Ẁurdah Ïtah - Magma

Ẁurdah Ïtah (Magma, 1974)

1. Malaẁëlëkaahm - 3:38
2. Bradïa da Zïmehn Iëgah - 2:18
3. Manëh Fur Da Zëss - 1:36
4. Fur Dïhhël Kobaïa - 4:55
5. Blüm Tendiwa - 3:29
6. Wohldünt Mem Dëwëlëss - 3:30
7. Waïnsaht - 2:30
8. Wlasïk Steuhn Kobaïa - 2:47
9. Sëhnntëht Dros Wurdah Süms - 3:25
10. C'est la Vie Qui les A Menés Là! - 4:58
11. Ek Sün Da Zëss - 2:17
12. De Zeuhl Ündazïr - 3:41

The second part of the trilogy that culminates in MDK, Ẁurdah Ïtah was originally released as a Christian Vander solo album, with Vander playing all pianos and keyboards in addition to his usual vocals and percussion, and only Magma-ites Jannick Top (bass guitar), Klaus Blasquiz (lead vocals), and Stella Vander (vocals) participating. Somehow, it served double duty as the soundtrack to the French avant-garde film Tristan et Iseult (how that worked out, I have no idea),but for all its bizarre identities, it truly is a Magma album, and an essential one at that.

Like MDK, the two sides of the record (1-6 and 7-12) form one 40-minute musical movement, with an intermission in track 6 (which would have been the midway point of the whole trilogy as well). The tone palate is more focused compared to MDK: only bass guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes, and various drums/percussion make up the instrumentation, and the number of singers is reduced to three. That doesn't mean the music is any less adventurous. Turbulent chants and rhythms mingle with more reflective arias, celebratory choruses, and the occasional brain-stretching experiment.

Rhythmic play is the key to this album. My favorite part might be the beginning of "Fur Dïhhël Kobaïa" when the music dies down to a shaker or some other hand percussion, then a solitary vocal with piano comes in, at first in time with the percussion, then slowly increasing in pace while the rhythm holds steady. When the vocal reaches the new tempo, the rhythm falls back in time, but its character is changed. The album is full of similar subtle intricacies in rhythm, harmony, and structure.

Based on the overall arc of the music and the tenor of the vocals, I feel like this album portrays a time of negotiation between the Kobaïans and the Earthlings. Perhaps a Kobaïan messenger or prophet is preaching like Jonah to the Ninevites, while the humans, dead to the beauty of Kobaïa's celestial music, make ready for war.  But of course, I'm making all that up, since the tale isn't meant to be literal, and it's all Greek to me anyway. I'm not making up the quality of the music, though. This impressive opus is filled with alien melodies, dazzling rhythms, elemental jazz, symphonic compositional structures, and masterfully placed musical cues to tie it to the other works in the trilogy. Not to be missed for those so inclined.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 reflective arias and celebratory choruses

Prince Otto - Robert Louis Stevenson

Prince Otto (Stevenson, 1885)

Stevenson's second novel Prince Otto followed the wildly successful Treasure Island. Though the plot boasts a little turbulence, it is a much more poetic, comic, and philosophical work. Mixing romance, political drama, character study, and humour, it follows the last few days of a small (fictional) German kingdom before the populace revolts against its ineffectual sovereign.

We first meet Otto when he's off on a little incognito excursion through his lands to hear what the people are saying about him. We learn quickly that they see him as an oblivious, pleasure-seeking blunderer whose wife and prime minister are misgoverning the country and having an affair behind his back.  He tries to regain control of his family and his kingdom, but true to character, he intends much more than he accomplishes, and he is only good for witty repartee. His honest desire to change struggles against his habitual self-effacement and self-doubt.

It's a testament to Stevenson's prose that this fairly simple, uneventful story still commands interest, and in several scenes, excitement. On the whole, though, I think the plot and characters, while rendered perfectly for what they are, do not offer as much as Stevenson's other books. The story arc is intended for some sort of redemption for Otto, if not as a prince then as a husband, but his self-abnegating qualities that led him into error are difficult to correct.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 ineffectual sovereigns

The Body-Snatcher and Other Stories - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Body-Snatcher and Other Stories (Stevenson)

More excellent examples of Stevenson's short story stylings.  In addition to "The Body-Snatcher", "The Sire de Maletroit's Door", and "Olalla", we encounter:

"The Pavilion on the Links" - Praised by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this tense, claustrophobic novella tells of two loners in love with the same woman who try to protect her criminal father from the Italian mafia. In a house on a barren beach riddled with quicksand, they await the arrival of their private boat, hoping it comes before the pursuing avengers close in.

"Markheim" - A dark Christmas story, equally inspired by Faust and Crime and Punishment, the title character wrestles with conflicting thoughts while committing a senseless crime.

"The Bottle Imp" - An ingenious twist on the genie legend, this fantasy story involves a magic bottle that grants infinite wishes to the owner with no consequences - unless the owner cannot sell the bottle to someone else before their time runs out...

"The Beach of Falesa" - Gritty realism and colonial greed play out in this novella of the South Seas. The narrator, an uneducated British trader, arrives at Falesa to manage his company's trading post, which has seen the sudden death of several of his predecessors.  Fake marriages, manipulation of the natives, and the absence of morality make this something of a precursor to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Weir of Hermiston - Unfinished at Stevenson's death (he was dictating Chapter 9 to his daughter-in-law when a stroke stopped him mid-sentence), this Scottish novel presents several striking, flawed characters as it examines family, rebellion, disappointment, and the love triangle. The projected plot would have incorporated some turbulent action and a dramatic legal dilemma as father tries son, but what we have are shards of sometimes brilliant, sometimes tedious character portraits. The tedium comes from page-long descriptions which hopefully would have been tightened, had he had the chance to finish and edit the work. Regardless, it is an intriguing first section that shows Stevenson at the height of his narrative art.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 pursuing avengers

The Merry Men and Other Stories - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Merry Men and Other Stories (Stevenson, 1887)

Stevenson's pithy prose works to good effect in the short story/novella format. The stories here deal with sin and retribution, family curses, unexpected good fortune, and stoic philosophy.

"The Merry Men" - A young man travels to see his distant uncle and cousin on an isolated island farm and to search for sunken treasure. However, he finds his uncle sorely changed by storms, shipwreck, and secret sin.

"The Treasure of Franchard" - An ex-doctor in a French country town adopts an orphan boy after talking with him and seeing in him the "child of his mind". Unlucky in business, untrustworthy with riches, the doctor finds that his impulsive act of love rewards him more than he could ever have predicted.

"The Body-Snatcher" - A medical student tasked with stocking the anatomy classroom becomes entangled in dark and unsavory deeds.

"Olalla" - A convalescing British soldier in Spain lodges with a strange family. Once cruel nobles in the land, the remaining scions of the line are almost feral, except for the beautiful, haunted daughter Olalla.

"Will O' The Mill" - Stevenson traces the quiet, introverted life of a country boy whose unorthodox philosophy and actions earn him a reputation for wisdom in the surrounding area. More a prose poem than a story, my only complaint is that it goes on a little too long. The conclusion is sufficiently moving, though. Perhaps the best touchstone here is Ecclesiastes.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 dark and unsavory deeds

The Dynamiter - Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson

The Dynamiter: More New Arabian Nights (Stevensons, 1885)

For the "sequel" to New Arabian Nights, Robert Louis Stevenson teamed with his wife Fanny, and the two created a fascinating, unique work. Through a series of stories within stories, couched within yet another framing story, the Stevensons deliver what might be the first work of terrorist fiction, deadly serious but leavened with humor.

The framing story: three young blokes down on their luck decide to follow the next adventure that comes their way, whatever it may be. One is made a fool of by a seeming damsel in distress; another rents rooms to an ominous tenant; and the third falls in love with a mysterious stranger. All three become entangled one way or another with a group of anarchists bent on overthrowing the government through terroristic acts against civilians, using an insidious new invention: dynamite.

The portions dealing with the actual plots of the anarchists are quite chilling. One of the episodes sees a bomber toting his precarious cargo in a suitcase across London. Prevented from leaving the bomb where he had originally planned, he desperately seeks a new target as the timer clicks down. Rather than dropping the bomb at random, he is determined to find a victim, even trying to leave his suitcase with a small child who is saved by her mother at the last minute from taking the "gift". The stories don't shy away from the truly evil intentions of the revolutionaries.

Thankfully, there is a healthy dose of humor, even if some of it is quite dark. One of the anarchists is a master at spinning wild tales about her past to hide her identity, while another is an "amateur professional" at bomb construction, whose attempts fail as often as they succeed. A third, the bomb mule, constantly complains about medical ailments to mask his uneasiness at carting dynamite around town. The connected stories provide a fascinating look at a dark chapter of England's history, and at the murky beginnings of a new breed of modern evil.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 insidious new inventions

New Arabian Nights - Robert Louis Stevenson

New Arabian Nights (Stevenson, 1882)

Stevenson's first published fiction, New Arabian Nights collects two story cycles (The Suicide Club and The Rajah's Diamond), plus a couple other unrelated short stories. The story cycles involve a character called Prince Florizel of Bohemia, who is a precursor to Sherlock Holmes in some degree, but the New Arabian Nights contain more suspense than mystery.

The three stories that make up The Suicide Club exemplify both the strengths and weaknesses of Stevenson's unique approach. Each has a clever premise and each is well executed, but the stories almost seem like glimpses into a larger unwritten tale that would have been much better.  The idea of the Suicide Club alone could have made a full-fledged suspense classic. The four stories in The Rajah's Diamond hang together more comfortably and give a fuller picture of the complete story underlying each individual episode. Since it's about the trouble caused by the theft of a priceless diamond, it incorporates a bit of humor as well.

The seven stories in the New Arabian Nights form the bulk of the volume, but the two additional stories are not to be missed.  "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" puts a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time, while "Providence and the Guitar" is a hilarious, heartfelt story about an itinerant musician couple's exceedingly harsh reception at a small town. It includes a realistic reflection on married love, especially when the husband is an artist instead of a reliable breadwinner.

Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 unwritten suspense classics

Kidnapped and Catriona - Robert Louis Stevenson

Kidnapped and Catriona (Stevenson, 1886 & 1893)

Two very different books, but each with an entrancing tale to tell and a healthy dose of action. Kidnapped, the more famous of the two, chronicles David Balfour's adventures on sea and across Scotland as he tries to reclaim his inheritance from a treacherous uncle. The sequel, Catriona, sees David entangled in a corrupt Scottish legal system and falling in love with the daughter of a Highland scoundrel.

These novels were very personal to Stevenson (one of his family names is Balfour), and in them he tried to pour all the art of his storytelling, plus all the authentic Scots dialogue he could muster.  The Scots dialogue is what really hampers these stories and makes them inaccessible to all but the doggedly devoted. After awhile, it does start to get a little more natural, and a bit entrancing, but it takes work. Make sure your edition has a glossary in the back - muckle guid will't do ye.

Kidnapped is chock full of colorful characters and incidents - the aforementioned treacherous uncle, drunken slave traders, Scottish feuds, and the unlikely friendship between David and the bold Highland rebel Alan Breck Stewart. Set in the 1750s, shortly after the Scottish Jacobite rebellion, a lot of the action relates to (or is taken right out of) history, and Alan and David must flee from peril to peril through an oppressed and brutal country.  Perhaps the best scene is David's sojourn on the tide island after the shipwreck - a grim survival story intertwines with philosophy to present a striking picture of the deadly trap ignorance can become.

As good as Kidnapped is, it suffers from an abrupt ending that leaves poor Alan hiding in the woods. Catriona picks up right where Kidnapped left off, but almost immediately marks itself as a different book entirely, more concerned with the dangers of civilized Edinburgh than the wild Highlands. As David seeks to help Alan escape to France and provide eyewitness testimony to clear the name of Alan's relative, he finds himself once again in danger, but this time from people (including the crown's officials) who would suppress his evidence. In the midst of all this, David meets Catriona, a beautiful Highland girl seeking her father's release. Their story is simple, honest, and refreshing, with the perfect balance of romantic tension, youthful misunderstandings, and moments of pure beauty that bloom into lifelong love. The second half of the book is one of the most perfectly written love stories around, in my opinion. Highly recommended.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 bold Highland rebels