Mechanical Moonbeams
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Performer: MachiavelEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2006-02-07
Free Music Notes for Mechanical Moonbeams
Free Music Review: Third great album by this Belgian prog band
Hit: 5 Stars
Mechanical Moonbeams is regarded as the last great album by this Belgian band, before going a more commercial direction starting with Urban Games (1979), and the departure of keyboardist Albert Letecheur afterwards. Although this new commercial direction still benefitted the band in terms of success in their native Belgium, they simply fell similar victim to Genesis, who were also going a more commercial direction by that time. Just meaning that they likely earned a new audience at the expense of the old.
Of course, the review is for Mechanical Moonbeams which is their 1978 followup to Jester. The album was again released in Belgium on the Harvest label, but also got released in France on Warner Bros. with completely different cover artwork. The Supertramp influence of Jester had pretty much disappeared here (the electric piano had pretty much been reduced here), and Jean Paul Devaux's guitar playing tends to be a bit more upfront. While much of the album continues the same progressive direction of Jester, there's a few more rock-oriented passages that got a few people giving them the AC/DC comparison. Well, I have to say I was and still not an AC/DC fan. The AC/DC comparison more came with the raspy vocals that bring to mind Bon Scott, but if that thought gets your running, then Peter Hammill is another valid comparison during those passages. And of course, there's a major difference between AC/DC and Machiavel. No one calls AC/DC prog, that band simply avoided keyboards at all costs (they didn't even seem to use a piano), and guitars obviously dominated their sound. Machiavel, even during these moments still retained their progressive elements, and of course they had no problems using Moog and Mellotron. "Beyond the Silence" is the opening cut, showing some heavy guitar riffs, with some nice synth passages. Summon Up Your Strength is the only piece on this album where the Supertramp influence is still showing with Albert Letecheur giving some "Dreamer" or "Logical Song"-like electric piano. It starts off with rather spacy synths, not unlike the more lush moments of Jester, but then the raspy vocals kick in giving a more rock and roll feel. It's this weird combination of prog and almost AC/DC-like rock that you couldn't imagine working for a million years, but it works great! "Rope Dancer" is a nice little ballad, sounded like it had hit potential (I believe it was actually a hit in Belgium). "After the Crop" starts off mellow, but then I really love how the music picks up, and Letecheur really gives some interesting use of Mellotron (I heard it described as hard rock riffs or boogie riffs played on Mellotron), and the raspy vocals kick in once again, giving one the impression of a progressive AC/DC with Mellotron. "Mary" is more typical Machiavel, an acoustic ballad that's not too far from "Moments" off Jester. "The Fifth Season" is an epic closing piece that goes through several changes, the last being quite Yes-like, right down to Jon Anderson-like vocals. One of the lyrics goes: "His barrel organ played 'Jester', a tune from the Seventies", which is obviously a reference to the title track of Jester.
The cover artwork, once again is by someone named Celle, same person responsible for the artwork to Jester. Even the artwork recalls Jester, but this time with color.
Despite some odd experiments with musical ideas you don't think should work in a prog rock context very well, the band succeeded big time! Jester, on the other hand, is a more traditional prog rock album, but regardless, it's little wonder why that album, as well as this one, Mechanical Moonbeams are considered the high-point of Machiavel's career. There's no getting around it, you need both those albums.
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