Detailed Reviews [Eric Renard - 2004 - "Reve Errance"]

Prolusion. Eric RENARD started his musical career at the end of the '70s, and during the next two decades he played in France's various Rock and Jazz-Fusion bands. "Reve Errance" is Eric's first step on a solo creative path.

Synopsis. The label Dreaming, which is one of Musea Records' divisions, is a shelter for performers of electronic music and similar styles, though there is one highly progressive and innovative album in my memory, by the >Meditation Project, which was also released here for some reason. So to the hero of these lines, Eric Renard's solo debut is a typical Dreaming production rather than vice versa, although the 'electronic' component of the man's music is caused exclusively by the fact of using synthesizer automatic functions throughout the recording. (Indeed, only, that said, a complete multi-instrumentalist is able to undertake a solitary flight without using any machines and machineries. Otherwise it's just inevitable.) The twelve compositions on "Reve Errance" are submitted to a unified stylistic concept, which shows that Eric equally tends to Classical music and a melodic Rock, though always giving preference to a lush, pronouncedly symphonic sounding. The rich orchestral arrangements, made up of the sounds of various string and chamber instruments, cover the entire album, either developing independently or serving a background for solos of electric guitar or passages of piano, the latter of which, fortunately, are more widespread on the album and are classically diverse and aesthetically beautiful. The guitar parts are a bit less impressive, though on the other hand, they make the overall sound more diverse and saturated. The music is not without originality and is mostly dramatic in character. Only the last track, Celtica, is an anthem-like composition with somewhat a heroic feel to it. According to the CD press kit, Celtic folklore is inseparably linked with Eric's music, but apart from the title of said piece, there is nothing on the album, which would arouse associations with Celts or Gaels, either. This is just an electronically symphonic Rock blended with light Classical music.

Conclusion. Although it would be pointless to assert that "Reve Errance" is full of progressive depths, this is an honest (unlike Ten Jinn's latest, for instance) and tasteful work and is a really good album in its category. Eric's compositional horizons are rather noticeably broader than those of the other individuals appeared in the Dreaming family this year, and his passion for Classical music deserves a sincere respect.

VM: August 9, 2004