Progquebec

Pollen's sole LP from 1976 is simply the best progressive rock album that came out of Quebec in the '70s. More progressive than Harmonium or Octobre, but a lot less derivative than Morse Code, the group recorded only six songs, but they are strong enough to stand among the very classics of the genre. Led by Jacques Tom Rivest's passionate (though not overtly theatrical) singing, the group's music was clearly shaped from the combined influences of Genesis, Yes, and Gentle Giant, with a particular emphasis on the contrapuntal keyboard style of the latter. And yet, if the results sound like typical British prog, they also have a distinctive Quebecois quality. Drummer Sylvain Coutu, guitarist Richard Lemoyne, and keyboardist Claude Lemay (who would later make a fortune as Celine Dion's bandleader) were all highly talented musicians and sensible arrangers…

This is one of ProgQuébec's most treasurable finds. Les Porches Live was recorded some time in 1974 or 1975. Sound balance is not perfect, but sound quality is very good. The group, still a six-piece, probably performed this set before the studio sessions for Les Porches, as some pieces have not yet achieved their final stage. The bulk of the set is taken up by "Les Aventures de Saxinette et Clarophone" and "Les Porches de Notre-Dame," the two epic suites that would end up on the album. There are significant differences in the arrangements, and not only because of the absence of the strings section and of guest singer/trumpeter Raôul Duguay. In particular, "Les Porches de Notre-Dame" sounds a lot more dynamic and holds much better as a unified whole than on the 1975 LP. From their debut effort, Maneige perform "Galerie III" and "La Grosse Torche"…

Michel McLean (guitar, ex-Les Karrik) and Pierre Moreau write most of the music for L'Engoulevent, and the core band is completed by Francoise Turcotte (violin) and Russel Cagnon (cello). They are aided by a number of musicians from Conventum, as well as McLean's old Les Karrik cohort Claude LaFrance on one track. Their first album was entitled "L'Ile Ou Vivent Les Loups", and was released on the Le Tamanour label in 1977. Roughly half the tracks are instrumental, and the vocal tracks are done in a folk style but are not traditional pieces. Perhaps because half the core band is employed on string instruments, there is both an exquisite beauty and contrapuntal richness to much of the music. There can sometimes be three semi-independent, but mutually supportive, harmonic lines going at once…

Brégent was formed around two brothers, vocalist Jacques and keyboardist Michel-Georges Brégent, with a backing band of guitar, bass, drums/percussion and two saxophone players.
After the formation and dissipation of Dionne Brégent, the Brégent brothers got back together for “Partir pour Ailleurs” (1979). Vincent Dionne is enlisted here on percussion. With the exception of one track from 1977, all music was written between 1970 and 1972. Once more, many of the lyrics are from poets such as Léo Ferré, but a good number are written by Félix Leclerc, a popular singer in Quebec during the 70s. The album was not recorded until 1978; the reason for it being seven years in the making remains a mystery. The music is more rock-oriented, even funky at times…

La Marche des Hommes was released after a three-year hiatus and presented a completely revamped Morse Code. All lyrics are in French and the music is firmly anchored to the British progressive rock bandwagon. Leader Christian Simard wrote most of the music and the group relied on poet Chantal Dussault for words. The topics were kept universal and humanitarian ("La Marche des Hommes" translates to The Walk of Men). The title track stands out: complex like a premium Yes suite, it attempted (and succeeded in) summarizing all the possibilities and talents of the group into one 11-minute song. The utopian "Le Pays d'Or" (The Land of Gold) is strongly influenced by French group Ange, Simard finding the right emotive inflections in Christian Décamps' register…

Vos Voisins (Your Neighbours) was an early prog rock band from Québec, Canada that released a single album in 1971 while much of the Rock Progressif Québécois was still caught up in the heavy psychedelic haze period and had yet to blossom. Though their album reflects the heavy guitar rock and organ of the day, there are gentler piano songs, too.
Keyboardist J Perron and drummer P Ringuet had worked together with local celebrities and then with Les Enzymes (L Forestier and Y Deschamps) before hooking up with Guitarist Vallieres and bassist Parenteau and making Vos Voisins. The group made a huge scandal with the releases of their sole album with its artwork depicting the scandal paper Allo Police (one of the trashiest ever "newspaper" to ever exist on Earth) and their album had to be taken away from the record shelves after a week or so, after lawsuits…

Franck Dervieux was the keyboardist of Jean Pierre Ferland, one of Quebec's best known singers. Dervieux became ill with cancer and after regaining his strength, he released an album called "Dimension M" in 1972, in which his life's philosophy is aptly, yet abstractly, described on the insert. The band comprised Yves Laferrière (bass), Christiane Robichaud (vocals), Michel Robidoux (guitar), and Christian Saint-Roch (drums) who would all go on to form Contraction. Also present during sessions was Michel Séguin (percussion), who later formed Toubabou.
Dervieux dedicates the album to his 3 doctors from Sherbrooke, who he says on the insert 'preserved' him. Indeed they saved him just long enough to produce what is undoubtedly one of the finest progressive music LPs to have emerged from Quebec…

Self-taught guitarist that played a few years on the local Quebec scene in various line-ups, sharing stages with Octobre, Maneige, etc. Jacques Blais became one of Quebec's best guitarists (along with Frank Marino) and his reputation grew to the point of playing prestigious shows without having recorded an album (yet). Late 74, despite having his own and upon hearing Contraction's second album La Bourse Ou La vie, he asked the group's bassist Yves Laferrière to produce his first album, and soon enough most of the band was backing Blais, not only in the studio, but in the next few months' following its release in 1975. Contraction's influence is all over the music. Nonetheless, all writing credits are given to Blais, who plays acoustic and electric guitar in addition to singing. Roughly half the cuts are instrumental, and it is these that shine in particular through their gorgeous melodies and arrangements, rather than outright virtuosity…

Maneige's first album remains their most daring and their best, the second of these judgments not valid only as the consequence of the first. Yes, the music pushed more toward free improv passages (in "Le Rafiot") and clever dissonances, but these are well wrapped in good melodies elsewhere and never feel gratuitous. No matter how mainstream the group would later attempt to be, the musicians rarely topped the quality of the writing found on this LP. It's tight, rich, and varied, with luscious instrumentation. The production is also excellent, each instrument (close to a dozen at times and mainly acoustic) clearly defined and beautifully recorded. The first side is filled with the 21-minute epic "Le Rafiot" (a decrepit boat), an instrumental tour de force…

Ni Vent… Ni Nouvelle (No Wind… No News) is Maneige's first record after the departure of Jérôme Langlois. Although a transitional album in many aspects, it nevertheless clearly indicated the group's new direction. Exit the lush acoustic instrumentations, the music is now mostly electric, with the electric guitar and electric piano taking center stage, but mallet percussion remains an important part of the melodic and harmonic content. Exit the long, intricate suites: the pieces are all short (under six minutes), focused, and driven by catchy melodies. The difference between Ni Vent… Ni Nouvelle and the albums that came after it is that this time, the music works very well. It keeps much of the complexity the group distilled from Gentle Giant (see "La Fin de l'Histoire" or "Le Gros Roux"), but loses a certain pomposity. The FM radio compromises found in Libre Service-Self Service and the clinical sound of the more jazz-rock albums have yet to appear, leaving the music warm, smiley, and inviting.