01	Chanson						04:43
	02	Without Words						07:40
	03	Way						08:15
	04	Ergotrip						06:24
	05	Et Pendant Ce Temps La						04:42
	06	Narcisse Et Goldmund						02:39
	07	Jungle Bubbles						02:44
	08	Sweet Absinthe						07:49
	09	Without Words (Mellotron Remix)						07:44
	10	Flute Aquatique						02:45

Clearlight: Forever Blowing Bubbles

Recorded at the Manor Studios.
Engineered by Mick Glossop
Mixed and produced by Cyrille Verdeaux and Mick Glossop
First released on vinyl 1975, Virgin Records.
CD: Virgin VJD - 5025 [Japan, 1989]
Line-up
FRANCOIS JEANNEAU - Bubbles
synthesizer, flute in G, soprano sax
BOB BOISADAN - Electric piano, organ, synthesizer
CYRILLE VERDEAUX - Grand piano, harpsicord, synthesizer, organ, glockenspiel, mellotron, gongs, congas
JEAN-CLAUDE D'AGOSTINI - Electric guitar, 12-string
CHRISTOS STAPINOPOULOS - Drums, congas
JOEL DUGRENOT - Bass, lead vocals
Guest friends
DAVID CROSS - Violin, electric violin
CHRISTIAN BOULE - Cosmic guitar
GILBERT ARTMAN - Percussion, drums, maracas, vibraphone
AMANDA & ANN - Celestial choir
BRUNO VERDEAUX - Synthesizer, aquatic congas
BRIGITTE ROY - Sings 'Narcisse et Goldmund'
Tracks
Chanson (Joel Dugrenot)
Without words (Cyrille Verdeaux)
Way (Joel Dugrenot)
Ergotrip (Cyrille Verdeaux)
Et pendant ce temps la (Cyrille Verdeaux)
Narcisse et Goldmund (Cyrille Verdeaux - Beatrice d'Eaubonne)
Jungle bubbles (Cyrille Verdeaux)





Forever Blowing Bubbles (1975)

1. Chanson - 4:50
2. Without Words - 7:30
3. Way - 8:00
4. Ergotrip - 6:35
5. Et Pendant Ce Temps La - 4:10
6. Narcisse et Goldmund - 2:30
7. Jungle Bubbles - 2:40

Bonus Tracks:
8. Sweet Absinthe
9. Without Words (Mellotron Remix)
10. Flute Aquatique


Francoise Junneau - Bubbles
Synthesizer, Flute in G, Soprano Sax
Bob Boisadan - Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer
Cyrille Verdeaux - Grand Piano, Harpsichord, Synthesizer, Organ, Glockenspiel, Mellotron, Gongs, Congas
Jean-Claude D'Agostini - Electric, Acoustic Guitar
Christons Staphinopoulos - Drums, Congas
Joel Dugrenot - Bass, Lead Vocals







The second Clearlight release, Forever Blowing Bubbles, is a more than worthy follow up to the classic Symphony album, perhaps surpassing it on many fronts. This album is made up of seven shorter tracks, rather than the two extended movements of the prior album, giving it a somewhat different overall feel. Immediately noticeable is the absence of any of the Gong membership, which does manifest itself in the compositional approach somewhat. The album has less of the "jammy" feel that Symphony had at times, relying on Cyrille Verdeaux's classical piano motifs as its bare-bones structure. Vocals are also sparsely featured, but are largely forgettable, as on the tame opener "Chanson". However, female vocals are used to pleasing effect in the short, but pretty "Narcisse et Goldmund". In sum, the album plays on the more orchestral and grand moments of Symphony, condensing them into shorter, focused tunes with a heavily melodic, but no less unique, emphasis. The individual pieces begin with some pleasant piano motif, and then, as on Symphony, electronic effects and synthesizers are piled on, often climaxing beneath tremendous, fuzzed out guitar solos.
Sonic ear candy is everywhere to be found throughout the album. "Without Words" builds to a very energetic peak, with some thundering drums and cascading guitar sprinklings. One of my favorite moments comes at the end of "Way", where a barrage of pianos and synthesizers are double and triple tracked atop one another. Then the tape is slowly sped up, and everything moves higher in pitch, building in intensity as the sparkling individual themes weave in and around each other. A gorgeous moment. "Ergo trip" is another highlight, with a stunning guitar solo that complements Verdeaux's intoxicating piano themes. The Clearlight 888 CD reissue features a number of bonus tracks. Of note is the previously unreleased "Sweet Absinthe", which didn't fit on to the original album, but fits in very nicely here. This another excellent album from Clearlight, and its debatable as to whether this might even surpass the more renowned Symphony. In my opinion, both are essential, although Clearlight's output would turn from excellent to merely good after this release.
- Greg Northrup [October 2001]



Clear Light: Forever Blowing Bubbles
Originally released: 1975

LP: 1975 Virgin Records V2039


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Personnel | Tracks | Notes | Reviews

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Personnel:
Francois Jeanneau (bubbles synthesiser, flute in G, soprano sax)
Bob Boisadan (electric piano, organ, synthesiser)
Cyrille Verdeaux (grand piano, harpsichord, synthesiser, organ, glockenspiel, mellotron, gongs, congas)
Jean-Claude d'Agnostini (electric guitar, 12-string guitar, flute in C)
Christos Stapinopoulos (drums, congas)
Joel Dugrenot (bass, lead vocals)
With:
David Cross (violin, electric violin)
Christian Boule (cosmic guitar)
Gilbert Artman (percussion, drums, maracas, vibraphone)
Amanda & Anne (celestial choir)
Bruno Verdeaux (synthesiser, aquatic congas)
Brigitte Roy (lead vocals on "Narcisse et Goldmund")

[Return to Top]

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Tracks:
4:50 Chanson (Dugrenot)
7:30 Without Words (Verdeaux)
8:00 Way (Dugrenot)
6:35 Egotrip (Verdeaux)
4:10 Et Pendant ce Temps La (Verdeaux)
2:30 Narcisse et Goldmund (Verdeaux)
2:40 Jungle Bubbles (Verdeaux)

[Return to Top]

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Notes:
From the back of the LP: Special thanks to David Cross, The Northettes, Beatrice, Brigitte, Mick, Angela Wright, the people of The Manor

I've included this album on the site despite the fact that Cross is only a guest musician because it is mentioned on the family tree in "Frame by Frame" (although the band is erroneously listed as Clearlight Symphony- Symphony was their first album), and because it has come up numerous times as on ET in response to the "What did Cross do after KC?" question. -Henry





Forever Blowing Bubbles (Clearlight) Symphonic rock at its best. This is a superbly remastered CD featuring David Cross on electric violin. Includes 3 previously unreleased tracks. An essential for your collection!


Forever Blowing Bubbles (Clearlight) [C8M-002] (?12.99)


Forever Blowing Bubbles (originally released in 1975) features David on electric violin in the company of Clearlight creator Cyrille Verdeaux (piano and synthesizers), Joel Duregenot (ex-Zao, bass and vocals) and Jean Claude d'Agostini (Magic Circus, guitar and flute). This album has been remastered to provide the best sound quality possible and offers three bonus tracks remixed in 2000 from the original 16 track master tape. "Sweet Absinthe" was recorded for the original sessions but left off the LP because of its length. "Without Words" was remixed to bring out the symphonic qualties of the keyboards, in particular the multliple layers of Mellotron that were obscured on the original mix. "Flute Aquatique" is a remix of "Jungle Bubbles" bringing Francois Jeanneau's flute and percussion to prominence. To hear a clip from the opening track click on 'Chanson'





Clearlight (France) - 1975/2001 - "Forever Blowing Bubbles"
(45 min, "Clearlight Music")


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Tracklist:
1. Chanson 4:43
2. Without Words 7:40
3. Way 8:15
4. Ergotrip 4:24
5. Et pendant ce temps la 4:42
6. Narcisse et Goldmund 2:39
7. Jungle Bubbles 2:42
8. Sweet Absinthe 7:48
Bonus tracks:
9. Without Words 7:43 (Mellotron remix)
10. Jungle Bubbles 2:45 (as Flute Aquatique - remix)

All music composed by C. Verdeaux,
except tracks 1 & 3 - music & lyrics: by J. Dugrenot.
Lyrics of track 6: by Beatrice D'Eaubonne.

Line-up:

Cyrille Verdeaux - Grand piano, synthesizer,
organ, mellotron; harpsichord; glockenspiel, percussion

Joel Dugrenot - bass guitar;
vocals (the latter are featured only on track 1)

Christos Stapiponopulos - drums & percussion
Jean-Claude D'Agostini - electric & acoustic guitars, flute
Francois Jeanneau - saxophone, flute; synthesizer
Bob Boisadan - electric piano, organ, synthesizer

Guest musicians:

David Cross - acoustic & electric violins
Gilbert Artman - vibraphone, percussion
Bruno Verdeaux - synthesizer; congas
Christian Boule - guitar (on 8)
Brigitte Roy - vocals (on 6)

Produced by C. Verdeaux.
Recorded & mixed by Mick Glossop
at "The Manor" studios, Shipton-on-Cherwell, UK.
Tracks 9 & 10: mixed & co-produced by Dan Shapiro
at "Penguin" studio, CA, USA.
Mastered by Joe Steiner
at "Velvet Grape Productions", Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

Prologue. "Forever Blowing Bubbles" is the second album by the famous French band, Clearlight. On LP, it was released in 1975. Last year, 'Clearlight Music' has reissued it on CD. In fact, this CD is 56 minutes long. However, both of the latest (bonus) tracks on the CD represent just a remix of compositions from the original "Forever Blowing Bubbles" album. Their total playing time is ten and a half minutes. Until now, I was not acquainted with the creation of Clearlight. However, it's really strange that I was unaware of the creation of such a mind-blowing band as Clearlight, at least in the 1990s, when I was coming to Moscow twice a month. (At that time, Moscow was kind of a Mecca for music lovers from all over the former USSR.)

The Album. First, it needs to be mentioned that each of the songs on the album begins with the gurgling of bubbles. Most of the compositions that are featured on "Forever Blowing Bubbles" conform to a unified stylistic concept, which is a blend of Classic Symphonic Art-Rock and Space-Rock with the domination of the latter. A few tracks, however, are different from the others. In particular, Chanson (track 1) is the Classic Art-Rock piece with a few elements of Progressive Hard Rock. (Joel Durgenot sung it in English). The instrumental parts cover about two thirds of it, and the heavy guitar riffs are often heard there. However, the basic instrumental arrangements are truly symphonic. They consist of complex, diverse, and contrasting interplay between passages of piano, acoustic guitar, and violin, and solos of electric guitar and sax. All of the essential progressive ingredients that are typical of Classic Symphonic Art-Rock are present here in all their beauty. The sudden changes of tempo and mood, as well as the frequent use of complex time signatures, are especially evident among them. Narcisse et Goldmund (track 6) is another example of Classic Symphonic Progressive on this album. Performed without drums, this song features the beautiful female vocals (this time in French) and very diverse, tasteful, and impressive (just wonderful) interplay between passages of acoustic guitar, piano, and violin, and medieval-like solos of flute. Jungle Bubbles is a rather short instrumental representing kind of an ethnical Space music. With regard to the remixed version (track 10), it's much better than the original piece. (Remember this before programming your CD player.) The mid-tempo and fast solos of flute with a slight Eastern feel to them as if dance to the accompaniment of the African-like percussion and spacey chords-flashes of various synthesizers. All five of the remaining tracks on the album are instrumental compositions. All of them, namely, Without Words, Way, Ergotrip, Et pendant ce temps la, and Sweet Absinthe (tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, & 8), resemble most of the structural characteristics. (So, if I were at "Penguin" studio at the time when this CD was produced, I would have advised Dan to place Sweet Absinthe right after the first four of these tracks.) Each of the said five tracks represents a hard-edged Symphonic Space Rock jamming driven by virtuosi passages and solos of Cyrille Verdeaux's piano. The piano parts are in the center of a seemingly endless, incredibly diverse and contrasting, interplay between solos of electric and bass guitar, saxophone, and violin, and passages of other keyboards, namely, synthesizer, organ, and Mellotron. The arrangements develop constantly throughout each of these pieces, while two of them, - Without Words and Ergotrip, - were for the most part performed extremely rapidly (and, of course, extremely masterfully).

Summary. The compositional talents of Cyrille Verdeaux, as well as his performing skills along with all of the other musicians on the albums, are truly outstanding. In my view, this album is in some ways stronger than even "You" by Gong. Until now, I was considering the best album of 1975 "A Trick of the Tail" by Genesis (if you wish, see "Top Albums of Progressive Years" on the site's title page). Now, having listened to Clearlight's "Forever Blowing Bubbles", I think I must change its status.

VM. April 4, 2002




Clearlight - "Forever Blowing Bubbles" (1975) French band which seems to be popular amongst many progressive rock fans, but "Forever..." doesn't do much for me. This is one of the very few progressive rock bands where the vocal-parts in fact is much more interesting than the instrumental parts. The band had a very distinctive vocal-style, but you can hear it on just two tracks. The rest of the album is instrumental. Most of the tracks are based in very simple themes which gets repeated till I fall asleep. "Ergotrip", "Et Pendant Ce Temps La" and the instrumental part of "Way" are examples of this. "Without Words" has some fusion-tendencies, and as you probably understand by now: I DON'T like fusion! The best track here is "Chanson". Not very complex, but it's a nice track and the mentioned vocal-style comes to the fore. Most of the album is boring IMHO.








Clearlight [France]
Updated 7/6/00
Discography
Symphony (73)
Forever Blowing Bubbles (75)
Les Contes Du Singe Fou (76)
Visions (78)
Symphony II (90)
Mosaique (In Your Hands) (96)

Note: Cyrille Verdeaux's web site counts Delired Cameleon Family among the Clearlight discography, but this wasn't really a Clearlight album. It has a separate entry in the GEPR.

Reviews
Cyrille Verdeaux
Actually, just Clearlight and basically Cyrille Verdeaux and a million guests, most notably Steve Hillage, Didier Malherbe, and Tim Blake on Clearlight Symphony. All of them are great, but my personal favorite (at least for this week) is Forever Blowing Bubbles. Also great, is Clearlight Visions which features the incredible violin playing of Didier Lockwood (Magma) and more sax by Bloomdido.

This legendary mid-70's French progressive-symphonic band was led by master keyboardist Cyrille Verdeaux, with help from guitarist Christian Boule, and Gilbert Artman on Drums. The sound is rich, full and colorful, truly symphonic, ofttimes spacy, with occasional psychedelic guitar flareups. This is not just another bunch of synth-art wannabees trying to sound larger than life. In addition, the early albums feature guest appearances by the likes of Steve Hillage, Tim Blake, and Didier Malhebre. Symphony and Symphony II are grand on a grand scale. Symphony II is a partially re-recorded version with a lot of extra material added. Bubbles is a little more rinky-dink, but still nice, with shorter tracks and no thematic concept. Has some guest appearances by David Cross (ex-Crimson), and Joel Dugrenot (ex-Zao). The later albums are purportedly very acoustic-piano oriented, less symphonic, poppier, and feature vocals. Start with Symphony or Symphony II.
Often this band is called Clearlight Symphony, but that's not correct. The band's name was Clearlight, and their first album was called Symphony. Cyrille Verdeaux is the band leader and composer. Their first album is excellent, somewhat styled after space-fusion Gong, particularly on "Symphony Part 1" which features several Gong members, including Steve Hillage. Symphony consists of two songs, while Forever Blowing Bubbles consists of seven shorter songs and more variety. Verdeaux's synth work is more pronounced and very nice. This makes a good starting album.





Clearlight - Forever Blowing Bubbles

Released: 1975/2000
Label: Clearlight888music
Cat. No.: C8M 002
Total Time: 55:28


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, March 2001
Having listened to a few Clearlight or Cyrille Verdeaux CDs over the past year, I thought I knew what to expect from Forever Blowing Bubbles, the latest re-release from the Clearlight888Music. But Forever is, in some ways, quite different from Symphony and Les Contes de Singe Fou, and that is mainly down to the violin playing of David Cross ... whose playing I find to be much dryer and more shrill than Didier Lockwood's (on the others that I've reviewed). And while the guitar some times get a little shrill, the rest of the instruments are much warmer and friendlier than Cross' violin. His playing is amazing; it's the tone I don't care for. The star of these proceedings is Verdeaux about whose performance I have no criticisms.

The first track here "Chanson" sounds very Genesis-like, to the degree that vocalist Joel Dugrenot sounds more than a bit like Peter Gabriel. What makes it un-Genesis like is the guitar playing of Jean-Claude d'Agostino and the addition of Francois Jeanneau on flute. Otherwise, this could be an outtake from Foxtrot or Nursery Crime... well, really any early Genesis album, actually. Dugrenot isn't as strong a vocalist as Gabriel, and on this track he mixed very low throughout most of it. And despite his Gabriel-isms, I'm not overly fond of his voice.

"Without Words" is, as you might expect, an instrumental piece, built around keyboards, bass and percussion. One of the really nice sections of this track is when the keys swirl about the piano. D'Agostino plays busy guitar leads, really using a lot of the fretboard - speedy but not without some restraint. Although it starts out very calm and gentle, it slowly evolves into a jammin' tune, and other than from a rhythmic perspective, unlike Genesis. Yes does come to mind, though -- if Yes played jazz. It closes in a sea of calm, the storm having passed. "Without Words" has no need of them. One of the three bonus tracks is a Mellotron mix of this same track - the bonus version seems darker and warmer, especially the bass. The guitar solo is deeper in the mix, less prominent, and the keyboards and Mellotron are brought up.

"Way" follows and has a sense of the artists exploring sound, playing through an idea and seeing where it goes. I kept thinking of watercolours - until it takes on a rock aspect. Cross' violin screams. When I first thought about the term progressive rock, this is what I envisioned it to be - a band or artist picking a starting point and then letting the magic of creation take them. And you do get a sense of that here with D'Agostino's leads. When I first heard this it sounded chaotic and it does when you focus in on any one instrument, as the others don't seem to fit. But taken as a whole, it works. I don't, however, care for Cross' violin tone - a bit warmer and I'd have a different reaction. The tempo speeds up such that you feel they'll spin off into nothingness.

"Ergotrip" is trippy. That is, like an alien language - bleeps, blips, and swirls. Of course, the focus changes from percussion to guitar to piano. So much is going on that you have to hear it more than once just to follow each instrument. That is fairly true to say of the whole album as well. If "Ergotrip" is spacey, the mothership lands in "Et Pendant Ce Temps La" Though there are times during it where I think of the theme to a 70's show, though at the moment I can't decide whether it's "Starsky and Hutch," "Streets of San Francisco" or "SWAT." I don't think it's deliberate, mind you, but just coincidence. Or just me.

"Narcisse et Goldmund" features Brigitte Roy on vocals with a voice that is light, lyrical. Think Annie Haslem, Sonja Nedelec (Minimum Vital), or Sylvia Erichsen (White Willow), though I won't go as far to say that her voice is as good as theirs, but it is in the same style, tone and range. "Jungle Bubbles" could be described as R2-D2 gargles and pips in ecstasy while the Ewoks drum and trill -- strangely, it made my cat anxious and alert, waking him from his snooze beside me. Apparently he didn't like it. Anyway, Jeanneau is certainly playing his Bubbles-synth ARP 2600, as there are bubble sounds. I imagine this is what it's like inside a fish tank where the fish are hyperventilating at a party where the guests sound like they've inhaled helium.

The other two bonus tracks added to this release are "Sweet Absinthe" - piano, guitar (Christian Boule), and percussion (Gilbert Artman), and keys in broad swoops of sound. My cat relaxed, though not fully. It is relaxing, even if there is a bit of tension...you expect something to break loose, to burst into bright colours of sound. The other is "Flute Aquatique (remix)" which has a middle-eastern feel with harsh, angular flutes and a very rhythmic beat provided by congas (Bruno Verdeaux);; it seems almost experimental in nature. It is a remix of "Jungle Bubbles."

More about Forever Blowing Bubbles:

Track Listing: Chanson (4:45) / Without Words (7:40) / Way (8:15) / Ergotrip (6:24) / Et Pendant Ce Temps La (4:42) / Narcisse Et Goldmund (2:39) / Jungle Bubbles (2:42) / Bonus tracks: Sweet Absinthe (7:48) / Without Words (Mellotron remix) (7:43) / Flute Aquatique (2:45)

Musicians:
Cyrille Verdeaux - grand piano, harpsichord, synthesizer, organ, mellotron, glockenspiel, gong, congas
Francois Jeanneau - soprano sax, flute in G, bubbles-synth ARP 2600
Bob Boisadan - electric piano, organ synthesizer
Jean-Claude d'Agostino - electric guitar, 12-string guitar, flute in C
Christos Stapinopoulos - drums and congas
Joel Dugrenot - bass and vocals

Guests:

David Cross - violin, electric violin
Christian Boule - guitar (8)
Gilbert Artman - percussion, drums (8), maracas, vibraphone
Bruno Verdeaux - synthesizer and aquatic congas
Brigitte Roy - vocals (6)

Contact:

Website: www.clearlight888music.com
Note: will open new browser window

Email: clearlight888@yahoo.com

Discography (Clearlight & Verdeaux)

Symphony (1973)
Forever Blowing Bubbles (1975)
Delired Cameleon Family (1974)
Les Contes de Singe Fou (1977)
Clearlight Visions (1978)
Offrandes (1980)
Nocturnes Digitales (1980)
Prophecy (1981)
Flowers from Heaven (1983)
Piano for the Third Ear (1983)
Journey to Tantraland (1984/99/2001)
Complete Kundalini Opera Box Set (1984) (6 cassettes)
Messenger of the Son (1985)
Rhapsody for the Blue Planet (1988)
Symphony II (1990)
In Your Hands (Les Contes de Singe Fou) (re-recording, 1994)
Impressionist Musique (1995)
Tribal Hybrid Concept (1998, w/Menestreyl)
Ethnicolours (1998, w/Menestreyl)
Best of Rainbow (1999) (sampler of box set below)
Complete Rainbow Box Set (1999) (6 CD's )
Aerobix 99 (1998)
Mosaique
Best of Kundalini Opera (1999) (sampler of box set below)
Complete Kundalini Opera Box Set (1999) (7 CD's )







Clearlight


Discography
Symphony (1974)
Forever Blowing Bubbles (1975)
Delired Chameleon Family (1975)
Les Contes du Singe Fou (1976)
Visions (1978)
Symphony II (1990)

Clearlight Homepage http://www.clearlight888music.com/

County Of Origin: France
Established: 1974
Styles: Symphonic, Psych, Space

Biography

Clearlight has sort of taken me by surprise over the course of my exploring their catalog, and have established themselves as sort of a personal favorite of mine. The band is essentially keyboardist and pianist Cyrille Verdeaux, with a troupe of guest musicians on every album. Clearlight, as a band entity, was established in 1974 to facilitate the recording of the seminal Symphony album. This original incarnation featured Tim Blake, Steve Hillage and Didier Mahlerbe of Gong, along with numerous other French musicians. The Gong tie-in led to them being signed by Virgin Records, as well as to a worldwide tour supporting that band. 1975 saw the follow-up release of Forever Blowing Bubbles, another beauty, though this time sans Gong membership, but with the addition of King Crimson's David Cross. After the release of that album, Verdeaux set to work on a soundtrack for the film Visa de Censure #X, which came out later in 1975 under the band name Delired Chameleon Family. Essentially, this is another Clearlight release, featuring an overlap of musicians and falling nicely in the band's chronology. A label switch to RCA in 1976 brought about the release of Les Contes du Singe Fou, perhaps their most traditionally symphonic album, although still imbued with the distinctive Clearlight feel. Their final release was for Polydor in 1978, Visions featured violin extraordinaire Didier Lockwood, and was undoubtedly their most varied album, incorporating a huge array of influences, from sequencer-laden electronica to eastern motifs, and reflecting Verdeaux's growing fascination with Far Eastern religious principles.

Visions would be the final release under the Clearlight banner for the time being, as the traumatic death of Verdeaux's four year old son set him on a two year journey of self discovery eastward, where he would further his study of yoga and mediation. Upon his return in 1980, he embarked on a solo career that essentially extends to the present day, having remained very active and quite prolific. Verdeaux has released a number of solo albums as well as collaborating on a variety of projects, though for the most part these tend to drift more towards to the 'new age' genre, and might be outside the typical progressive fan's scope of interest. In 1990, Verdeaux finally brought back the Clearlight name, and put together Symphony II, an extension of major themes from the original album, albeit with a heavy electronic influence. Times are good for Clearlight and Verdeaux, as the rights to the back catalog have been won back from various labels, and all the albums and solo releases have been remastered and re-released by his own label, Clearlight 888 Music. . - Greg Northrup [October 2001]

Source: Clearlight 888 Music Website
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Symphony (1974)

The first album under the Clearlight moniker is an immense work that only gets better with increased listening. For all intensive purposes, Clearlight is the French pianist/keyboardist Cyrille Verdeaux, with a revolving door of guest musicians on each of the albums. Symphony in particular sports an all-star lineup, featuring Gong members Steve Hillage on guitar, Didier Mahlerbe on sax and Tim Blake on keys. Essentially, the band's style is an extraordinary amalgamation of classically influenced themes melded with electronic, space and jazz influences, making for a stunning palette of savory sounds and gorgeous innovation.

Symphony is divided into two movements, and depending on which copy you have, they will be in different order (the original CD version had it wrong apparently, and this has been corrected on the Clearlight 888 reissue). Both display a similar approach, despite one track having the Gong membership, and one without. Verdeaux seems to generally approach the compositional process from a delicate classical piano base, over which keyboards, synthesizers, saxophones and any number of instruments work in powerful, melodic interplay, or veer off into interesting improvisational tangents. Often, the music shifts into jazz rock and near-fusion territories, an impression which is strengthened by the versatile, emotive playing of Hillage, who turns in a top notch performance here. Many times, the pieces bring to mind images of some distant, Jupiterian orchestra, working off some brilliant cosmic themes, and other times churning, dense and subtly chaotic. Reference points could possibly be artists like Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield and, of course, Gong, though Symphony certainly stands alongside the best work by any of them. Not only one of my favorite albums out of France, but one of the most distinctive and consistently rewarding albums in the progressive rock genre. - Greg Northrup [October 2001]


1. 1st Movement - 20:37
2. 2nd Movement - 20:40

Cyrille Verdeaux - Piano, Organ, Mellotrons, Synths
Christian Boule - Guitar
Gilbert Artmann - Drums, Vibraphone
Martin Isaacs - Bass
Steve Hillage - Guitar
Didier Malherbe - Saxophone
Tim Blake - Synths, VCS3, Tibetan Gong

Clearlight Music - C8M-001 - 1999
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forever Blowing Bubbles (1975)

The second Clearlight release, Forever Blowing Bubbles, is a more than worthy follow up to the classic Symphony album, perhaps surpassing it on many fronts. This album is made up of seven shorter tracks, rather than the two extended movements of the prior album, giving it a somewhat different overall feel. Immediately noticeable is the absence of any of the Gong membership, which does manifest itself in the compositional approach somewhat. The album has less of the "jammy" feel that Symphony had at times, relying on Cyrille Verdeaux's classical piano motifs as its bare-bones structure. Vocals are also sparsely featured, but are largely forgettable, as on the tame opener "Chanson". However, female vocals are used to pleasing effect in the short, but pretty "Narcisse et Goldmund". In sum, the album plays on the more orchestral and grand moments of Symphony, condensing them into shorter, focused tunes with a heavily melodic, but no less unique, emphasis. The individual pieces generally begin with some pleasant piano motif, and then, as on Symphony, electronic effects and synthesizers are piled on, often climaxing beneath tremendous, fuzzed out guitar solos.

Sonic ear candy is everywhere to be found throughout the album. "Without Words" builds to a very energetic peak, with some thundering drums and cascading guitar sprinklings. One of my favorite moments comes at the end of "Way", where a barrage of pianos and synthesizers are double and triple tracked atop one another. Then the tape is slowly sped up, and everything moves higher in pitch, building in intensity as the sparkling individual themes weave in and around each other. A gorgeous moment. "Ergotrip" is another highlight, with a stunning guitar solo that complements Verdeaux's intoxicating piano themes. The Clearlight 888 CD reissue features a number of bonus tracks. Of note is the previously unreleased "Sweet Absinthe", which didn't make it onto the original album, but fits in nicely here. This is another excellent album from Clearlight, and while perhaps not quite on par with the tremendous Symphony, Forever Blowing Bubbles is no slouch in its own right. In my opinion, both are essential, although Clearlight's output would turn from excellent to merely good after this release. - Greg Northrup [October 2001]


1. Chanson - 4:50
2. Without Words - 7:30
3. Way - 8:00
4. Ergotrip - 6:35
5. Et Pendant Ce Temps La - 4:10
6. Narcisse et Goldmund - 2:30
7. Jungle Bubbles - 2:40

Bonus Tracks:
8. Sweet Absinthe
9. Without Words (Mellotron Remix)
10. Flute Aquatique

Francoise Junneau - Bubbles Synthesizer, Flute in G, Soprano Sax
Bob Boisadan - Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer
Cyrille Verdeaux - Grand Piano, Harpsichord, Synthesizer, Organ, Glockenspiel, Mellotron, Gongs, Congas
Jean-Claude D'Agostini - Electric, Acoustic Guitar
Christons Staphinopoulos - Drums, Congas
Joel Dugrenot - Bass, Lead Vocals
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Delired Chameleon Family (1976)

While not a Clearlight release per se, Delired Chameleon Family, sits nicely in the Clearlight continuum, featuring many of the same musicians, and of course centered around Verdeaux's keyboard/piano based compositions. Still, Delired Chameleon Family is a significantly different beast than the prior two Clearlight albums in that the entire thing is basically an improvisation. The album was put together as a soundtrack for a French film, but during the recording numerous musicians guested and added spontaneous parts over the basic structures laid down by Verdeaux and collaborator Joel Dugrenot. Most of the core elements of the Clearlight sound are here, the delicate piano basis, and the churning, chaotic overlay of saxophones, drums and frenzied guitar solos. Rarely however does this album enter the same classically inspired splendor as did the previous two, inevitably spending a significant amount of time muddling about trying to hit on a decent groove.

The first three tracks are pretty much build up; some interesting sound textures that make for pleasant, relaxing zone-out music, including some odd ethereal female vocals on "La Fine du Debut". The album really hits its stride on the up-tempo beginning of "Le Boeuf", and continues to the end, highlighted by the frenzied jam of "Novavanna". The latter is a fairly spectacular piece highlighted by explosive playing from all parties and an exciting rhythmic basis. At one point, something resembling singing comes to the fore, as someone apparently felt it necessary to verbally express their admiration for various illegal (and presumably inspirational) substances. However, this is only a fleeting passage in an otherwise remarkable piece. "Anata" closes out the album nicely with an angular, impressive drum rhythm that vaults the rest of the ensemble onto greater heights, with a cacophonous jam that ends album on a high note. Overall, established Clearlight fans will likely delight in this album, but newcomers would do better to start with one of the first two albums instead. A solid work overall, though certainly not as stellar as what had come before. - Greg Northrup [October 2001]


1. Raganesh - 6:45
2. Weird Ceremony - 4:21
3. La Fin Du Debut - 5:05
4. Le Boeuf - 8:37
5. Novavanna - 13:36
6. Ananta - 9:42

Francoise Junneau - Bubbles Synthesizer, Flute in G, Soprano Sax
Bob Boisadan - Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer
Cyrille Verdeaux - Grand piano, harpsicord, synthesizer, organ, glockenspiel, mellotron, gongs, congas
Jean-Claude D'Agostini- Electric, Acoustic Guitar
Valerie LaGrange - Vocals
Tim Blake - Synthesizers
Joel Dugrenot - Bass, Lead Vocals
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Visions (1978)

After what was reportedly a commercial failure in the more straight-ahead, symphonically oriented Les Contes du Singe Fou, Cyrille decided to take over the production duties on the next album, Visions, and imbibed it with a slightly new musical direction based on Eastern philosophical and religious precepts. The result is a generally varied work that retains the more structured vibe of the previous album. Cyrille Verdeaux's piano and keyboard melodies are again the dominant force on Visions, and are supplemented by the usual eclectic blend of instrumentation. Compositionally speaking, the thing in general seems to have less of the spaced-out, psychedelic vibe of the first two albums, opting for a more composed, restrained atmosphere infected with exotic, apparently Eastern, tones and melodic ideas. The addition of Didier Lockwood on violin is a welcome one, providing a unique instrumental emphasis in the Clearlight catalog, as his violin is very prominent.

The album proper is generally solid, although half of the CD is taken up by bonus tracks which are less so. For that reason, I was a little put off by Visions on initial listens, but in focusing on the first seven tracks for this review, I have found it to be quite rewarding at points, with some minor inconsistencies. In general, there is a sort of sappy New Age vibe to the whole thing, especially on tracks like "Songe de Cristale" with its pretty piano melodies and the outro, "Paix Profonde", with the sitar emphasis. Indeed, the second half of the album is slightly less interesting that the first, though much shorter, and these tracks seem to simply function as a let down to the lengthier pieces prior. In any case, the real gems are to be found early on, most especially leadoff track "Spiral d'Amour" with a great, classically inspired piano melody that recalls earlier Clearlight. Also, "Full Moon Raga" builds up behind a chugging drum beat and climaxes with a pyrotechnic violin solo from Didier Lockwood. The bonus tracks are a mixed bag. "Guitar Elevation" ends up being one of the best track on the album, with a gorgeous piano melody beneath a searing guitar solo. However, some of the tracks get bogged down in overly New-Agey crumminess, while "Crystal City" actually incorporates the all-to-prominent generic techno beat. On the whole, Visions is a pretty solid album, though it can be a little much if one is not in the mood the kind of pretty, lightweight, and ultimately cheesy Eastern mysticism vibe of the whole thing. Although it certainly doesn't match the first two classics, Symphony and Forever Blowing Bubbles, fans of those albums will likely want to follow Verdeaux to Visions. - Greg Northrup [October 2001]


1. Spirale d'Amour
2. Messe Ciline
3. Au Royaume des Mutants
4. Full Moon Raga
5. Raga Coda
6. Songe de Cristal
7. Paix Profonde

Bonus Tracks:
8. Guitare Elevation
9. Crystal City
10. Shanti Lotus
11. Heymae
12. Vision Nocturne
13. Orage, O Espoir
14. Songe de Cristal (1993 version)

Cyrille Verdeaux - Grand piano, harpsicord, synthesizer, organ, glockenspiel, mellotron, gongs, congas
Didier Lockwood - Violins
Didhier Mahlerbe - Saxophone
Christian Boule - Electric Guitar
Philip Melkonian - Bass Guitar
Jacky Bouladoux - Drums
Luc Plouton - Synthesizers
Dallas Smith - Flute