MAGMA

RETROSPEKTÏW I-II (1981)
320 KBPS

After disbanding for several years, Magma held a series of concerts in June of 1980 at the Olympia in Paris. This two-disc set is a testament to those concerts, which reunited nearly everybody who appears on Magma's Live/Hhai album of five years before. It is comprised of live performances of "Theusz Hamtaahk" (the first time it was ever released) and "Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh." These are, respectively, the first and third installments of Magma's Theusz Hamtaahk trilogy ("Wurdah Itah" is the second). The performances are all first-rate, though I personally think "Theusz Hamtaahk" is one of Magma's comparatively lesser side-long tracks. The only potential complaints one might have is that there were substantial overdubs in the studio (e.g. Vander's scorching opening soliloquy to "MDK"), and that the synthesizer patches sound really cheesy. Small complaints, though, given that this is a wonderful addition for those into Magma's music.

Disc 1
1. Theusz Hamtaahk

(1er Mouvement)
Disc 2
1. Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh

(3eme Mouvement De Theusz Hamtaahk)

RETROSPEKTÏW III (1981)
320 KBPS

This could actually be the most, dare I say, fun album in their collection. It might also be the best place for a novice to enter into MAGMA, or maybe even Zeuhl in general. The selections are not the most complex or groundbreaking things they could have chosen, but it doesn't fail to show the originality and excellence of Christian Vander's musical vision. It's also a great representation of the energy of a live MAGMA experience. This may have been recorded in 1981, but I can tell you that even today, they haven't lost a bit of it.

1. Retrovision (Je Suis Revenu De L'Univers)
2. Hhaï (Version Intégrale)
3. "La" Dawotsin