Party in Lyceum's Toilets

Untitled

Party In Lyceum's Toilets is the second album by the music project Awaken, released in 2001. This double CD features original songs (volume 1) and covers (volume 2).

History

While its predecessor, Tales Of Acid Ice Cream, was completed in one studio only, Party In Lyceum's Toilets was recorded on a portable studio that was brought along to meet several musicians in Belgium and France. The first takes come from 1999, as the album was recorded rather slowly.

Controversy

Despite his efforts to introduce the new Awaken as a band, leader Gilles Snowcat fails, as the booklet details show that the quartet hardly plays together on more than 6 of the 41 tracks. The main band is then dubbed by 12 additional musicians. In some songs Snowcat plays alone or only with guest musicians, which caused anger from the main singer and the lead guitarist. Apart from the keyboardist, none of the musicians had played on the previous album Tales Of Acid Ice Cream.

Trivia

• The album was due to be released in September 2000, then as more songs were added it was postponed to January 2001 but then technical problems made its actual release happen on Valentine Day.
• Being influenced by the 33 rpm era, Awaken divided the two cds into virtual sides. As a tribute to Earth Wind & Fire, each "side" of the volume 1 starts with a short piece as interlude, except the side 4 (for timing reasons).
• The sides 1 and 2 were dedicated to regular songs, side 3 to more experimental pieces and side 4 to early Awaken songs from 1988 but recorded properly in 2000.
• The song "Bonnie Parker Rêve" was written by a French composer whose family name was the same as Snowcat's first name, which induced some confusion from listeners. It is the only original Awaken song on this album that doesn't feature Gilles Snowcat in the writing credit.
• The song "Four Dreams Suite" starts with the noise of a Porsche 911's engine and ends with musical bits recorded in 1988. The song itself is a new take from 2000, since no studio version had been recorded before.
• The CD2 is only made of covers, some of them being interludes and into a conceptual shape named "Dark Dream Opera".

Track Listing CD 1 (original songs)

• side 1

1. Interlude: Misty Conclusion
2. I'll Disagree
3. Cold As My Heart
4. Carla's Dream
5. Neons Of Lyceum's Toilets

• side 2

1. Interlude: The True Story Of Maïté D.H.
2. Down The Drain
3. Dead In A Subway
4. Cutting My Loved One
5. Spleen Fourteen

• side 3

1. Interlude: Ellen's Orange Room
2. Lycée Nase (featuring 1030)
3. Bonnie Parker Rêve (featuring Hervé Gilles)
4. Britney And Barry

• side 4

1. Electric Time
2. Four Dreams Suite: i. Günz (a) Overture ; b) Over The 'A' ; c) Nine Elements Of Life) ii. Polygonal Mirror iii. Rising Forest iv. The Test v. Sweet Wave Of Ice Cream vi. Out Of The Flowerwall vii. Tygersmile viii. Interlude 6 ix. Sandrine x. 8888 xi. Subliminal Mountain xii. The World Where Bears Never Lock The Door xiii. Cucumber Phone xiv. Picture From An April's Dream xv. Lady S xvi. The Last Escape Of Lady S xvii. Dark Spring xviii. Four Dreams Epilogue

Track Listing CD 2 (covers)

• side 1

1. One Caress (cover from Depeche Mode)
2. Eesom (cover from Quincy Jones)
3. Send My Body Home (cover from Dick Annegarn)
4. One Thing (cover from Neil Young) / Best Kept Lies (cover from Cold Chisel

• side 2

1. L.A. Is My Lady (cover from Frank Sinatra)
2. Run Out Of Time (cover from Genesis)
3. You're Really Out Of Line (cover from Rufus) / Golden Age Dreams (cover from Vanilla Fudge) / I'm Gonna Love You (cover from Peter Criss) / Heart Of Me (cover from Cerrone)

• side 3

1. Nothing Else Matters (cover from Metallica)
2. Chrysalide (cover from Patrick Juvet) / Open The Kingdom (cover from Philip Glass) / The Dance (cover from Uriah Heep)
3. Sweet Thing (cover from David Bowie)

• side 4 : a dark dream opera in 12 acts

1. Koyaanisqatsi (cover from Philip Glass) / Shandi (cover from KISS) / This Is Love (cover from Tony Banks)
2. Interlude: Clouds And Rain (cover from Gillan & Glover)
3. In Search Of England (cover from Barclay James Harvest)
4. Tyger (cover from Tangerine Dream) / Everybody (cover from Jacksons)
5. Sweet Dream Machine / Come Into My Life / Love I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good (covers from Supremes)
6. Something I Should Have Known (cover from Matthew Fisher)
7. Taking It Back (cover from Toto)
8. Interlude: Jazzy (cover from Renaud Lhoest)
9. Young Girls (cover from Sparks)
10. Interlude: (Theme) Once Upon A Time (cover from Donna Summer)
11. Only The Fool Survives (cover from Donna Summer)
12. Hearts To Heart / Moonwalk (covers from Earth Wind & Fire)
13. Here Today (cover from Paul McCartney)
14. The Candidate (cover from Al Stewart)
15. Until... (cover from Bee Gees)

Musicians

• Lionel Meessen : voice
• Cedric Hamelrijck : guitar, add. drummachine
• Julie 'Cunégonde' Absil : voice
• Gilles Snowcat : keyboards, machines, bass guitar, voice, additional acoustic guitar, drumprogramming, tapes

Guest musicians

• Carla : dream voice
• Fabien Remblier : voice, bass guitar
• Paul G : guitar, voice
• Socre : rap voice
• Patrick Laplagne : guitar
• Mike Wolf : guitar
• Orely : voice
• Anna-Maria : voice
• Evelyne : voice
• Hervé Gilles : keyboards and programming
• Laetitia Van der Vennet : spoken voice
• Floris Van der Vennet : spoken voice

Design

Gilles Snowcat, Awaken, Patrick Laplagne, 1030 (Socre), Peter Clasen.

Availability

Online . Catalog number : awalp-002

Outtakes

Three songs had been completely recorded but finally dumped  :

• Dream Shapes On A Night Movie : a progressive dance track.
• Interlude : Still Today / I'm 9 : an interlude that was supposed to open the side 4 of CD1, but rejected for timing reasons.
• Electric Time : an alternate version, played and sung by Snowcat only, that was rejected to make place for a totally different take played by the whole group.

Other songs have been worked but never fully recorded : a cover version of Marillion's "The Party" and Yes' "Big Generator" being on the list. Other Awaken songs were planned to appear but not chosen on the final list and not even recorded at all. Most of the tapes have been deleted, which means a future remix without the songs fading out has become impossible to do.

Reviews and references

• Stay On Top
• Universal Wheels
• Gibraltar Encyclopedia
• Forces Paralleles
• Prog Resiste
• Bee Gees World : mention of AWAKEN's covers of the Bee Gees' "Until..."

External links

• AWAKEN's official site.
• Fabien Remblier's official site.
• John Sellekaers' official site (mastering).