Search - Magma :: BBC London 74

Live but without, I suspect, an audience

Gavin Wilson | 10/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the early 1970s, an arrangement in the UK between the Musicians Union and the BBC limited the percentage of playing time devoted to recorded music. As a perverse result of this restriction, we Radio One listeners heard seemingly hours of inane babble from the likes of DJs such as Tony Blackburn and 'Diddy' David Hamilton. But the arrangement was designed to encourage the playing of live music. And live music was defined as anything that had been recorded in fairly unoverdubbed circumstances in the two or three days prior to the broadcast. So for an album band like Magma who never laid down a track much shorter than an hour, let alone write anything catchy enough to become a single, the only way to get their material heard on UK radio was via the BBC's 'live' programmes: 'In Concert', 'Sounds of the Seventies', the 'John Peel Show' etc. During the 1990s, the BBC began to appreciate the goldmine that it was sitting on, and began reissuing these session tapes either on the BBC's own label or back to the original band.There is no trace of an audience on this album, but I suspect it was all played as if live and recorded in one take. Thus Christian Vander, for instance, provides vocals while drumming. Do not expect too much clarity from this recording. But actually it's a very enjoyable 57-minute disk.The album from which the second track 'Kohntarkosz' comes can only have been recorded within months of this live session, yet the track has already evolved considerably, and probably for the better. The line-up is the touring band of the period, with no female backing singers: Blasquiz-Olmos-Graillier-Bikialo-Top-Vander.Overall, I wouldn't classify the CD as indispensable, but it's a fairly stunning reminder of a band close to the top of their game, meticulously performing two long pieces, presumably to an audience of a couple of unappreciative BBC sound engineers."

Dramatic, Dynamic and Scary

Peter Anderson | Levittown, PA United States | 02/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Magma is an eccentric progressive rock band that has been around since 1970. I grew up buying each of their albums as they came out and still enjoy their music. Magma's still at it, having released their latest album in 2004. The album being reviewed here, BBC 1974, was recorded live in the broadcasting studio. Surprisingly, this rare CD ends up being one of Magma's best releases, in my opinion.



Two long songs comprise this CD: Theusz Hamtaahk and Kohntarkosz. First let's talk about Theusz Hamtaahk: this version is very well recorded. The bass playing in particular is quite impressive. Theusz Hamtaahk is a work of progressive rock that has many twists and turns, with quiet sections and loud sections, and slow buildups and sudden changes in volume and speed. Throughout, the vocals (sung in the invented language Kobian) add an unworldly sound. Overall, this piece has a weird vibe with almost a "ritualistic" sound as though we are witness to some religious rite (from some strange and exotic religion) although when the band gets rocking the sound approaches metal in speed and intensity. Theusz Hamtaahk is a very effective piece performed and recorded well on this CD, and justifies the price of purchasing this CD.



Concerning Kohntarkosz, although this version has a great sound to it, I'm not as enamored of this live in the studio version as I am of the original album version, as the live version here lacks some of the subtlety and nuances of the album version. For example, in the first half ("Kohntarkosz Part 1" in the original album version, near the end) there's a beautiful female vocal part that sounds oriental. It's wordless, just "ooh, ooh, ooh" sung delicately with piano over a huge, thundering bass line and enormous drum beats. It's a marvelous juxtaposition of the light and delicate with the hard and heavy. Unfortunately, this very favorite part of mine is entirely missing from the version of Kohntarkosz contained on this CD; plus it's just a bit too long (30 minutes) and needs a bit of "editing" (the second half of this version in particular drags too much.)



So in summary, of the two songs here, Theusz Hamtaahk is brilliant and essential; and Kohntarkosz is OK but better rendered in the original album version. Nonetheless, as a whole, this CD is a delight, and is highly recommended for Magma fans."