Short Reviews [Present - 2024 - "This Is Not the End"]

When an album is released after the death of the artist it is not unusual for people to say marvellous things about it, even if it is not worthy, just because there is a sense of loss and a knowledge that there will be no more, but that is not the case here. Yes, many reviewers and critics are saying wonderful things about this release, but that is because it is truly remarkable in so many ways. Roger Trigaux released some incredibly important albums with Univers Zero before forming Present in 1979 since when his significance within the RIO scene has been rightfully recognised, even though he never had a massive output. Indeed, this album was the first new album since 2009’s ‘Barbaro’, and it was only through the exhortations of Michel Besset that Roger pulled together a band to record his compositions. It took five years, with Roger passing away during the process, which was then completed by Pierre Chevalier (piano, keyboards, vocals) and sound engineer Udi Koomran. The rest of the band are Francois Mignot (guitar), Dave Kerman (percussion), Keith Macksoud (bass), Kurt Bude (saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet) and Liesbeth Lambrecht (violin). Many of these were involved with the last album, answering Roger’s call one last time, although I am not sure why Reginald Trigaux was not involved, although I do believe he is more of an illustrator than a musician these days. This is RIO being taken into quite new directions, with strong comparisons to both classic Present and Art Zoyd while also bringing on board modern classical. In many ways this is music which is transcending what many people think of as progressive rock, instead shifting into a different artform altogether. The title in the album has ‘NOT’ in capitals while the rest is in lower case, and one can only hope that this means there is yet more to come from the sessions, which have only provided us with three tracks. I must confess to loving the way we get “This Is Not the End, Part 2” before “This Is Not the End, Part 1”, and we gradually build up in length from 7:58 to 12:15 before finish on 26:30. This is compelling, powerful, beguiling, intriguing, passionate and absolutely full of life, making it very hard indeed to understand what Roger must have been going through during its recording, by which time he was in a wheelchair. I have been fortunate enough to hear quite a lot of Roger’s work over the years, although by no means all, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is his most essential work and one which any lover of music which refuses to conform needs to investigate immediately. It is jagged, it is broken, RIO, eclectic, orchestral, modern and ageless, all brought together in an arrangement which is totally unlike anything else around. Roger may be gone, but his legacy is secured with what is possibly his finest achievement.