Cuneiform
1981
Un Reve Sans Consequence Speciale
About This Album
This is one of Heldon's most impressive recordings. It offers the continuity of a group sound throughout, with Pinhas' keyboards and guitars supported by Francois Auger playing drums and percussion on most tracks, and additional assistance from Patrick Gauthier on moog synthesizers and either Didier Batard or Janick Top on bass. Stylistically, it's a great leap forward from previous Heldon releases, and much closer to the fusion jazz of Mahavishnu Orchestra, than to conventional psychedelic or prog-rock. The five pieces (one in both a live and a studio version) have no real melodies or themes; rather, they use simple patterns and chord sequences as guidelines, and let the musicians improvise around them. The opening "Marie Virginie C." almost sounds like late Coltrane free jazz, or perhaps like Hendrix at his most frenzied, with guitars and synthesizers howling, and Auger thrashing wildly in the background. Speaking of Auger, he has to be one of the great rock drummers of the era -- not just in France but in all of Europe. He's fast, ferocious and very funky. The second piece on the CD, the very African-sounding "Elephanta," is a showcase for his percussive talents, and through the miracle of overdubbing, he sounds like an entire ethnic percussion orchestra.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4 and 5)

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