Saturday, January 18, 2014

Laurence Vanay - Galaxies. 1974 France


Laurence Vanay is the pseudonym for Jacqueline Thibault, wife of famed French music producer and musician Laurent Thibault. This album is pure genius. Stunning organ, flute, and acoustic/electric guitar are the instrumental ingredients. Even a little Zeuhl bass to knock things around. And here on Galaxies, she provides both wordless, and occasionally sings lyrics, in that soft, seductive female manner - all in beautiful French of course. Near perfect.

I first came across the name of Laurence Vanay (later revealed to be Jacqueline Thibault) via the rare LP European catalogs in the early to mid 1990s. It was almost mythical in stature, somewhat like the Horrific Child we covered recently. It seemed I would never hear it. Then in 2007 I finally obtained a CD-R, and loved it instantly. (The base of my brief notes below were written then, and were also included in the advertisement for the reissues). The album was screaming for a reissue - especially given that it had recently hit the underground internet trading market, and the demand was building quickly. At the time, there was talk of the album being reissued on LP (but not CD) from some new upstart in California  (who knows why no French label had stepped up on these titles). During that period I was also in touch with Ms. Thibault and her biographer Cedric. After the LP deal fizzled, they contacted Lion, and the rest is history as they say. It's been over 2 years since the formal announcement of these reissues, but it was worth the wait. I've been frothing at the mouth over at the CDRWL for some time now about these.

Ownership: CD: 2013 Lion Productions (USA). Papersleeve edition. Gatefold. Historical liner notes and contains an interview with Ms. Thibault. The CD features 9 bonus tracks, that are excellent in musical quality, and complement the album well.

LP: 2014 Lion Productions (USA). Gatefold. Historical liner notes. No bonus tracks.

7/23/07; 1/18/14 (new entry)

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