Here’s another unjustly overlooked band that never received the wider attention it deserved, a victim of geographic isolation (despite their English name, the group hailed from northeast Spain), or maybe the fierce competition between likeminded musicians for a loyal but dwindling fan base in the late 1970s.
ICEBERG played instrumental Fusion in the spirit of early MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, but Jazz Rock is too mild a term for the type of music on tap here. This is Fusion more akin to Edward Teller’s Cold War fantasies: a Latin-flavored thermonuclear warhead able to detonate a musical fireball bigger than the one that vaporized Bikini Atoll in 1946. All right, so that’s a tacky analogy, but you get the point: these guys had serious chops.

The quartet was led by guitarist Max Suñé, playing with a passion and skill equal to any guitar hero of his time. He could solo with the pinpoint precision and white-lightning speed of Al DiMeola (always the yardstick used to measure any Fusion axe-man in the 1970s), but favored a raw, emotional guitar tone more reminiscent of “Birds of Fire” era John McLaughlin. Match this with the virtuoso mini-moog runs of Josep Mas and the results could turn even the most unlikely time signature into a thrilling, and often surprisingly graceful, adventure.

Listen to the guitar and keyboards trading solo spots during “El Caminant Nocturn”, a song almost guaranteed to blow your socks off and dry-clean them in mid-flight. Or the 11-minute “Càntics de la Carn”, another album highlight, beginning with a furious percussion workout under which Primitivo Sanchez (the name makes him sound like a Catalan punk rocker) lays down a speedy flamenco bass line for Suñé and Mas to race across in perfect stop/start unison.

The homegrown Spanish influence surfaces even more strongly on the remaining tracks, adding the warmer textures of acoustic guitar and piano but sounding no less dynamic than the earlier all-electric salvos. My only complaint is with the unresolved fade-out at the tail of the curtain closer “Crisàlide” (and in the middle of another monster Suñé solo too!). But in retrospect it’s probably fitting that the band’s last studio album should end this way, giving the impression that they never really stopped playing…that maybe someday, on another album, they might simply flip a switch and continue the same track right where it left off here.

At one time I owned several ICEBERG albums (and at least one Max Suñé solo effort), back in the days when even the coolest, most obscure European imports were available Stateside in any decent LP emporium. A lifetime later this is the only survivor of the bunch, but it’s the one worth hanging on to.

Neu!mann (Michael Neumann) PROG REVIEWER

[Edit] This album is … absolutely essential … with songs like East St. Louis Toodle-Oo. To my mind, this song is the closest the Dan ever actually came to prog. Sure, it’s short, and every note was pre-written by the Duke, but their arrangement is as progressive as it comes. And check out Don’s piano solo! That song alone justifies the price of admission to this album.

Elsewhere, however, what you’ll find are immaculate pop hooks. And you’ll find them all over the place. “Any Major Dude” and “Barrytown” are both feel-good songs, which may not necessarily have feel-good subjects (the former seems to be positive, the latter is about some kind of cult which did actually exist but with which I am not familiar).

If anything aside from their arrangements qualifies the Dan to be “progressive”, it is their lyrics, and this one contains some gems. “Charlie Freak” is probably the best, albeit the most straightforward – a tale of buying a piece of jewelry off a bum who uses the profits to buy, and overdose on, heroin.

I’ve heard “Monkey in Your Soul” called a Led Zeppelin send-up. In that context it falls flat horribly, and I don’t think that’s what the Dan really intended, but as a piece of heavy funk it more than holds its own. This one also contains the radio standard “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, which is not a bad song by any means and actually features some fine guitar playing.

So, on a general scale I’d give this one a 5 easily. It’s probably the Dan’s most consistent and intriguing album, and it has the most going on (my personal favorite is still the next one, Katy Lied).

… Top-notch, all the way.

With permission from Kyle Schmidlin | 4/5 | 2010-11-7

4.5 stars really!!! With a slightly changed line-up (drummer being replaced and an extre percussionist also), Sloche made an incredible confirmation with their second album, the stunning Amerindian-laced artwork covered Stadaconé. Still headed by the double keyboard attack and having plenty of back-up by their guitarist and the rest of the band, Stadaconé is relatively close to their debut although more towards Mahavishnu and GG, than the debut. One of the odd thing about this album is that it is dedicated to Pierre Boucard who helped write the two epics and that the album was recorded intwo distinct sessions produced by Ouellet for one and Desbien (who had done such a great job on their debut).

Opening 10-min+ title track is already warning us that this album will be slightly more disjointed, but nothing to be alarmed: the spirit of J’un Oeuil is still there. The music is definitely funkier, sometimes even reaching the level of Hancock’s sextant or Headhunter (well, maybe not Headhunter ;-). Second is the only sung track (another slight change from the debut) of the album Cosmophile which brings us right back into their debut album, while one of the KB players plays a rare sax solo, too bad the song ends in a fade-out. Sauver Barbara is an organ-drenched syncopated funky jazz-rock that can help raise your mother-in-law from the dead (provided she is not too deeply buried of course, her name is Barbara and you cannot find her stash of dough ;-) while the second side opens on the Ad Hoc highlight and takes you towards a heavenly trip. Yet another short track (outside the two monster epics book-ending the album all other tracks are below the 5 min 30 mark) La Baloune is full of great ambiances with Murray again on woodwinds. Isacaaron is the splendid closing GG-esque track that is giving its all-out effort for the album’s personality compared to its debut.

Most classical proghead fans will prefer their debut album, while the fusionhead will enjoy this album, but no matter what both albums are immensely successful and it is a complete shame Sloche will never be able to record a third album. Personally I prefer the debut to this album, mostly on the strength of much more present vocals, which despite their mostly instrumental nature was one of their strength.

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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Thanks to Hughes/Sean for this excellent review.

As always,
Music Man!

Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog-Folk Specialist