Short Reviews [Forgas Band Phenomena - 1999 - "Extra-Lucide"]

Following on from the release of their debut album in 1997 the band planned to undertake live dates, but these were impacted by changes in personnel and by the time they went into the studio in January 1999 only guitarist Mathias Desmier was still there with Patrick. The rest of the band now comprised Gilles Pausanias (keyboards), Denis Guivarc'h (saxophone) and Juan-Sebastien Jimenez (bass) with an overall sound and approach that was very rooted in the fusion space but with less overall breadth and width than the debut. There is still one number coming in at nearly twenty minutes, but the other four are all less than ten with a total running time of just over 45 minutes. With less woodwind instruments, and no vibraphone/marimba, there is far more space on this album which is used wisely so while Denis is often taking the lead role the others switch between providing melodic support or taking more of a backseat. During “Rebirth” Mathias plays the same note progression almost throughout, yet when he is given the opportunity he is an incredibly exciting and dynamic performer yet fully understood his role in this piece. This also allows Patrick to ensure that he and Juan-Sebastien are more to the fore, as there are far less layers to contend with while musically it feels much more like an album of its time as opposed to one from much earlier, unlike the debut. Undoubtedly the change in line-up had impacted what was taking place, but also Forgas had been able to record four albums in 10 years, and before that there was a break of 13 years when he had recorded very little, so he was able to experiment more with what he actually wanted to achieve. This often feels more upbeat and commercial, with much more of a jazz rock fusion feel than Canterbury, and one can certainly understand why after this was released they were soon signed to Cuneiform who they have been with ever since. Again, this album has until now been unavailable for the last 20 years, and it is a fine addition to any collection.