Who is Sylvain Gouvernaire?
L. Perez
'Iris- Crossing the Desert' album has he done anything else even close to this
brilliant before or since?
L. Perez
"Let a rotten saying not proceed from your mouth, but whatever saying is good
for building up as the need may be..."-YHWH
James Chokey
lpere...@aol.comnospammy wrote on 4/18/00 12:59 AM:
> Besides being the Composer, Guitarist and Keyboard Player of the phenomenal
> 'Iris- Crossing the Desert' album has he done anything else even close to this
> brilliant before or since?
He was the original guitarist for the French neo-prog band Arrakeen, and
played on the first of their two albums: _Patchwork_. Like a lot of neo-
prog, it's very Marillion-esque (which, of course, _Crossing the Desert_
is as well), although the female vocals in French sound quite different
from anything you'd hear coming from Fish. :-) If you liked Iris, you
ought to give it a try... although be warned, it's more of a 'mini-CD'
(only 30 minutes long total)
In fact, you know that funny blue doglike creature with the long tale
that appears on the back CD-liner for _Crossing the Desert_? That critter
was actually the Arakeen 'logo' or 'mascot', having been used on the
covers of both of their albums (even the one that Gouvenaire did not
play on).
I'm not really sure what he did between leaving Arakeen and the
Iris project in though-- or of what he's done since then. Anyone
else know?
-- Jim C.
Now Playing-- Iris, _Crossing the Desert_ [your post inspired me to
put in the player....]
==========================================================================
| James A. Chokey jch...@mindspring.com |
| |
| 'Do you think that the sciences would ever have arisen and become |
| great if there had not been magicians, alchemists, astrologers, |
| and wizards who thirsted and hungered after hidden, forbidden |
| powers?' |
| -- Nietzsche |
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==========================================================================
Praguerock
92. Other guests were Karl Groom from Threshold and IIRC, some members of
Pallas were on that disc as well......
Chris Bekhuis (Radio Xymphonia)
pragu...@aol.com says...
> He also appeared on the Casino project with Geoff Mann and Clive Nolan back in
> 92. Other guests were Karl Groom from Threshold and IIRC, some members of
> Pallas were on that disc as well......
>
Night) is playing some drums on it.
--
Chris Bekhuis - Radio Xymphonia - Almelo/Holland
Longest running progshow on Dutch local radio
If you have any promo's to offer please contact us at:
radio-x...@cebe.demon.nl
DunamisTNT
from Threshold played bass on the Casino album, too.
L. Perez
>prog, it's very Marillion-esque (which, of course, _Crossing the Desert_
>is as well)
I dont like Neo-Prog OR Marillion for that matter. I dont hear any Neo-Prog on
Iris. Perhaps I like Iris better than Marillion 'cause it's instrumental. Is
Arakeen inst.?
L. Perez
>in
>92.
Is this album Instrumental? If so, is it still available?
Demetrio
lpere...@aol.comnospammy (L. Perez) wrote:
> >He also appeared on the Casino project with Geoff Mann and Clive Nolan back
> >in
> >92.
>
> Is this album Instrumental? If so, is it still available?
> L. Perez
>
>
No, Perez, this beautiful album is not instrumental, it features vocals by
Geoff Mann (Twelfth Night), and the music does remind Twelfth Night quite a
bit IMO.
Demetrio
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Demetrio
lpere...@aol.comnospammy (L. Perez) wrote:
> >_Patchwork_. Like a lot of neo-
> >prog, it's very Marillion-esque (which, of course, _Crossing the Desert_
> >is as well)
>
> I dont like Neo-Prog OR Marillion for that matter. I dont hear any Neo-Prog on
> Iris. Perhaps I like Iris better than Marillion 'cause it's instrumental. Is
> Arakeen inst.?
> L. Perez
>
>
Different from Perez, I do like some few Neo-Prog bands like Marillion, IQ
and Pendragon, but I second his opinion about Iris, I don't hear much
neo-prog elements on "Crossing The Desert". BTW, I do like this album as
well.
James Chokey
lpere...@aol.comnospammy wrote on 4/18/00 11:13 AM:
>> _Patchwork_. Like a lot of neo-
>> prog, it's very Marillion-esque (which, of course, _Crossing the Desert_
>> is as well)
>
> I dont like Neo-Prog OR Marillion for that matter.
I'm confused by this statement. Marillion generally *is* considered
neo-prog. In fact, it is often held up as the quintessential example
of a neo-prog band.
>I dont hear any Neo-Prog on
> Iris.
Really? I'd describe this as being very much in the spirit of a lot of
'2nd generation' neo-prog-- pairing it with other 90's stuff like Collage,
Iluvatar, and even something like IQ's _Subterreanea_. You know-- stuff
that's clearly building on the neo-prog formula established by Marillion,
IQ, Pallas, etc. back in the 80's: straightforward pretty melodies, lush
arrangements dominated by digital keyboards and that pseudo-silk electric
guitar sound that Steve Rothery made de rigeur (and of which Sylvain
Gouvenaire is one of the best Rothery imitators), alternating slow-fast,
soft-load structures that never leave 4/4 or abandon and rarely introduce
complex beats. Hell, a few songs here, like "Tap on Top", "War" and
even the title track are in wholly in that 80's Marillion neo- style.
Large parts of these sound like they could well have been taken from some
lost Marillion album recorded between the time Fish left and the time
Hogarth joined....
But then again, I'm one of those folks who think neo-prog
really is a distinct and identifiable style of prog, with its own
distinctive musical and stylistic features-- and not just a pejorative to
be hurled at any contemporary band I don't like or find 'too simple' or
'accessible'.
>Perhaps I like Iris better than Marillion 'cause it's instrumental.
Perhaps. The question of 'why' someone likes something and doesn't
like something else largely comes down to all sorts of quirks of personal
taste.
I will say, though, that this is something that distinguishes Iris
from most other neo-prog-- the fact that it *is* instrumental.
> Is Arakeen inst.?
As I said before, there are "female vocals in French". Knowing now that
you don't like Marillion or neo-prog more generally, I'd probably have
to withdraw my recommendation that you give _Patchwork_ a try.
-- Jim C.
Now Playing-- Myrdhin An Delen Dir _Courir le Guilledou/La Ceinture du
Diable_
TOIB
> In article 20000418141301...@ng-fo1.aol.com, L. Perez at
>> I dont like Neo-Prog OR Marillion for that matter.
> I'm confused by this statement. Marillion generally *is* considered
> neo-prog. In fact, it is often held up as the quintessential example
> of a neo-prog band.
Well, this is the same guy who thinks _Red_ is dissonant, so he
must have his own theories about music :).
> But then again, I'm one of those folks who think neo-prog
> really is a distinct and identifiable style of prog, with its own
> distinctive musical and stylistic features-- and not just a pejorative to
> be hurled at any contemporary band I don't like or find 'too simple' or
> 'accessible'.
<nod>
--
Sean McFee
Ground and Sky (webmaster: Brandon Wu): http://www.progreviews.com
The Progressive Rock Used CD Shop: www.nexus.carleton.ca/~sean/prog/shop
L. Perez
and then played some Genesis stuff to prove they were just a Genesis clone
band... Is Genesis Neo-Prog? ;-P
James Chokey
lpere...@aol.comnospammy wrote on 4/19/00 1:13 PM:
> Back when Marillion was only a few years old someone played a couple of albums
> and then played some Genesis stuff to prove they were just a Genesis clone
> band... Is Genesis Neo-Prog? ;-P
That's sort of like asking if Plato was a neo-Platonic philosopher
or if Raphae was a pre-Raphaelite painter :-) Still, It does make a worthy
point: neo-prog, as a genre, is defined not only by purely musical
characteristics, but also historically. It a emerged as distinct and
identifiable genre of music in Britain during the 80's with bands like
Marillion, Twelfth Night, Pallas, Pendragon, IQ, etc. These young fogeys
were reviving an older style of rock that the punk rebellion had overthrown
and were during so in a pop musical environment dominated by the advent of
new wave-- thus they were labelled 'neo-prog'.
The fact is though, the music of these neo-prog bands and their
many imitators-- much like the philosophyof the neo-Platonists, or the art
of the pre-Rapheaelites-- does have its own unique and identifiable
stylystic and substantive characterics. I listed several of these
(for neo-prog, not for neo-Platonism or the pre-Raphelites) in my
previous posts. Many of these features indeed were derived from
from aspects the Genesis style-- that's certainly true, but part of
what really defined neo-prog as a genre was the re-articulation of
these Genesis stylings in a changed musical landscape-- and the
transformation of these stylings in ways that bear the marks of
this landscape-- e.g. purely digital keyboards, near-exclusive
use of 4/4 time, etc>.
Put otherwise... yes, Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, and countless
other neo-bands could all be said to 'sound like Genesis' in some
fundamental way. But they all sound even more like each other
than any one of them sounds like Genesis, stylistically speaking.
-- Jim C.
Now Playing-- Loituma, _Things of Beauty_
Roy DeRousse
all. I remember being very surprised (and pleased!) that it was so
different from Marillion and other neo bands upon getting the album.
(Note: I am NOT a neo-basher, although very few neo bands make the grade
for me.) Putting Iris in the same category with a band like Iluvatar is
pretty amazing to me.
In article <B522CEB7.31AC7%jch...@mindspring.com>, jch...@mindspring.com
says...
> Really? I'd describe this as being very much in the spirit of a lot of
> '2nd generation' neo-prog-- pairing it with other 90's stuff like Collage,
> Iluvatar, and even something like IQ's _Subterreanea_. You know-- stuff
> that's clearly building on the neo-prog formula established by Marillion,
> IQ, Pallas, etc. back in the 80's: straightforward pretty melodies, lush
> arrangements dominated by digital keyboards and that pseudo-silk electric
--
Have fun!
Roy DeRousse (rel...@iname.com)
** Want to get paid while you surf the web? Check out:
** http://alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=EGX-986
** Not a hoax. I use it myself.
James Chokey
rel...@iname.com wrote on 4/21/00 6:55 PM:
> Sorry, James, I agree with the others who don't find much neo in Iris at
> all.
Well, there's no reason to be apologize just because you're wrong. :-)
> I remember being very surprised (and pleased!) that it was so
> different from Marillion and other neo bands upon getting the album.
Oh sure, it's not a Marillion clone by any means. But then again,
Collage isn't a Marillion clone either-- yet they're readily acknowledged
as being firmly in neo-prog vein. I suspect that the main reason why
some folks aren't recognizing the neo- aspects of Iris is the absence of
vocals-- which, in fairness, I have to admit distinguishes Iris
from most other neo-prog. I also think this absence of the vocals enables
more soloing and instrumental flourishes that are more typical of symphonic
rock than of neo-prog. Still, I'd say that, the basic sound and structure
of the band's songs are that of neo-prog.
So, I guess I'd say that it's an album with one foot planted firmly
in the neo-tradition, and another standing a bit outside, leaning
in the direction of symphonic rock... but I still hear the firmly planted
foot as well as the one that's leaning elsewhere.
> Putting Iris in the same category with a band like Iluvatar is
> pretty amazing to me.
But yet, there they are... :-)
-- Jim C.
Now Playing-- Camel, _Rajaz_
Roy DeRousse
with that in mind. To me, vocals are a definining element of most neo-
prog, so maybe it Iris didn't seem neo to me because of the lack of
vocals.
In article <B52764EC.3302B%jch...@mindspring.com>, jch...@mindspring.com
says...
> Oh sure, it's not a Marillion clone by any means. But then again,
> Collage isn't a Marillion clone either-- yet they're readily acknowledged
> as being firmly in neo-prog vein. I suspect that the main reason why
> some folks aren't recognizing the neo- aspects of Iris is the absence of
> vocals-- which, in fairness, I have to admit distinguishes Iris
> from most other neo-prog. I also think this absence of the vocals enables
--