Fugu, Vol. 1 (Remastered Edition)

The valiant orchestral pop sound of the mid-'90s faded for no reason. Somehow, the ambitious scene just vanished, like a brief, bright comet. So bless Nancy, France's writer/arranger Mehdi Zannad for providing some mouth-to-mouth to the ailing, multi-faceted, layered form with his Fugu (a risky Japanese fish dish). It took 29 Frenchmen and Frenchwomen to stir in the soaring, deep spices transporting these wet, appetizing pop songs with light, zesty flavors. Strong, strident piano is the lead ingredient on the main pop prize, "The Best of Us," as strings, guitar, brushed drums, horns, and ultimately gamboling flutes and trombones caper and circle each other, until a cello can make it a triangle. Regal trumpets blare matter of factly through "Oua Oua" and "Monocorde." All this is typical of an ear-friendly tour de force where mellifluous little tunes and trillings aren't engulfed by the tasteful orchestral elements, but are transformed instead. Singing in perfect English (with one exception), Zannad's delicate but smooth, boyish voice blends with Jerome Didelot in exquisite harmonies that sound incredibly like the Cyrkle. Most of all, with all the harpsichord, bells, deep string flourishes, high-voiced harmonies, and "buh-buh-bum-bum" breakouts that flash through so many of his songs, Zannad is definitely the latest precocious prodigy to pay obeisance at the tabernacle of the Beach Boys' 1966-1972 work — though, outside of "Angel Hair With Golden Hair," this is more 20/20, Friends, and Sunflower than Pet Sounds and Smile. It's that summer-night sweep in the xylophone chimes and four-part vocals that complement the base of violin, keyboard, bass, and guitars so well, and make one dare speaketh the now-vaunted Wilson name. Fugu 1 is the freshest statement of the form since Eric Matthews' delicious pair, It's Heavy in Here and The Lateness of the Hour.