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Les Variations "Nador" 1969 + "Take It Or Leave It"1973 + "Moroccan Roll" 1974 + "Café De Paris" 1975 France -Moroccan Heavy Rock, Hard Rock,Rock n`Roll,Heavy Prog

Les Variations was a French rock band from the late 1960s to mid-1970s, that sang in English and was known for its rock guitar-based music. Its three members were born in Morocco and were of Jewish origin. They were France's first band to headline the famed Olympia Theatre, the first to tour America, the first to sign with a US label and the first to achieve hit records in America. On their last two albums, Moroccan Roll (1974) and Cafe de Paris (1975), their compositions, arrangements and lyrics contained sounds and stories of North African and Jewish Sephardic culture as well as the Hebrew songs of the band members’ youth growing up in North Africa. With this sound, they introduced a new rock fusion which is now referred to as Moroccanroll music, which is played throughout North Africa and has influenced many western rock bands over the past four decades. History Three of the original four members were Moroccan Jews. Joe Leb sang vocals, Marc Tobaly played guitar, and Isaac “Jacky” Bitton was on drums. The fourth member, Jacques “Petit Pois” Grande, who played bass, is of Italian heritage. In 1971, Leb was briefly replaced by French singer Michel Chevalier. In 1975, Leb was later replaced by Tunisian born Robert Fitoussi. Les Variations was formed in 1966 by Marc Tobaly's older brother Alain, who became the band's manager. That year they began touring throughout Europe as a great live performance band, singing songs in English of their favorite artists, such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones, and in 1967, they began their recording career in Denmark with the release of Spics & Spack. Returning to France in 1969, they signed with France's EMI/Pathé Records, and forged a successful recording relationship. Les Variations were the first and certainly one of the best known rock groups from France, largely in part to their commercial record successes, their unabandoned concert and television performances, their unmatched media and press coverage, and their unique position of being the first French rock band to tour America, to sign with an American label and eventually pioneer a new style of rock music over their decade-long existence.[6] Between 1969 and 1973, they released the bulk of their albums on Pathe Records. Their early recordings often mimicked traits of The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin. In 1972, Alain Tobably formed a partnership with Doug Yeager and Charles Benanty of Applewood Productions in New York, and the band began the second phase of their career touring and recording in America. Their only French language recording, "Je Suis Juste Un Rock'n Roller", produced by Doug Yeager and the band and backed by soul sisters Angel & Sybil, was recorded in Cincinnati's 5th Floor Recording Studios, and became their biggest hit ever, reaching No. 7 in the French pop charts. In 1973, their popular album Take it or Leave It was recorded in Memphis's Ardent Studios with producer Don Nix. In 1974, Les Variations became the first French rock band to sign with an American label, Buddah Records while creating a more exotic and unique style reminiscent of their North African roots. Their pioneering introduction of sounds and styles taken from their Moroccan heritages, was exemplified in the albums Moroccan Roll (1974, produced by Ralph Moss), and Cafe de Paris (1975, produced by Lewis Merenstein & Michael Wendroff), which would influence rock bands in America, Europe and Africa for the next several generations. During the recording and subsequent touring of these Buddah albums, the band added the American keyboard player/singer Jim Morris; and for the next album (Cafe de Paris) and its tours, they added the French/Tunisian/singer/guitarist/composer Robert Fitoussi and the ledendary French/Tunisian violinist of Arabic music, Maurice Meimoun. This 1975 album reached the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts in America, while their single "Superman, Superman", reached No. 36 in the U.S. Pop Charts. During this 1974-1975 period, they became the first French rock band to headline the famed Olympia Theatre in Paris; and the only French band to ever headline the national American TV concert show The Midnight Special and the national American radio concert special King Biscuit Flower Hour. In the summer of 1975, after the band's national tour of America in support of their charted album, Robert Fitoussi choose to branch out on his solo career as F. R. David. Jacques Grande and Maurice Meimoun also left the band at that time. Les Variations reformed at their Cincinnati band house and studio with Tobaly, Bitton and Morris and the addition of Americans singer Carl Storie and bassist/singer Albritton McClain. Unfortunately, as they finally were able to gain measurable success in America with their major tours and hit record, Les Variations gave their last concert at Philadelphia's Academy of Music on December 7, 1975 and disbanded two weeks later on December 21, 1975. In 1977, Les Variations reformed for a historic recording session for CBS Records International. Jac Hammer, composer of many classic rock songs, such as "Great Balls of Fire," wrote an anthem the night Anwar Sadat flew to Israel to make peace. Three days later, Richie Havens & Les Variations recorded "Shalom, Salem Aleicum" (produced by Charles Benanty, Doug Yeager and David Wilkes), which CBS released immediately throughout the Middle East, and it became a #1 hit in Israel, Egypt and Jordan. Over the course of their career, Les Variations became the first French rock band to tour Europe, Africa and America. Over their ten years on the road they toured with many major acts of the era, including: Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Kiss, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Yes, Guess Who, Taste, Queen, Uriah Heep, Rush, Kraftwerk and Aerosmith, to name a few. In 1993, Maurice Meimoun died in Paris. In 2009, a Tribute to Les Variations was presented before 250,000 fans at the L'Boulevard Rock Music Festival in Casablanca, Morocco, honoring the band as the Fathers of Moroccanroll music. Les Variations bassist, Jacques "Petit Pois" Grande, died on June 16, 2011 from cancer, near his home of Davis, California....wiki.....~

Paris 1970

In France, each rock flare seems to start from scratch: the rock & twist movement led by Johnny Hallyday and the Black Socks express no recognition for his elders, Mac-Kac, Henri Salvador and other Mustache. Likewise, the Ronnie Bird generation does not make much of the one that preceded it in the career. The pattern is repeated, identical, when the Variations debunk in the late 60s. They even stick to the label First French rock band. A height! Each time, the French have their eyes fully turned abroad, going so far as to misunderstand and underestimate a rich, nourishing, specific heritage within reach of their ears. However, if we scratch a little varnish, we realize that under this apparent contempt often hide hidden admissions, But this is another story. So the Variations were not the first band to play rock in France, far from it, but they were the undisputed pioneers of a movement called French pop-music, opening the doors to Martin Circus, Triangle, Zoo, Crisis Dynasty, Total Issue, Tribe, Alice, Quo Vadis, etc. All have a debt towards the Variations: Jo Leb (vocals), Marc Tobaly (guitar), Jacques Grande dit P'tit Pois (bass) and Jacky Bitton (drums) who faced roads, unorganized concerts and / or badly paid, a specialized press sometimes hostile, the indifference of the mainstream media ... But they had faith, the one that saves, as we feel so well Marc Tobaly during this first part of an interview that allows us to the THE P'TITS LOUPS Marc TobalyIn 1963, our family lives in Fez, Morocco. That of the Costa brothers too. From childhood, they are immersed in music: their grandmother, Zohra El Fassia, was a famous oriental singer. In America, an uncle brings them a Kay electric guitar. I too have a guitar and, as we are friends, we play together. Michel Costa and I are exactly the same age. His brother Georges, two or three years older. They are the ones who teach me the first chords. I love black socks; I try to reproduce "Live Her Life" and "Dactylo Rock". (By the way, I still love what Eddy Mitchell does, I've had the opportunity to tell him once, during a show at Europe 1 where, besides, the Costa brothers were invited also. Even if one reaches a certain level of notoriety, when one finds oneself in front of the idol of his childhood, one becomes again the small basic fan). Like a million other apprentice guitarists, Ray Charles's "What'd I Say" is one of the first things I try to play. (In 1978, fifteen years after my first efforts to try "What'd I Say," Ray Charles recorded "Just Because," which I composed with FR David and whose first version is included in the album. of "King of Hearts", I am very proud of it!). Georges Costa officiates in a group he calls the Young Wolves, probably because of the song of Jean-Claude Annoux. We, the youngest - Team B, what! ! - We ride the Little Wolves and we perform wherever we want, "Cockroach", "Shazam" ! then we start learning Beatles songs, "I Want To Hold Your Hand". And "It's All Over Now" and "The Last Time"Rolling Stones, etc. It seems so new to us! P'tits Loups last three years. In 1964, I visit a cousin who is my age and lives in Casablanca. A mutual friend introduces us to a rather crazy character, very well lit, who breaks everything when he is on stage: Jo Leb. In the afternoon, he keeps the garage of his father where we will laugh with him playing Stones stuff, then little known in Morocco. I bring a guitar. With the rules he borrows in the office, Jo taps on drums. One night, with my cousin, we will see the Shadows at the Arena. I have always loved this group. At this time, the three guitarists play on white Burns. With their pants, they are impressive. In the first part one of the most important groups of Casa, the Jets, a little like Shadows: the guitarist has a Stratocaster plugged into a Fender Dual-Showman amplifier. That evening, their drummer makes a monstrous solo. Hell! Right away, I love this drummer. At the end of the concert, I will even ask him for an autograph, which I never get because there are too many people and I have to leave. This drummer is Jacky Bitton. LONDON I have six brothers and sisters, all gone to live in France, the USA, etc. Last last with the parents, I am painard with my guitar, my tape recorder and everything you need. At the beginning of July 1966, having won a little money playing at the Zallagh swimming pool, I come to Paris to join my brother Alain, who is seven years older than me, for the holidays. In the train, I buy an acoustic guitar to a beatnik who needs money. A good instrument, which I keep a long time. Arriving from Morocco, I feel provincial: since the time I hear about Paris, stars, Socks Black, Golf Drouot, etc .. All this seems to me untouchable. The day I arrive in Paris, I learn that Alain and Magda my sister are in London, where I will join them. We live in a small apartment. Alain works in a coffee shop. He is well connected with music (he saw the Rolling Stones at the Olympia). He likes to dance rock but it's a mod. Armed with my acoustic guitar, I play Piccadilly Circus with guys who spend their days there. Italians commit me to spend in their restaurant, the Papagayo. I make songs of the Beatles that I must embellish some titles in Italian like "Come Prima" or "No Ho L'Eta" ... It's a time of madness where everything seems wonderful. This small commitment allows me to keep up, financially. In London, musically, what a mood! And Carnaby Street! We love the band "The Creation" that we will see at Tiles. It's all about music, all day. Freshly landed from my native Morocco, I connect directly to the power station, the source. The look, the attitude, the R & B, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Spoonful Lovin, Chris Montez, "Paperback Writer", "Revolver", "Aftermath" ... Everything connects me. Every night, everywhere, groups occur. MAGICAL In September 1966, having swallowed so much English scene, I come back swollen block. Expected to return to Morocco for back to school, I decided to stay in Paris, despite the pain that it makes my parents. Alain resumes his law studies while I try to integrate a group. We live in a small studio on West Street. My first tests with neighborhood groups disappoint me, it is I who shows others what they have to do. The level is too low. This is the period of very lean cows. We eat two eggs a day, pasta. Sorry to see me vegetate, Alain decides to find musicians to form a group around me. I tell him I can play as well as George Harrison and all those guys. And he ends up believing it! One day, at Paul Beuscher's, I see two guys who look nice, with a good pace. They are Jacques Micheli, guitarist, and Guy de Baer, bassist. They also come back from London and we discover many things in common. I invite them to come and do the beef at home, everything is going very well. We decide that we need a drummer and put an ad at Pasdeloup, boulevard Saint-Michel. As we do not have the phone, we simply indicate my address. One day it's snowing in Paris - in October, it's pretty rare! - a drummer introduces himself to rue de l'Ouest. My sister receives it, It's Jacky Bitton, the same one, the Jets! Magical. He has just arrived in Paris to study. Recent buyer of a Ludwig, he seeks to play, jazz or rock. I recognize it immediately, I immediately remember his name. We are starting to repeat, Jacques Micheli, Guy de Baer, Jacky Bitton and me. My brother Alain finds a place on the boulevards, (the Ranch I think), where we can repeat. At the time, the possible places were still rare. Scratching, and scratching again, it's nice, but after a while we realize that it would take a singer. We hear dozens. Of all styles. I say to my brother, "If only we could find Jo Leb! Alain: "But I do not know him, I have never seen him, and we do not even know where he is, maybe in Morocco, or in the USA, who knows?" Me: "In any case, those we see now are worthless! We need someone like him, a tough guy. "The case remains there. One evening, Alain shows up at La Musarde, a little cafe down the boulevard Saint-Michel. In the back of the room, he spots a guy with a great mouth. Never shy, he goes to him and asks him: "Tell me, you would not be singer, by chance. The guy: "If I'm a singer? You speak! I have my sound in London "etc ... We can not stop it anymore Alain offers to audition and shows up with him at the incredible house: it's Jo Leb After a few months in Nice he had just arrived at the capital.We fall into each other's arms.The rehearsals with Leb, Micheli, de Baer, Bitton and I start banging in. Jo, without being Caruso, has more than this that it takes madness and presence.As a rock singer, we can hardly imagine better. he spots a guy with a big mouth. Never shy, he goes to him and asks him: "Tell me, you would not be singer, by chance. The guy: "If I'm a singer? You speak! I have my sound in London "etc ... We can not stop it anymore Alain offers to audition and shows up with him at the incredible house: it's Jo Leb After a few months in Nice he had just arrived at the capital.We fall into each other's arms.The rehearsals with Leb, Micheli, de Baer, Bitton and I start banging in. Jo, without being Caruso, has more than this that it takes madness and presence.As a rock singer, we can hardly imagine better. he spots a guy with a big mouth. Never shy, he goes to him and asks him: "Tell me, you would not be singer, by chance. The guy: "If I'm a singer? You speak! I have my sound in London "etc ... We can not stop it anymore Alain offers to audition and shows up with him at the incredible house: it's Jo Leb After a few months in Nice he had just arrived at the capital.We fall into each other's arms.The rehearsals with Leb, Micheli, de Baer, Bitton and I start banging in. Jo, without being Caruso, has more than this that it takes madness and presence.As a rock singer, we can hardly imagine better. Baer, Bitton, and I are starting to bang. Jo, without being Caruso. has more than enough madness and presence. As a rock singer, we can hardly imagine better. Baer, Bitton, and I are starting to bang. Jo, without being Caruso. has more than enough madness and presence. As a rock singer, we can hardly imagine better. CARNABY STREET At that time, the whole district of the Marais is transformed into Carnaby Street with shops like London. pubs etc. The boss of a restaurant offers us to play in his cellar, which allows us to repeat the volume thoroughly and who, at the same time, who knows, may attract customers. We touch 30 F each, per day, plus a hamburger tonight.Byzance. Jacques Micheli and Guy de Baer are still students. When they see things take a serious turn, they decide to stop there. There is no acrimony between us, just they let us know that for them, the time has come to get off the train. December 16, 1966, we enter for the first time in the pub to play, three. A guy, like infernal Parisian titi, goes down the stairs and asks us, "Hey, guys, you would not look for a bass player, by any chance? Us: "IF, why, do you know one?" - "Yes, a great guy, he lives in my street, I'm going to get it for you, of course it's Jacques Grande." P'tit Pois has just learned of his reform of military service. to be antimilitarist? - promised to buy him the bass of his dreams, a Gibson EB-3, as well as a Fender Bassman amplifier if it were exempted.All these coincidences are disturbing: the same day we get to know him just bought his equipment, I do not think he was part of a group before, he was hanging out at the Tour Club, rue de l'Ourcq, in the 19th, and I show him what we expect from him, and so are the Variations: Jo Leb (singing), Jacques Grande dit P ' tit Pois (bass), Jacky Bitton (drums) and me, Marc Tobaly (guitar). At one point, P'tit Pois brings us one of his friends, Jean-Pierre Azoulay, known as Rolling - future musician of Johnny Hallyday to assure the second guitar. But this one, still undecided, is not ready to commit, to commit himself. Individualist, he is afraid of serious things. So we continue at four and I quickly learn to play both rhythm and solo. SPECTRUM ZODIACAL We pronounce Variations à la française, not like some fans who prefer to say "Variacheunzes". Maybe because we sing especially in English? This is the name we use since the beginning, with Jacques and Guy, probably under the influence of other formations like Creation, Action, Temptations, etc. Also because variations is a musical term: variations on the same theme. We all have enormous desires and ambitions. We want some. Really. What energy Alain, starting to feel that he has a powerful unit in his hands, is looking for places where we can perform. First small things in the suburbs then the famous Tremplin Golf Drouot, the holy of saints, in December 1966. Many characters of the Parisian rock trade are present. Serge Morali (brother of Jacques) director of the Music Center store, rue de Douai, is part of the jury and tells us after our performance: "From the first note, we knew who would win". I can not begin to describe the joy, the happiness !, that this victory has given us. Henri Leproux, as promised, commits us for the following weekend: the winners of the Tremplin pass systematically on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in stars, paid. We become Golf stars, pillars, people start talking about us. Henri likes us, the regulars too; we love to play there. Everything is great. We also perform at the Tour Club where officials are forced to put channels when the public goes crazy. Initially, I play on a Hofner, the leather-like model, with a single microphone. While in Paris, my father, very nice, finding that there was no question that I go back to school, buy me a Fender Telecaster and amp Vox AC3O. At the time, the guitar is worth about 1,700 francs. (It is listed much more than that today, maybe twenty times as much as I'm a guitarist, it's better that I have a sound a little harder, and a few months later, I leave the Telecaster whose sound is still quite late.With the serious game of P'tit Pois and Jacky who beats like a beast, I have no worries to me: they roll me a sacred carpet Even astrologically, we we complete with four signs that follow each other and represent the four elements: Sagittarius = fire (Jacky), Capricorn = earth (Mark), Aquarius = air (P ') tit Peas) and Fish = water (Jo). We fill the whole zodiacal spectrum that perhaps explains our cohesion. COME WHAT MAY Compton (or is this O'Brial) trendy clothing store in the Saint-Michel district (especially jackets with four or six buttons, crossed, in the manner of Kinks), we equip entirely, in exchange for a photo style the Variations are dressed by Compton. Alain, as a student, had made several trips to Scandinavia, He drank stories about girls who are supposed to be easy. Of course that drives us crazy: Yeah here on-s'emm ..., come on, let's break up, like kids who are planning to steal a candy store. So we wait for the winter to end and in March 1967 we buy (3,000 francs) a Wolkswagen bus - on which is also marked the transport of children - that we fill with material and we leave. We four as well as Alain, Rob (one of his friends, a kind of ace of the wheel) and another Jo (who was once the singer of the Little Wolves, who travels with us but will make his life in Scandinavia). The gear is in the middle, four guys sit behind, the other three in front. And come what may. We drive, drive ... to Hanover, where we arrive a little morning. The Germans move well, very trendy beat music, following their expression. There, people work until about five o'clock, they get ready, eat a little, and the actual evening begins at seven o'clock in the evening, ending at midnight at the latest. In clubs, drinks are cheap, maybe a glass deutschmark (then, about a franc). All the opposite of what is done in Paris, where you have to go out from midnight and pay for your consumption ten francs! We see a poster announcing the passage of the Smoke the same evening at the Savoy, a fairly large club, comparable to the Palace or the Bataclan, with a real scene. We decide to contact the director immediately to offer our services. Good luck, our driver speaks German. An agreement is made for us to pass, on trial, the same evening. In the meantime we go to the station. Not having the means to pay for a hotel room is the only place where we can wash ourselves a bit, prepare ourselves, put the clothes provided by Compton, and even hats. Sparkling. Real cartoon characters. We decide to contact the director immediately to offer our services. Good luck, our driver speaks German. An agreement is made for us to pass, on trial, the same evening. In the meantime we go to the station. Not having the means to pay for a hotel room is the only place where we can wash ourselves a bit, prepare ourselves, put the clothes provided by Compton, and even hats. Sparkling. Real cartoon characters. We decide to contact the director immediately to offer our services. Good luck, our driver speaks German. An agreement is made for us to pass, on trial, the same evening. In the meantime we go to the station. Not having the means to pay for a hotel room is the only place where we can wash ourselves a bit, prepare ourselves, put the clothes provided by Compton, and even hats. Sparkling. Real cartoon characters. we prepare, put the clothes provided by Compton, and even hats. Sparkling. Real cartoon characters. we prepare, put the clothes provided by Compton, and even hats. Sparkling. Real cartoon characters. Being French gives us a special charm, certainly exotic. An advantage. The Smoke, who have just had a hit with "My Friend Jack", are the happy owners of beautiful brand new Marshall amplifiers. They refuse to lend us their equipment. Which makes us rage. And it is not good to make us angry: it makes us mean! So, I do not tell you tobacco. We are like crazy, we play like crazy. The spectators are as hallucinated. A devastating energy. The boss, angels, invites us to a large table, pays us champagne and brandy. All the girls are spinning around us. Smokes are green. More comfortable in the studio than on stage, they do not succeed to follow us. The public is only interested in "My Friend Jack" and then returns to the bar. I even think the Savoy refuses to pay their stamp. Our revenge! We are invited to return to play, fifteen days later, as soon as the programming already established allows. In the meantime, we continue our journey to Scandinavia. We sleep in the truck. At each stage, we reiterate the scenario developed in Hanover: toilet in the station, visit the club in the corner, etc. Fortunately, it's a cool, relaxing time: You come to play and well, go ahead, play, visit to the local club, etc. Fortunately, it's a cool, relaxing time: You come to play and well, go ahead, play, visit to the local club, etc. Fortunately, it's a cool, relaxing time: You come to play and well, go ahead, play, SPICKS & SPECKS Engaged by the Hit House and the Star Club of Copenhagen, we meet many people, Steve Marriott jamming with Jimi Hendrix, beautiful, Vanilla Fudge ... Still having no money or hotel, we have to wait for a girl please take us home. All evening, we are questioning each other So, that's it, did you find one? It's in this crazy atmosphere that we meet people from Triola, a nice little local record company, who make us make a record. Their studio is installed in a cinema room. We choose "Mustang Sally". On the other hand, I think that "Spicks And Specks" is their idea. The Bee Gees are very fashionable, but this title, one of their first, is quite obscure. On the cover, we wear the Compton costumes, except the military jacket, purchased in addition. The disc seems to start. At Hit House, girls, twelve or thirteen, no more, gone crazy, break the door of our box to connect us. Obviously, we immediately take ourselves for the Beatles. Unfortunately, Denmark is a rather closed country, from the point of view of immigration. After a fortnight, we have to leave the territory and make a request to come back. We take this opportunity to return, as expected, to the Savoy of Hanover, Grandiose. I can not tell all the details, but it's fantastic. For ten months we only do that: Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia. Still sleeping in the truck. The royal suite is the back seat! In front, it is much harder because of the shifter. Parterre, in the middle, this n ' is not so good, but still better than outside, where we have to sleep, in turn. Every morning we are awakened by police bikers "raus! Raus!" We live exactly like the Romans. We do all the cities. Sometimes a fight interrupts the concert, like the one between Gitans and English soldiers. Bleeding ! Even bloodthirsty! The guys are breaking tables on their heads. One night, we are expected and Jacky is fighting like a devil. We do not play in the coldest neighborhoods. Hatred and carelessness rub shoulders there. When there is violence, we go the other way, that's all. We live exactly like the Romans. We do all the cities. Sometimes a fight interrupts the concert, like the one between Gitans and English soldiers. Bleeding ! Even bloodthirsty! The guys are breaking tables on their heads. One night, we are expected and Jacky is fighting like a devil. We do not play in the coldest neighborhoods. Hatred and carelessness rub shoulders there. When there is violence, we go the other way, that's all. We live exactly like the Romans. We do all the cities. Sometimes a fight interrupts the concert, like the one between Gitans and English soldiers. Bleeding ! Even bloodthirsty! The guys are breaking tables on their heads. One night, we are expected and Jacky is fighting like a devil. We do not play in the coldest neighborhoods. Hatred and carelessness rub shoulders there. When there is violence, we go the other way, that's all. We do not play in the coldest neighborhoods. Hatred and carelessness rub shoulders there. When there is violence, we go the other way, that's all. We do not play in the coldest neighborhoods. Hatred and carelessness rub shoulders there. When there is violence, we go the other way, that's all. In December 1967, finally, we return to France, to make the Golf Drouot, to begin, then to carry out as many galas as possible a year during. (We never said concert, always gala). Never a weekend passes without the Variations have a commitment. And still no record contract, despite our reputation. Everyone knows us, but nobody wants us to register! Other groups are in the same position, including Devotion, with whom is made a small tour during the summer of 1968: La Rochelle, the island of Ré ... This is a little genesis of what will be called pop. The other formations are those of Richard Fontaine, Tribe, as well as Alice with Alain Suzan, Présence maybe .., Then come Alan Jack Civilization, DocDail of which Tiki was the singer, etc. The Variations were undoubtedly the leading group of this movement. The one who opened the doors. In November 1968, we smoked a lot of our morale is at the lowest. It's even about separation. One day, Richard Fontaine comes to the home and we scolded: "So guys, what are you doing. There are all the groups that are in Joinville, the Who, Small Faces, Fleetwood Mac, etc., and here you stay anxious! "This is the shooting of a program to be held on December 31, Surprise-Part, produced by Télé 2000: Michel Taittinger, Jean-Pierre Frimbois and Guy Job. So we take the truck and we go there. 8:59 pm: SURPRISE-PART Alain, Jo, P'tit Pois and I are always together. Jacky Bitton, of independent character, leads his little personal life. He is not with us. The makers of the tray let us penetrate. It's the last day of filming. Arriving, we come across the Who in full "Magic Bus". There is Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, .. everyone, as well as a slew of pretty girls, models. Around seven o'clock in the evening, there is a break and the whole team goes to the canteen. We stay there, not really knowing what to do until the sequences resume when, all of a sudden, I see on the stage a beautiful green Gretsch guitar. Super beautiful I approach. I take it. I start to tickle a little bit. Michel Taittinger, seeing me, asks, "Who is this guy playing?" Our road-manager, who hears it, says to him: "It's Marc Tobaly, the guitarist of the Variations, the French group". "Ah, not bad" and, addressing Alain: "Would they agree to play! I especially need cutting planes, to insert at the time of the assembly, to make connections ". My brother agrees. As we came with the truck - the Volkswagen has meanwhile been replaced by a classic Ford Transit - we have providentially all our equipment on the spot. Even the outfits. Always ready to draw! Rather haughty, Taittinger drops: "Very well, plug your equipment, at 9pm it's up to you." The roadie installs everything and then tries to find Jacky. He lives near Clichy but is not at home. He ends up locating it in a movie theater. where he takes it out urgently, as in a soap opera! They arrive at full speed, it must be around 8:59 pm ... just the time to pass the basic vest. To begin, we are asked to accompany PP. Arnold who plays a piece of Bee Gees, "To Love Somebody". Finally, accompany is a big word, we mime in play-back. Simple figuration. Traffic, planned, not being able to free itself from customs harassment, there is time, place in the show. Michel Taittinger, logical, proposes to play a trick to us. You speak if we accept! As it is the end of the shoot, everyone having a little drink in the canteen, want to have fun. We are really getting ready. Jo is unleashed. With our first title, we break the house. Taittinger: Make another one. After the second: Another Another I So, the title Surprise-Part becomes true: it's the real party. People take Jo on their shoulders, Jacky and P'tit Pois are unleashed. Once again, like crazy people. Finally, we play seven pieces. SEVEN Including "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", a very long version of "Satisfaction", "Devil With A Blue Dress On", "Mustang Sally" ... For New Year's Eve, we perform for the HEC Ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! the title Surprise-Part becomes true: it's the real party. People take Jo on their shoulders, Jacky and P'tit Pois are unleashed. Once again, like crazy people. Finally, we play seven pieces. SEVEN Including "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", a very long version of "Satisfaction", "Devil With A Blue Dress On", "Mustang Sally" ... For New Year's Eve, we perform for the HEC Ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! the title Surprise-Part becomes true: it's the real party. People take Jo on their shoulders, Jacky and P'tit Pois are unleashed. Once again, like crazy people. Finally, we play seven pieces. SEVEN Including "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", a very long version of "Satisfaction", "Devil With A Blue Dress On", "Mustang Sally" ... For New Year's Eve, we perform for the HEC Ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! Once again, like crazy people. Finally, we play seven pieces. SEVEN Including "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", a very long version of "Satisfaction", "Devil With A Blue Dress On", "Mustang Sally" ... For New Year's Eve, we perform for the HEC Ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! Once again, like crazy people. Finally, we play seven pieces. SEVEN Including "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", a very long version of "Satisfaction", "Devil With A Blue Dress On", "Mustang Sally" ... For New Year's Eve, we perform for the HEC Ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! we are performing for the HEC ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! we are performing for the HEC ball at Jouy-en-Josas. The SurprisePartie show is broadcast. Of course, we watch it carefully! Pass a title of Who, a Small Faces, etc., and SEVEN Variations! On TV, December 31, 1968, in front of several million viewers, end credits on Jo. The total! SAR The next day, record companies call. In fact we are in contract with Claude Ébrard (now deceased) who represents Robert Stigwood Organization in France. He has a small office in Paris and looks after other artists like Virginia Vee. Alain and he get along well. Personally, I have never met Robert Stigwood. Claude produces us, financially, and negotiates a license agreement with Pathé Marconi. (When preparing the re-editions, we had to ask Claude's widow - he had married Robert Stigwood's secretary - to confirm that all Variations products had been sent by Claude to EMI to whom they now belonged) . Claude is our producer, but Alain, the agent, who finds the galas, who cares. The promotion is provided by TV 2000. About this time, Andrew Jakeman, met at random, in a box, if I remember correctly, comes to work with us. He remains a long time our manager. He is a real hustler, someone who imposes himself from the start. Americans call these characters hustlers, They are able to chat a lot, but also real energy, up to aggressiveness, to achieve their ends. It's a type of value, with ideas. He tells us: "You need an image, put on capes". This kind of things! As he is British, he brings us an appreciable help for the lyrics. He became Jake Riviera, manager of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Demon records, etc. if I remember correctly, come work with us. He remains a long time our manager. He is a real hustler, someone who imposes himself from the start. Americans call these characters hustlers, They are able to chat a lot, but also real energy, up to aggressiveness, to achieve their ends. It's a type of value, with ideas. He tells us: "You need an image, put on capes". This kind of things! As he is British, he brings us an appreciable help for the lyrics. He became Jake Riviera, manager of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Demon records, etc. if I remember correctly, come work with us. He remains a long time our manager. He is a real hustler, someone who imposes himself from the start. Americans call these characters hustlers, They are able to chat a lot, but also real energy, up to aggressiveness, to achieve their ends. It's a type of value, with ideas. He tells us: "You need an image, put on capes". This kind of things! As he is British, he brings us an appreciable help for the lyrics. He became Jake Riviera, manager of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Demon records, etc. Americans call these characters hustlers, They are able to chat a lot, but also real energy, up to aggressiveness, to achieve their ends. It's a type of value, with ideas. He tells us: "You need an image, put on capes". This kind of things! As he is British, he brings us an appreciable help for the lyrics. He became Jake Riviera, manager of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Demon records, etc. Americans call these characters hustlers, They are able to chat a lot, but also real energy, up to aggressiveness, to achieve their ends. It's a type of value, with ideas. He tells us: "You need an image, put on capes". This kind of things! As he is British, he brings us an appreciable help for the lyrics. He became Jake Riviera, manager of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Demon records, etc. Variations wipe plaster, as they say. When we enter the studio, technicians have never worked with a pop band of their lives. The Black Socks period is already quite far away. When you think that in England, it is the beginnings of Led Zeppelin, and that with us nobody has the least idea of the way to record a battery .., with the big sound! Guitars, let's say it's still ok, but the batteries. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Some studios like those owned by Pathé in Boulogne are very good. Paul McCartney likes to use the small, the 4. But the technicians are mostly accustomed to work for Gilbert Bécaud, Charles Aznavour, artists for whom the requirement of volume, in terms of drums, has nothing to do with that of groups like Variations. Our first session is at the Ladies' Studio, rue des Dames, in the 17th arrondissement. Accustomed to the stage, we ourselves do not know anything about recording techniques. Apart from "Mustang Sally" and "Spicks And Specks", which were boxed in one day, we have no experience whatsoever. So WE do not know. And they do not know. So let's go, let's play the sorcerer's apprentices. In summary: we are aware of not hearing the drums as we would like; but we are unable to indicate how to achieve the desired impact. For all our first Parisian sessions, Pathé delegates an artistic director, Claude-Michel Schönberg. we ourselves do not know anything about recording techniques. Apart from "Mustang Sally" and "Spicks And Specks", which were boxed in one day, we have no experience whatsoever. So WE do not know. And they do not know. So let's go, let's play the sorcerer's apprentices. In summary: we are aware of not hearing the drums as we would like; but we are unable to indicate how to achieve the desired impact. For all our first Parisian sessions, Pathé delegates an artistic director, Claude-Michel Schönberg. we ourselves do not know anything about recording techniques. Apart from "Mustang Sally" and "Spicks And Specks", which were boxed in one day, we have no experience whatsoever. So WE do not know. And they do not know. So let's go, let's play the sorcerer's apprentices. In summary: we are aware of not hearing the drums as we would like; but we are unable to indicate how to achieve the desired impact. For all our first Parisian sessions, Pathé delegates an artistic director, Claude-Michel Schönberg. let's play the sorcerer's apprentices. In summary: we are aware of not hearing the drums as we would like; but we are unable to indicate how to achieve the desired impact. For all our first Parisian sessions, Pathé delegates an artistic director, Claude-Michel Schönberg. let's play the sorcerer's apprentices. In summary: we are aware of not hearing the drums as we would like; but we are unable to indicate how to achieve the desired impact. For all our first Parisian sessions, Pathé delegates an artistic director, Claude-Michel Schönberg. [Poste that he occupies, parallel to Michel Berger since the dissolution of his group, Venetes, and before his rise as a variety singer, then as a composer of the musical "Les Miserables", which triumphs in the USA] . At the time, it is difficult to start with an album, so we agree to do a simple. "Come Along / Promises" [March 1969]. YOUNG MEN IN ANGER Johnny Hallyday, who seems to appreciate us, asks us to participate in his show at the Palais des Sports in late April 1969. In principle, there should be Aphrodite's Child, with him, on the big stage, while two smaller scenes, of each side is entrusted to Variations and Devotion. [Despite his reputation, Devotion, formed by Paul Scémama (vocals, guitar), Jean-Pierre Domboy (bass), Laurent Petit-Gérard (keyboards), Alain Doudou Weiss (drums) and Patrick Gandolfi (harmonica, management) leaves no record.] When the day comes, Johnny no longer wants the Aphrodite's Child to go to the big stage. Vangelis sends him to be seen. As a result, Variations and Devotion are promoted to American stars, which means that we are considered to be in the background, by order in the show. It's important for people who have only one single to their credit! We have obvious success, so much so that our passage time is shortened every night! From 30 minutes at the beginning, we go to 25, 20, 15, 12 ... After that it is precisely during our 12 minutes that a guy disguised as a bear comes to distribute flyers. Well, it's the game, you accept or not. We found that in America where, systematically, the first part is entitled to only half the power for sound as for lighting. The experience with Johnny is good for us: the magazine Les Copains Hello devotes two pages in color each to the two new French groups. We can record our second single. "What's Happening!" "Magda", in September 1969......Interviewed by Jean William THOURY..........~

Les Variations "Nador" 1969 debut album The band was founded in 1966 by the band's guitarist brother, Marc Tobaly, who along with Joe Leb (singer), Isaac Bitton (drums) and Jacques Grande (bass) were the group's first band. His initial repertoire consisted of hits of the rock and roll greats quickly becoming one of the most popular bands in France. In 1969 they released their first album "Nador" and two years later "Take It Or Leave it", They made a successful tour of the United States and even recorded several singles in that country. In 73 "Moroccan Roll" came out on the market and in '74 they signed with the American label Buddah with which they released a new album "Cafe de Paris" which was very successful in the United States. In the 75 the band suffers diverse abandonments in its rows that would cause their dissolution. In 1. Richie Havens the theme "Shalon, Salem Aleicum" which was number one in Israel, Egypt and Jordan. The disc contains nine tracks that show us a psychedelic hard rock with tinges rock'n'roleros. The guitarist, Marc Tobaly, is the main composer and his good work with the instrument can be verified in songs like "What a mess again" or "Completely free". The rhythm section shows us a great forcefulness, do not forget that the drummer, Isaac Bitton, was in the first positions in the lists of the best drummer of the moment. By the way I forgot, all the songs are sung in English, maybe one of the reasons for its great success in the United States. We can hear their African roots in the instrumental song "Nador" and in the final part of "But it's all right".....~ It is commonly accepted that TRUST was the first big French Hard Rock band . This is the economy of all those who worked in the field of rock hard since the late 60s. The first group to have gained some notoriety was certainly VARIATIONS including a new reissue of the first album Nador , originally released in 1969, was born in vinyl replica format at Culture Factory (limited edition of 3000 copies). The second part of the 60's saw a lot of Rock formations engaging a hardening of their sound; taking over Rock'n'Roll , Blues , Boogie , CREAM , TEN YEARS AFTER , THE WHO , the EXPERIENCE of Jimi HENDRIX push the amps in the red, soon joined by LED ZEPPELIN , GRAND FUNK RAILROAD , then DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH . In France, the VARIATIONS land fully sure of their fact with this Nador stuffed withElectric rock , dingy and groovy . Literally powered by a powerful and flexible rhythm section, the singer Jo LEB impresses with its raucous and warm register (the song is in English, except on Generations ), while the guitarist Marc TOBALY has the class of the big ones, as well in rhythmic as in 'alone. With its acoustic guitars and percussion, the instrumental Nador pays tribute to the North African roots of musicians. We also find a percussion break on the imperial and irresistible But It's Alright ......~ At its most realised, the 45rpm single is one beautiful invention and a crystallisation of Rock’n’Roll. With the A-side the Rock, the B side the Roll, put both sides together, spin it at 45 revolutions per minute and BAM -- on two short sides it sez its peace good and strong/quiet and reflective or just plain NAILS IT by translating its time constraints into strength, not limitation. And during the turn of decades between the sixties and seventies, the only game in town in France for up-and-coming bands was still the 45rpm single. Obviously, they were cheaper to produce and distribute than full-length albums as well as being an inconsiderable strain on the commitment end of skeptical record companies struggling to get a handle on the latest furor emanating from noisy longhairs within their own borders. Someone at the French label Pathé/EMI was more than convinced that one group existed that looked like they weren’t just gonna go away any time soon and could also deliver the goods on both 45 as well as the long-playing beast with two backs. This group was Variations, who Pathé quickly signed on the strength of their live performance on the televised French pop extravaganza, ‘Surprise Partie’ in December of 1968. Two singles of excellent original material were released the following year, garnering critical attention and this was followed swiftly by session time scheduled at Olympic Studios in London for recording their first album. Investing a strength and economy as though every session had to hit the mark or everyone would be summarily executed afterwards, Variations wasted no time proving themselves all over their resulting debut, “Nador” (as well as most their first eight singles which they pumped out at an average rate of two per year. I only say ‘most’ because covering Dave Mason’s “Only You Know” as a stop gap single in 1972 was -- for Variations, at least -- completely wide of the mark.) And what a debut: for “Nador” would wind up being their best and most consistent album, ever.1 “Nador” maintains a high level of Rock’n’Roll, showing Variations were a unit in sync with their sound and themselves. Joe “O.J.” Leb has a ballistic set of pipes and he’s given to great stressing in verse and freaking out into caterwauling excess to drive the point home. Both un-operatic and hyperactive, he’s intently aware of all the musical flashpoints and underscores them all with great wail, warp and woof. Despite the fact Leb sings all but one track on “Nador” in English, the lyrics aren’t discernable 100% of the time but the constant use of bedrock’n’roll phrases that punctuate throughout communicate everything. Well, not everything, but everything that is...necessary. Like: “Hey!,” “Alright!,” “Yeah!”, “Bay-buh!,” “C’mon!” and especially: “OOOWWWWWW...!!!” which is howled out in almost every song and at the most strategic of moments. Guitarist Marc Tobaly is a greatly skilled quarryman of hard rock and hooks up a mighty linking vessel via his roaring Gibson SG between Leb’s vocals and the engine room that is Jacques Grande on bass and Jacky Bitton’s powerhouse drumming. Tobaly wrote practically all of the material on “Nador,” so natch the arrangements allow for ample riffage to smash through consecutive windows of opportunity over and over and over again. Hefty rhythm/lead guitar overdubs sear continuously throughout, scored as they are with Tobaly’s stockpiled riffs and solos which all are recorded and produced to be nowhere but in the forefront at all times. The end result is high definition, robust rock’n’roll played by four Gauls with a whole lotta balls with a fire lit underneath their collective derrières at all times. OOOWWWWWW...!!! With that said, “Nador” ain’t perfection all the way through. Marred slightly with only one misstep per side, it would be disingenuous to blame mysterious outsider Mick Fowley (not Kim, dammit but a misnamed Mike Fowler from the British group, Grapefruit) just because he penned one of ‘em and sang on both (but I will anyway) because this track (“Mississippi Woman”) and the other (“We Gonna Find The Way”) are at odds with the rest of the album’s hard rock persuasions or Moorish exotica: content to reside in a permanent zone of dated, good-time filler or clichéd pop. But as far as the remainder of “Nador” goes, it totally captures the band at the height of their power. Every hard Rock metaphor is present and accounted for in its attitude even if their English is worse than your French because it oozes out of every pore: Got Rock if you want it all night long, like it or not here we come barging in to kick your ass and blow your minds, lock up your girlfriends cuz we’re on the prowl, your girlfriend’s panting up our pant leg for more, you’ll weep if we’re your opening band, crazy-Mama-ooooh-my-head, OOOWWWWWW...!!! And so forth. Furthermore, like the desks of American high schools in the late seventies emblazoned with the teenage wasteland credo of ‘LED ZEP, WHO, STONES, DO BONGS,’ these selfsame influences permeate all the tracks herein. Add the energetic flash of The MC5 into the mix with one guitarist double-tracking rhythm and solo guitars as the primary foundation and you have a diamond-hard example of the hard Rock idiom done loud and proud and thoroughly OOOWWW!!!ed. Best of all, the majority of the tracks on “Nador” are densely packed, as though filtering down only the most essential elements into classic three-and-a-half minute lengths as if constructed as potential singles candidates into... A crystallisation of Rock’n’Roll.2 Throughout “Nador” are many familiar yet hard-to-pinpoint-them-all moments in Rock. But what’s weird is how accurately these moments predicted where Variations’ own Rock’n’Roll heroes would be the FOLLOWING year. It was as though they were so plugged into and had completely absorbed the entire gestalt of The Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who and MC5 that what they projected forward back in mid-1969 squared intuitively with what these primarily influences of theirs would be cutting loose in ‘71 on “Sticky Fingers,” “Who’s Next,” “ZOSO” and “High Time.” Weirder still is how none of the tracks echo any one particular influence for any length of time as they’re all massed together into a stew of spew of the Rock they obviously loved to death and rode into the ground stedda merely hitching a ride by copping a cheap feel for a season not a reason. And to beat all, Variations’ set-ending rock’n’roll medley during a 1971 performance for the French television music series “Pop 2” saw them about as proto-NY Dolls as anybody. And that included The Dolls themselves: who were still in an embryonic stage three thousand miles and a full year away from commencing mascara’d squalling duties. What was it that made The Rolling Stones more than kosher to North African Jewish musicians, anyway? Some kinda continental drift? Dunno, but when you consider The Stones trekked to Tangier to ‘change the backdrop’ after their 1967 drug bust to meet the Master Musicians of Joujouka as Anita Pallenberg traded Brian for Keith; Mick his old persona for Brian’s while Keith just hung out with kief this visitation/flashpoint seemed to strike a sympathetic chord with at least some of the younger native outsiders from those cultures. Three members of Variations certainly were, being descendants of the generations of Sephardic Jews who fled to North Africa from Spain during the Inquisition. And was it any coincidence that one Ronald Mizrahi (an Egyptian Jew who grew up in The Bronx where he transformed himself into Sylvain Sylvain) visited Paris in 1971, where records by Variations quite possibly crossed his fashion and Rock’n’Roll obsessed path? Or that an early, pre-Dolls version of “It’s Too Late” sounded too much like “Exile”-period Stones before even The Stones did? Meanwhile, I’m still thinkin’...but oy, gestalt! “Nador” breaks open with “What A Mess Again.” What a great title, and what a way to jump start an album: by hitting the ground steaming. I wanna party just thinking of this song. A rock hard casual strutter that kicks ass from start to finish, “What A Mess Again” is over the top, all dressed up, nowhere to go and strictly out for kicks. They pull out all the stops just short of spontaneously combusting. Which they do, anyway, cuz they’re getting their oui-oui’s out and it’s an uncontrollable surging, rockin’ powerdrive they’re surfing/through a ten-part track that cascades in and out a variety of tempos. The guitar drops out altogether after umpteen guitar solos have crowded for so long, then caterwauling vocalising heads out wailing to the open road: “OOOWWWWWW...!!!” Oh, brother: this is a bombardment like Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” lashed to an imaginary “Live At Leeds” version of “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” being dropped on my head like the Fat Man and Little Boy tied together with pink tissue paper and ‘See you later, alligator’ scrawled across their respective death-bellies. And when the guitar cord crackles with loose grounding during the quiet guitar and vocal call and response ala the major verses of “I Can See For Miles” and a deft vamping of “The Hunter” on the outro ends it all, it’s a shock to realise that subsuming two such distinct influences into something that sounds this unique and fresh is just plain fucking weird because they should be slavishly adopting EVERY other ’69 Zep gee-gaw and archetype like covering “You Shook Me” instead. But being so into The Stones but NOT using harmonica and barring all blues covers? Or not getting a session guy to cut Entwistle’s French horn cameos, stuttering choruses ala “My Generation” or the drummer kicking over the kit as another guitar poised for demolition has seconds to live? Remarkably, it’s as though there was nothing in the hungry architecture of Variations’ approach to Rock’n’Roll that allowed for anything too obvious to be utilised as their own. Stepping down a few notches in the tempo enters the reflective and edgy “Waiting For The Pope.” Beautiful chiming guitar rings like a two note doorbell in-between the spaces of a rough and gnawing amplified rhythm guitar. Turns out to be a Beckett-like proposition for once the line “he ain’t gonna help you now/He have no power, anyhow” is sung, everything sinks into a striking interlude of quiet awakening as Leslie speaker’d guitar ripples in a small pool at dusk while the doorbell tone keeps on ringing in pairs as if to remind you of some forgotten loss. A solo takes flight like water birds when suddenly, all turns to elevated tones with a run-on yowl of “OOOWWWWWW...LemmetellyaBAY-buh...!” Underpinned by singeing, two-ply guitar parts, a final, tremendously guttural “YeaaaauugghhhhhOOOWWWWWW!!!” ushers in the instrumental burn up and fade out. Paying tribute to their Sweet Home Morocco, “Black Mountain Side” and possibly hinting at “The Battle Of Evermore” before the fact, their Arabio-Kelt acoustic instrumental “Nador” expands the dynamic range of the album into one of delicate shading. Taking its name from a Moroccan port city on the Mediterranean, “Nador” features Tobaly weaving a gentle Moorish mood piece to the accompaniment of low bass and the tight heads of darbouka rapped out with resounding hollowness by cohort Youssef Berrebi, in the Viram Jasani role, natch. “Générations” then arrives to dive bomb the whole scene. The only track on the album with French lyrics, it’s an ice-breaker as well as a soul shaker and one rock-a-rolla hellraiser. “OWWW!!!” is the opening vocal, as well as the closing one and in-between is a riotous outpouring of everything loud, swaggering and Rock Action. The mid-section solo is like the one on “Heartbreaker,” only compressed into 10 seconds while everything else is proto-“Tumblin’ Dice” as played by The MC5 with Roger Daltrey on braying vocals. A downstroking Keef rhythm riff gets played heavy, hovering low to the ground as Grande’s bass lopes all around it. They carry on kicking up a storm until the lead out coda is rendered by tape slowdown into crushing silence to dramatically finish off the first side. With a count-off in French, side two commences with the (relatively) sedate, mid-tempo paces of “Free Me.” The vocals have cooled for the moment, leaving Tobaly in the wild child role to take up the slack with at least three separate overdubbed guitars. And when there’s nothing left living on earth except grass, cockroaches and Keith Richards these riffs also will endure. Extra Pagey riffage is overlaid on top with Keef rhythm and the whole effect is comparable to an outtake left off the middle of side one of “Who’s Next” with Glimmer Twins camaraderie. You can just picture O.J. at the mike stand with one arm draped around Tobaly’s shoulder as they share the chorus. At 5:40, “Completely Free” is the longest song of the album. Another tightly orchestrated multi-riff gallery, it also gets loosely greased out into a slow grind reminiscent of Bob Seger System’s “Black Eyed Girl” crossed with the (yet to be released) Stones/Detroit grooves of Fred “Sonic” Smith’s “Baby Won’t Ya” and “Sister Anne.” A barking loud and sinewy riff roars out, accompanied only by its ricochet off the studio walls, the sizzling cymbals of Jacky Bitton and low growls emitted from between the Jagger/Johansen lips of Leb. Bitton’s bass drumming hammers out an oppressive tempo curfew, but the super-restrained band rocks out regardless. A wah-wah interlude erupts after silence peeks in for a few seconds, passing into an interlocking segue with quick, quiet drumming and bass fill-ins that pick up steam then hurtles into a mid-section instrumental bridge where it alights until an almighty pressurised drop back into fourth gear and the last section of verse. The coup de grace arrives with a super-phased, dueling guitar and drum interplay that speeds up to the only conclusion Namely, by smashing itself against the nearest wall. For the final sweaty finale, Jacky Bitton leads the pack with his rapid and tight drumming and sole songwriting contribution, “But It’s Alright.” Lead riff gallops with total flash, switching off to wah-wah as aggressive rhythm sawtooths its way to the heart of a wah-wah-ing centerpiece as a massive bass line hovers overhead. As it simmers down, it cuts off into a match cut of ancestral flashbacking with a darbouka-led percussion line and all members have forsaken their electric instruments for the final minutes of the album. It’s like the backing track to “Chasing Shadows” off Deep Purple’s self-titled album as cowbells, tambourine and handclaps generate rhythmic gyrations that dance like flames. They drive it on home until it dies down of its own accord, smoldering out on this ethnic note as the album’s closing noise. “Nador” is a supremely confident debut album where Variations came, saw, then Rocked. And then Rocked some more. For “Nador” was where they let one go and it was slick, greasy, on fire and yeah: a crystallisation of Rock’n’Roll. OOOWWWWWW...!!!...The Seth Man....Head Heritage.....~ “Nador” maintains a high level of Rock’n’Roll, showing Variations were a unit in sync with their sound and themselves. Joe “O.J.” Leb has a ballistic set of pipes and he’s given to great stressing in verse and freaking out into caterwauling excess to drive the point home. Both un-operatic and hyperactive, he’s intently aware of all the musical flashpoints and underscores them all with great wail, warp and woof. Despite the fact Leb sings all but one track on “Nador” in English, the lyrics aren’t discernable 100% of the time but the constant use of bedrock’n’roll phrases that punctuate throughout communicate everything. Guitarist Marc Tobaly is a greatly skilled quarryman of hard rock and hooks up a mighty linking vessel via his roaring Gibson SG between Leb’s vocals and the engine room that is Jacques Grande on bass and Jacky Bitton’s powerhouse drumming. Tobaly wrote practically all of the material on “Nador,” so natch the arrangements allow for ample riffage to smash through consecutive windows of opportunity over and over and over again. Hefty rhythm/lead guitar overdubs sear continuously throughout, scored as they are with Tobaly’s stockpiled riffs and solos which all are recorded and produced to be nowhere but in the forefront at all times. The end result is high definition, robust rock’n’roll played by four Gauls with a whole lotta balls with a fire lit underneath their collective derrières at all times. “Nador” is a supremely confident debut album where Variations came, saw, then Rocked. And then Rocked some more. For “Nador” was where they let one go and it was slick, greasy, on fire and yeah: a crystallisation of Rock’n’Roll. The Seth Man .....~ France, as we well know, is not a very rock'n'roll country; we are strong for advanced technologies, we have achieved prowess to manufacture the TGV or Ariane. Musically, we also give in elitism via conservatories that have earned us international fame for having formed a handful of virtuosos in classical music and Jazz, much more than in the United States where this genre is historically in the spotlight in some large cities but absent anywhere else. Rock is still appearing here in the 60s, since the Johnny, Eddie and Dick will take ownership by adopting their respective names among Americans (rather than English) but will especially adapt in French standards popularized by Elvis, Chuck and the others when our neighbors German or Dutch (to name only them) will embark directly on the adventure without necessarily changing their civil status but often choosing the original idiom for the song. This is how current 60's will be born groups like GOLDEN EARING and even SCORPIONS. We do not forget either the appearance of Krautrock, purely Germanic but most often interpreted in English. Historically, this state of affairs finds its explanation in full dismantling of the colonial empires and also during the reconstruction phase of a Europe devastated by the war and reconstituted in the wake of the US Marshall Plan, at a time when the Francophonie is becoming a political stake of prime importance. plan. This preamble leads us to evoke the case of Variations, a group of young French born and raised in a former protectorate of North Africa: Morocco. THE Variations, therefore, and not "ZE Varièchonz" because this surname is French and is not the subject of any translation whereas the word "variations" is similar in the languages of Shakespeare and Molière (which is clever). The definite article that precedes it will never change, notwithstanding the international significance of the following. On the other hand, The group meets in Paris in 1966, formed by Marc Tobaly guitarist born in Fez, Jo Lebb singer lippu as Mick Jagger and who was born in Casablanca as Jacky Bitton the drummer and finally Jacques Grande (called P'tit Pois) ) on the bass, the only member born in metropolitan France. Initially, his repertoire is composed of repeats in an approach that clearly evokes that of the ROLLING STONES early. The troupe enchaine the stepping stones in France, Germany and Scandinavia where it does not take long to be spotted since in 1967, it is in Denmark that it engraves its first 45T, a cover of "Mustang Sally" in a style Blues rock that brings it closer to CREAM. Despite a reputation as a beast and despite the good performance of the single in the charts, nothing happens. 1968 shakes the planet with its revolts, the group sets fire wherever it occurs and always nada. It was in 1969, after our French children shared the poster of an ORTF show with WHO, FLEETWOOD MAC and other SMALL FACES that Pathé Marconni publishes their second single ("Come Along") in March , followed by a third in September ("What's Happening") that confirm the hardening of music in a very Zeppelinian vein. Nevertheless the small band runs up against the negligence of technicians who have the habit of recording variety and have no competence in the field of rock. followed by a third in September ("What's Happening") that confirm the hardening of music in a very Zeppelinian vein. Nevertheless the small band runs up against the negligence of technicians who have the habit of recording variety and have no competence in the field of rock. followed by a third in September ("What's Happening") that confirm the hardening of music in a very Zeppelinian vein. Nevertheless the small band runs up against the negligence of technicians who have the habit of recording variety and have no competence in the field of rock. The album "Nador" came out in October 1970, that time wasted! It is a very pretty baby: nine tracks for an album mixing a blues-rock heavy and powerful to the Pop but also of the traditional Moroccan music, all driven by the inevitable Marc Tobaly, musician emeritus, talented arranger and composer inspired. And it starts very hard with "What A Mess Again", a thunderous title, purely Hard-Rock signed by the duo Tobaly / Lebb, from the outset we receive the firepower that emerges from the group at the top of its form, which does not has nothing to envy to that of WHO. Then comes a "Waiting For The Pope" with subtle arrangements where we recognize the roots Blues / Rock and the influence of CREAM with a coda in fade out where the guitars get entangled. The eponymous piece, The first side ends with the very pop "We Gonna Find The Way" (with the help of mick Fowley of GRAPEFRUIT at the piano), followed by "Generations" big hard-rock in French, the protest text probably written in reference to events of May 68 and punctuated by a guitar solo Arabizing the most beautiful effect. The second part of the disc does not detract from anything, the group has underfoot and can still press the pedal. It opens with a hymn that is both strong and instantaneous - we always think of the WHO of great days - it is "Free Me" with lush arrangements that bring us back to the heyday of power pop 60's, which anthem is followed by its corollary "Completely Free", again very thorough but in a vein much more blues / rock to the ... FREE! Then comes the very rock'n'roll "Mississippi Woman" by Mick Fowley, where we find a playful piano like Jerry Lee LEWIS, then "But It's Allright" excellent piece at the hard riff written by the drummer Jacky Bitton who finishes percussion and gives the opportunity to Youssef Berrebi to resound his darbuka. A first complete effort without fault of taste. This record could have or allow the VARIATIONS to rise among the big or even the very big ones. This will open doors for them since the group will soon play in the United States in front of thousands of people, except that it will never become a prophet at home, the press in France taking pleasure in mocking him in making him look like a superficial band of smokers, undermining his resistance in the process and doing so in a profoundly unfair way. Yet they filled the halls and gave incandescent concerts. They will continue year after year a chaotic career with two very good records before the artistic collapse ("Café de Paris") and the final closure (?) Of the brand. Also do not hesitate to throw on this opus laid by beautiful losers who will keep for them to have given birth to one of the best hidden treasures of Rock. Let's make this tribute together by spinning and live their music again and again. "Free me and I'll be back to Rock'n'Roll" said the song. Essential ? Yes !....by... LONG JOHN SILVER .....~ There we will talk about something great and cult. Variations, you know? A French rock band founded in 1966. There are four, it's not the Beatles. Musically. The Variations, now unknown, are a hard-rock band Led Zeppelin / Blue Cheer / Steppenwolf / Humble Pie, they are from Morocco for three of them (born in France, of Moroccan origin) , and precisely, the name of their first album is also that of a Moroccan city: Nador . Entirely sung in the language of Tony Blair, Nador offers 9 tracks, including an instrumental ( Nador), for 33 minutes (the CD, recent reissue in vinyl-replica, adds seven bonus-tracks, mainly singles, for 56 minutes in all). Almost no respite, it's heavy, guitaristically speaking very nasty. I am particularly proud to be French on hearing this record which proves that in 1970, year of its release, France, it was not only Stone & Charden (besides, Charden, RIP), Leny Escudero and Sheila & Ringo! Composed of Joe Leb (vocals), Marc Tobaly (guitar), Jacky Bitton (drums) and Jacques Grande (bass) for this period including Nador , the Variations (credited without the 'them' on the cover) provide totally. Bitton is a fantastic drummer who was even ranked third best European drummer at the time (remember that among the best rock drummers, many are British, and therefore European: Keith Moon, John Bonham, Ian Paice, Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts .. .), Joe Leb (sometimes spelled Lebb) is an excellent singer, the guitar of Tobaly ensures riffs of the fire of Zeus, the bass is gironde ... The only concern, in a sense, is the production, dated, and again, there is worse. But the 9 pieces of Nadorensure thoroughly, and are enough, as the name of the group proves in a sense (humor) ... varied! Nador is an instrumental drawing his name from a city in Morocco, as I said, and is quite oriental in the soul (it's the only one on the record), a bit like the Led Zeppelin III (from the same year), Mississippi Woman is pretty bluesy / country, Completely Free is the longest song (5.40 minutes) and the most crazy and original, Waiting For The Pope , What A Mess Again , But It's Allright or Generations Butt not bad ears ... Very bluesy, and especially totally heavy, Nadoris a treat of pure hard-rock families, fully English speaking despite the nationality (the band will try once to French for a single, I'm A Rock'n'Roller ). I said it in intro and I repeat it here in conclusion, Nador is of the caliber of the classics of hard-rock, as well as the first two Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie of Humble Pie, the first Black Sabbath or the Blue Cheer Vincebus Eruptum (not to mention the first Steppenwolf and ... River ... Open Your Bed by Johnny Hallyday). A slap, a top, one of the best French rock albums, simply. Rigorously essential for any normally constituted person who loves rock without borders. It's simple: listen to this record without knowing which band it is and nothing of its nationality, and you'll think you hear a British band at the Humble Pie / Led Zeppelin! They have so to speak, on thisNador of fire, nothing to envy them, except that Joe Leb, while singing super good, also does not have a voice to Steve Marriott or Robert Plant (not the same style). Credits

Bass – Jacques Grande Drums – Jacky Bitton Guitar – Marc Tobaly Lead Vocals – Jo Leb Tracklist

What A Mess Again 3:40 Waiting For The Pope 3:35 Nador 2:45 We Gonna Find The Way 4:50 Generations 3:15 Free Me 3:45 Completely Free 5:40 Mississipi Woman 3:15 But It's Allright 4:40 Les Variations "Take It Or Leave It"1973 Inside the opening cover * of the original Take It Or Leave It 33t, you could discover a note rather revancharde if bitter, signed by the hand of Sacha Reins, then one of the main feathers for the magazine Best **. According to him, the object that was presented would not only meet his audience but also be responsible for silencing everyone in the grincheux hostile press. Life was never a long calm river for the VARIATIONS, group subject to strong zones of turbulence, Nador was nevertheless an excellent first disc, propelled in the heavy wake of Zep, Purple or Sabb ' . After which, the group is pinned by the media, delivers hot performances on stage, spends his time on the road, leaves the singles but loses Joe Lebb went to Israel with his girlfriend. Since Nador and 1970 have appeared Master Of Reality, Made In Japan ... Led Zep IV especially. Joe Lebb returns in 1972 to participate in the first tour of the group in the United States. The stay overseas is then used to record a single (in French!) In Cincinnati: "I'm Just A Rock'n'Roller" ***. It's as beautiful as Bill Wyman's faultless syntax and it's going to hunt on Johnny's level scansion land. However, to say this without looking more closely would be to ignore a swing, a psyche groove that owes a lot to North African music. This single is a good pick, since it is not too far from the top of the rankings in France. In America several producers are on the line to take charge of the group, and it is Don Nix - almost unavoidable character - who wins the jackpot. The effect Nix is also quite clear: the sound tends more towards that of the Stones than that of the Zep. It's even blatant on "Silver Girl", produced as a blockbuster with female choruses and its superimposed instrumental layers. So we think about Alice COOPER, there is worse as a reference. Then comes "Help Me Marianne", with its irresistible rubbery riff, an atmosphere that would not deny the BLUE ÖYSTER CULT - tour group tour - some shots similar to those we hear in "Hot Rails To Hell" published this same year 1973. This song has everything great and probably deserved to become a classic. We have to wait for "Make You Mine" to hear an authentically aggressive title, but with a garage that is closer to the NEW YORK DOLLS - another road attendance - than DEEP PURPLE, Joe Lebb is unleashed like a death thirst, Depot, Tobaly takes the right notes. Follows "All I Want To Know", bluesy ballad with garlands sung by Jacky Bitton, more radio friendly you feel so frankly dispensable, except for who thinks it could make a hit. Fortunately "Take The Time To Live" comes to remind us that there is not only ZZ TOP in life, since the Variations are there, in full! Joe, Marc the superheroes supported by Jacky and Jacques, even before the advent of the Flying Dupont. On the second half of the disc, we find Jacky singing on a title as unpleasant as memorable, "Walk Right Down", soft rock with lots of girls mixed in the chorus. Frankly Joe sings much better than him, for proof "Rock'n'Roll Jet" goes up the atmosphere of several notches, at least it dismounts! Then, "I Need Somebody" is a powerful blues and rappers who invokes the English formations of the late 60's, it's the title that makes the most think of the first album, the solo of Tobaly is a moment of bravery and it remains solid all the time. After that, "If I Can Do It" is clearly pop while pulling towards R'n'B and Gospel, the sauce takes, Joe Lebb gives his full excess especially that the arrangements are chiadés, as always with this group. The other conclusion we make after reading the album is that the Mediterranean leg has been considerably erased compared to the previous work, the sound has had a clear "Americanized" effect. If the rendering is convincing, talent present, it sometimes seems to miss a dimension yet pregnant in the identity VARIATIONS, or at least the idea that is made of it. So, it was well understood in the preamble of this column that none had thought that Take It Or Leave IT, with its rather provocative title if it is put in context, would put the VARIATIONS on the track of the international glory. On his cover is depicted a raptor who has a woman naked in his claws to better let go bloody on his back ... Yes, I know, it's fine, of an exquisite taste even, Spinal Tap **** is probably not very far when we take the road ... The group him, will attach immediately to beat the iron, which meant then: continue the American adventure. The great success will never happen, but he did not (quite) say his last word. ....by... LONG JOHN SILVER .....~

Be careful, it's serious stuff. Here is a record recorded in the legendary Stax studios of Memphis, Tennessee, by French people of Moroccan origin singing in English. Frankly, long live the miscegenation! Those who dare to pretend otherwise are idiots! That being said, let's get to the heart of the matter. After many adventures, including the departure and return of the singer Jo Leb, the Variations finally publish a second album in 1973. That is four long years after "Nador", their splendid first studio effort, which you can read the chronicle here. First observation, the sound has nothing to do, more chrome and more pro, but much less warm. It is precisely for this reason that I prefer "Nador". But from "Silver Girl", things are very clear, the Variations will give this time in a hard-rock Southern trend; the Latin American cousins of Leonard Skinner are not far away. Marc Tobaly and his acolytes are once again quite worthy by offering us some beautiful Stonians rock, such as "Make You Mine" or "Rock 'n' Roll Jet", rhaaaaa pure moments of enjoyment! That's why "Take It or Leave It" remains one of the great moments of bravery of 70's French rock. A limited edition "vinyl replica" was recently published in cd, the sound is great, packaging very classy, and to top it off, it's full of bonuses. Including the 45t in French of "I'm just a rock'n'roller" , which proves once again that rocking in the language of Johnny is not an easy affair. ....~ Credits

Bass – Jacques Grande Drums, Percussion – Jacky Bitton Guitar – Marc Tobaly Vocals – Joe Leb* Tracklist

Silver Girl 3:35 Help Me Marianne 4:38 Make You Mine 3:59 All I Want To Know 3:20 Take The Time To Live 3:48 Walk Right Down 3:58 Rock N' Roll Jet 3:15 I Need Somebody 4:35 If I Can Do It 3:28 C'mon Joe 3:18

Les Variations "Moroccan Roll" 1974 In 1973 VARIATIONS set foot in the US, they are quickly signed by the label Buddah Records, publish on Moroccan Roll the year following the release of Take It Or Leave It. Two additional musicians, Maurice Meimoun, violinist and organist Jim Harris, are added to the recording. The band grew in size and was given some freedom, allowing them to co-produce the studio sessions. Quickly resentments between Joe Lebb and (mainly) Marc Tobaly will weaken the fragile balance that keeps the whole. In the end, Joe Leb is still quite absent on this third opus of Frenchies. Moroccan Roll contains two parts, quite distinct. The first, the longest, is spread over six titles, it is very rock'n'roll. The second, short of three titles, closes this uneven album, which however contains among the best moments of VARIATIONS. But leave a feeling of unfinished, almost mess. Too bad because the record is a return to the band's DNA, it's probably even his most representative album. The one where he dares to expose his North African roots, resulting in a well-balanced sound cocktail, located somewhere between the NEW YORK DOLLS and ASIAN DUB FONDATION. There is rock'n'roll intensity, big guitars on leaded rhythms but dancing and sinuous, adorned with themes of traditional music made in Morocco, Introducing: Maurice Meimoun and his violin. In addition, It is Jackie Bitton who went to debauch Maurice Meimoun, a musician violinist, composer / arranger Tunisian rather focused on the variety, whatever it is. Moroccan Roll begins naturally with his eponymous track, it is Jacky who sings, his energy compensates for a frustrated voice, the title is immediately supported by a theme that reproduces the kasbah on a feast day, we swear to hear the youyous. The guitars sound garage rock, the choirs reinforce the underlying glam side, the tone is given. Maurice Meimoun already has a preponderant part on the rendering, it is true on almost all the rest of the album. This has the merit of customizing a little more the style of VARIATIONS, to allow the group to support references that stick to the basques. The instrumental "Kasbah Tadla" directly installs the violinist in the center of the medina. The VARIATIONS did not have - certainly - the means of LED ZEPPELIN, where Page captured the emphasis reverberated naturally by the places where it recorded, the French opt for this title for a drier and direct sound, very live, raw. The piece is still impressive, the alliance of oriental sounds and rock garage brandished as a banner. "Did It", sung by Tobaly and Leb, is also a model of alliance, the power of the guitars coupled to a rhythmic section while groove, alternating moments of fury rock'n'roll and traditional ornaments Magrebines. Meimoun is more discreet on "Growing Stronger" at break breathtaking zeppelin, despite a riff connoted Trad, the song takes above all a big rock US look, to finish very heavy. What a great finale, by the way! It is impossible not to mention the DOORS when it sounds "Lord (Get Me Money)", the title goes really well, launched by the darbuka and a riff - again - well swarthy. Unfortunately he struggles to keep his unit, for the occasion the change of atmosphere in the middle falls a little flat. Ultimately, it may be that the most remarkable title of the first part of the disc is still the one that is devoid of violinist. The rhythms of "I Do not Know Why", however, are bewitching, like those used elsewhere, one is caught up in the swaying of the rhythm which owes much to that used in the corporal expression of the submediterranean dancers. This title, full of choruses, where the piano plays a crucial role, reproduces the energy of the WHO, it is one of the best of the VARIATIONS, the one where his firepower expresses itself best on record. we are caught in the swinging of the rhythm that owes much to that used in the corporal expression of the submediterranean dancers. This title, full of choruses, where the piano plays a crucial role, reproduces the energy of the WHO, it is one of the best of the VARIATIONS, the one where his firepower expresses itself best on record. we are caught in the swinging of the rhythm that owes much to that used in the corporal expression of the submediterranean dancers. This title, full of choruses, where the piano plays a crucial role, reproduces the energy of the WHO, it is one of the best of the VARIATIONS, the one where his firepower expresses itself best on record. Unfortunately, past all these good times, even if more or less successful, it turns out that Moroccan Roll proposes an end that prevents him from reaching the rank of album (really) convincing. Especially when you listen to "Sanglots", in penultimate position. This instrument is again a flower made in Mauritius Meimoun. Here asked in order to prolong the oriental mood, in acoustic mode this time, in a peaceful way. This filler (barely masked) sounds very kitsch, not rock'n'roll at all. The concern being that it is framed by two bluettes of / and sung by Jacky Bitton. "Leslie", to begin with, is nothing but a good big variety of soulful souls for molasses, remember that Jacky Bitton is not really the best singer in the world. Fortunately Tobaly's solo brings relief to coughs. Compared to "Leslie", "All I Want To Know", at the very end of the album, would look almost like a masterpiece. If only this title was already present on Take It Or Leave It, so we may wonder why it is there. The answer is to be found on the side of Buddah Records who imposed this song in the track-list. It is true that the album is short, that after all appears on this ballad the paw Don Nix, that sounded very Americana. So why not add to Moroccan Roll this final (too) consensual, where rococos mandolins take precedence over the southern Mediterranean exoticism? The answer is to be found on the side of Buddah Records who imposed this song in the track-list. It is true that the album is short, that after all appears on this ballad the paw Don Nix, that sounded very Americana. So why not add to Moroccan Roll this final (too) consensual, where rococos mandolins take precedence over the southern Mediterranean exoticism? The answer is to be found on the side of Buddah Records who imposed this song in the track-list. It is true that the album is short, that after all appears on this ballad the paw Don Nix, that sounded very Americana. So why not add to Moroccan Roll this final (too) consensual, where rococos mandolins take precedence over the southern Mediterranean exoticism? Of course Joe Leb would plant (again) the group, whose (other) members were willing to dock permanently in US territory, abandoning France. It even seems that the (already) veteran Maurice Meimoun would have particularly prized the rock'n'roll way of life. The VARIATIONS will continue their journey, (again) deprived of their original singer. Yet something seems to end for good with (and already in) Moroccan Roll, when the group has matured. Leaving aside any form of maturity: (mo) rock'n'roll! What else ?......by... LONG JOHN SILVER .....~ Tracklist Moroccan Roll 3:13 I Don't Know Why 3:15 Did It 3:29 Kasbah - Tadla 5:13 Growing Stronger 4:25 Lord (Give Me Money) 5:00 Leslie Lust 4:22 Sanglots (Tears) 2:40 All I Want To Know 3:50 Les Variations "Café De Paris" 1975 For those who have appreciated the first two albums of VARIATIONS and a large half of the third, listening to Café De Paris is a frank disappointment. Yet - despite a change in frontman become unavoidable (and despite a headlining at the Olympia in 1974, Lebb chooses - still! - to follow a girl, in Morocco this time) - the case is present - a priori - under excellent auspices. We are talking here about the cover of the album 1975, signed Guy Peellaert, a famous Belgian artist who has already designed Diamond Dogs by BOWIE and It's Only Rock'n'Roll for the ROLLING STONES in 1974. Another point of comparison with a high prestige reference: it makes no mention of the name of the band or the title of the album. It does not matter to you? * The arrival at the microphone of Robert Fitoussi is not without consequence on the music, this one is now clearly oriented towards the soft rock, the mainstream 70's pop. Admittedly, VARIATIONS would not be the first heavy blues group to drift on the powdery tracks of the AOR, the example of FLEETWOOD MAC is in the minds, except that it was done much more gradually for these last and is also not yet completed (by its success) at the time of Café de Paris, fourth and last opus of the French. Buddah Records sent the band back to the studio in late 1974, shortly after the release of Moroccan Roll, a hard-to-play record that was fishing for lack of consistency. This time, the production sessions were led by two men of confidence: Lewis Merenstein (Van MORRISON, Curtis MAYFIELD, MAMAS & The PAPAS) and Michael Wendroff a folk singer. The latter being here for everything related to the texts and their interpretation, VARIATIONS are frenchies, they have sometimes been criticized for not being always in focus on the English. As in the days when Don Nix worked on the production of Take It Or Leave It, we understand that the label followed the recordings and finalization of the record with great attention. However, The North African influences are clearly exposed here, contrary to what happened during the production of the 1973 opus. The active participation of Robert Meimoun in the writing of all the pieces is not foreign to this affirmation of the roots. Where what immediately leaps to the ears is Robert Fitoussi's high-pitched tone of voice that contrasts with Joe Lebb's gibberish tone. Fitoussi has a registry very close to that of Demis ROUSSOS, let us add that certain songs appearing on the record sound like the singles of APHRODITE's CHILDs and one will be able to get a pretty precise idea of the contents of Café de Paris. Of course, pop music has had some stir since the disappearance of Vangelis group. "Superman Superman", the single of the album, looks like ABBA devoid of feminine voices, "Berberian Wood" has a lot to do with Disco. When one thinks that the references evoked for the previous discs of the group are most often Led Zep, WHO or Stones, one measures the difference between this vintage and its elders. Of course, Moroccan Roll already revealed an appetite for the variety, but it remained largely confined. So, everything is not to throw to the nettles at the Café de Paris. It is difficult to find his little ones and it takes some effort to say that we listen well to the group that rocked Nador in 1970, which will (de facto) his most remarkable record. Moroccan Roll already revealed an appetite for the variety, but it remained largely confined. So, everything is not to throw to the nettles at the Café de Paris. It is difficult to find his little ones and it takes some effort to say that we listen well to the group that rocked Nador in 1970, which will (de facto) his most remarkable record. Moroccan Roll already revealed an appetite for the variety, but it remained largely confined. So, everything is not to throw to the nettles at the Café de Paris. It is difficult to find his little ones and it takes some effort to say that we listen well to the group that rocked Nador in 1970, which will (de facto) his most remarkable record. Forget the cumbersome "Sit Back Home Again" ballad and even more the tasteless "Maybe Forever", which also has the terrible gap to contain a few lines expressed in French, which support where it gets bent (laughing or laughing). pain, according to the mood): on the unfathomable mirth of the subject. From "I Do not Know Where She'll Go" we are on the ground in a variety-pop zone, the malaise creeps in, the end comes to deviate the trajectory, we hear (already) of the song in French - all this that there is more radio friendly (and neuneu) - yet recognize that this song is rather well written. The Arabic influences on the rhythmic and melodic frame are not without freshness, so we say that this change of direction is (perhaps) not so terrible. "Superman Superman" reveals its effectiveness, even if we think that it is - definitely - not possible that we are there. The strangest title of the ensemble, however, seems to be "It's All-Right" with amazing flower power hints, we swim in the molasses but, past the amazement linked to the androgynous voice of Fitoussi, let's recognize again that it is is a pretty catchy pop ballad. Even when the songs are sung by Bitton or Tobaly, it is hard to believe that we are on the lands of the Variations. "Come Now" has more bite than most titles here, it's a moment soul-rock as could contain the previous opus, it's also a good song. Nevertheless, the rendering is significantly watered down. "Everybody Got The Blues" demonstrates once again that Jacky Bitton does not have a remarkable voice, she recalls the songs performed (and signed) by the drummer on the album Take It Or Leave It. It is the instrumental "Shemoot (The Prayer)" which - finally - brings us closer to the group to which we have attached ourselves. Although it mainly acts as "Kasbah Tadia", a title of the opus 1974. What seems to be a repetition, an exercise in style, pass the cap in beauty. It is here that the band delivers its singularity, without resorting to the mirror larks (or sirens) mainstream. Café de Paris has something to be lost when you know the story since its debut, the mix mainstream / soft rock proto AOR and Mediterranean roots, all accompanied (all the same) with a zest of blues-rock, is Not to mention the group REDBONE, formation US, which put - at the same time - ahead its Indian origins. However, it is difficult to combine cats without disappointing fans of rock couillu while managing to attract the bulk of the public carried by radio programming. Café de Paris is in fact recaled to the rank of disestimés discs, however we must also admit that it is a notch below what we are entitled to expect from a confirmed group, even if unstable. The sauce does not take, that's all, The Variations leave the scene on an ambiguous note and especially very uneven. Café de Paris, however, has honorable rewards - the single "Superman Superman" climbs to 35th place on the US charts, the band plays in opening of KISS, AEROSMITH, QUEEN. The bad luck (which also sticks to them to the basques) returns however to point: where one sees the group forced to cancel an important service, obtained of struggle with the support of an established promoter, in opening of the Stones to Cincinnati. Robert Fitoussi needing emergency treatment. The musicians, weary, leave one after the other: Fitoussi, Jacques Grande and Maurice Meimoun. At the end of 1975, nothing remains. Yet the group will quickly re-talk about him in the Middle East. On the occasion of a single published in the enthusiasm of the peaceful rapprochement between Israel and Egypt. In 1977, Jac Hammer - an old man - composed the hymn "Shalom Salam Aleicum", the single is recorded by Richie HAVENS - former glory of Woodstock - accompanied for the occasion by Les VARIATIONS. Tobaly is also credited as co-producer. The song becomes No. 1 in the countries concerned. In 1978, Tobaly found Fitoussi (but also Wendroff) with whom he formed KING OF HEARTS, publishing an album that confirms the mainstream pop direction taken with Café de Paris. He will then make a tour on a record of French rock band TAURUS. Needless to say, all this is not indispensable. No more than the continuation of Fitoussi's career, which has met with worldwide success via the single "Words". Precision useful: it has opted for the pseudo fellow FR David, before conquering the Top 50. Tobaly and Lebb - the enemy brothers - will still find themselves on stage in 2006, the acrimonious exchanges of yesteryear - through the press - having been put aside, however, the event will not know next. Recall that the two have recorded - each on his side - only a (small) handful of singles under their only name. Since then, Tobaly has released in 2011 his "New Variations" on other boards, in the company of the soul singer Laura Mayne (NATIVE), again without continuation. The VARIATIONS have lived intensely their short adventure, making the band THE pioneer of French rock sung in English, managing to move - and rather well - on the lands of Uncle Sam. Few tricolor artists have been able to break through the Atlantic, they did it. With panache. making the group THE pioneer of French rock sung in English, managing to move - and rather well - on the lands of Uncle Sam. Few tricolor artists have been able to break through the Atlantic, they did. With panache. making the group THE pioneer of French rock sung in English, managing to move - and rather well - on the lands of Uncle Sam. Few tricolor artists have been able to break through the Atlantic, they did. With panache........by... LONG JOHN SILVER .....~ Credits

Backing Vocals – Michael Wendroff Bass – Jacques "Petit Pois" Grande* Guitar [Lead], Vocals – Marc Tobaly Keyboards, Vocals – Jim Morris (2) Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion – Jacky Bitton Lead Vocals, Guitar [Rhythm] – Robert Fitoussi Percussion [Accompagnement] – Jim Maeulen* Violin – Maurice Meimoun Tracklist

I Don't Know Where She'll Go 4:28 Sit Back Home Again 3:37 Superman Superman 3:37 Maybe Forever 3:50 Come Now 3:11 Berberian Wood 4:29 It's All-Right 3:12 Everybody Got The Blues (Song For A Groupie) 4:03 Shemoot (The Prayer) 2:52

Current members Laura Mayne – vocals (2012–) Marc Tobali – guitar (1966–1975 & 2012–) Franck Sitbon – keyboards (2012–) Philippe Balma – bass (2012–) Pierra Veuillot – drums (2012–)

Former members

Jo Philippe Lebb – vocals (1966–1973) Michel Chevalier – vocals (1971) Robert Fitoussi (aka F. R. David) – vocals (1973–1975) Maurice Meimoun – violin (1975) Jacques Micheli – guitar (1966) Jean-Pierre "Rolling" Azoulay – guitar (1966) Albritton McClain – guitar Jim Morris – keyboards (1974–1975) Guy de Baer – bass (1966) Jacques "Petit Pois" Grande – bass (1966–1975) Alain Suzan – bass (1972) ALAIN SUZAN NAISSANCE NICE 1945 CHANT BASS GROUP VARIATIONS GROUPE ALICE 1970 1972 Isaac "Jacky" Bitton – drums (1966–1975) Discography Nador (1969) Take It or Leave It (1973) Moroccan Roll (1974) Cafe De Paris (1975)

#Les Variations Nador #les variations #france heavy rock #france hard rock #france rock n roll #france heavy progressive #Les Variations Café De Paris #Les Variations Moroccan Roll #Les Variations Take It Or Leave It

Les Variations "Nador" 1969 + "Take It Or Leave It"1973 + "Moroccan Roll" 1974 + "Café De Paris" 1975 France -Moroccan Heavy Rock, Hard Rock,Rock n`Roll,Heavy Prog

Paris 1970

Bass – Jacques Grande Drums – Jacky Bitton Guitar – Marc Tobaly Lead Vocals – Jo Leb Tracklist

Bass – Jacques Grande Drums, Percussion – Jacky Bitton Guitar – Marc Tobaly Vocals – Joe Leb* Tracklist

Former members

#les variations

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