Cortex - 1977 - Volume 2

Cortex

1977

Volume 2

01. Devil's Dance 2:30

02. Funk Around The Punk 3:18

03. Hurluberlu 5:10

04. Soul 2:50

05. Datura 2:30

06. Poxa 3:25

07. Regina 5:00

08. Mister J. 2:50

09. Efficace Swing 3:30

10. Oh. Lord 6:20

Bass, Guitar, Tenor Saxophone – Nicolas Mirkov

Drums, Percussion – Alain Gandolfi

Electric Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer, Organ, Piano – Alain Mion

Lead Guitar – Philippe Vautrin

Soprano Saxophone – François De Bricon , Nicolas Mirkov

Vocals – Alice Prévost , Pascale Richard

Considering the popularity of Vol. 2's older sibling, Troupeau bleu. I'm surprised at how overlooked this project is. While the noticeable lack of a certain Mireille Dalbray is disappointing on the vocals front, I must say that this record is every bit as tight as its predecessor.

Sure, some of the more standard tracks like "Mister J." and "Soul" detract slightly from the excitement here, but c'mon - don't tell me "Datura" isn't the perfect laidback funk track. And wow, is it just me or do "Efficace Swing" and "Poxa" sound like an old-school version of Men I Trust? Crazy stuff.

This record seems to draw more heavily on Cortex's funk and disco influences, and delivers a solid collection of instrumental tracks. My main disappointment here is that there weren't more vocals present! Regardless, it's tons of fun, and arguably outshines Troupeau bleu at points. Gotta say, Cortex is a powerhouse.

On the surface, "Volume 2" could easily be considered disco. But on close inspection there is so much more happening here, it would be a tragedy for fans of the French fusion sound to ignore. Sure there are the fat beats, especially on the opening track, and the requisite white-boy funk track to follow. But as the album continues, the beats become more subtle, with plenty of jazz fills, while the bass player introduces some Top/Paganotti moves. Horn charts, tortured electric guitar solos and piano/Rhodes leads began to dominate. And when the flute takes over... oh, those melodies will be forever etched. This is a really good one and you can boogie on down with it too. I can go for another helping of this.