The BYG Deal

If you've a taste for the sound of Psyche-Funk-Rock-Prog-Pop then this collection by Finders Keepers should satisfy your needs. I like Funk, some Rock and Pop, but if anyone strung them together as I have and told me I'd like the results I'd say 'Nah'. So surprise, surprise, I do like a lot of this album.

As I'm sure you know, BYG was born in France in the late-60s out of a 'man the barricades' attitude with a mission to prove that beneath the paving stones of the world lay a beach littered with artists who deserved an outlet. And so they unleashed an army of musical revolutionaries, many of whom were black American sonic guerrillas such as The Art Ensemble Of Chicago (represented here with their wry take on Rock, 'Rock Out').
Unlike the BYG Actuel box of ball-busting ‘free jazz’ sounds, this comp features an assortment of styles, from the funky Pop/Rock of Francoise Wertheimer’s ‘L’Automne’ to Alpha Beta’s ‘Astral Abuse’, which defies description, except to say that towards the end the choppy guitar reminds me of The Pop Group.
Thankfully, I don’t understand French, therefore Coeur Magique’s ‘Mademoiselle Marie’ can be enjoyed for the rhythm alone. He could be singing about a girlfriend, or a Parisian lady of the night for all I know or care. Daevid Allen, however, is loud and clear, snarling his way through ‘All I Want Is Out Of Here’ – a defiant rap; something like Punk attitude meets Beefheart.
Joachim and Rolf Khun’s ‘Bloody Rockers’ is a great romp on keyboards and synth across a funky riff, which just grooves in a Prog fashion without the muso noodling.
This album’s definitely worth exploring.