01	Barbituricus						15:18
	02	Coornibus						08:42
	03	Flat Spectre						12:34
	04	Ragtime						02:40
	05	No Way !						01:24
	06	Mister Green						04:34
	07	Mister Grey						04:33
	08	Aspartamus						07:35
	09	Super Flat Moon						10:47
	10	End						00:18

Taal - Mister Green
Country of Origin: France
Format: CD
Record Label: Musea Recods
Catalogue #: FGBG 4348.AR
Year of Release: 2000
Time: 68:31
Info: Taal Website
Samples: Taal Website

Tracklist: Barbituricus (15:16), Coornibus (8:41), Flat Spectre (12:34), Ragtime (2:40), No Way! (1:24), Mister Green (4:35), Mister Grey (4:33), Aspartamus (7:33), Super Flat Moon (11:35)

Mister Green is the debut album for Taal, a group from Poitiers, France. The members making up this band, also were part of the band Stratus, and are Loic Bernardeau (Drums, percussions, Lead vocal), Sebastian Constant (Keyboards, background vocals), David "Stuart" Dosnon (Bass, background vocals) and Anthony Gabard (Guitar, background vocals). I must admit that the French have rarely impressed me with their progressive rock vein, especially with regards to inventiveness, though there are a few exceptions, Cafeine just to mention one. Taal manage to fall into this latter category with their brand of music which does draw influences from a number of classic bands, yet on the other hand the band manage to create a sound of their own making it very hard to define (and describe) their style.

The strength of this album is in the instrumental sections, which are long and full of imagination, in fact one could easily state that the weakest section on the album is the lead vocals, though these are not often present. The fifteen minute opener Barbituricus fuses elements of classic progressive rock with Hammond Organs et al coupled with the driving rhythm and power of a prog-metal band. Thus the band fuse the sounds of bands such as Pink Floyd with the power of Dream Theater together with a dose of quirkiness from bands like Caravan. One of the strengths of this album is the sheer force of the music that is played, and the band also achieve this with the help of additional guest musicians which bring the total number of musicians up to ten! This is heard to full effect towards the end of the track as woodwind and brass instruments join in the fray competing with the traditional electronic instruments, creating an ending straight out of a soundtrack.

Coornibus opens with a Middle Eastern-tinged orchestral piece, something that Jon Lord (Deep Purple) would have added to his Concerto for Group and Orchestra. With a sound like rumbling thunder, the woodwind section is joined by the guitars forming a duet that is answered by a delightful keyboard piece. The pizzicato-like guitar work reminded me of eighties band Mekong Delta who were masters at fusing classical orchestral pieces with a heavy sounding band. Simply fantastic!

Flat Spectre maintains a similar thread to Coornibus, though the mood seems to be slightly darker on this track with a somewhat slower tempo. The band and string section are in continuous response, utilising a style that Michael Kamen loves to use, his latest most high profile example being Metallica's S & M album.

Ragtime has the band playing to a Vincent Boisseau's clarinet with a tune that is almost fifties sounding with a touch of The Klezmatics. No Way ! features a series of sound effects that include a man drinking and retching!

The almost circus-like feel that was present on Ragtime resurfaces on Mister Green though one cannot but remain intrigued at the complexity of the music that this band presents, incorporating various instruments and sounds together with continuous variations in both time signatures and musical styles. Mister Grey on the other hand sees the group returning to a more straight forward format with the music veering more or less into a progressive metal direction. Interesting nonetheless as they still introduce the occasional uncharacteristic sound and tune.

Aspartamus retains the happy feel that has been present on the previous four tracks though this time there is an increase in the orchestration with the string instruments (and keyboards) coming out in full force. The track flits between metal sections to ones of calmness and serenity, something that is also utilised to great effect on the closing track Super Flat Moon. once again on this track there is an Eastern influence in the tune, though the track features a march-like rhythm that creates a strength and power similar to what one gets in Le Sacre Du Primtemps by Stravnisky.

This album is a must for those who love to listen to instrumental music with a twist full of orchestrations and complex time signatures. Listening to the album one can pick out references from classic progressive rock bands, yet on the other hand Taal do not dwell for any substantial amount of time on these influences for one to be able to make a likeable comparison between bands. In plain simple language this group has come up with a sound of its own that is bound to please most progressive rock fans.

Conclusion: 9 out of 10.

Nigel Camilleri



TAAL is a french band from Poitiers ; most of its musicians play together since 1992, and the band released a first highly acclaimed album in 2000, "Mister green".
"Mister Green" received international acclaim, thanks to its originality and numerous influences: progressive music (King Crimson, Pink Floyd especially), Zappa, Jazz Rock, circus music, among others ! "Skymind" develops a somewhat similar style, with a deeper work on melodies and cohesiveness. TAAL uses a "usual" five piece line-up (drums/bass/gtrs/kbds/vocals and drums), coupled with a string quartet (two violins, viola, cello), sax, and a flute player. This incredible band mixes the same influences, with a more present eastern-Europe folk/ gipsy influence. Powerful, agressive guitars, neo-classic or folk string parts, subtle keyboard parts, an explosive rhythm section, create an astounding music, sometimes festive and sometimes tortured, also with more peaceful or symphonic moments. Here is a real masterpiece !




progVisions CD review
Taal - Mister Green - 2000

From time to time a new band appears in the progressive scene that surprises for its freshness and originality, and makes you to think why other famous bands just limit themselves to cover meek expectations. It is true that there are many reasons, as well as that Taal is an extraordinary French band that will attract lot of attention, as in the past did new bands as the excellent Nebelnest or Somnambulist, that are now preparing their second studio works. And it is that although the music of Taal in "Mister Green" is not close to that of the two mentioned bands, all three are united by a wide idea of experimentation, an extraordinary synthesis of influences, and a desire of advancing that makes me vibrate of emotion. Progressive rock needs of these "intellectual shakers" to advance, to feel alive in this XXI century. Taal will contribute in a great measure to it.
The band is formed by Loic Bernardeau (drums, percussion, vocals), Sebastien Constant (keyboards, choirs), David Stuart Dosnon (bass, choirs) and Anthony Gabard (guitar, choirs), with the collaboration of Vicent Boisseau (sax, clarinet), the Fournier Brothers (violin, cello), Mathias Curit (trombone), Sandrine Piat (choirs), Helene Sonnet (flute, choirs) and Vanessa Ferjoux (choirs). As you can appreciate, the instrumental range present in the album is wide, as well as the musical references that we can place in the aggressiveness and distortion of King Crimson, the complex instrumental developments and brilliant ideas of Frank Zappa and Mothers Of Invention, elements of RIO bands like Thinking Plague, the melodies of Genesis, references to ragtime and classic music, eastern ethnic music, contemporary electronic music and a jazz-rock basis to a la Miles Davis certainly powerful. The result is a complex lattice of almost completely instrumental music, with multiple and constant rhythm changes and sound references, as well as a stimulating notion of progressives and the stylistic synthesis.

The album opens up with "Barbituricus" (15:16), one of the best pieces in the album that presents the sound of Taal thoroughly, as it has everything: classic progressive rock a la Genesis or Camel, a strong Crimsonian base, almost infantile passages in the choirs and constants incursions of Zappa sounds, always under a dynamic of constant rhythm changes and multiple instrumental lines. The guitarist is superb and very versatile, with a style closer to complex hard rock than to the progressive rock of Howe, Hackett or Fripp. An excellent piece. "Cornibus" (8:41) has a very symphonic beginning with flutes that then change to a fragment that could belong to more aggressive Jethro Tull. The song resolves with some passages close to a hard Genesis. "Flat spectre" (12:34) begins with almost classic music that evolves progressively toward atmospheres close to the symphonic rock of Genesis and even Yes. Another piece at great level. "Ragtime" (2:40) is a cheerful piece of ragtime music filtered with RIO, as that of Thinking Plague, Samla Mannas Manna or Ensemble Nimbus, groups that share these atmospheres. "No way!" (1:24) is a brief musical bridge with effects without too much interest.

With "Mistery Green" (4:35) we return to the references of Frank Zappa, in a very lively vocal piece that approaches us to circus music, in spite of the constant rhythm changes. "Mister Grey" (4:33) is a powerful song with a good solo guitar intervention and multiple passages of different musical references. "Aspartamus" (7:33) returns us to the complexity of the first three pieces of the album, in an enervating cut full with energy and power, again with an excellent guitarist that takes the sound forward, combined with eminently symphonic and classic passages. Finally, "Super flat Moon" (11:35) has a bigger jazz background, and the biggest news is the inclusion of Arab motifs in the melodies, adding a new dimension to the sound of Taal. The rest follows the patterns of the band: changing musical directions, wide influences and an excellent instrumentation.

In summary, this is a great first work because it shows us what a band of progressive rock should reach: to dare, to experience, to innovate, to be fresh and overflowing with ideas and, mainly, to take risks. Earlier I compared Taal with Nebelnest and Somnambulist, formations with which they share these elements, and the only difference (small) would be the final result. Taal has incorporated an extensive spectrum of influences to their music, very well played and composed, but I consider that the definition of an own and compact sound has not still arrived, and will take place surely in a next future, when they publish their second work. Although in occasions the music sounds a little dispersed, Taal has made an excellent job in "Mister Green" and I recommend you the album.

Jaume Pujol - January 2000
Rating:
Label [Distributor]: Musea


TAAL - Mister Green
FRANCE
Rating: * * *
2000
MUSEA RECORDS
FGBG 4348.AR
Time: 68:29


TAAL:

Loic Bernardeau - Drums, percussions, Lead vocal
Sebastian Constant - Keyboards, background vocals
David "Stuart" Dosnon - Bass, background vocals
Anthony Gabard - Guitar, background vocals
Guests:
Vincent Boisseau - Saxophones, Clarinet
Fournier brothers - Violon & Cello
Mathias Curit - Trombone
Sandrine Piat - background vocals
Helene Sonnet - Flute, background vocals
Vanessa Ferjoux - background vocals

Tracklist:
1. Barbituricus (15:16)
2. Coornibus (8:41)
3. Flat Spectre (12:34)
4. Ragtime (2:40)
5. No way! (1:24)
6. Mister Green (4:35)
7. Mister Grey (4:33)
8. Aspartamus (7:33)
9. Super flat moon (11:35)

TAAL is a French progressive band. They have released their debut CD on the Musea label. They are quite hard to describe but some reminiscences are King Crimson, Magma, Pink Floyd, Samla Mammas Manna / Von Zamla and Frank Zappa. TAAL doesn't sound like any of these bands, they just have some similarities. The main part of the album is complex instrumental progressive rock, although it contains some vocals here and there.

They have six guest musicians and they're playing instruments such as Saxophones, Clarinet, Violon & Cello, Trombone and Flute. These instruments are perfectly mixed into the music and they add some
classical, jazz and RIO elements to the final result.

All in all this is an interesting album with many nice moments.

-Reviewed by Greger Ronnqvist-

Contact:

MUSEA - 138 rue de Vallieres, 57070 Metz - France
Fax: +33 (0) 3 87 36 64 73
E-mail: musea@w...
Website: www.musearecords.com/



TAAL
75, route de Poitiers
86280 Saint-Benoit
Tel.: 05.49.56.14.85
ou : 06.62.03.65.30
TAAL Official Website: http://www.taal.free.fr/
TAAL E-mail: www.taal@f... or www.taal@o...


















Taal
Skymind
Musea (4483.AR)
France 2003

Anthony Gabard, electric & acoustic guitars; David Stuart Dosnon, bass; Loic Bernardeau, drums, vocals; Igor Polisset, electric & acoustic drums; Sebastien Constant, keyboards; Helene Sonnet, flute, vocals; Manu Fournier, violin, saxophone; Gaelle Deblonde, violin; Manue Bouriaud, viola; Mehdi Rossignol, cello

Tracklist:
1. Skymind - 9:52
2. Yellow Garden - 7:37
3. Blind Child - 6:11
4. The Purple Queen's Lips - 9:48
5. The Egg-Shaped Moon - 9:07
6. Stratus - 13:24

total time 55:59


Links:
official site (in french)
review at prognosis
review at progressor




b
r
a
n
d
o
n

In the past few years I've soured a bit on symphonic prog, as regular readers of my reviews and blog will probably know. Too much contemporary music in the symph-prog genre seems either too stale and unoriginal or just too downright cheesy for me these days. The last "new" symph album I really got my hopes up about was Halloween's Le Festin, and I was pretty sorely disappointed. It just didn't grab me.
On the other hand, I have been enticed by some albums that flirt with the boundaries of the subgenre (for instance, the Uzva albums). Skymind is one such album. While Taal is definitely working under a symph-prog paradigm, they add in a lot of diversity of influence and instrumentation that keeps things sounding fresh and interesting. Their music is based around a heavy guitar sound, but also features a lot of acoustic string and wind instruments that are put to use in some surprisingly diverse ways.

The opening title track gives it away: this one isn't your typical symph album. For one thing, keyboards don't seem to play a particularly important role, which is fine by me. For another, the approach to melody here is often quite unconventional. Large sections of the first song feature some really rhythmic ensemble playing, with staccato, almost percussive flute playing that reminds me strongly of none other than Dun. This is a favorable comparison. For the next two tracks, though, the band turns in an entirely different direction, with the strings and winds leading the way with bouncy folkish melodies.

Tracing the development of the final, longest track is representative: it opens with didgeridoo growling a low, ominous tone before breaking into a loud, heavy guitar riff that wouldn't be out of place on a metal album, before subsiding into a section led by violins by abstract melodies and some flute playing that reminds me of After Crying, all floating above a slow cello line and some subtle tabla percussion. Eventually the rock rhythm section (drums, a pretty sweet low bass line) kicks back in, and the violins come to a slow boil before the band breaks back into a guitar-led heavy rock section. When the violins come in again, it's with a lyrical melody, and the guitar goes from crunchy to melodic, doubling the violin line until a kind of faux conclusion a little more than halfway through the song's thirteen and a half minute length. Then there's a folky vocal passage highlighted by a simple melody on sax and flute, and, well... you get the idea. There's a great deal of thematic diversity throughout all these compositions.

And that's both Skymind's strength and its weakness. If anything, sometimes these songs are a bit too fragmented, such that they're difficult to get a grasp on because they're sort of schizophrenic. I tend to find individual sections within each song utterly compelling, but they're mixed in with other sections that are pretty forgettable. And come to think of it, the entirety of "The Egg-Shaped Moon" is rather forgettable. Regardless, though, this was a really pleasant surprise. Any group that reminds me by turns of Dun and Miriodor can't be bad. I'd imagine that Skymind would appeal to fans of symph-prog and RIO alike, and I really look forward to what Taal can do given a bit more compositional experience.

5-9-03