Vacation
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1970-74) - Collu Luigi -- lead guitar - Ignoti Sonny (RIP 2005) -- bass, vocals - Alain (Alan) Wery-- drums, percussion
line up 2 (1974-77) NEW - Georges Bona -- vocals NEW - Christian Deblanc -- keyboards - Collu Luigi -- lead guitar - Ignoti Sonny (RIP 2005) -- bass, vocals - Alain (Alan) Wery-- drums, percussion
line up 3 (1977-79) - Georges Bona -- vocals NEW - Alain Capitte -- drums, percussion (replaced Alain Wery) - Richard Karla -- guitar - Collu Luigi -- lead guitar NEW - Adriana Mouccilli -- keyboards (replaced Christian Deblanc) - Ignoti Sonny (RIP 2005) -- bass, vocals
line up 4 (1979-83) NEW - Tony Castellucci -- drums, percussion (replaced Alain Capitte) - Richard Karla (RIP 1991) -- guitar NEW - Steve Kengen -- vocals (replaced Georges Bona) - Collu Luigi -- lead guitar NEW - Claude Podgornick -- keyboards (replace Adrianna Mouccilli) - Ignoti Sonny (RIP 2005) -- bass, vocals
line up 5 (1983) NEW - Vincent Catala -- keyboards (replaced Claude Podgornick) NEW - Jean-Claude Manderlier -- lead guitar (replaced Collu Luigi) - Ignoti Sonny (RIP 2005) -- bass, vocals NEW - Alain (Alan) Wery-- drums, percussion (replaced Tony Castellucci)
line up 6 (1993-95) NEW - Alain Capitte -- drums, percussion NEW - Fabrice Carloni -- vocals NEW - Thierry Limette -- guitar, keyboards, backing vocals - Ignoti Sonny (RIP 2005) -- bass, vocals
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- none known
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Resurrection of Vacation Company: Majestic Catalog: 1020 Country/State: Charleroi, Belgium Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1 Price: $
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Charleroi-based heavy rock trio featuring lead guitarist Collu Luigi, singer/bassist Ignoti Sonny, and drummer Alain (Alan) Wery. At least two of the original members were apparently Italian expatriates, so technically I guess you could argue Vacation should be classified as a Italian band ...
In 1970 the band was featured on a Radio Télévision Belge (RTB) radio broadcast. Unable to draw the interest of a major record label, the trio went the self-financing route. Cleaned up tapes from the concert served as the basis for their debut album, though the raucous audience noises sound quite phony.. That exceedingly rare 1971 album\ "Resurrection of Vacation" underscored the band's affection for hard rock trios like Cream, Hendrix, and Mountain. Like those bands, these guys weren't particularly big on subtleties. Exemplified by tracks like 'Vacation', 'No War Any More' and 'Improvisation (Blues In a Chapel)', what you got hear was a largely instrumental collection of molten blues-rock. For his part Luigi spun out high volume waves of lead guitar, which much in the way of melody, or charm. Singer Sonny was no great shakes and while the vocals were in English, good luck figuring out what he was actually singing. The guy literally sounded like he was singing with marbles, or bile in his mouth. Also be forewarned the album's sonic quality wasn't anything great; full of abrupt edits, occasional drop out sections ('When the Someone Else Is Me'), and frequently sounding like the material had been recorded over a long distance phone line.
It's certainly a rare set though you'll have to decided whether that rarity is worth the cost. Originals will set you back couple of hundred dollars. Be aware that in 1992 the set was bootlegged in a limited pressing of 300 copies (catalog VAC-65423/1020).
"Resurrection
of Vacation" track listing: 1.) Vacation (instrumental) - 6:30 ratings: *** stars The opener 'Vacation' was way too long, but with occasional nods in the classical direction, proved a surprisingly enjoyable slice of hard rock with lead guitarist Luigi using the tune as a launching pad for his continual speed-of-light runs. 2.) No War Any More - rating: ** stars Judging by 'No War Any More' Sonny wasn't anything great in the vocal department. In fact, the combination of his shrill, squawking voice and the poor recording left the vocals all but unintelligible. lues In a Chapel) (instrumental) rating: ** stars 'Improvisation (Blues In a Chapel)' was a straightforward slice of electric blue tune, No idea if it was actually recorded in a chapel; though it sounded like it was recorded in a telephone booth. Simply kind of pedestrian and plodding to my ears. 4.) Now I Know ratings: *** stars A down and dirty boogie number, 'Now I Know' wasn't bad. Again, Sonny was no great shakes and his vocals remained unintelligible, but the tune had a nice funky edge and the absence of endless waves of guitar pyrotechnics (though there was still plenty of lead guitar). made for a nice change of pace. 5.) Try To Be Strong ratings: *** stars Opening up with Sonny's blood curdling vocals probably wasn't the smartest thing they could have done, but 'Try To be Strong' at least gave him a chance to showcase his prowess on bass. I never could figure out what the strange sounds were in the middle of the tune - a seal in extremis ?
(side
2) 'Never Mind' found the band taking a stab at a jazzy blues shuffle. if it sounded liked Sonny was even more incoherent that usual, it probably had something to do with the fact he was seemingly trying to scat sing. 2.) How Can I Go On This Way rating: ** stars Seemingly endless slice of heavy blues guitar .. 3.) On the Day I Die rating: * star Ouch !! Painful, slightly lysergic-tinged blues-rocker. Sonny sounded particularly bad on this one, though at the end of the song Luigi cut loose with some unexpectedly tight riffing. 4.)) Untitled rating: ** stars Well titled. 5.) When the Someone Else Is Me rating: **** stars Funny, but when I'd basically written these guys off as inconsequently, they turned in their best tune. Mind you, 'When the Someone Else Is Me' wasn't any great shakes, but it was built on a great little see-saw guitar riff and the song found Sonny turning in his best Hendrix impersonation. Again, it went on way too long and the extended jamming didn't do them any favors.
Undergoing a steady stream of personnel changes, the band continued to be popular on the Belgian club scene, but it wasn't until four years after their LP was released that they released anything new. In this case they reappeared with the first in a series of sporadic singles:
- 1975's 'I Can’t Bear Pain ' b/w 'I Wake Up' (Sandro catalog number SD 506) - 1977's 'Watch What You Do' b/w 'Don’t You See (Sandro catalog number SD 508) - 1979's 'Bad Holiday' b/w 'No Change' (Sandro catalog number SD 510) - 1983's 'I Believe It Could Be' b/w 'With My Blues (TLP catalog number V 1001)
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Long Vacation 1973-83 Company: Dexon Catalog: 1001 Country/State: Charleroi, Belgium Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1 Price: $
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Released by band manager Philippe-Henri Coppee (not sure if he had the band's cooperation), 1991's "Long Vacation 1973/83" was an eleven track compilation . In addition to most of the debut album the retorpsective includes some of the singles and some previously unreleased live material (a 1973 'Vacation' medley).
"Long Vacation 1973-83" tack listing 1.)
With My Blues (83) 11.) I Believe It Could Be |
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Sad Strange Man Company: Dexon Catalog: 4996 Country/State: Charleroi, Belgium Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1 Price: $
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Vacation's 1983 retrospective "Long Vacation 1973/83" saw renewed interest in the group which led singer/bassist Ignoti Sonny to start playing occasional concert dates. By 1993 he'd reformed the band with assistance from former drummer Alain Capitte, singer Fabrice Carloni, and multi-instrumentalist.
1993's "Sad Strange Man"
"Sad Strange Man" tack listing 1.)
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