Syncope. 1981 Productions Cram
A very obscure LP from Quebec. I hear a mix of way-past-its-sell-date horn rock, late 70s fusion, complex progressive rock similar to Opus 5 / Pollen, and even a little downer blues rock. The more I hear it, the better the album gets. The horn rock angle is really weird given the 1980 date, especially since it's of the 1969 Chicago / BST variety.
If you do decide to go surfing the web on this one, what you will find is fellow Gnosis colleague Sean Trane's excellent analysis of the album, which I'll quote here: "Hiding behind a poetic musical dawn artwork (see the full artwork PA's site), this septet is a very brassy affair, presenting a bit like a Quebecois version of Chicago through seven tracks ranging from four to six and a half minutes and one splendid mini-epic nearing eleven minutes.
The aptly-named septet develops some excellent syncopated prog-enhanced brass-rock, that sounds very Quebecois, not least through the relatively accent-less duo French vocals (often close to Opus-5), bar the swingy blues Bleu d'Hull track, which sticks out a bit too much from the rest of the album. Indeed the four tracks of the opening side sound like a calm and thoughtful version of Chicago or a less-kitschy Lighthouse without being derivative, the main difference being in the double vocals and an uncompromising songwriting. The flipside opens on the album's centrepiece, the instrumental self-titled mini-epic lasting almost 11 minutes, often running quite complex and even symphonic (grandiose intro on a church pipe organ), but never needlessly so. After an average mainly-sung track, the album closes on two splendid tracks, the first Cible (target) sounding like a brassy Opus-5 song, while the amazing instrumental finale of Rage features some wild Spanish-sounding horns that draws chills in the back of the neck. What an awesome way to finish an album.
If you'll make the exception of the sung-swing-song closing the A-side that ruins its cohesiveness, the album is a very impressive, filled with often-superb brass-rock that is probably more brilliant than the early Chicago classic albums."
Priority: 2
6/22/11 (new entry)
