Ten tracks make up this the first STELLA VANDER CD, entitled D'ÉPREUVES D'AMOUR (IMPRESSIONS OF LOVE). Three of the songs will already be familiar to those amongst you who have seen or heard OFFERING live. These being 'COLORS OF THE RAINBOW, 'HELLO' and 'ANAHË'.
The majority of the album has Piano accompaniment only, provided by Christian Vander / Pierre-Michel Sivadier and Emmanuel Borghi. The exceptions are 'ANAHË' which has solo sax by Alex Ferrand, 'COLORS OF THE RAINBOW featuring percussion by Ogun(?) and 'INNOCENT' has Stella playing flute, with percussion provided by Christian, Isabelle Feuillebois, Philippe Bussonet and Julie Vander. Isabelle and Julie provide backing vocals throughout the album.
Stella is in fine voice and the versions of the already familiar material are sufficiently different to still be of interest. Sound quality all through the CD is perfect; the arrangements are intelligent and sympathetic. This release will appeal most definitely to OFFERING fans and bring Stella her own following in Europe, where apparently it has received a very favourable reception from the music press.
1. The first track J'AI VU LE ROI' was pleasant and catchy. Jim's Favourite, but I did not find it riveting.
2. Next comes 'LA NUIT DU CHASSEUR' - a short version of the piece that Stella and Guy performed in 1987 from the1955 film by Charles Laughton (The Night of the Hunter).
3. Pierre-Michel Sivadier wrote the third song 'MA SEULE ENFANT' which is more intense and the album began to pick up in strength as Stella's impressive (and yes, erotique) vocals lead up to a climax.
4. 'RONDE DE NUIT' comes next - penned and played by Christian with Julie and Isabelle on backing vocals. Before looking at the CD booklet, I had been expecting this piece to be the one we had earlier referred to as 'LA NUIT' - but Nono, this was a Ronde. It reminded me of some of Carl Orff's later work that he wrote for children to perform. This one is very likely to become one of my favourite things. It also brings back fond memories of the acoustic MAGMA set that the choir and pianists played at FNAC in Bordeaux in 1990. Quite entrancing. (The basic theme was used as part of the intro tapes in Soissons & Beauvais in 1991).
5. The subsequent track 'HELLO' is pretty much the same arrangement as performed on the 90/91 tours - it is good to hear a clear version of it at last without wind and hiss. Enchanting and spellbinding. I loved it.
6. 'I HAVE A LOVE' - but I'm afraid this is not it, I dislike this song intensely.
7. 'ANAHË' - This track is just magnificent. Again it was familiar to me from the 1991 tour, but this more refined version has the edge and the addition of Alex Ferrand on saxophone is a nice touch. By this time I had noticed that several songs end abruptly and thought it would have been preferable to segue them into each other.
8. 'COLORS OF THE RAINBOW' - Another stunner! This beautiful little song by Lonnie Liston Smith is superbly performed here by Pierre-Michel, Ogun (who?) and Stella - but again, the mysterious pause at the end where a shorter interval or cross fade into.
9. 'NATURE BOY' might have been better. This is another acappella piece that Stella (with Guy Khalifa?) sang circa '86 or '87. This time it is accompanied by white noise imitating the wind and hiss - reminds me of the Mimi Festival - if only CD players could project gnats and midges too, then the atmosphere would be complete.
10. 'INNOCENT' this again is like a choral OFFERING piece - a simple ostinato chant that sticks in your heart for ages afterwards, just like "HALLELUJAH" did when MAGMA chanted that over and over again in '74.
Altogether then 51 minutes of mostly haunting music - just as I had anticipated for all those years. But what happened to the planned recordings with Lisa Deluxe and Patrick Gauthier? Could they be in the can waiting for a future project perhaps? I hope this album becomes the hit record that the Vander's truly deserve and more tours and albums follow soon after. There is almost no discernable MAGMA influence in this album - just some of the most lyrical aspects of OFFERING. Buy it you'll love it! - Yes Stella, we DID enjoy it! The CD booklet contains all the lyrics and personnel data with a suite of photographs of the musicians when they were young. Christian looked very cherubic, but was probably even then contemplating the future (and all variations thereof).
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