Customer Reviews

Live

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Imagine, if you would, a curious intersection where a whole mass of roads collide. And imagine these roads having some musical names, such as Sun Ra, Leos Janacek, Carl Orff, John Coltrane, Hawkwind, and so on. You'd be getting close, in that intersection, to an idea of what Magma is about. Their magnum opus is, of course, the searing and intense "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh", but I happen to think this runs a close second. Recorded live in Paris in the mid-70s, Magma here is presented in fine, fit form, and they dive into their material with a wild zeal that seems as if it would be nearly impossible to capture on disc, yet they managed! There's both an aggressive and ecstatic feel to the music on this set, and the playing in this concert setting blows away many of the other 'prog' bands of the same period. Echoing the prior reviewer, "Hhai' is a standout, but the live version of "MDK" presented here is attacked with a dervish-like furor that will have most people scrambling to pick their jaw off the floor! Things reach an primal pitch toward the end of this thing, the chanted lyrics taking on the sound of some shamanic incantation. For those who think they're down with the prog sound, I'd recommend this. You'll _learn_ something! But Magma's appeal definitely goes beyond just the prog-rock venue, and I'd also recommend this (and the aforementioned "MDK") for those into 'minimal' New Music such as that of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams et al as an outstanding example of just where repetition in music can be taken.

This is an amazing live document from one of the best and most progressive bands of all time! This group has had its members come and go, with Christian Vander being the leader and the main composer.

This line-up is arguably the best, featuring Christian Vander (on drums/perc,vocals), Klaus Blasquiz (on vocals, percussion), Stella vander (on vocals), Bernard Paganotti (on bassguitar), Didier Lockwood (on violin), Gabriel Federow (on electric guitar), Benoit Widemann and Jean-Pol Asseline (on Fender Piano and Organ). They perform "Köhntarkösz" (the amazing piece from the same album) and three shorter tracks "Kobaïa" (a different version of a track that appears on Magma's first studio album), "Hhaï" and "Lïhns" (with lead vocals by Christian) has never appeared in any studio versions. At the end there is about half of "Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh" (here entitled "Mekanïk Zeuhl Wörtz" and "Mekanïk Zaïn").

The whole album shows its band-members displaying their highly technical and emotionally expressive talents, individually as well as a unified and highly synchronized musical force. The intensity is simply breathtaking, it can be equaled to that of ELP or Mahavishnu Orchestra, but I find it much more interesting and uplifting than that of these bands.

The shorter tracks are calmer, and have a slightly funky groove with some jazz overtones. "Hhaï" is a beautiful song that more than any other expresses "hope and life". Hhaï means life or alive.

This album might not be recommended for people with weak nerves, as it's truly a musical assault, even though a highly musical one. I recommend to all who likes true progressive music!

One of Magma's best recordings. The production and sound quality are very good, and the versions of the songs have more energy and sound better than the studio versions, and they have been liberal in their re-arrangement of their songs. In this regard, it is comparable to Gentle Giant's "Live-Playing the Fool", another of the greatest live abums of all time. Also the versions of the songs seem more fusion-inspired than their studio counterparts, which make them more accessible. For this reason, it is true that this album is a good introduction to Magma. The song Kohntarkosz is an obsession for me, and I cannot get enough of it. The riffs are so simple, yet so powerful and haunting. The version of Kohntarkosz Part 1 is the best I have heard so far, but I somewhat prefer the studio version of Part 2 which is more pounding and unrelenting. The song Hhai is absolutely beautiful, and reminiscent of Gayle Moran-era Mahavishnu Orchestra. Stella Vander's soprano voice is beautiful. The song Kobaia starts funky and upbeat, then slowly disintegrates into darkness and dissonance, until the trademark Magma chanting in its most gorgeous form...then in an incredible odd-metered jerk it throws you back into the funk realm. Amazing! The version of Mekanik, though incomplete, sounds better than the original, which is somewhat tinny and the drums are buried in the mix. The live version rocks hard until the final mind-boggling riffs which close the album. Overall, the drumming, bass playing and singing are incredible. But the inspired violin playing sets this apart from other Magma albums. If you like interesting and original progressive rock and fusion, you really should open your mind to Magma Live.

French band Magma - for better or worse - have quite a reputation in the progressive rock world. Lead by composer, drummer and lyricist/conceptualist Christian Vander, he sought to tell a story over several albums, dealing with people (known as Kobaians), and their respective behaviours and going-on's of their planet, Kobaia, as well as them traveling to Earth, and such. I don't know the story in full, so I'm tempted to leave the conceptual ideas alone for the rest of this review. But, perhaps, the most noticeable figure to many in Magma's output is the made-up language referred to as Kobaian. As far as I know, there are no translations available to decipher what any of the lyrics mean, but perhaps, it was never intended for us to decipher the meanings of the lyrics.

But, more importantly, Magma's sound is very distinctive, and hard to categorize. I simply refer to them as avant-progressive rock -- quite a lazy description on my part, but pretty accurate. Let me elaborate -- their music is usually operatically-inclined, but, saying Magma are *operatic* is almost like saying a green bean casserole is made up of only green beans. They've also specialized in blending rock with 20th Century classical attributes, fusion, funk, jazz, R&B and others, but once again, in a very distinctive fashion. It must be mentioned that they pioneered a genre which is referred to as *Zeuhl* -- a genre which is possibly an amalgamation of everything listed above, or simply, music that is Magmaesque in scope.

On this outing, entitled LIVE-KOHNTARK (though in other places, it's called "Live" or "Live/Hhai") (1975), Magma performs a few of their classics from earlier albums, as well as a few tracks that are not found on their studio albums. Studio albums like MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH (1973) and KOHNTARKOSZ (1974) are, more or less, dense and fully-textured in production -- whether it be the massive choral voices, or oceanic synthesizers highlighting this. However, on this live performance, the lavishness in production is nowhere to be found, and replaced, with a leaner, stripped-down, in-your-face exhibition. The massive Wagnerian choral mannerisms have evaporated, if not disappeared altogether, into the background of the fiery playing, but vocal harmonies are still present. Instead, we get Magma's own distinctive fusion performances in the vein of early Mahavishnu Orchestra, or '73-era King Crimson -- violin virtuosism included. But, Magma does not sound *like* Mahavishnu or King Crimson -- much stranger, to say the least.

These performances are full of fire, intensity and vigor -- I'm even inclined to say that these live versions of the studio cuts sound much livelier than the studio versions. The album starts off with a phenomenal version of the title track to KOHNTARKOSZ. Hypnotic repetitive rhythms, slithering vocal chants, and other things are in place. In the second half, the band lets loose with this intense jam, which replaces most of the vocals found on the studio version. It all ends with an R&B/funk-rock jam with improvised vocal chants, so high in authenticity, conviction, energy and taste, George Clinton and Earth, Wind & Fire would be impressed. The next track called "Emehnteht-Rë" (the title, in which bears part of the concept of the previous track) is a near-minimalist study in repetition. The majestic opening reminds me of some ancient people living in a tomb, gathering in line, walking slowly to a casket with a corpse, and mourning their loss, or something of the like. The repetitive bassline which follows makes me think that the person who wrote the score for 1990's fantasy/action film TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES was a Magma fan - the bassline heard in the opening section of the film sounds eerily similar to this. This repetitive bassline runs throughout the remainder of the track. Elsewhere, there's a stripped down version of MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH, which is quite excellent as well, and sits nicely with the studio version.

There are more tracks on here that I didn't mention, simply because the 1,000 word limit would be surpassed. This album is considered Magma's most accessible, but it's not necessarily the most accessible music in general. More importantly, if you have interest in this outing, *this* 2CD version is the one to get, as two tracks on here are not featured on the single-disc version.

...you can find better renditions of Kohntarkosz,Hhai and MDK.

-That version of Kohntarkosz is pretty good , but I recommend the one found on "live at Reims 1976" , where the violin solo is replaced by A KILLER MINI-MOOG SOLO by Benoît Widemann

-The versions of Hhai found on "Retrospektiw 3" and "live at Bobino 1981" both have a very jazzy and exciting "question-answer" solo by Widemann and Jean-Luc Chevalier

-What we have here is an abriged MDK , which to me sounds rather boring (unless you listen to it in a dark room ,lying sprawled out on a sofa,with incense sticks burning...)

I think the good surprises of the record are the tracks Kobaia (very groovy) and Emehnteht-re (very bewitching)

After all,that live album demonstrates how the Argesdrah could be powerful,reflective and self-confident(violonist Lockwood was only 17 ! ) on stage .That's far enough to be outstanding.

IEGAH

As you've probably gathered from other reviews and their general reputation, Magma isn't for everyone. But they were remarkable. Christian Vander is an amazing drummer, maybe the best jazz/rock stylist to come out of Europe, and his compositions based on polyrhythmic percussion and vocal chants are simultaneously funky and the legitimate descendants of the works of Orff and Stravinsky, and cousins of minimalists like Glass and Adams, in the 20th century classical canon. The principal defects of most Magma recordings are (a) flogging a complex repetitive theme for too long, and (b) the relative weakness of the instrumental soloists compared to the superb rhythm section.

This live album exhibits those weaknesses less than any other Magma record. The "epic" compositions are presented in a shorter form than in the studio, and above all, violinist Didier Lockwood - sadly unknown and underrated outside of France - steps up to the plate and delivers some solos worthy of the rest of the band. So, if you're only going to buy or listen to one Magma record, this is the one I'd recommend.

These guys, they leave me speechless. What does it all mean? The grooves are h-e-a-v-y and the playing, especially from the then-teenaged Lockwood, is stunning and committed. I like Magma because progressive rock is notorious for awful lyrics, but this band comes complete with a completely prefabricated language to which presumably only Christian Vander knows the meaning and connotation, so you can listen to the vocals without feeling embarassed by the words.

Certainly this album is a good place to start on them, and they are certainly on the list of the best Prog bands ever, so your interest is worthwhile. To say that they just don't make bands like this anymore is as gross as understatements come... suffice to say that no one is ever going to audition for American Idol by singing the Kobaian refrains of Mekanik Destructiv Kommandoh anytime soon.

I have bought this CD, paying a lot of money to get it, being influenced by the 5 stars amazon.com reviews, but it turned out to be a huge mistake I have made. I am a big listener of John Mahavishnu's recordings (I own the best of them, from IMF to VOEB) and I consider that there is no possible comparision that can be made with Magma. Mahavishnu is a milestone in the 20th century music, while Magma is only a boring, a very boring, 100 % not musically band. No history. No one would remember anything about them. No wonder it is a french band. They should do what they do best and leave the progressive rock and the jazz-rock fusion for the anglo-saxon world. No ofense.