Art Zoyd - Symphonie pour le Jour ou Bruleront les Cites (Japanese mini-lp sleeve)
SKU
BELLE ANTIQUE 081365
Art Zoyd's early and great works have been unavailable for such a long time that it's too easy to forget what a strikingly original and amazing band they were in their prime. One of the original R.I.O bands (they joined in the second wave of bands, along with Art Bears and Aksak Maboul, if my failing R.I.O.-memory serves me correctly), they also had early ties with Univers Zero, which are quite apparent on this album. This release was recorded shortly after Generation sans Futur in 1980 and originally issued on the legendary Atem label (along with Univers Zero, This Heat, Present and others). It features the largest size ensemble they would ever use; a pretty magnificent 7 piece band. This one confused people, because while it was their 3rd release that anyone outside of France knew about, it was actually a re-recording by the then current line-up of their first, long out of print album, originally recorded in 1976! They used a unique and really odd instrumentation of violin, viola, trumpet, saxes, guitar and electric bass, with a tiny guest spot by Daniel Denis (percussion). Note that except for Daniel's (small) participation, there is no drummer involved, but the music is very rhythmically complex and also quite strong in that department. There are a lot of influences from 20th century music but they are definitely a rock band and this has great riffs and structures. It's a stunning achievement of rehearsal-intensive rock and it affected me in a way that happens only every now and then with a recording. Yeah, it's that unique and powerful. This is a beautifully done Japanese mini-lp sleeve edition of this band and this edition is the only way to buy it; it is not in print in any other form on CD. This includes 7 bonus tracks from 1984-1987 that aren't bad, but which have nothing to do with the 1980 album embodied here. Highly recommended.