This French group's lone album is an eclectic mix (with equally mixed results) of progressive space rock, funk, disco, and psychedelia. Sometimes these uneven albums can be frustrating letdowns but the highs on this one are so high that it's worth the often expensive price tag.
Apparently, Human Egg was a project of Jean-Pierre Bernard Massiera, a French producer and sound technician responsible for my favorite non-film related horror soundtrack: "L'Etrange Monsieur Whinster" (credited to Horrific Child).
All of his albums are worth checking out.
Finders Keepers released a compilation of this work titled "Midnight Massiera" for which they wrote this wonderful description of JPM's work:
"He started off as a musical scientist who was affected by chemical fallout in World War 2 – he spoke to Jesus, went crazy and became a mad scientist. He then created a strain of mutant piranha fish which gave birth to a world of horrific monsters who assisted him in his murderous merriment. In the end he finds a giant egg and finally makes contact with aliens… That would be the end of chapter 1 and this is the era that we will focus on for this compendium (In chapter 2 JPM would be kidnapped by the Aliens and taken to planet disco to have sex with green goddesses and snort space dust on intergalactic nudist beaches where he probably still resides) In the worldly, derelict, laboratory of Dr. Jean-Pierre Massiera we are surrounded by decaying fish fins, test tubes, fuzz pedals, echoplex units and the lost souls and ambitions of aspiring young pop groups… I think your gonna like it here."*
Human Egg has been re-issued by Favorite Recordings.
SW
I've always wanted to know what a "progressive space rock, funk, disco, and psychedelia" band could really sound like when done the right way. Not Space-Funk, Disco-Prog, Psychedelia, or any other combination thereof, mind you, but good old fashioned PSRFD. Thank to Stacking Wax, I believe I have found the band I was looking for!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the clips posted. Though I was certain I'd finally found a band for me, it was the clip at the bottom of the page that sold me. Never have genres careened off one another with such complexity and grace! It is the single greatest tragedy of the 1970's that Human Egg released but the one album. Thanks again Stacking Wax for making all of PSRFD dreams come true!