There’s never a single stop sign for this next artist who has been championed by both Steve Hackett and Sting. Yes, the Sting from The Police. Of course I’m talking about Amsterdam-based French multi-instrumentalist Franck Carducci. An artist who has carried the forces between AOR, progressive rock, hard rock, and arena rock like a spark of electricity, waiting to be heard at the right moment, at the right place.
Since he had begun his solo career in 2010, he actually started performing in 20 different bands in various genres, followed by opening up for Steve Hackett, he was encouraged to embark as a solo artist. He has released six albums. One of which is latest album released by the Cherry Red sub-label Esoteric Antenna, home to Rosalie Cunningham, Squackett, Nick Beggs, and The Blackheart Orchestra to name a few.
That album is Sheeple. It is perhaps one of his most ambitious yet fiery releases Carducci has unleashed to prove to himself that the fire inside his heart is growing brighter and brighter each time the music carries this floating structure, but with a lot of wonder and uplifting momentum that is on his new album.
Mind you, I’m very new to Franck’s music, but let me just say that Sheeple isn’t just an amazing album, it just hits you in different cylinders to see what he will come up with next. Blaring into the fiery wonders of Genesis’ Peter Gabriel-era on ‘The Limits of Freedom’ with a fiery piano concerto introduction, he revs up the engine to get his motorcycle running as he goes into this late ‘70s, early 80s riff powder-keg and thumping drums, piano, and searching for the next kingdom that is waiting for us.
But its ‘Self-Righteousness’ which speaks volume as he prepares to hurtle through the cosmos with the jump to light-speed in this sonic voyage with rocking royalty, soaring organ solo’s, the spirit of Jon Lord and Keith Emerson are on this bad-boy, knowing Franck is feeling their spirits watching over him as we hear this blistering guitar improvisation going from metallic to wah-wah pedals galore! That’s how brilliant Franck really, really is!
Once we delve into the 10-minute epic ‘The Betrayal of Blue’ which tackles the pandemic that happened six years ago, and everyone was in lockdown during COVID-19, Franck pours his heart into the middle of this cabin fever-like texture which has people wanting to leave either their apartment or house and be free from all of the chaos and take massive walks or jogs during the pandemic.
Not only it is very uplifting, but mixing in those prog-orientated heavy riffs, cowbell (yes, cowbell ladies and gentlemen), blaring organ improvisations, you can cut the tension with a knife, not knowing what will happen next. The midsection goes in for the kill with this massive, tidal waving effect with galloping drum patterns, Franck setting the scene of what was going on when the world begins closing its doors during the middle of this crisis and it isn’t going to be one fancy picnic.
I can hear not only the sounds of Styx, but Phideaux Xavier’s arrangements that completely took me by surprise. I can imagine Franck was listening to Phideaux’s music from albums such as Snowtorch and Infernal for inspirations. That’s how incredible Franck was paying attention and doing his homework to hear bands beyond the big four from the Prog genre.
There are three parts of the ‘Sweet Cassandra’ movement. One is the acoustic-harmonica folky textures which have this Jon Anderson-sque boundary into the celestial sphere while the reprise features a flute improvisation and fingerpicking arrangements, nearly paying tribute to the introduction on Rush’s ‘Close to the Heart’ and the 2019 version is Carducci’s tip of the hat to Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything-era.
Franck’s inspiration with Heart’s Dreamboat Annie, using the double neck guitar and piano, speaks volume. It shows the power and beauty of the song about Greek mythology named the Princess of Troy. Cassandra, is the Trojan Princess in Greek mythology as the daughter of King Priam and Hecuba, she was later cursed by Apollo who foresees the future, but no one believed her. Her prediction was the fall of Troy and the danger of Helen.
Not only her warnings were predicted, but she was murdered by the hands of Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra. Meanwhile, over the outskirts in Greek mythology, we head back into the parallel universes of more epics, this time, clocking in at 13 minutes.
‘Love or Survive’ is as powerful to bring the story to an end with its Yes-like nod to the closing segment from ‘Starship Trooper’ where we hear this guitar solo, channeling not just the works of Steve Howe, but Alex Lifeson. It soars in the midsection as we can imagine ourselves in the middle of insane crisis, getting out, away from social media, streaming platform services, and being free by taking more massive walks until reality starts kicking in.
The mournful piano beauty sets up this proper farewell to childhood, friendships, and saying hello to the lonely world where its going to be filled with decay, paranoia, and the dystopian world where Orwell had envisioned with 1984. If you think its going to be pretty and rosy, think again. Franck has endured what will happen in the years to come in the future.
Despite the chaos and disorder Sheeple brings to the table, the album remains surprisingly approachable. While thematic accuracy is a fleeting target, Franck has unleashed a powerful and passionate release this year.
