PAZOP - PSYCHILLIS OF A LUNATIC GENIUS 1972

The roots of Pazop can be traced back to the story of three different Belgian groups, Wallace Collection, Waterloo and Arkham. Founded in '68, Wallace Collection, which was so called after a famous London Museum exhibiting masterpieces of various Flemish painters, included jazz man Marc Herouet on keyboards, Christian Janssen on bass, Freddy Nieuland on vocals and drums, both hailing from rock bands; guitarist and singer Sylvain Van Holme, from blues-rock band Sylvester Team and two classical musicians, violinist Raymond Vincent and cellist Jacques Namotte who both amplified their instruments. Sylvain had persuaded these two musicians from the Brussels Opera Orchestra to join the crossover band he was putting together. He wanted to play a kind of rock-meets-classical mixture which would subtly fit the beauty of classical themes as well as the sheer energy and typical rhythms of rock, in the vein of then-current groups such as The Nice, Ekseption and early Procol Harum. The group achieved an interesting synthesis of pop and classical, using real string instruments (violin, cello), yet amplified, instead of using electronic substitutes (such as mellotron) to reproduce orchestral sounds.
Raymond Vincent composed "Daydream", a classical-sounding melody inspired, for its main theme, by the second movement of a Tchaikovsky string quartet, and, for the second part of the piece, by the melody of the same composer's "Dance of the Swan Lake". "Daydream" was released in early '69 and become a worldwide hit. Thanks to its phenomenal success, Wallace Collection gained an international star status and toured around the world, recording several albums and singles. The group was managed by Jean Martin. However, Christian Janssen left the group and was replaced by John Valque. Back from a Brazilian tour, disagreement between some members provoked the departure of John Valque, Marc Herouet, Jacques Namotte and Raymond Vincent. Nick Roland and American Scott Bradford replaced Valque and Herouet respectively. Serge Gazarian replaced Jacques Namotte but played violin. Freddy Nieuland and Sylvain van Holme searched for a second violinist to replace Vincent, who had by then joined Esperanto, a big band comprised of musicians from several countries (England, New Zealand, Belgium, etc.)

Tracks :

01. Le la Loo Loo le La (2:29)
02. Harlequin of Love (2:50)
03. Crying for Disaster's Hand (4:08)
04. What Is the Further Purpose (3:10)
05. Swaying Fire (3:32)
06. Mirela (2:10)
07. Freedom Dance (3:28)
08. Lovelight (4:06)
09. Bami, Lychee, Si (5:26)
10. Harlequin of Love [Second Version] (3:08)
11. Can It Be Sin (6:54)
12. And the Hermit Will Be the Master (5:18)
13. M.M.M. (5:50)
14. In the Army (Devil Likes Smoke) (1:37)
15. Airport Formalities and Taking Off... (6:18)
16. It's the End (0:44)

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Ripped by : EMB
Artwork Included