Arachnoid ~ France

Arachnoid (1979)

Another one of my all-time favorite albums that I've never attempted a review of. I remember the first time I heard it, I about fell off my chair. Maybe I did and hit my head. Would explain things.

The first track is stunning. It possesses the haunting feel of Pulsar's Halloween with an intensity unlike any other. The section with the Frippish guitar, and the six year old girl speaking in French, followed by the lead singer losing his mind is a highlight of my entire collection. I find it hard to concentrate after that. But the music that follows is no less excellent. Everything about it is perfect, especially the tonality. The guitar, synthesizers, flute, production, vocals, mellotron, you name it. And the creativity is off the charts. One wonders where they got some of these ideas. It's kind of random yet the compositions flow beautifully. Has the French theatrical madness of Ange and Mona Lisa combined with a Red era King Crimson intensity. 

Not too many 5 star albums that I still get a +1 listen out of. But I just did. I can't believe I'm reading negative reviews of this album, and how it's nothing special. smh. Like I said above, I probably hit my head all those years ago.

The first three bonus tracks, while not the best sound quality, also possess the same high creativity as the above. These all predate the album proper. The final track is a different mix of A2.

Ownership: 1996 Musea (CD). Booklet with lengthy historical liner notes. Includes four bonus tracks. Also includes A3, which was missing on the original LP! Acquired in 1996.

First copy: 1988 Musea (LP). Acquired in 1989.

1989; 1996; 2/11/07; 10/27/26 (review / new entry)