genre: sympho prog
country: france
quality: lossless (flac, cue, log, scans)
time: 58'14" size: 323 mb
Scented Gardens of Mind:
One of the most famous French groups in the field of melodic symphonic rock was Atoll from Metz. Luc Serra, Jean Luc Thillot and Alain Gozzo decided to form a group in February 1972. Reinforced by Andre Balzer (vocals), Michel Taillet (keyboards) and Francis Paul (bass), Atoll released their first single on Eurodisc in October 1973 ("Je T'Aime Quand Je Te Vois" / "Change Ta Vie"). This sold 40,000 copies, quite impressive for a debut. Patrick Kiffer replaced Francis Paul for the second single ("Le Secret Du Mage" / "Je Fais Un Rкve") and then Jean Thillot switched from guitar to bass. Only the A-side of the second single was included on Musiciens - Magiciens, released in November 1974. Atoll's music combined the archetypical symphonic rock influences (from Genesis and Yes) with vocal harmonies reminscent of drowsy American soft-rock (CS&N, America). Like their contemporaries Mona Lisa, Atoll were also influenced by Ange and Magma, giving the music a distinctive French character. At this early stage, Atoll was better at composing songs than playing fluent instrumental music with its own soul. This is the work of a group yet to find their own personality, just discovering how to play complex musical structures. For this reason, short tracks such as "Musiciens - Magiciens" and "Le Secret Du Mage" are the most memorable. The album was engineered by Jean Pierre Massiera, but still sounds surprisingly dry and dull.
1. L'hymne médiéval (3:10)
2. Le baladin du temps (11:23)
3. Musiciens-magiciens (3:45)
4. Au-delà des écrans de cristal (5:29)
5. Le secret du mage (2:55)
6. Le berger (3:50)
7. Je suis d'ailleurs (8:15)
Bonus tracks (live)
8. Au-delà des écrans de cristal (4:30)
9. Fille de neige (6:48)
10. Je fais un rêve (3:34)
11. Musiciens-magiciens (4:40)
André Balzer / lead vocals
Luc Serra / guitars, synthesizer, percussion
Jan-Luc Thillot / bass
Michel Taillet / keyboards, percussion
Alain Gozzo / drums, percussion
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