After a handful of dark, complex, and remarkable electronic rock albums on the Pole label, Philippe Besombes created a more accessible vehicle for his talents. Thus was born Hydravion. 'Métropolitain' starts with a slightly bouncy, disco tinged, electronic sound - a style that was quite popular in Paris in the late 1970s. But this being Besombes, it doesn't take long for Hydravion to sound more Heldon than Chic. Starting with 'Triste Fin', Hydravion's debut features anguished fuzz guitar leads, bizarre interludes, alien voices, and a whole lot of invention. Many folks tend to overlook Hydravion, but give the album a few minutes to settle in, and you'll see this as a top tier French progressive electronic work.
Ownership: LP: 1977 Cobra. Single sleeve with a cool Hipgnosis cover. Purchased this out of Goldmine in 1987 while still in college.
CD: 2016 Purple Pyramid (USA) As part of the 4xCD Philippe Besombes Original Album Series box set. Unfortunately the CD for this album is taken from vinyl, and obviously so. Better than nothing. But the box set is awesome and comes with complete liner notes.
1987; 5/25/09; 11/12/16 (new entry)
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