With Emmanuel
Booz, the four studio efforts in his resume can't help you pinpoint this
musician's style, and you are forced to appreciate his eclectic output
and creativeness. It's true that with each album, the sound changed but,
moreover, within each album you face quite diverse influences that
reveal his talent and his affection for varied sounds. There is also the
avant-garde edge to his music. He did like to experiment, play with the
listeners and tease them, but not to a point of becoming unlistenable
or annoying. The assorted end result deserves the art-rock moniker. His
first release was actually the French version of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's
Restaurant - Au Restaurant D'Alice in 1969. However, our interest in his
music begins with his 1974 album, Le Jour ou les Vaches. In this album,
there is a special mood, and as said varied styles, some oddities and
also a sort of theatrical approach and a tad of chanson Francaise. The
arrangements and instrumentation on the album (the strings in
particular) contribute much to the slightly melancholic and the somewhat
"spacey/trippy" mood. In 1976 came out his album Clochard (Hobo) in
which Joël Dugrenot plays bass. In 1979 arrived his chefs-d'ouvre - Dans
Quelle Etat J'erre with its 3 lenghty tracks. Much more guitar
oriented, and still the theatrical side is still there. Dynamic complex
and engaging, changing often, this album is a very enjoyable ride. You
also get a fair amount of electronic and spacey parts. The vocals range
from regular singing to a sort of narrative style to fast and loud
speaking. The focus here should be also given to the musicians which do a
great work, whether it's the bass or the drums and guitars. Jean-Louis
Mahjun plays alto violin on Ode Aux Rats. When speaking of Booz, you'll
usually receive references to this album and for good reason. Line-up / Musicians Doudou Weiss/drums,vocals Alain Suzan/bass,guitar,vocals Michel Coeuriot/organ,synthesizers,piano Paul Scemama/guitar Michel Ripoche/violin William Sheller/piano Jacqueline Herrenschmidt/vocals François Bernheim/vocals Luc Bertin/vocals Paul Scemama/vocals Discography(Album) Le jour où les vaches... 1974
1.Samedi 15 Décembre 2.Espérance 3.Réveillons-nous, réveillez-vous 4.Donne 5.Je ne peux pas te dire 6.L'homme aux mille clés d'or 7.Angoulême 8.Le jour où les vaches... 9.Nous les enfants
