(prog fusion) Forgas - Cocktail 1975,France - 1975, FLAC (tracks+.cue)

Multi-instrumentalist Patrick Forgas developed a strange kind of psychedelic jazz-rock blending with latter 70's fusion, even more so for the second part of the 70's. While Forgas wrote and composed all of the music and he played roughly half the instruments on this album, it does not sound like a dodgy basement record with only him playing on it. I wouldn't call this album a group effort either, but the playing is tight and does not allow for indulgence. With a rather bland cartoon-like artwork (the back cover is much more fun and better fit for an artwork), this album was recorded in the spring and summer of 77, and released in the fall on the small Gratte-Ciel (sky-scrapper) record label, but as far as I know, this has never seen a Cd reissue, which is not the case for other albums of his. If you can imagine later Traffic mixed with some Jean-Luc Ponty, you might just have good idea of what awaits you on Coktail.

The first side of the vinyl is comprised of mostly very short tracks, with two notable exceptions, that brought a very varied atmosphere, generally light, funky and humorous, but none are actually really interesting either, as they seem to be serving as fillers. Only the longer Monks and Rhume De Foin (hay fever), the first with its almost 5 minutes seem to bring more depth, with a great groove underlined a superb bass line, with divine flute, sax and violin interplay. The second (and A-side closer) is a more reflective piece sounding like Traffic around the John Barleycorn Must Die album.

The B-side is taken-up by the lengthy (18-min+) My Trip, which actually is a fitting title, because this is one hell of a ride. If the first side was entirely instrumental, this track holds some vocals, which are not very strong though, resembling the usual French symphonic rock singing in the 70's. Again there is some particularly exciting violin playing (Tilleman plays on most of the better tracks of the album) very reminiscent of Ponty's then-contemporary albums, some dynamite sax (here Bruce Grant instead of Debricon on the flipside)

While Forgas might have appeared as an original and zany character in life, the music fails to represent this fully. For some reasons, as much as it is loaded with all the trumps, the album is a bit of a miss, but not far from a hit either. Hardly essential but still much worth a spin on your turntable.

Patrick Forgas biography
Often referred to as "the French Robert Wyatt", Patrick FORGAS was 18 when he first heard the music that would change his life: the second SOFT MACHINE album. He spent the 70s perfecting his drumming technique, jamming with various Canterbury-style bands and then in 1977, released his first album entitled "Cocktail". Despite his exceptional talent as a composer and arranger, he failed to achieve any success and disappeared from the music scene, only to return in 1990 with a series of albums which he released either under his name or that of the FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA.

The mostly instrumental "Cocktail", comprising an almost 20-minute long epic, displays superb compositions full of inventiveness and melodic research, emphasizing the strong bass lines of Gerard Prevost (ZOI, RAHMANN). After a couple of average releases under Musea, FORGAS churned out the very strong "Extra-Lucide" in 1999. This is first-rate prog fusion that moves through many different moods and is performed by a sextet of ultra-tight musicians (searing guitar, prominent saxes, flute, keyboards, bass as well as GONG's own Mireille Bauer contributing vibraphone and marimba). Curiously, FORGAS' latest release "Synchronicite" completely departs from the Canterbury style. Almost new-age like, it features FORGAS alone at the keyboards and percussions.

Fans of SOFT MACHINE (and especially of Robert WYATT) should definitely check out the excellent "Extra-Lucide" as well as the 77 debut album "Cocktail". "Synchronicite" is far from being a bad album but will more likely attract fans of VANGELIS, ASH RA TEMPEL and KLAUS SCHULZE.

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007

EAC extraction logfile from 5. March 2009, 11:48

Forgas / Cocktail

Used drive : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG Adapter: 0 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.00 | 0:49.74 | 0 | 3748
2 | 0:49.74 | 4:24.52 | 3749 | 23600
3 | 5:14.51 | 1:06.21 | 23601 | 28571
4 | 6:20.72 | 1:05.00 | 28572 | 33446
5 | 7:25.72 | 1:38.00 | 33447 | 40796
6 | 9:03.72 | 1:28.74 | 40797 | 47470
7 | 10:32.71 | 3:42.38 | 47471 | 64158
8 | 14:15.34 | 1:18.37 | 64159 | 70045
9 | 15:33.71 | 5:35.49 | 70046 | 95219
10 | 21:09.45 | 18:24.20 | 95220 | 178039
11 | 39:33.65 | 6:32.32 | 178040 | 207471
12 | 46:06.22 | 1:38.74 | 207472 | 214895
13 | 47:45.21 | 3:18.74 | 214896 | 229819
14 | 51:04.20 | 3:58.48 | 229820 | 247717
15 | 55:02.68 | 2:43.41 | 247718 | 259983
16 | 57:46.34 | 2:37.41 | 259984 | 271799
17 | 60:24.00 | 1:42.42 | 271800 | 279491
18 | 62:06.42 | 1:36.37 | 279492 | 286728
19 | 63:43.04 | 3:16.14 | 286729 | 301442
20 | 66:59.18 | 1:34.74 | 301443 | 308566
21 | 68:34.17 | 2:10.74 | 308567 | 318390
22 | 70:45.16 | 2:04.00 | 318391 | 327690
23 | 72:49.16 | 0:29.26 | 327691 | 329891

Track 1

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\01 - Automne 69.wav

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Track 2

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\02 - Monks (La Danse des Moines).wav

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Track 3

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\03 - Reflet d'Ail.wav

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Track 4

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\04 - Coeur Violon.wav

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Track 5

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\05 - Orgueil.wav

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Track 6

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\06 - Vol d'Hirondelles.wav

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Track 7

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\07 - Cocktail.wav

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Track 8

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\08 - Rituel.wav

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Track 9

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\09 - Rhume des Foins.wav

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Track 10

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\10 - My Trip.wav

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Track 11

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\11 - My Trip (Demo 1975).wav

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Track 12

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\12 - Cocktail (Middle Section).wav

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Track 13

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\13 - Cocktail (Main Theme).wav

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Track 14

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\14 - Plein les Poches.wav

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Track 15

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\15 - Paris-Londres.wav

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Track 16

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\16 - Nos Cheveux emmкlйs.wav

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Track 17

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\17 - Magie Major.wav

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Track 18

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\18 - Comme un Hibou.wav

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Track 19

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\19 - Poursuite.wav

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Track 20

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\20 - Elle qui attend.wav

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Track 21

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\21 - Arrкte-toi.wav

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Track 22

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\22 - Espoir.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.01

Peak level 99.1 %
Track quality 100.0 %
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Track 23

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\23 - Descendez pour vous rhabiller.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02

Peak level 100.0 %
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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

No errors occurred

End of status report

------------------------------------------------------------

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007

EAC extraction logfile from 5. March 2009, 11:49

Forgas / Cocktail

Used drive : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG Adapter: 0 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.00 | 0:49.74 | 0 | 3748
2 | 0:49.74 | 4:24.52 | 3749 | 23600
3 | 5:14.51 | 1:06.21 | 23601 | 28571
4 | 6:20.72 | 1:05.00 | 28572 | 33446
5 | 7:25.72 | 1:38.00 | 33447 | 40796
6 | 9:03.72 | 1:28.74 | 40797 | 47470
7 | 10:32.71 | 3:42.38 | 47471 | 64158
8 | 14:15.34 | 1:18.37 | 64159 | 70045
9 | 15:33.71 | 5:35.49 | 70046 | 95219
10 | 21:09.45 | 18:24.20 | 95220 | 178039
11 | 39:33.65 | 6:32.32 | 178040 | 207471
12 | 46:06.22 | 1:38.74 | 207472 | 214895
13 | 47:45.21 | 3:18.74 | 214896 | 229819
14 | 51:04.20 | 3:58.48 | 229820 | 247717
15 | 55:02.68 | 2:43.41 | 247718 | 259983
16 | 57:46.34 | 2:37.41 | 259984 | 271799
17 | 60:24.00 | 1:42.42 | 271800 | 279491
18 | 62:06.42 | 1:36.37 | 279492 | 286728
19 | 63:43.04 | 3:16.14 | 286729 | 301442
20 | 66:59.18 | 1:34.74 | 301443 | 308566
21 | 68:34.17 | 2:10.74 | 308567 | 318390
22 | 70:45.16 | 2:04.00 | 318391 | 327690
23 | 72:49.16 | 0:29.26 | 327691 | 329891

Track 21

Filename E:\EAC_Extractions\Forgas - Cocktail\21 - Arrкte-toi.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:00.17

Peak level 97.6 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC E2541A73
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Track not present in AccurateRip database
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None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

No errors occurred

End of status report