enjoy and understand their oeuvre) and this is not-overly complex music.
Their original album was interesting enough but am I glad that they added that bonus of unknown origin and of "non-studio quality " (nothing shameful , if they had not said it in the liner notes , I probably would have not noticed it) as this is the appex of this CD . Twenty-six minutes of sheer insane zheul , impeccably played shows the best side of this group. I would have thought a shame if it never got released , as this is easily the best thing on the album.
Definitely worth your time and money , but there are more important stuff to discover from that mountainous country , I name the fairly similar but much more original CIRCUS.
I was intrigued by some reviews , not only on this site but also Guts Of Darkness site , which were quite ditjyrambic about the music on this sole album.
From reading them again , before writing this review after four weeks of spinning in my deck , I can tell you that most of the review are fairly acurate (the ratings , however , are ...... over-rated) but there is one very obvious influence that has not been mentionned before . Before mentionning the group , I would like to say that there are much ZHEUL leanings on this record. Zheul , you said? You mean MAGMA ? Well certainly as far as the bass is concerned , but the overall style of the music on this album , this all yells out Zheul.
I found the singing perfectible , the KB a tad too Emersonic , but the VDGG and GG influences just fine and nothing too hard to comprehend and like (although I now appreciate these last two bands , it took me more than fifteen years to get to enjoy and understand their oeuvre) and this is not-overly complex music.
Their original album was interesting enough but am I glad that they added that bonus of unknown origin and of "non-studio quality " (nothing shameful , if they had not said it in the liner notes , I probably would have not noticed it) as this is the appex of this CD . Twenty-six minutes of sheer insane zheul , impeccably played shows the best side of this group. I would have thought a shame if it never got released , as this is easily the best thing on the album.
Definitely worth your time and money , but there are more important stuff to discover from that mountainous country , I name the fairly similar but much more original CIRCUS.
:::Review by Sean Trane:::
Island - Pictures (1977)
1. Introduction (1:28)
2. Zero (6:13)
3. Pictures (16:51)
4. Herold And King / Dloreh (12:13)
5. Here And Now (12:15)
Bonus track on cd release:
6. Empty Bottles (23:35)
Credits
- Benjamin Jäger / lead vocals, percussion
- Güge Jürg Meier / drums, gongs, percussion
- Peter Scherer / keyboards, pedal-bass, voices crotales
- René Fisch / sax, flute, clarinet, triangle, voices
Island - Pictures (1977)
1. Introduction (1:28)
2. Zero (6:13)
3. Pictures (16:51)
4. Herold And King / Dloreh (12:13)
5. Here And Now (12:15)
Bonus track on cd release:
6. Empty Bottles (23:35)
Credits
- Benjamin Jäger / lead vocals, percussion
- Güge Jürg Meier / drums, gongs, percussion
- Peter Scherer / keyboards, pedal-bass, voices crotales
- René Fisch / sax, flute, clarinet, triangle, voices
:::try it:::