Paga - "Gnosis" (Bleu Citron BLCD 016, 1993, CD)
Paga in '93 was: Bernard Paganotti, former monster-zeuhl bassist with Magma
and Weidorje, Klaus Blasquiz, former Magma lead vocalist on all their best
albums, Bertrand Lajudie on keyboards, and new members Francois Laizeau on
drums, who played with Magma, Offering and Yochk'o Seffer in the eighties,
and Eric Seva on soprano and tenor saxes and EWI. So one would expect a
lineup with such a pedigree to be pumping out intense, throbbing
zeuhl-fusion, right ? Like the two previous Paga albums, right ? Wrong. In
fact it may disappoint some who are expecting some continuity from previous
albums, but in fact this album is very different - and even took this writer by
surprise, having heard some live tapes from less than a year before this
release. The band has deliberately taken a big step in a jazzier direction.
That said, and notwithstanding a more commercial lite-version of their
classic "Urantia" that opens the album, the music here is quite good, and in
fact may be the best Paga yet; overall the sound is more subtle, yet on
close listen one can detect all the fire of Paga past, Paganotti's ever
riffing bass, Laizeau's crafty touch on the drums. The keyboards are toned
down a bit to make room for the saxes, and due to the jazzier feel of the
music, Klaus' voice sounds quite a bit softer than I've heard it before,
which tends to translate into more accessible on the vocal tracks (of which
there are three.) Yet under the smooth surface, all the power and energy are
still there, waiting to be heard. Most notable are the tracks "Caravan",
"Zigzag", and the eleven-minute Lajudie penned "Jazzobizz". This is an album
that takes a few listens to be understood and appreciated; unlike "Haunted",
it won't jump out of the speakers and grab you by the jugular, but it does
make for some compelling listening...after ten-plus times through I'm still
discovering new things I haven't heard before.
(Originally published in Exposé #3, p.9, Edited for Gnosis 3/21/01)
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