Pure Futuristic Jazz Prog-Rock !
Rodrigo Guabiraba Brito | Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brazil | 02/05/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"1001 is a rare album of the 70's. Extremely creative and well done. Vander's drums are much more precise than in Kobaia (Magma's first album), Riah, the first track, is an Modified jazz opera rock, with an intense rithm. Pay attention to the excellent bass textures and trumpets variations. It's the best track of the album, 20 mins of visceral rithmic song ! Iss Lansei Doia, track 2, is a jazz-prog track. Very interesting, almost as good as Riah, the "odd voice" in the middle of the song is sensational, the drums variations are incredible, very good track... The last one is not as good as the rest, but a weel done jazzy composition. Good piano and bass. The album is an essential Magma work, it's not comparable to MDK, it's another "voyage". But if you like the dark, intense, jazzy and misterious song of Magma, try 1001 Degrees Centigrades...."
Don't Miss It
Samhot | Star Land | 04/01/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before the glorious masterpieces in 1973's _Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh_, _Wurdah Itah_ and _Kohntarkosz_ (both from 1974), there was 1971's _1,001 Centigrades_, Magma's second album (also known as Magma 2.) While it doesn't seem to get as much attention and respect as the aforementioned classics, I strongly feel it's a Magma jewel right up there with the other three. It consists of three extended tracks, and is arguably more jazz-oriented than the aforementioned albums. To try to enhance my point - there are no guitars used on this album, and if there are any, they are buried in the background of the dominating instruments: piano, clarinet, bass, sax, drums and other assorted woodwind instruments. This is a unique blend of jazz, modern classical, funk and rock -- served the way only Magma could. Not as droning or oceanic as _Kohntarkosz_, and not as grand or Wagnerian as _Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh_, this album is perhaps more rhythmically energetic and accentuated (if this term can be applied to Magma.)The centerpiece of this album is without a doubt, the 21-minute "Riah Sahiltaahk." Written by composer/bandleader/drummer Christian Vander, it is an addictive, scrumptious, exotic, regal and multi-faceted monster exhibiting traces of R&B, funk and African percussional sounds mixed with the highly accentuated jazz aesthetic. It features everything here: harmonic complexity, odd, mind-teasing rhythmical ideas which manage to sound as tasty as they are involved, regal, frightening (and strangely hilarious) vocal chants, tasty basslines -- it has it all, and the tasteful, creative motifs and ideas continually gush forth within it's long playing time. Even in parts when the complex harmonic qualities would overshadow the melody, there are parts where the track is piercingly melodic, but it's a "regal" kind of melodic. This track is so good, it feels like it ends all too quickly. Say anything you want about Magma, but you could never accuse them of being without taste: their music is jam-packed with tasty goodies. This track is a prime example.The other two tracks: the proto-Henry Cow-ish "Iss Lansei Doia" and "Ki Iahl O Liahk" are good, and exhibit interesting harmonic qualities, but I rarely listen to them. This probably only stems from the fact that they follow the monster above. But, nevertheless, they are still worthwhile tracks.If you are a Magma fan, or a fan of tasty avant/jazz/rock, don't make the mistake of passing this one by. I strongly urge you to grab it while you can. It's loaded with goodies."
