Genre: progressive
Rating: 4 stars ****
Title:  L'araignée-mal
Company: Eurodisc
Catalog:  913 002
Year: 1975
Country/State: Metz, France
Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+
Comments: original French pressing
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 265
Price: $80.00

Best time to play: After a couple of glasses of a nice merlot

As a teenager I spent a couple of years in Europe with my family and I remember being overwhelmed by the sheer number of European bands out there. I also had a friend who was really into European progressive bands (sad to say my tastes were far more pedestrian) and he had a penchant for French and Belgian bands. My buddy would play all kinds of stuff for me and sadly, most of it went right over my head. Among those groups - the Metz-based Atoll (I clearly remember the bizarre cover art).

Recorded after a personnel change that saw the departure of original guitarist Luc Serra (replaced by former Divodorum guitarist Christian Beya), the band released their second studio album in 1975. Produced by Jacques Chabiron, "L'araignée-mal" (roughly translating as "The Evil Spider" - check out the cover art), wasn't a perfect collection, but showcased a band with a ton of talent and a willingness to take some musical chances, including exploring some rather non-commercial areas including jazz-rock fusion ('Cazotte No 1'). I've always been a big fan of lead singer Andre Balzer's voice, though he's frequently cast to the background amidst the band's extended instrumental numbers. Though the performances were all in French, Balzer had a voice that was capable of handling everything from their softer number (the second part of 'Imaginez le Temps'), to almost conventional hard rock ('Les Robots Debiles'). The rest of the band were equally impressive, but the overlooked star was probably former Arc keyboardist Bruno Géhin (he'd briefly been a member of Atoll, but apparently quit during the recording sessions).

- 'Le Photographe Exorciste' opened up with some warm Taillet synthesizer washes and Balzer's extended spoken word introduction (lost in translation to my American ears). Musically it was propelled by a pretty, if antsy and atmospheric feel - imagine standing in a field right before a thunder storm opens up. And then things turned increasingly ominous and abrasive with Beya and violinist Aubert engaging in what sounded like an aural war. Seriously unsettling. Understanding the lyrics certainly would have helped on my part. rating: *** stars
- To my ears the instrumental 'Cazotte No 1' found the band taking a stab at jazz-rock. Musically it was almost a spotlight piece giving Aubert, Beya, Taillet, and supporting keyboardist Bruno Géhin extended solo spots. Hardly the most impressive piece on the album and in contrast to the rest of the album, this six minute segment seemed to go on and on and on ... rating: ** stars
- Given I'm not a big fan of electric violin, 'Le Voleur d'Extask' got off to a slow start in my book, but once Auberts' soloing faded into the background and Balzer and the rest of the band stepped into the spotlight, the song took a step in the right direction, revealing a pretty melody (loved the chanted "oh, oh, ohs") and then let the band simply jammed their way to an exhausting conclusion. rating: *** stars
- The flip side featured the side long title track. A four piece, multi-segmented suite, the song started out with 'Imaginez le Temps'. Three and a half minutes into the song (which I think translates roughly as "imagine the time"), I'd just about given up on the track, having decided the mix of percussion, indecipherable vocal fragments, and Richard Aubert sawing violin was just an irritating slice of experimental dribble. And then the song suddenly exploded into a dreamy, ballad with a beautiful melody, exquisite vocals from Balzer and some Yes-styled lead guitar from Beya. rating: **** stars
- Seamlessly merging into 'L'araignée-mal', the suite picked up a bit of momentum with Gozzo's drums and Taillet's synthesizers setting up a hypnotic pattern over which Balzer turned in some of his most urgent vocals. I'm usually pretty skeptical about stuff like this, but this was one of the exception - mesmerizing. rating: ***** stars
- 'Les Robots Debiles' saw the energy level ratchet up even further. Opening up with some urgent Taillet synthesizer washes, with the exception of some brief, weird, Focus-styled shouts, the second half of the song almost qualified as a slice of hard rock. Who knew Balzer could belt it out like this ? rating: **** stars
- So how could you not love a song with a title like 'Le Cimetiere de Plastique' ('Cemetery of Plastic') ? In spite of the title, to my ears it was one of Atoll's prettiest numbers with Beya stepping up to the plate with a gorgeous solo and Balzer again showing off his remarkable voice (it was enough for me to look for a copy of his solo album). My only complaint - what was with the stop-on-a-dime ending ? rating: **** stars

All told, side two made for one of my favorite sides of progressive music and shame on folks who've ignored it becomes these guys were French ... you simply have no idea what you're missing. (Maybe just urban legend, but the band supposedly recorded an English version of the LP.)

"L'araignée-mal" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Le Photographe Exorciste (Jacques Chabiron - Michel Taillet - Alain Gozzo) - 9:10
La Lumiere de soufre vert
Eclaire enfin les visage
Et d'estrange phenomettes
Se revelent
2.) Cazotte No 1 (instrumental) (Michel Taillet - Christian Beya) - 6:00
3.) Le Voleur d'Extask (Andre Balzer - Jacques Chabiron - Christian Beya - Richard Aubert) - 7:30
Ivre d'extase, le Voleur
Derobe l'herbe de couleur

(side 2)
1.) L'araignée-mal (Andre Balzer - Alain Gozzo - Richard Aubert) - 6:40 i.) Imaginez le Temps
Une ombre etrange glisse
Sur l'onde limpide des etangs
ii.) L'araignée-mal (Andre Balzer - Uro - Michel Taillet) - 5:05
iii.) Les Robots Debiles (Andre Balzer - Michel Taillet - Jean Luc Thillot) - 3:35
iv.) Le Cimetiere de Plastique (Michel Taillet - Jean Luc Thillo - Christian Beya) - 6:00