Carpe Diem

***In December 1976, Carpe Diem entered whacked-out recording wizard Jean-Pierre Massiera’s Azurville studio and recorded—on 16-tracks—and in just ten days—working sometimes from ten in the morning until three the following morning—all the material they’d written since their first album. The trademark Carpe Diem sound is here in full force: cosmic synthesizers, psychedelic-flavored guitar-led flights of fancy, fluid woodwinds, along with an astounding degree of harmonic sophistication. The highlight is the 21-plus minute suite, ‘Couleurs,’ which develops through a series of sublime melodic motifs. As should be expected, the musicianship is monstrous, the playing is tight and energetic, and the melodies veer from gorgeous to haunting. The remainder of the album is taken up by short tracks which present more concise takes on Carpe Diem's ideas. This vinyl reissue includes a fascinating bonus track: an excerpt from the never-released English language version of the album. Includes an insert with notes and lyrics. Pressed on transparent orange with black swirl vinyl in a hand-numbered edition of 150 copies.