| Reviews Biography Moving Gelatine Plates were in retrospect one of France's finest progressive rock bands.  Forming in the wake of the tumultuous political situation of France in the late 60s, their music was distinctly apolitical, filled with a refreshing sense of humor and an irreverence that distinguished them from many of their more brooding contemporaries. The band immediately took to the live circuit after forming, spending months refining their material in various venues across the country.  Early on, MGP busied themselves building a solid reputation among critics and fans, and playing a number of important shows, including performing at Magma's first ever concert and at a large festival that with the likes of Gong, Amon Duul II and Frank Zappa himself.  The tour eventually brought them a three year contract with CBS records and a promising future. The seeds sown for success, their debut album was finally released by CBS in 1971 to a heavy critical acclaim.  Lack of proper promotion, combined with poor management, led to a less successful tour this time around, but the band were nonetheless obliged to hit the studio again later that year to record their second album.  As it turned out, The World of Genius Hans stands among the finest French progressive rock albums ever released, but the promotional problems that band had experienced with the first album continued throughout the touring and promotion of the second.  Once again, critical and fan response was tremendous, but inadequate distribution and poor promotion put the band into financial disarray.  Maurice Hemlinger was eventually forced to sell his organ, and Gerard Pons his drum kit, in order to help stave off their growing debt.  Although replacement members were found, the nucleus of MGP was in disorder, and the band eventually folded. Of the members of Moving Gelatine Plates, the only one to stay truly active in music was bassist Didier Thibault, who rehearsed briefly with Gong prior to their Angel's Egg album, as well as playing with the likes of Jean-Phillipe Goude and the free jazz combo Yasmina.  Thibault was even offered the bass slot in Magma after the departure of Francis Moze, but declined.  In 1978, he attempted to reconvene the Moving Gelatine Plates spirit under the name Moving, though apparently no other original members were interested or available for the project.  Despite this, the singular Moving album, a self-titled release from 1980, is solid, though a stylistic departure from the classic Moving Gelatine Plates sound in that it is more vocal heavy and slightly more accessible.  Commercially, the album was a failure and Moving broke up in 1981, effectively ending the Moving Gelatine Plates legacy. The two albums released by Moving Gelatine Plates cannot be considered anything less than classics, drawing together and fusing all manner of influences and setting the tone early on for a eclectic national French scene that was among the strongest in Europe. - Greg Northrup [July 2001] Source: Liner notes for Musea reissues of Moving Gelatine Plates (1992) and The World of Genius Hans (1994). Moving Gelatine Plates (1971) Moving Gelatine Plates were a French group that played a magnificent style of high-powered progressive jazz rock.  The biggest influences here are Frank Zappa and early Soft Machine, along with a small dose of tongue-in-cheek RIO-like angularity. Though certainly not part of any particular "scene" at the time, a retrospective grouping can be made to other bands with similar influences.  Picchio dal Pozzo, particularly on their Abbiamo... album, and The Muffins circa Manna/Mirage? are surprisingly convenient comparisons, especially considering the time differential between the bands.  Essentially, MGP placed heavy emphasis on woodwinds and guitar, choppy rhythms, grinding organ riffs and jaw-dropping musicianship.  This alongside an extraordinary sense of energy, instrumental dexterity and a light-hearted sense of irony.  One minute you're grooving along to pleasant, Canterbury-esque interplay, and the next your head is ripped off by savage saxophone lines and thunderous drums.  Classic moments abound around every corner.  The "Three  Blind Mice" chant and choppy syncopation of  the fantastic "London Cab", the dreamy bass solo of "Gelatine", which  subsequently explodes into a head snapping drum rolls laid beneath thick, fuzzed-to-hell guitar riffs, careening into a finale of spectacular, unison saxophone lines.  Centerpiece "Last Song" begins with enchanting guitar harmonics before morphing into an angular guitar riff.  Indeed, while their second album, the classic World of Genius Hans, is often cited as the band's crowning achievement, either one of these albums will pummel you relentlessly and leave you quivering in the corner. - Greg Northrup [July 2002] Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info The World of Genius Hans (1972) The World of Genius Hans is often given the nod over Moving Gelatine Plates' self-titled debut album as their defining moment, which is surprising considering both albums are extremely close in quality.  Certainly, the second release by this band is a continuation stylistically, perhaps more compositionally refined and taken a step further.  The opening title track showcases the band's ability to craft a lengthy composition of gradually unfolding, substantial development.  While the exhilarating jerkiness and trademark tendency to unexpectedly jump from theme to theme is certainly still there, the group seems to rely less on the unrelenting aural assaults and machine gun choppieness of the first record.  In general, the band seems willing to take a step back and show a good degree of professional restraint; allowing an impressive degree of engaging thematic development to take place. Tracks like "Funny Doll" and the sublime "Astromonster" are quintessential MGP; distorted bass lines, gorgeous horn melodies, fascinating harmonies and amorphous rhythms that never sit still.  The former is perhaps the most vocal heavy the band ever got, while the latter encompasses virtually all their strengths, making it the most perfect six minutes on either album.  The section in which striking guitar harmonics echo the bass lines from earlier in the song, only to be embellished upon by towering saxophone lines, shows a degree of sophistication the band may have lacked previously.  With all that said, it's virtually impossible to pick a favorite from between the two albums, but if forced, a very slight nod would go to The World of Genius Hans.  A classic album and perfect representation of the eclecticism of the French progressive rock movement of the 70s.- Greg Northrup [July 2002] Click Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info