Joseph Williams - Denizen Tenant (2021)

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Joseph Stanley Williams is an American singer, songwriter and film score composer, best known for his work with rock band Toto, as their lead singer from 1986 to 1988, 2010 to 2019 and again from 2020. 
He is the son of acclaimed film composer John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws, ET) and actress Barbara Ruick and a grandson of jazz drummer Johnny Williams and actors Melville Ruick and Lurene Tuttle. 
He’s certainly no stranger to showbiz! Before his period with Toto, Williams had already started a solo career with debut album Joseph Williams in 1982. Nearly forty years later comes his tenth solo album "Denizen Tenant" is being released. The ‘denizen’ from the title should be read as ‘foreign’.
The album will be released at the same time as the new solo album from Toto’s Steve Lukather, I Found the Sun Again (which you can read my review of HERE). 
A duo release, so to speak. Both men are close friends, the last to keep the Toto torch burning, and have contributed considerably to each other’s new albums. But where Lukather opted for a relatively small group of friendly musicians, Williams invited almost the entire studio mob of LA, especially the group with a Toto past, to take part.
Twelve songs, eight self-written or in combination, two songs by others (Steven Overton and Jay Gruska) and two covers: Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel and If I Fell by Lennon and McCartney.

Opener Never Saw You Coming is a slow, dark rock song with a recognisable sing-along theme, tension, excellent harmony vocals and a mean guitar solo by Mike Landau. 
A great start to the album. Liberty Man is one of those songs that show off Williams’s versatile voice best. From a calm waltzing rhythm by Simon Phillips to rocking with a sharp edge, it’s a good composition as well.
The title track has a promising start with contrary rhythms and jazzy influences. An intriguing song with puzzling lyrics: “Right hand to the Leftenant”, no idea what that means, other than a cunning play of words. 
Wilma Fingadoux is Williams’ attempt to write a modern song. I would like to leave it to the listener whether he succeeded, it certainly sounds contemporary, with lots of rhythm samples and even a cello. And the entire Williams family on vocals.
Toto veteran David Paich plays a lead role on the Hammond organ on Black Dahlia with that lazy, swinging West Coast style we’ve come to expect from bands like Steely Dan. 
Great bass guitar from that other Toto alumni, Nathan East. Don’t Give Up is the well-known Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush duet in a new guise, partly due to the use of cello and percussion, featuring Williams’ daughter Hannah Ruick in the role of La Bush. Pretty big footsteps to follow, her voice is a bit thin, but she doesn’t do badly. On the other hand, Williams lacks PG’s weathered voice. Remakes of classics, always tricky.
The Dream is not a bad song, but I can’t help feeling that it has more potential than the current version shows. Perhaps a little too much “family business”: Williams’ brother William T plays drums, daughter Ray sings and brother-in-law Jay Gruska rounds off the family gathering. Even Lenny Castro’s eminent percussion work cannot compete with that. “Ding dong the dream is dead”. 
Fortunately, Remember Her is a lot stronger, perhaps due to the collaboration with Steve Lukather. A slow song with a lovely groove and Luke’s characteristic solo halfway, some high degree of Toto quality. The “Her” in this song is astronomer Cecilia Payne, the discoverer of the matter that stars are made of, just so you know.
Solitary piano notes and Williams’ voice during the intro of the bluesy No Lessons. Please listen to that fragile trumpet and the orchestration with strings and synths. 
Williams as “crooner”, apparently he is capable off that too. Interesting lyrics as well: “There are no damn lessons, and this still ain’t one of ‘em”. Mistress Winter’s Jump has Celtic influences topped with American orchestration, largely thanks/due to co-composer/arranger Steven Overton.
Beatles song If I Fell is a bit of an odd man out, ultra-short at two-and-a-half minutes, by far the shortest song on the album. Steve Lukather takes up the John Lennon role. No idea what the strange sound bytes at the end are about. 
Closing track World Broken is surely one of the best tracks on the album. An exciting piece with plenty of space between the notes quickly turns into a rocking song with lush instrumentation. 
Veteran Lenny Castro’s percussion (also present on Toto’s debut album in 1976) is prominently present on this almost hypnotic hymn.
Williams has released an eclectic album with Denizen Tenant in which he deviates from the familiar Toto idiom. 
The album delivers a string of good songs: Never Saw You Coming, Liberty Man, Remember Her and especially World Broken stand up to scrutiny. Production is as always pitch perfect, just couldn’t be any other way with so many talented musicians and craftsmen on board. 
From a compositional point of view, everything is rather well put together, I have to highlight the vocal harmonies. 
But with such a star-studded line-up, I actually expected a little more from this man, currently one of the last of the Mohicans in the Toto camp, together with buddy Steve Lukather.


Track listing

1.  Never Saw You Coming  (5:19)
      Guitar – Mike Landau, Oscar Bugarin
      Percussion – Lenny Castro
      Piano, Synth, Drums, Programmed By [Bass Prog], Vocals – Joseph Williams    
      Written-By – Barry Bregman, Joseph Williams
2.  Liberty Man  (4:28)
      Bass – Leland Sklar
      Drums – Simon Phillips
      Guitar – Mike Landau, Steve Lukather
      Piano, Keyboards [Keys], Vocals – Joseph Williams
      Written-By – David Paich, Joseph Williams
3.  Denizen Tenant  (3:25)
      Bass, Guitar – Steven Overton
      Drum Programming [Drums Prog.], Piano, Synth, Vocals – Joseph Williams
      Vocals [Additional Vocals] – Ray Williams, Weston Wilson    
      Written-By – Joseph Williams, Steven Overton
4.  Wilma Fingadoux (3:43)
      Cello – Tina Guo
      Co-producer – Dylan Ronan
      Drums, Bass, Programmed By [Synths Prog] – Dylan Ronan
      Keyboards [Additional Keys], Vocals – Joseph Williams
      Percussion – Barbara Gruska
      Vocals [Additional Vocals] – Hannah Ruick, Ray Williams
      Written-By – Joseph Williams
5.  Black Dahlia  (feat. David Paich)  4:34)
      Arranged By, Producer – Jay Gruska
      Bass – Nathan East
      Drums – Barbara Gruska
      Electric Organ [Hammond B3] – David Paich
      Electric Piano, Synth [All Synths] – Jay Gruska
      Guitar – Mike Landau
      Vocals – Joseph Williams    
      Written-By – Jay Gruska, Joseph Williams
6.  Don’t Give Up  (feat. Hannah Ruick)  (5:51)
      Drums, Programmed By [Bass Prog], Piano, Synth, Vocals – Joseph Williams
      Featuring [Ft.] – Hannah Ruick
      Guitar – Steve Lukather
      Lead Vocals – Hannah Ruick
      Percussion – Lenny Castro
      Vocals [Additional Vocals] – Ray Williams
      Written-By – Peter Gabriel
7.  The Dream  (3:42)
      Drums – Mark T. Williams
      Guitar – Mike Landau, Oscar Bugarin
      Percussion – Lenny Castro
      Piano, Synth, Vocals – Joseph Williams
      Vocals [Additional Vocals] – Ray Williams, Weston Wilson
      Written-By – Joseph Williams
8.  Remember Her  (feat. Steve Lukather)  (4:44)
      Drums, Programmed By [Bass Prog], Piano, Synth, Vocals – Joseph Williams
      Percussion – Lenny Castro
      Written-By – Joseph Williams, Paul Gordon 
9.  No Lessons  (3:48)
      Arranged By, Producer – Jay Gruska
      Electric Organ [Hammond B3], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Jeff Babko
      Electronic Wind Instrument [EWI Muted Trumpet] – Steve Tavaglione
      Lyrics By – Denise Gruska
      Music By – Jay Gruska
      Piano, Bass, Drum Programming [Durm Prog.], Arranged By [Flute & String Arrangement] – Jay Gruska
      Vocals – Joseph Williams
10.  Mistress Winter’s Jump  (3:31)
        Bass, Guitar – Steven Overton
        Drums, Programmed By [Additional Bass Prog.], Piano, Synth, Vocals – Joseph Williams
        Percussion – Lenny Castro
        Written-By – Steven Overton
11.  If I Fell  (feat. Steve Lukather)  (2:32)
        Acoustic Guitar [Nylon Guitar], Vocals – Steve Lukather
        Keyboards [Keys], Vocals – Joseph Williams
        Percussion – Lenny Castro
        Vocals [Last Vocal] – Judy Boots
        Written-By – John Lennon • Paul McCartney
12.  World Broken  (4:41)
        Drums, Programmed By [Bass Prog.], Piano, Synth, Vocals – Joseph Williams
        Guitar – Steve Lukather
        Percussion, Vocals [Last Vocal] – Lenny Castro
        Programmed By [Additional Synth Prog] – Dylan Ronan
        Vocals [Additional Vocals] – Hannah Ruick, Ray Williams 
        Written-By – Barry Bregman, Joseph Williams


Musicians

     *  Joseph Williams – Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
     *  Jeff Babko – Keyboards
     *  David Paich – Keyboards
     *  Oscar Bugarin – Piano, Synthesizers, Drums, Bass Programming
     *  Simon Phillips – Drums
     *  Lenny Castro – Percussion
     *  Dylan Ronan – Drums, Bass & Synth Programming
     *  Nathan East – Bass
     *  Hannah Ruick – Vocals
     *  Jay Gruska – Electric Piano, Synths
     *  Leland Sklar – Bass
     *  Barbara Gruska – Drums, Percussion
     *  Steve Tavaglione – EWI Muted Trumpet    
     *  Mike Landau – Guitars
     *  Weston Wilson – Vocals
     *  Steve Lukather – Guitars, Vocals
     *  Ray Williams – Vocals
     *  Steve Overton – Bass, Guitars    
     *  Mark T. Williams – Drums


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released:  Feb 26, 2021 
Genre:  Rock 
Style:  Pop Rock, AOR, Soft Rock 
Total Time:  50:08

Label - The Players Club 

My Blue Van - Hush (2015)

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My Blue Van met de titel ‘Hush’. Je zet zo’n Cd dan voor het eerst op en denkt verhip weer een lekkere band met een Amerikaanse originele sound, kenmerkend stemgeluid en indrukwekkend…..dan blijkt het plotseling gewoon om een Nederlandse band te gaan en dan wordt je pas echt nieuwsgierig en wordt het tijd om op onderzoek uit te gaan. 
Dit is nota bene hun tweede album. Adembenemend ijzer sterke originele roots sound.
My Blue Van is dus een Utrechts trio bestaande uit Bas Beenackers(zang gitaar, piano, percussie), Dennis Wechelaar (drums, percussie) en Freek van Ede(bas). 
Ze wisten zich de afgelopen jaren in de kijker te spelen bij verschillende Utrechtse bandwedstrijden en stonden in december 2014 in de finale van de Grote Prijs van Nederland. 
De nummers van de band hebben klassieke wortels: de blues is duidelijk te voelen maar dan niet met de geijkte traditionele basloopjes en thema’s. 
My blue Van heeft een eigen interpretatie van de blues en roots en brengt dit op een originele sfeervolle wijze zoals ook Wille & The Bandits dat doen. De doorleefde stem van Beenackers geeft de liedjes ook een tintje soul. 
De ferme drums van Dennis Wechgelaar en het baswerk van Freek van Ede leggen meestal een traag voortstuwend fundament waarover Beenackers zijn noten mag spelen.
Beslist geen traditioneel repertoire, maar wat experimenteel her en der. De schijf beluisterend is de gekozen ingeslagen weg ook wel de juiste. 
Natuurlijk misstaan ze niet op een bluesfestival maar My Blue Van is beslist geen pure bluesrock band. Het is namelijk veel meer dan dat. Krachtige rocksongs, voorzien van rauwe zang worden afgewisseld met subtiele soulvolle ballads. 
Grunge en psychedelische invloeden hoor je terug in het stevigere werk terwijl de rustige nummers zich kenmerken door invloeden van indie en americana. Dat het trio perfect op elkaar ingespeeld is blijkt uit alles. 
De krachtige drums en bas ondersteunen gitaar en zang op de 14 eigen nummers tot in perfectie. Her en der wordt het trio bijgestaan door piano of hammond .Het derde nummer van Hush lijkt wel haast een song van Wille & the Bandits, dezelfde staccato zang, de opbouw van dit lied met schreeuwerige uithalen zou net zo goed door Wil Edwards gebracht kunnen worden. 
Bij My blue Van is het wel allemaal net iets gepolijster en softer. Heerlijk om bij weg te dromen. Het afsluitende Dementia is eigenlijk wel het hoogtepunt van dit album. 
Een bijna flamenco achtige opening van dit nummer wordt gevolgd door de imponerende stem van Bas Beenackers en brengt je in hemels sferen zoals we dat ook kennen van bijvoorbeeld de overleden Engelse icoon John Marty.


Track listing

1.  Hush  (2:39)
2.  25 Nights and Days  (2:56)
3.  Story on a Strange Place  (3:39)
4.  Plusminus  (4:21)
5.  I Give You My Curse  (3:54)
6.  Float  (3:37)
7.  Bloodstain  (5:01)
8.  Who Is There to Know  (4:32)
9.  Carousel  (4:59)
10.  Sail Away  (4:55)
11.  Rushing High  (3:03)
12.  Wave  (4:26)
13.  Storm  (4:09)
14.  Dementia  (4:28)


 Credits
Notes
Release: 2015
Genre:  Blues / Rock
totale tijdsduur: 56:39

Label - Uitgebracht in eigen beheer

Lyle Lovett - Step Inside This House (1998) [2-Disc]

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Step Inside This House is the seventh album by Lyle Lovett, released in 1998. 
In contrast with his earlier albums, populated mostly by songs penned by Lovett, House is a double-length album of cover songs written by fellow Texans.
In choosing songs to record, Lovett favored songwriters whose works influenced his own style instead of immensely popular artists whose name recognition might boost sales. 
The second disc is largely dedicated to songs written by Steven Fromholz, Townes Van Zandt and Walter Hyatt, with the final track being a traditional piece.
The title track was written by Guy Clark but does not appear on any of his albums. After learning the song from Clark, Lovett fell in love with it, and Clark gave him permission to include it on this album.

Step Inside This House, in a way, is a perfect follow-up to The Road to Ensenada, his straightest country album since his debut, taking Lyle Lovett back to the very beginning, as he covers his favorite songwriters. 
He consciously avoids such obvious influences as Randy Newman and Jesse Winchester, choosing to concentrate almost solely on Texan singer/songwriters, resulting in a minor revelation. Lovett's place in Texas' progressive country tradition has always been evident, and his good taste has never been in question, but this not only confirms his strength as a performer, but also illustrates the origins of his clear, wry narratives. 
He not only sheds light on songwriters known better for their reputation than their actual recordings (Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Walter Hyatt, Michael Martin Murphey, Robert Earl Keen), yet he carries a torch for obscure names like Eric Taylor, Vince Bell and Craig Calvert, David Rodriquez, and Steve Fromholz, who has no less than four songs on the album. 
For all the different writers, what's striking about Step Inside This House is how all the songs seem to spring from the same worldview. 
Few covers albums are as unified and Lovett's achievement is particularly noteworthy since none of the songs are standards.  [Step Inside This House Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine]


 Disc one
  1. "Bears"  (Steven Fromholz) – 3:04
  2. "Lungs" (Townes Van Zandt) – 2:18
  3. "Step Inside This House (Step Inside My House)" (Guy Clark) – 5:29
  4. "Memphis Midnight/Memphis Morning" (Eric Taylor) – 4:23
  5. "I've Had Enough" (Vince Bell, Craig Calvert) – 3:02
  6. "Teach Me About Love" (Walter Hyatt) – 3:52
  7. "Sleepwalking" (Willis Alan Ramsey) – 5:39
  8. "Ballad of the Snow Leopard and the Tanqueray Cowboy" (David Rodriguez) – 5:51
  9. "More Pretty Girls Than One" (traditional) – 2:56
  10. "West Texas Highway" (Boomer Castleman, Michael Martin Murphey) – 3:32
  11. "Rollin' By" (Robert Earl Keen) – 4:06
Disc two
  1. "Texas Trilogy: Daybreak" (Fromholz) – 3:17
  2. "Texas Trilogy: Train Ride" (Fromholz) – 2:35
  3. "Texas Trilogy: Bosque County Romance" (Fromholz) – 4:53
  4. "Flyin' Shoes" (Van Zandt) – 4:38
  5. "Babes in the Woods" (Hyatt) – 3:04
  6. "Highway Kind" (Van Zandt) – 3:27
  7. "Lonely in Love" (Hyatt) – 2:45
  8. "If I Needed You" (Van Zandt) – 3:46
  9. "I'll Come Knockin' " (Hyatt) – 3:24
  10. "Texas River Song" (traditional) – 4:09


Personnel

Production notes
  • Produced by Lyle Lovett and Billy Williams
  • Robert Hadley – mastering
  • Ron Lewter – mastering
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Nathaniel Kunkel – engineer
  • John Nelson – assistant engineer
  • James Gilmer – production assistant
  • Vance Knowles – production assistant
  • Kathi Whitley – production coordination
  • Jonas Livingston – art direction
  • Tim Stedman – design
  • Keith Tamashiro – design
  • Michael Wilson – photography

Notes
Released:  September 22, 1998 
Genre:  Country rock
Length:  80:10 
Producer(s):  Lyle Lovett & Billy Williams

Label - MCA 

Sven Hammond Soul - The Usual Suspects (2014)

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The Usual Suspects werd aangekondigd. En het resultaat van noeste studio-arbeid schalt alweer meer dan eens uit de speakers, want Sven Hammond Soul heeft wederom genoeg troeven in handen om de aandacht te trekken. Zoals met dit vette, nieuwe album.
Sven Hammond Soul: op basis van de groepsnaam zou de link met de retrosoul en R&B van de Daptone-stal al snel gelegd kunnen worden en zou – op papier – het de Nederlandse evenknie kunnen zijn van Daptone-acts als de Menahan Street Band of The Budos Band, maar Sven Hammond Soul is vooral Sven Hammond Soul. 
Een band met een ultrakrachtig en behoorlijk eigenwijs geluid.
Op The Usual Suspects valt vooral de analoog aandoende produktie op en is het album behoorlijk guitardriven. En stripped to the bone, want geen strijkers en blazers. Een afgemeten bandgeluid dus zonder al te veel poespas en instrumentatie drukte. 
Het album opent sterk met het dwingend rockende Miss America en ook het titelnumer is niet mis: een kruidige melange van rock en soul, zonder de gebruikelijke crossoverfouten te maken door te proberen soul- én rockliefhebbers op hun gedwongen wenken te bedienen. 
Daarvoor in de plaats een stoer geluid, dat qua produktiesound doet denken aan wat The Black Keys op hun laatste album El Camino deden, zonder enige vorm van verdere vergelijking. Maar de sfeer op beide albums vertoont enige overeenkomsten, alhoewel Sven Hammond Soul een breder instrumentarium tot hun beschikking hebben dan enkel de spaarzame muzikale invulling van The Black Keys.
Wat ook aan The Usual Suspects opvalt is geen stoet aan vocalisten en vocalistes, maar wordt gebruik gemaakt van één stem: die van Ivan Peroti, die tegen de wall of sound, die het album toch wel kenmerkt, goed bestand is. 
Geen typische rock’n roll stem, geen specifieke soulstem, maar toch en warm stemgeluid dat als gegoten zit in het totale bandgeluid. Chapeau dus voor deze man.
Ook andere tracks Hero, Pussy, Bad News, en After Smoke klinken lekker rauw en geven een goede indruk hoe de nummers van dit album in een livesetting zouden kunnen klinken. Ook hier weer die verdraaid vunzige produktie, die naarmate het album vaker wordt beluisterd steeds lekkerder en sappiger klinkt. 
In elk geval een behoorlijk onnederlands geluid. Vreemd is dat niet, aangezien Engelsman Tony Platt achter de knoppen zat. Deze engineer werkte in het verleden met bands als Motörhead, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, maar ook met Buddy Guy en Bob Marley en is al sinds de 70’s actief. 
En alhoewel Platt een enorme staat van dienst heeft, is er geen sprake van een hiërarchie tussen band en producer, maar staat Platt volkomen in dienst van het geluid dat boss Sven Figee in zijn hoofd had toen een aanvang werd gemaakt met de opnames van The Usual Suspects.
Op dit meer dan uitstekende album is de basis meer rock met een scheutje blues dan soul, maar is er meer dan genoeg soul gestopt in praktisch ieder nummer dat op The Usual Suspects is te vinden. 2014 is amper een maand oud en is dit album opnieuw een bijzonder fraaie muzikale gebeurtenis. En ook nog eens een keer van eigen bodem. Made in Holland dus. 
Bijzonder krachtig en uitbundig vuurwerk van een band die nog lang niet aan het eind van het latijn is, integendeel. Rockfull bluesy ADHD-soul in optimum effect. Bijna overbodug te zeggen dat The Usual Suspects highly recommended is. Laat dat festivalseizoen maar starten, de lente is immers toch al begonnen.


Track listing

1.  Miss America - 3:29
2.  The Usual Suspect - 3:34
3.  Golden - 2:47
4.  Hero - 4:00
5.  After Smoke - 3:41
6.  Happy People - 3:33
7.  Children Of The Dark - 4:03
8.  Good Home - 4:24
9.  Heaven - 4:13
10.  We Belong Together - 4:27
11.  Pussy - 4:53
12.  Bad News - 3:20
13.  My Name - 5:14

All songs Written-By – Glenn Gaddum Jr., Ivan Peroti, Joost Kroon, Sven Figee, Tim Eijmaal except were noted.


Companies, etc.

Credits
Notes
Released:  Feb 7, 2014 
Genre : Funk / Soul 
Length:  51:15

Label - VG-Music 

Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune (2012)

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Le voyage dans la lune (English: A Trip to the Moon) is the sixth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 6 February 2012 by Virgin Records.
The album is inspired by the 1902 silent science fiction film A Trip to the Moon (Le voyage dans la lune) by Georges Méliès and is intended to be a soundtrack to the restored version of the film. 
A free three-minute film excerpt featuring the song "Sonic Armada" was made available for one week in early December 2011 in conjunction with a pre-order offer. A limited edition of the album (70,000 copies worldwide) includes the CD and a DVD of the film. 
The digital version of the album, along with the newly restored and colourised 16-minute film, was released as a strictly limited edition.

It's a neat trick that Air began their albums with a trip to the moon via Moon Safari and returned to it with Le Voyage Dans La Lune, the expanded version of the duo's score to Georges Méliès' 1912 sci-fi classic. 
It's a perfect project for Air; Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin's sound has always had a spacey quality, and film music has been a vital component of their work. 
Le Voyage Dans La Lune presents an interesting challenge for Air in that most of their other scores and soundtracks have been for films with more modern settings (even the '70s kitsch they subverted and romanticized in their Virgin Suicides soundtrack). While Dunckel and Godin don't attempt to make this music sound like it was recorded on wax cylinder, many of the cues have a stateliness that suggest a much earlier time. Similarly, Air nod to the traditions of sci-fi scores while making them their own: "Who Am I Now?" borrows the discordant strings often used to convey space madness, and the imposing timpani that runs through the entire album evokes Strauss' "Thus Sprach Zarathustra," which was further immortalized by 2001: A Space Odyssey. And while Le Voyage Dans La Lune is a silent film, allowing the duo to be a bit showier than they could be on a score for a talkie, Air's choices feel more thoughtful and organic to the movie than, say, Giorgio Moroder's '80s score for another silent science fiction classic, Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Godin and Dunckel make sure their voyage to the moon evokes both meanings of the word "trip": there's a wonderful sense of movement throughout the score, of rockets thrusting and of the explorers bouncing, tumbling, and stumbling on the moon; meanwhile, the fizzy, percolating "Cosmic Trip," which mentions "enormous mushrooms," implies the more psychedelic undertones of this Art Nouveau fantasy. 
As expected of Air, there's elegance to the whimsy, particularly on the lovely "Moon Fever" and "Seven Stars," where Beach House's Victoria Legrand's voice sounds as deep and serene as an endless night sky. However, Le Voyage Dans La Lune also has a surprisingly aggressive side, with bombastic prog rock outbursts like "Parade" and "Sonic Armada," which mixes a martial beat with a groovy, insistent keyboard line and a bassline as bouncy as marching on the moon to become one of Air's most memorable instrumentals in some time. 
These tracks hark back to the duo's own 10,000 Hz Legend and reflect not only the conquering bent of the lunar explorers, but how this turn-of-the-century trippiness ultimately inspired many of the progressive rock bands of the '60s and '70s. 
That Air can pack so much history into this music without its feeling contrived is impressive, but it's just another facet of the care that went into the entire Le Voyage Dans La Lune project. This is a treat not just for Air fans, but aficionados of film music and science fiction, too.   Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) Review by Heather Phares


Track listing

1.  Astronomic Club - 3:12
2.  Seven Stars  (lyrics: Victoria Legrand; music: Legrand, Dunckel, Godin) - 4:22
3.  Retour sur terre - 0:45
4.  Parade - 2:31
5.  Moon Fever - 3:50
6.  Sonic Armada - 5:06
7.  Who Am I Now?  (lyrics: Au Revoir Simone; music: Annie Hart, Erika Forster, Heather D'Angelo, Brian Reitzell, Dunckel, Godin) - 3:03
8.  Décollage - 1:39
9.  Cosmic Trip - 4:10
10.  Homme lune - 0:27
11.  Lava - 3:03

All music is composed by Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, except where noted


Air
  • Jean-Benoît Dunckel – Mellotron (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11); Wurlitzer (tracks 1, 9); piano (tracks 2, 4, 7–9, 11); synths (tracks 2, 4–6, 8–11); vocals (tracks 4, 9, 11); Solina, organ bass (track 7); vibes (tracks 7, 11); drums (track 11)
  • Nicolas Godin – timpani (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 8); guitars (tracks 1, 2, 4, 7); synths (tracks 1–5, 9); harpsichord (track 1); bass (tracks 2, 4, 6, 9, 11); piano (tracks 3, 5); vocals (track 3); Mellotron (track 4); electric sitar (track 6); percussions (tracks 7, 8); drums (track 8); banjo, electric guitar (track 11)

Additional musicians
Technical
  • Air – production
  • Stéphane "Alf" Briat – mixing
  • Louis Arlette – sound engineering
  • Chab – mastering
Artwork

Notes
Released:  6 February 2012
Genre:  Space rock
Length:  32:08
Producer:  Air

Label - Virgin

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