ALMANACH

More good stuff from Yacoub and DeCourson as they keep on "pillaging" the french folklore to bring out the best and not-so-well known songs that come from the past centuries . I have neard people make a comparison to the early Gryphon , but I strongly disagree as Gryphon made pre-renaissance or medieval music and Malicorne's music comes from much later in Human Musical History . Also that Gryphon will eventually turn to rock as Malicorne will stay true to themselves. Ecolier Assassin and Tristes Noces are of interest for progheads. Note that some of the tracks on this album have been released on other studio albums , making this a rather strange mix of new and old numbers. This one and Quintessence cannot be considered as best of .

A few years back, some of my family visited the Breton region of France. I casually mentioned to them to keep an eye out for the Breton band MALICORNE, thinking that they would be impossible to find. But, as luck would have it, many of the older locals were still familiar with the band, and they quickly recommended "Almanach" as a perfect place to start. This 1976 album is not 100% "prog rock", but it is of interest to prog collectors who also enjoy European folk, acoustic JETHRO TULL, The POGUES, and GRYPHON (progressive folk in general). The music is 90% acoustic, and done using a combination of violin, viola, mandola, dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, krumhorn, and some percussion. The "electric" portion of the band consists of the bassist, Moog synth, some electric guitar, and an electric dulcimer. Overall, this is some beautiful music.

Malicorne is my favourite folk collective and Almanach is their best album. It is a concept album from 1976 where each of the 12 songs represents a month of the year. Hence 'Almanach' which means calendar in English. Track 13 was not on the original album. (However we have something called a 13th month here in Belgium. It's an extra month of pay you get at the end of the year without having to work for it! No joke, we're lucky bastards :)

Anyway, on Almanach, Malicorne's French folk is at its most intense and melancholic. The Lebanese/French singer Gabriel Yacoub is the focal point. His slightly nasal plaintive voice, rich guitar chords, together with the harmonies delivered by the entire band, are Malicorne's main point of attraction. The wonderful arrangements of the mostly traditional songs hasn't aged a bit in the 33 years since this album was released.

A few favorite months to wet your appetite:

After a short 'a capella' welcome to the new year, they start off with the excellent Quand J'étais Chez Mon Père. A song that will sure entice prog folk lovers because of it's strange time signature.

Les Tristes Noces is the second highpoint, a song about a wedding (Noces) that, how shall I put it, doesn't end all that well. Hence sad (Triste). I'm not sure I understand the lyrics entirely correct. They're in a very old and weird type of French. (Probably Canadian ;). So what happens is that the beautiful bride drops dead during the opening dance of the wedding and the groom grabs a knife and stabs himself to death. Quite a scene!

Even amidst all the superb tracks that surround it, Voici La Saint Jean stands out as the most intensive track on the entire album. Its stark rhythm with complex time signature should win you over in no time. If you have enjoyed The Hazards of Love from the Decemberists you simply must seek this out. Or I'll be very angry if you don't :-)

Malicorne don't use a classic rock drum kit so don't expect the Fairport Convention approach. Malicorne sounds entirely different: mainly acoustic, melancholic and French of course. Quand Je Menai Mes Chevaux Boire is a good example. It's a ballad soaked in sweeping melancoly.

Ecolier Assassin (Murderer Apprentice) is Malicorne's best song ever and the first song you should check out next to Voici La Saint Jean. It's a thrilling story about a young man who is asked by his mother to murder his girlfriend, but after he did so and shows mom the heart, she doesn't even believe him and says it's just the heart of a sheep. Nice song material. "Ils sont fous ces Bretons!"

Given the popularity of The Decemberist these days, it might be a good time to explore this influential band that revitalised folk music in the 70's and made it compelling for rock audiences. This is widely referred to as their best studio album and I couldn't agree more.

While I may have trouble appreciating this French Folk band, this particular album went gold for them in their own country. So yes they gained some popularity with their take on traditional music. Male and female vocals with lots of acoustic guitar and violin is what is served here.

The first track is a short intro of male and female vocals while the native sounding drums beat slowly. "Quand J'Etais Chez Mon Pere" continues with the male and female vocals while the guitar helps out. Violin before 1 1/2 minutes with male vocals only. "Margot" is a short multi- vocal track. "Les Tristes Noces" is the first song that I really enjoy, especially when the tempo picks up before 2 minutes when the violin joins in. My favourite though is "Voice La Saint Jean" with the great sounding guitar along with vocals and violin.

"Le Luneaux" sounds excellent early as we get this pastoral mood with guitar. Female vocals follow. "Brance De La Haie" is more upbeat and brighter. It's interesting how melancholic this album is. That may have to do with the abundance of reserved vocals and violin.

So a good album that I wish I liked better, but then again the Folk-Prog genre is very hit and miss for me, mostly the latter.

When approaching decades old material heard for the first time, one must resist the temptation to compare it to those who came after but were known first. Also, although an album's present appeal is what counts most, one must also factor in its influence and ingenuity at the time. In the case of MALICORNE's "breakthrough" third album, all of these aspects are brought to bear. Gabriel and Marie Yacoub advanced the Breton prog folk cause with their precise and uniquely dour medieval style, but they also sound like they were listening to STEELEYE SPAN's "Parcel of Rogues" while stoned, and are still in an altered state today.

Yes indeed this is Brittany's answer to that Steeleye classic which appeared a couple of years earlier, from the herky jerky guitars, violins, a cappella male and female voices to the dirge like rhythms, minimal drums and profound respect for the living and evolving tradition. And while its epic tracks are the highlights - particularly the ponderous "Ecolier Assassin", the eerie "Le Luneux" and the Allison Gross-like closer "La fiancee du timbalier", MALICORNE conjures more atmosphere than a Shakespearean witch. Even if the overall musical mood is considerably more morose than that of Steeleye (and as a result more consistent with the ominous lyrics), and a bit more so than I would like, they do loosen the corset for the GRYPHON like "Branle de la Haie".

Lest you leave with the impression that Yacoub's longstanding project was nothing but a very good rehash of someone else's pet project, may I first say that they managed to forge a clear identity with this, their third disk, and inspired many artists to come, including many from my native Quebec - GAROLOU for instance - where I know they toured at least once. While it might be harder for a hardened fan of 1970s folk rock to enthusiastically endorse MALICORNE on first listen, this disk belongs in everyone's almanac of significant progressive folk music.

A vocals-dominated folk band from France that uses some electrified instruments in their arrangements. Similar to the French-Canadian band CONVENTUM. This is a band totally new to me--and, unfortunately, I decided to start with their most highly regarded album (on ProgArchives). Apparently band founders Gabriel and Marie had worked with Alan Stivell before striking out on their own.

1. "Salut à La Compagnie" (0:55) choral vocals with bass drum. They sound tired--as if it's well past midnight and the wine has run out. (4.333/5)

2. "Quand J'étais Chez Mon Père" (3:44) layered vocals with simple stringed accompaniment (electric bass, acoustic guitar, violin, mandolin). Rather one-dimensional and monotonous. The additional instruments in the final minute are nice. (8.375/10)

3. "Margot" (0:59) an all-male start gives a different feel and sound but then the female voices join in and spread the harmonies out nicely. (4.5/5)

4. "Les Tristes Noces" (7:45) solo male voice opens this before single female joins in the second half of the opening minute. Instruments anciens and more voices join in around the one-minute mark as the train tries to gain momentum. By 1:37 things are finally rolling with bass and violin showing the movement. Lone male vocalist takes the singing over, weaving his way between/among the bass and violin. All stop at 4:10 for shaker bells and what sounds like a processional dancing through. When voice, violin and bass return they sound funereal--really somber and sad. (13.5/15)

5. "Voici Venir Le Joli Mai" (0:24) sounds like a Xmas carol sung by tired chorus.

6. "Voici La Saint-Jean (ronde)" (3:13) electrified instrumentation and syncopated song structure give this one a bit of a 20th Century sound and feel. I like the prominent role female vocalist Marie Yacoob is given on this song. Plus, the vocal arrangement (and its sound engineering) is very creative and interesting. There is almost an early CLANNAD feel to this song. (8.875/10)

7. "Les Luneux" (5:04) very interesting engineering to the delicately played opening instruments (lots of echo) here. Then they all disappear as Marie Yacoob takes on the lead vocal as a solo, a cappella artist. When the sparsely played echoed guitar returns, it gives the music quite a Brian Eno eerie ambient effect. I LOVE this! Easily my favorite song on the album. (10/10)

8. "Branle De La Haie" (2:08) a more traditional RenFaire-like song amped up with some electricity. (4.375/5)

9. "Quand Je Menai Mes Chevaux Boire" (4:39) would that I liked a lyrics-driven song. The music of this is just too repetitive and monotonous. (8.4/10)

10. "La Fille Au Cresson" (3:40) the weave at the start of this one sounds a bit too out-of-synch/cacophonous but then it all thins out as the vocalists enter. I absolutely love this unique and unusual vocal performance (and arrangement). (Perhaps it is the fuzzy effects/recording techniques employed to some of the full-tapestry instruments [electric guitar and hurdy gurdy] that cause the illusion of timing/synchrony issues.) Again the music serves more to support the lyric/singing, which is, to me, unfortunate. (8.75/10)

11. "L'Écolier Assassin" (8:38) soft picked acoustic guitar, electric bass, and organ support Gabriel's lead vocal. The ethereal support vocal team for the chorus is excellent. After three minutes of highly repetitive music, there is an interesting interlude of sharpened knives (violin) and other attention-grabbing sounds within the musical weave, but then we're back at the same boring repetition. Again: it's too bad that I'm not a lyrics/story-driven music listener or this would fare better in my ratings. The next, second sharp-knives interlude lasts a bit longer than the first but then at the seven-minute mark we're back at the monotonous vocal-carrying motif. (17.5/20)

12. "Noël Est Arrivé" (2:03) military drumming with bass and violin jumping to provide a texture for a kind of rollicking cabaret song. At least the song and performers sound alive and alert on this one. (4.4/5)

Total time 43:12

Emanating much more from the mediæval troubadour traditions, if that's the way you like your Prog Folk, there are enough unusual, creative sound and structural choices here to make this both proggy and highly interesting for the prog music lover. I do find it interesting that the band chooses to intentionally avoid the Celtic traditions of Brétagne (especially since Marie and Gabriel both performed with Alan Stivell before forming Pierre de Grenoble [their original name for the band before Malicorne]). Still, I am very grateful for their efforts to uncover and resuscitate some of France's old folk classics.

B/four stars; an excellent dip into the ancient traditions of French folk music though perhaps more for the Prog Folk lover, not so much for the true prog lover. Highly recommended if you like storytelling and have a fairly good command of French.