Ni Vent Ni Nouvelles

映画音楽等を手掛けながらも作品を残さぬまま解散した幻のジャズ/アート・ロックバンド:LASTING WEEPのJerome LangloisとAlain Bergeron(fl/sax)を中心に結成された、70年代カナダ/ケベックのプログレッシブ・ロックシーンを代表する名バンドの一つ、カナダ:Polydorに移籍しリリースされた'77年作がカナダ:Return To Analogより500枚数量限定アナログ盤として'23年初のアナログ・リイシュー!

Jerome Langloisの脱退に伴い、新たに前作にゲスト参加していたDenis Lapierre(g)、Paul Picard(per/xylophone)が加入。多彩な変拍子を生かした緻密かつテクニカルなバンド・アンサンブルにも関わらず、ジャケットのイメージのような繊細で木目細やかなサウンド/アレンジでファンタジックかつユーモラスにジャズ・ロックとシンフォニック・ロックの合間を縫う柔和なサウンドを聴かせる、バンドは元より70年代のケベックのプログレ・シーンを代表すると言っても過言ではない名作です!

Ni Vent...Ni Nouvelle (No Wind...No News) is Maneige's first record after the departure of Jerome Langlois. Although a transitional album in many aspects, it nevertheless clearly indicated the group's new direction. Exit the lush acoustic instrumentations, the music is now mostly electric, with the electric guitar and electric piano taking center stage, but mallet percussion remains an important part of the melodic and harmonic content. Exit the long, intricate suites: the pieces are all short (under six minutes), focused, and driven by catchy melodies. The difference between Ni Vent...Ni Nouvelle and the albums that came after it is that this time, the music works very well. It keeps much of the complexity the group distilled from Gentle Giant (see "La Fin de l'Histoire" or "Le Gros Roux"), but loses a certain pomposity. The FM radio compromises found in Libre Service-Self Service and the clinical sound of the more jazz-rock albums have yet to appear, leaving the music warm, smiley, and inviting. "Douce-Amere" and "Les Folleries" stand as two of Maneige's most memorable tunes and top almost anything Pierre Moerlen's Gong has recorded. The last of the group's noteworthy recordings, it is also one of the very few that were reissued on CD. Sadly, the Kozak edition exaggerates the bass levels, occulting Alain Bergeron's delicate flute work. ~ Francois Couture