Ange (4) – Guet-Apens

I am left in disbelief! I expect a band's earlier albums to be their best, but in the case of Ange, this is that rare exception. Guet-Apens was released in 1978, while regarded as their last worthy album by most progheads, it's also perhaps their very best album. How did they pull that off in 1978, given their debut Caricatures came out in 1972? While there was a two year wait since their last studio album, Par Les Fils de Mandrin, there was also a change in the lineup, yet it didn't hurt the band any! The Ange sound is still unchanged, with the unmistakable voice of Christian Decamps and his brother Francis giving his unmistakable organ sound, but this time around he decides to go hog wild on the Mellotron and don't even bother hiding it with his VIscount organ most of the time. How did this later album became Ange's most Mellotron-dominated album? This coming at an era that others have given up their Mellotron, and what little Mellotron heard on previous Ange albums are so hard to spot thanks to that Viscount organ.

All Guet-Apens does is confirm Ange as one of the best prog rock bands to come out of in the 1970s. I am under a serious impression the band could not care less about appealing to the non-Francophone world, and ittedly their style won't appeal to everyone. Many will have trouble with Christian Decamp's voice, which is harsh, but I have no problem with it. Then of course, the French language, which what the band is getting at would be lost to those not familiar with the French language. But no doubt, the band also has their share of non-Francophone irers, like myself. But after that even Ange succumbed to the changes and their following album are apparently of little interest to progheads. If you're an Ange fan, you need Guet-Apens, and if you're not familiar with the band, this is a great place to get started!