Hydravion - Stratos Airlines. 1979 France

Hydravion's second album is probably one of the most misunderstood albums one can find. Of course, the cover art contributes greatly to buyer confusion. On first glance, one can be forgiven to think this to be yet another late 70s Parisian coke filled disco party extravaganza. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? And then the opening misspelled 'Passadena Airport', with its repetitive beat, seems to feed the bias, leaving only the most dedicated listener to persevere. Once 'Telecom' begins though, suddenly the party is over, and the nightmarish world of Philippe Besombes begins. The French narration of 'Ligne Equateur' takes you further down the dark tunnel where it lands at the album's high water mark: The one-two punch of 'Carolyn Sud' and 'Santander'. Here we're as close to Heldon's Interface as any mere mortal will ever get. The positively haunting closer, with its biting psychedelic guitar, leaves a lasting mark on a truly great piece of art.

Perhaps had they named the album Stratospherique, with a Hipgnosis cover similar to the first, would the album be held in higher esteem today. Blame the marketing department.

Ownership: LP: 1979 Carrere. Single sleeve. Purchased at Waterloo Records in Austin (1988).

CD: 2016 Purple Pyramid (USA) As part of the 4xCD Original Album Series (Philippe Besombes).

3//88; 5/25/09; 11/12/16 (new entry)

Hydravion. 1977 France

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)