Jannick Top - Soleil D'Ork (2001)

Rating: 8.7

Jannick Top is probably not given the credit he deserves for his influence within the zeuhl genre of music. While it is true that zeuhl was mostly Christian Vander’s brainchild, it is worth noting that Magma’s glory years did not start until Jannick Top joined the band (before Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh) and that they ended when Top left the band (after Udu Wudu). His visionary bass work, focusing on low, throbbing pulses of pure energy, became one of the key characteristics of the zeuhl sound. He even composed some of Magma’s greatest songs, including “Ork Alarm” from Kohntarkosz and much of the Udu Wudu album, especially the epic “De Futura.”

Soleil D’Ork is the collection of assorted Zeuhl compositions from Top’s time with Magma, and, as such, many of the songs on here can be found on Magma CDs, particularly Udu Wudu. On those albums, however, Jannick Top is really a part of a single functioning unit, and, as such, his contributions are somewhat limited by that need to fit within the zeuhl framework laid out by Christian Vander. Not so on Soleil D’Ork. This album is purely Jannick Top’s baby, and it should come as no surprise that it features his strongest bass playing. The musicians backing him are certainly capable enough, but Jannick Top let’s us know that this is his show.

And what a show it is. The first two tracks, which are taken from a 1975 EP by Top, are similar to Udu Wudu, but with Top’s bass emphasized. They are of excellent quality, dark and yet groovy – classic Magma, in other words (though you should remember that this is not really Magma). With “La Musique Des Spheres,” we have a moody, atmospheric piece that is the closest thing to a group effort this album features, but it doesn’t feel out of place amidst the Top-centric pieces that dominate the rest of the album. These first three songs, while of excellent quality, are only the tip of the iceberg, however. They prepare us for the explosion that is about to come in the form of “Mekanik Machine.”

“Mekanik Machine” is, like the tracks before it, not featured on any Magma studio album, though it has found its way onto a live album (or maybe a compilation, I don’t remember). That’s really too bad, since it is one hell of a song. Unlike the dark, tribal chants of Magma’s Udu Wudu, this one will recall the bombastic operatic vocals of Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh, only more powerful. Add to that a mind-bending performance by Jannick Top on bass and you have yourself a nine-minute epic that stands up with the best Magma ever did. I have no hesitation in claiming this song as reason enough to buy this album. There’s just nothing else like it, not even in Magma’s extensive catalogue. It channels both the otherworldly and transcendental aspects of such majestic pieces as Kohntarkosz and the earthly awesomeness of the bass-freakout “De Futura” from Udu Wudu.

After a song of such magnitude, it’s only natural that Top will let up on the gas, but, as it turns out, the loss of energy is only slight. In addition, “Soleil D’Ork,” a track taken from Udu Wudu and reworked (and made much better, I might add), prepares us for what is about to come next. I don’t mean to discount the worth of this song, but when it’s sandwiched between two tracks like “Mekanik Machine” and “De Futura,” it’s only natural that it will be somewhat overlooked. Anyway, after “Soleil D’Ork” ends, we reach the one song that will probably divide fans the most. For his reworking of “De Futura,” Jannick Top does the unthinkable. He substitutes a drum machine for the amazing drumming of Christian Vander. “Blasphemy!” you think. But, as you think to yourself, “Jannick, how could you go so far astray,” you might miss how this version waltzes all over the original. The simplicity of the drum machine, which actually sounds about as organic as a drum machine can, really allows Jannick Top to shine, because if you know the original version of “De Futura” from Udu Wudu, you know that this song really is Jannick Top’s show. On this version of this classic Magma piece, Jannick Top plays with an intensity that makes the Udu Wudu version seem positively insignificant, Vander drumming or not. Honestly, you don’t really even notice that the drum machine is present, so astounding is Top’s bass playing.

And then we reach what is, for me, at least, the only questionable part of this album. “Glas,” which closes Soleil D’Ork doesn’t seem to fit very well, at least for the first few listens. After the intensity of the six preceding tracks, the comparatively lethargic pace of “Glas,” coupled with a lack of the type of bass playing that makes Top such a revered bassist, left me with serious doubts about the song. Over time, I have come to appreciate it, even like it, but I still wonder how the album would have turned out had Top chosen to end on a slightly more energetic note.

In the end, however, such pondering serves no purpose. Soleil D’Ork is a fantastic album by the second most important man in the zeuhl world, and it leaves little to be desired. This album really is a “lost” Magma work. If you are a budding Magma fan and thinking of buying Udu Wudu, admittedly quite a fine album, I advise you to look here instead, since this CD is more consistent, more alive, and a better feature of Jannick Top’s compositional and instrumental skill. While Udu Wudu is more of a group effort, it suffers from the fact that Jannick Top really is the star, but is forced to share the spotlight with his bandmates. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but, as it turns out, the songs of Udu Wudu work better when presented in solo format focusing on Jannick Top alone.

Jannick Top’s Soleil D’Ork has earned my highest recommendations.