"A pinch of mathematical draughtsmanship, a hint of pop jazz, and a dash of
Estardian sound engineering," thus read the ingredients to
La Formule du Baron. To a certain degree it could be regarded as the French equivalent to the recipe for "Memphis Soul Stew." The formula in question directly proceeds from
Bernard Estardy's unique blend of French rhythm & blues and Southern soul (aka the first phase of
Nino Ferrer's career as immortalized by the floor-filling likes of "Mirza," "Oh! Hé! Hein! Bon," and "Le Téléfon"). The liner notes to this album would have you believe otherwise, but
Estardy is not a real baron by any means, although as a sound engineer he worked for French rock royalty including
Johnny Hallyday and
Françoise Hardy. A French pioneer in the field of synthesizing real instruments,
Estardy also experimented heavily with overdubbing and phasing in the CBE studio he co-owned with Georges Chatelain. While working with
Nancy Sinatra, one
Lee Hazlewood even talked him into going over to L.A. to fetch a multi-track Mellotron.
Estardy was instrumental in setting up the French cult library music labels. Apart from the spontaneous sessions for the Telemusic label in which he took part, 1969's
La Formule du Baron remains his sole album release. Considering it was mostly recorded during lunch breaks and purely for the sake of fun, it's remarkably well arranged. The album's diversity is dazzling, with the first half working quite well (especially the opening "Monsieur Dutour" and "La Gigouille"). The second half appears slightly tedious at times (especially when
Estardy starts crooning or scatting away) or downright weird (electronically replicated dogs barking and cats meowing on "Meut's Boogie"). Too bad
Estardy never got around to doing a soundtrack, as he probably would have been capable of creating something on par with
Jean-Claude Vannier's genius
L'Enfant Assasin des Mouches. With plenty of breaks afoot, cratediggers will have themselves a field day with
La Formule du Baron. The closing "Sister Charlotte Abbaye" visits territory familiar to fans of early
Ferrer and it's a missed opportunity that the Dare-Dare label neglected to include the historically relevant and highly sought-after Les Gottamou EPs (Gamma Goochee and Dansez le Monkiss) as a bonus. The inclusion of material of this side project with
Ferrer would have made this obscure CD release a truly indispensable one. ~ Quint Kik