I've never been much of a "conventional" symphonic prog fan. My favorite symph bands are generally those that eschew the bombastic use of electric keyboards and synthesizers the way that the "classic" groups favored. I prefer a more organic, acoustic sound — bands that are less interested in "rocking the classics" per se (apologies to Ed Macan), and more interested in finding a more seamless way of integrating the wondrous timbral diversity, not to mention harmonic possibilities, of Western classical orchestration into the fundamentally beat-based form of rock music.Maneige is a group that pushes all the right buttons for me for this reason. This classic Québécois symphonic rock outfit pay close attention to orchestration, favoring the clean timbres of acoustic piano and strings with a few sax solos thrown in for jazzy measure. Just as importantly, they're adept songwriters, creating pastoral melodies with the best of the classic British and Italian prog groups (witness the dreamily gorgeous "Mambo Chant"). They also have chops, as sometimes the density of arrangement and intensity of playing ramps up to fusion-like levels. While the tracks here are short — mostly in the two- to five-minute range — the complexity of composition and arrangements never lets up either.
Ni Vent... Ni Nouvelle is jazzier than Maneige's first two albums (which admittedly I have not heard except for the tracks on ProgQuébec's Live à L'Évêché), with the departure of pianist and composer Jérôme Langlois resulting in a fusionish bent that's underlined by the much shorter track lengths and the extended use of xylophones and saxes. It's still an album solidly in the symphonic rock genre, though, so those unimpressed by jazz-rock shouldn't be scared off. Indeed, I would expect fans of stuff like Isildurs Bane or early After Crying would find much to like here.
ProgQuébec's reissue of this album includes over 20 minutes of bonus live material — the last four tracks on the album, after the rather oddly jaunty (those less charitable might say "silly") closing track "Time Square." This is prime stuff, taken from the out of print live album Composite, recorded in 1979. Most of these four selections feature an intensity level a notch above the studio album's, with quite acceptable sound quality and attention-grabbing solos galore. A fantastic reissue of an excellent album — here's hoping ProgQuébec gets the rights to Maneige's first two releases sooner than later.
Standard disclaimer: ProgQuébec's Sean McFee is also a reviewer at Ground & Sky.
review by Brandon Wu — 5-15-06 —
