Marc Moulin - Boxof (2009)

This posthumous release by Blue Note Belgium is a very fine overview of countryman and international musical auteur Marc Moulin's career. These 45 tracks spread over three compact discs showcase Moulin's music from his days with the progressive jazz-funk-oriented Placebo in the early to mid-'70s to his later dancefloor hits and the creation of what is ironically known throughout Europe as "St. Germain-style house music" in the '80s and '90s, to his move into ambient music producer (his remix of Hooverphonic's "The World Is Mine" is here), and finally to the electronic clubjazz of the albums Sam Suffy and I Am You. Included in this massive presentation are 15 previously unreleased cuts that include demos, alternate mixes, and even an unissued stellar cover of Brigitte Fontaine's "Comme à la radio," with his deep, rich spoken voice (think Leonard Cohen speaking French) amid a rumbling bassline à la "Pump Up the Volume" and a tight, muted horn and wind section with analog synths. While there is a wealth of material here, there are a couple of glaring omissions that keep this set from being a ultimate presentation of Moulin's work. The first is the lack of even a single selection by Telex, the pioneering electro-pop group Moulin founded with Dan Lacksman and Michael Moers -- indeed, the very group whose hit singles brought him to the mass European public's ears. A lesser complaint, but one no less valid, is that there isn't any material here by his earliest avant rock band, Aksak Maboul, who issued two terrific albums, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine in 1977 and Un Peu de l'Ame des Bandits in 1980. As it stands, Box Of may be the only serious collection of his work in existence, but it remains a detailed sketch rather than a definitive work. ~ Thom Jurek