Outer Music Diary

Watched this excellent Italian film in the vein of Godfather or other crime flicks, it’s obviously of interest to those who, like me, heard the soundtrack (by Osanna with Bacalov) many years before approaching the film. There’s definitely something of a visceral rush you get when some beautiful classical piece with strings gives way to Osanna still not quite past that Jethro Tull influence, rocking away with abandon, it’s a moment they replay several times during the film and it works nicely. In fact I can only remember a few pieces from the album/soundtrack of the same name, the big surprise to me was one of the pieces from the New Trolls’ Concerto Grosso per I (also with Bacalov iirc) was also in the movie, the musical style between the two tied in perfectly. It’s great to see the film is up to the music, as what at first seems almost like a typical noirish plot, gets turned on its head late in the game, almost rewriting everything you had seen up to that point, the credits rolled to astonishment.

Atoll – Tertio. 1977. This is from the original Musea CD, and I didn’t realize how quiet the sound of this particular release is. I had to practically crank it to the maximum just to get it to a normal volume. Does everyone else have this CD, or a more recent one? Being that Atoll plays in a favorite style for me – dramatic French vocals, complex and aggressive sections with guitar and keyboard leads – and the fact that predecessor “L’Araignee Mal” is one of my Top 50 albums ever…. I expect that “Tertio” will finally knock me over. But it never really does. “Tertio” was actually my introduction to the band, via stumbling over one of their import LPs in the 1980s. I admit to liking it much more now, than on original impact, as the unique French song style has long since won me over. Maybe dropping the violin, or some of the hysterics of the previous album are what hurt. I mean – it’s still a very highly rated 11, but just want more from it I guess.

Patrick Vian - Bruits et Temps Analogues. 1976. Patrick Vian’s sole Egg label album used to be a regular in the import used bins and generally could be had for under $5. Because of this, Vian’s album had more exposure amongst the crate digging cognoscenti of the 1980s (especially the broke ones like me) than it does today, being that it still hasn’t found its way to a CD reissue yet. I’ve grown to appreciate this album more, as it’s pretty much an eclectic brew, in the French tradition, with sequencer based electronic being the album’s main premise. Vian headed up the much more radical, and politically charged Red Noise from a few years before. And there’s very little of that angst and radicalism present here. Pretty harmless overall and nice to hear every once and again.

Burnin’ Red Ivanhoe – WWW. 1971. “WWW” (now THAT’S a forward thinking title) has its roots in the early jazz rock tradition, with clear influences coming from the Canterbury camp. I do appreciate Side 1 more, as it has that unique Continental European take on the Canterbury sound, not that dissimilar to Supersister, however more jazz rooted than Zappa. Plus an unusual avant organ piece. Side 2 has a lot of soprano sax, an instrument I’ve struggled to warm up to. I’ve always felt this was an album I’d dig more than I do – but it’s never won me over completely.