French composer and author Chardeau has put together a warm and inviting slice of prog, fusion, classical, and world styles on his latest Hors Portee, which is a two part piece, the first is the instrumental version under review here, and the second called Highlight, which includes vocal pieces. Instrumental Selectionfeatures a myriad of guest musicians, most notably Mahavishnu Orchestra/Dixie Dregs violinist Jerry Goodman, and former Magma bassist Bernard Paganotti. The CD offers up a nice amount of variety among the 22 tracks-at times things get pretty symphonic, yet also there are plenty of gorgeous and lush moments as well. For the most part don't expect a lot of fire though, other than some instances where Goodman rips it up a bit for some soaring violin flights. Much of the music here is more about mood and textures, and Chardeau has done a wonderful job of writing some really fine melodies. As for the instruments, expect all sorts of keyboards, reeds, guitars, strings, flutes, and percussion, all of which give a very rich and lush sound, almost "big band" like in its presentation. In most cases each track is fairly short, and just as you get used to the direction a piece is going in the next song starts and they mix things up a bit for you. I especially liked the fusion and funk sounds on "Si...Tard" and "Tard Instrumental", two numbers that segued into each other, and feature some screaming guitar work from Basile Leroux and dizzying violin from Goodman.
Hors Portee-Instrumental Selection is a solid listen and a good representation of modern French progressive rock and fusion styles. Chardeau has shown that he is a capable composer, and while I would have liked to hear some more uptempo stuff on this CD it definitely gets an overall thumbs up.
Track Listing
1. introverture
2. mort alternative
3. galaxies alternatives
4. pacific piano/ violon
5. cyberwaltz
6. cycle 1
7. si...tard
8. tard instrumental
9. deambule
10. route alternative
11. cyberspace data
12. ouverture an II
13. preambule
14. trafic nocturne
15. tres tard / cycle 2
16. mac gigue
17. data pulsions web mix
18. cycle 3
19. home rythm
20. home
21. mes nuits instrumentales
22. cycles
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