Biography
Mona Lisa was
one of the more popular French symphonic groups of the
late 70s, and a close follower of the seminal group Ange,
with perhaps even more of a Genesis influence. The
music was extremely melodic and refined, often very catchy,
but perhaps most defined by the theatrical antics of frontman
Dominque Le Guennec, whose overpowering voice and emotional
urgency dominated the group's approach. Songs and
albums were constructed around the characters he portrayed,
and apparently translated into awe-inspiring live performances.
While perhaps not understanding French significantly detracts
from my appreciation, much of the humor and charm of the
group is still evident, and their intense playing and
powerful compositions can't be denied. The band is
a personal favorite of mine, though I certainly wouldn't go
so far as to say they would suite everyone's tastes. The
material can be abrasive due to the extreme vocals, and
is definitely over the top. Sometimes, the band's
style can border on neo-progressive, with its intensive
Genesis emulation, and even sports a pop sensibility at
times. Just as often though, the group tears into
passages of Ange-like fury, and overall I doubt anyone
would accuse Mona Lisa as possessing a particularly original
style. As you can see in the band picture above, the group
invited Genesis comparisons with Dominique's "Mr. Gregoire"
costume, which clearly bears a significant similarity
to Gabriel's "Musical Box" get up. No, I don't know
what he was thinking.
I have to say
that as far as their individual albums go, my taste seems
to split from the general consensus. To most, Le
Petit Violon de Mr. Gregoire is their opus, though
it sounds a little half baked to me, being fraught with
some negligible filler. I much prefer the both its
predecessor, the rawer Grimaces, and the subsequent
album, the more consistent Avant Qu'il Ne Soit Trop
Tard. Still, all three albums are quite good,
though two other albums from their 70s era are reportedly
slightly weaker, L'Escapade and Vers Demain.
Mona Lisa reformed in 1998 with a new album,
De L'Ombre A La Lumiere, which is by all accounts quite
good. The reformed lineup features a stable of younger
musicians backing frontman Le Guennec, and were well received
by the crowd at Progfest 2000. Mona Lisa are definitely
one of the essential French symphonic groups from the
70s, and fans of theatrical, emotional music who can't
get enough Ange would do well to check out one of the
band's prime albums. Avant Qu'il... is probably
the best place to get started. - Greg Northrup [May
2001]
Grimaces (1975)
Though
I was initially unimpressed with Grimaces, Mona
Lisa's second album, it has grown to become my personal
favorite of theirs. Grimaces is much rougher
around the edges than subsequent albums, and most would
argue that the group would still be in the midst of developing
their own style. However, the raw charm of this
album has become a huge selling point for me, being much
harsher and more abrasive than subsequent releases, and
therefore bearing little similarity to neo-progressive rock
or to the slicker approach of Avant Qu'il... Not
that that was a necessarily bad approach, but I am just blown
away by the gruff melodicism, aggressive vocals and hellish
carnival feel of this album. The band sounds closest
to Ange rather than Genesis on this one, which is fine
by me really. This album is definitely the most
eccentric of the three I'm familiar with, and also relies
more on vintage equipment like organ, Moog, flute and
acoustic guitars, as opposed to the extensive synthesizers
they would later employ. Like all of Mona Lisa's
albums, the weak point for me is the drumming, which is
for the most part excessively straight forward and hampers
the overall complexity of the group. However, on Grimaces,
this only contributes to the already rough overall
vibe. Vocally, lead singer Le Guennec takes on a
number of different characters, and his theatrical style
is less refined and more emphasized on this album.
The vocals are mixed extremely loud on this one, and got
downright annoying at first, so I certainly wouldn't recommend
Grimaces as a starting point for Mona
Lisa.
"La Mauvaise
Reputation" is a weak opener, apparently a cover tune
that sports a fairly annoying vocal part. This probably
contributed to my initial distaste for the record as a
whole. However, the album picks up right away with
"Brume" and keeps up the powerful approach right through until
the end of the album. "Complainte Pour Une Narcisse" is
a big highlight, a hugely theatrical track that relies
on an angular verse riff before erupting into a thundering,
anthemic chorus. This is followed by the equally
impressive "Le Jardin des Illusions", which is driven
by a nice distorted guitar riff over sustained organ notes.
The song breaks down into an amusing folky mid-section
featuring great snare rolls, flutes and whistles before
closing out in a fiery guitar-led inferno a la Ange.
"Au Pays des Grimaces" is driven by Guennec's characterizations,
but is highlighted by its ferocious chorus riff and phenomenal
melodies. Another great one. The long bonus track, a live performance,
is basically negligible, hampered by poor sound quality
and probably only really worthwhile if you understand
French, as it's marked by a significant amount of on-stage banter.
Grimaces is
probably my favorite Mona Lisa album, and definitely the
rawest and most aggressive of the bunch. This
is sort of to Mona Lisa what Nursery
Cryme was to Genesis, though it draws equally from
prime Ange as an influence. There is a huge emphasis
on the characters played by Le Guennec but with a similar
fire and emotional urgency, as well as a musical balance
tipped more towards guitar than keyboards. An underrated French gem.
- Greg
Northrup [May 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup
Info
Le Petit Violon de Mr Grégoire
(1977)
Mona Lisa's
third album, Le Petit Violon... is often remembered
to be their magnum opus, surprisingly being the theatrical
group's only apparent stab at a concept album. It's
hard for me to verify to what extent the other albums
function as concepts, not understanding French, but Le
Petit... makes a pretty overt attempt due to the inclusion
of the awesome title suite. The album is at the
level of their two other albums I own, Grimaces
and Avant Qu'il... though I'm not sure I would put it
above either one of them. Fittingly, the album straddles
a middle ground between the harsher, more Ange-like approach
of Grimaces, and the slicker Avan't Qu'il...
Mona Lisa's style alternates between bouncy anthemic
tracks and heavier, driving passages of swirling keys
and biting guitar lines. Omnipresent are the powerful
pipes of Dominque Le Guennec, who adopts the roles of
various characters throughout the songs to deliver on
the story lines.
The problem
with this album lies in the seeming abundance of filler tracks.
Of the first four songs, the only truly essential track is the
intense "Allons z'enfants", two of the others being pleasant
instrumentals, and the other a spoken word narrative.
For a group whose strength is without a doubt their vocalist,
it doesn't seem like this is the best way to start an album,
though none of the pieces are bad by any means. "Solaris"
is particularly good, showing off some incredibly melodic guitar
licks. However, the record is carried by the phenomenal
title suite, which absolutely breathes fire. The sub-song
"La Folie" attacks with a straight keyboard and drum riff under
an addictive Le Guennec vocal line, an aggressively anthemic
track that really rocks out. The success is upheld by
what could be the best Mona Lisa track ever, the jaw-dropping
"De Toute ma Haine", which absolutely explodes out of the speakers
with a hellish vocal melody that functions as perhaps the most
intense moment from an already very intense singer, and is followed
by an earth shattering Moog workout. Great stuff.
The momentum is let down on the following tracks, but again,
they're not bad by any means. Overall, this could be the
most inconsistent of the Mona Lisa albums, but its better moments
are among the group's finest.
- Greg Northrup [May 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
Avant Qu'il Ne Soit Trop
Tard (1978)
This
album is perhaps the best place to start with Mona Lisa,
being by far their most accessible work of the ones
I've heard (Grimaces, Le Petit Violon...).
The production is stunningly slick, and their is much
more of a reliance on synthesizers and catchier song
structures than on previous albums. It's by
no means commercial in a bad way, as Dominique Le
Guennec's vocals are as over-the-top and emotive as
ever, and the song structures remain relatively complex.
On the other hand, complexity was never the group's
strength, and Avant Qu'il... could be the most
consistent and crystallized vision of the band's core
sound. Extremely catchy tunes are all over the place
on this one, incorporating a poppy influence and even veering
dangerously close to neo-progressive rock at times.
However, the French eccentricity of the group remains
their defining characteristic, and the band seems
to step out of the shadow of Ange a little more on
this one, though that group remains a major influence.
I realized while listening to this album a few weeks
ago that one of the only things I don't like about
Mona Lisa is the drumming. The guy plays some
extremely simple parts, only providing the necessary
beats where needed. As opposed to Ange's exceedingly
active and chaotic rhythm section, Mona Lisa have a very
empty sounding foundation, and I can't help feeling the
band's complexity is held back by this factor.
Unfortunately, it seems the same drummer played on
all their albums. The bassist, while definitely
competent, doesn't seem to be given very many interesting
rhythms to work with by the drums, and his playing
seems hampered as a result. On the other hand,
the guitar and keyboards have plenty of breathing
room, and the focus of the group is on their stunning
interplay, along with the excellent vocals.
Melodically, the group is extremely rich and inventive,
perhaps never more so than on this album, every song is
a winner.
Highlights include
the incredible "Souvenirs de Naufrageurs" with a tremendous
guitar and Moog melody that develops into a rousing vocal
line. "Tripot" features off-time drum rhythm as the
foundation for yet another great vocal part and more exciting
Moog riffs, though the highlight of the album is without
a doubt the furious "Creatures Sur la Steppe". This
song begins with a soft and emotive vocal line which builds
up ominously before exploding into a ferocious guitar led
finale, over which Le Guennec's demonic bellows reach an
emotional high point. Mind blowing. The song
fades out with various sound effects, and thus closes out
the album. The live tracks are a nice addition, featuring
versions of some of the album's stronger tracks. Overall,
this is a great place to start exploring Mona Lisa, and
the much more consistent album in comparison to the better
known Le Petit Violon...
- Greg Northrup [May 2001]
Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
