Search - M.Frog :: M.Frog

Todd Rundgren's green haired buddy

Boy Victory | New Jersey, USA | 04/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A nice addition to your collection if you're a Rundgren completist...it's got his fingerprints all over it.



I believe that Todd initially looked at the members of Utopia (mark 1)

as a co-op of musicians who could be recorded collectively or individually and here is where Jean Yves Labatt comes in.



Back when synthesizers were treated as an instrument with their own individuality and not just a device to mimic traditional instruments there were musicians such as Tomita, Walter (now Wendy) Carlos and many others who were pushing the envelope of all types of music. Todd himself took this giant leap forward when he went through his transition of pop writing messiah to pop electronic wizard ( "Something / Anything" - "A Wizard, A True Star").Obviously Todd found a kindred spirit with Labatt.



The album is a delight of "spacy" pop with just the right amount of '70s musician self indulgence jamming going on. The album leads off with the song "We Are Crazy" ( side 2 leads off with the instrumental version of the same song ) a down right wacky piece of pop noise, both vocally & instrumentally. The rest of the album contains enough "ear candy" to keep the listener stimulated and interested throughout unlike some synth recordings at the time thanks to the right amount of pop sensibility.



The album sleeve ,which was designed by Milton Glasser - noted graphic artist of the day, included the rather ambitious attempt by Labatt to produce a way of writing musical notation using colors and graph paper. Eye Candy as well !!!"

Truly unique

Loping Buzzard | Earth | 06/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I found this album in a cutout bin of a record store back in the mid-70s. It was and still is one of the most original recordings I've ever experienced. Over 30 years later, it still wasn't available on CD so I digitized it myself and burned a personal copy. My son loved it and said "We Are Crazy" was the greatest song ever. He took it to school and soon the whole school was singing it in the hallways. Glad it's finally out on CD. But the price is ridiculous!"

Quirky electronic and prog from future Utopia member

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 03/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"French-born Jean Yves "M. Frog" Labat was a short-lived member of Todd Rundgren's Utopia, he only appeared on their first album before being replaced by Roger Powell. If the liner notes on Labat's solo album from 1973 on Bearsville is anything to go by, it's apparent he had a difficult time choosing between the monastic lifestyle and that of rock and roll, and electronic music. He's Roman Catholic and spent his childhood in a French monastery hoping to become a monk, only to get tempted by rock and roll.



There's often false information out there stating that M. Frog Labat was Roger Powell. Worse, when it's published in a book, like The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll (at least the original 1983 edition, I don't know if they corrected that mistake in later editions). M. Frog Labat and Roger Powell were very much two separate people. When you hear this album and then Roger Powell's album from the same time, Cosmic Furnace, they are just about as different as night and day. Not to mention the gear they used: Roger Powell used ARP gear, while M. Frog used EMS gear. Powell's album was all instrumental electronic music with jazz influences, while M. Frog's album was quirky rock with electronics, and vocals on many of the cuts. Not to mention M. Frog is French, Powell is American.



In 1973, M. Frog released an album just called Labat. M. Frog experimented with two EMS Synthi "A"s and the results were rather quirky, experimental electronic music and prog rock. What's really interesting is Rick Danko from The Band is involved in this album, which has got to be the most unusual thing he's ever done, after all, The Band was a band that did everything to go against the grain of psychedelia and prog rock and instead stuck strictly to roots rock (they pretty much inspired the Beatles to go back to basics, and I'm certain the Grateful Dead with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty). But nothing roots rock about this album. Some of the songs are instrumental, dominated by synths, while some are vocal, which tend to be quirky and might not to be everyone's taste. "We Are Crazy" shows the demented side of the album, often the vocals are electronically treated. There are also some nice synth solos too. Next is the electronic "Champangarpaen" which consists of great jamming on synths. He proves that you can use an EMS synth for more than just sound effects. Several other songs are simply ridiculous, with references to frogs. Perhaps the most normal piece is the wonderful and catchy "Welcome Home". "Relax Goliath" is a rather sinister electronic piece that has some Gregorian chanting in the background (showing M. Frog's religious background), but done in that avant garde fashion. M. Frog wanted to pursue a career in experimental electronic music, but also realized he wasn't going to attract much of an audience so he tried rock instead, but with a quirky and experimental twist.



After this album he joined Utopia for one album, but apparently he released more albums afterwards, but I've not heard them.



This 1973 album is a rather interesting twisted prog rock/electronic album that's quite unique and worth having."