CANO

There are some excellent choices to introduce prog folk to a person who is available to know it. The first White Willow effort, french Wurtemberg, three or four Basque prog works, and of course Jethro Tull, among others. But I have this feeling that it's better to get started on this genre with some specific albums, and the first I'd pick would be this one. Let me tell you why.

First, it has an unquestionable symphonic rock vein among two of the 7 tracks, which helps to appeal to the subgenre that the majority of the prog rock fans love. Second, the composition of the lyrics is very coherent to the term 'folk'. Exploring some native and local aspects of Canada's culture and history. Third, the instrumentation is superb, and doesn't stay back when the singers (all divine, specially Rachel, which has plenty of space this time) are performing. There's a cliche about prog folk that is usually used to declare this subgenre's rejection: that it gives to much space to vocals and little dedication to instrumental. Au nord de notre vie proves this cliche can be true on other prog folk works, but not in this one. By the way, there are some tracks totally instrumental. Fourth, the use of acoustic instruments, that is common on prog folk, in this interplay makes a very creative, fresh and surprising interpretation of traditional tunes. Fifth and one of the characteristics that really captivates me in prog rock - the vocal harmonies are outstanding. Lyrics, sang in french, display musicality on first place and interpretation, dramaticity on second, IMO the option that delivers the best french chant. The female vocals could find the way to sing and also execute some very beautiful vocal effects. Another great effort on this topic are the passages when two or more musicians are singing together or as a duet. Besides, the chorus arrangements are just in the right place and mood, always.

Other features about this opus reinforce my analysis about its brilliance. The diversity of instruments, the production and edition very tight to combine these multiple contributions.

The booklet has its own charm, making something simple but very wise: besides the lyrics in french is its translation to english, Unfortunately, it may be hard to get access to this, because the CD nowadays is hard to find (lucky me I bought it several years ago).

Almost perfect! 4,6 to side A, and 5 to side B, on a 5 star scale.

CANO is most famous for being one of the most successful French Canadian bands that didn't come from Quebec but the lesser known French Canadian regions of northern Ontario. This band was established in Sudbury in 1970 as the Coopérative des Artistes du Nouvel-Ontario or Cooperative of Northern Ontario which once turned into an anagram became the band CANO which the band adopted as its moniker in 1975. While the band was a musical group, the collective also had many other projects including owning a collective farm in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario where the band did much of its recording.

Once CANO was officially formed in 1975, the group was reduced to eight members along revolving around singer/guitarists André Paiement and Rachel Paiement, violinist Wasyl Kohut, guitarists Marcel Aymar and David Burt, pianist Michel Kendel, bassist John Doerr and drummer Michel Dasti. Focusing on both traditional French folk songs and original material by Aymar, the Palements and the Canadian poet Robert Dickson, the band recorded five albums in its ten year existence with this debut TOUS DAN L'MEME BATEAU ( All In The Same Boat ) which came out in late 1976. CANO was sensitive to the divisive nature of English vs French in the Canadian psyche and was instrumental in bridging the gap by performing live by singing in both French and English although on this debut all lyrics are in the French language.

TOUS DAN L'MEME BATEAU features a unique mix of French-Canadian folk music, folk rock and progressive rock with the three highlights of "Viens Nour Voir," "En Plein Hiver" and "Baie Ste-Marie" all extending past the 8 minute playing time with the rest of the album featuring shorter tracks with varying styles. The diversity of the album is stark as some tracks are soft and lush symphonic folk with female vocals while others are rowdy country-infused songs with more aggressive masculine vocals. The album's polarity is strong with "Le vieux Médéric" featuring high octane rocking tempos and the following "Les rues d'Ottawa" drifting into dreamy acoustic driven folk with piano rolls.

With twelve members and guests performing, the album's sound is lush with guitars, bass, piano and percussion intermingling with Turkish cymbals, harmonica, trombones, mandolin, a clarinet and various percussion instruments including congas. The melodies are quite accessible with the complexities resulting from the sophisticated use of timbres and extended compositional fortitude with extended solos, neo-classical elements and symphonic counterpoints however the progressive tendencies would be ramped up even more on the band's second album "Au Nord du Notre Vie" which emerged the following year. The album's dreamy album cover art pretty much conveys perfectly what you get here, a mostly lush stream of folk based progressive rock with nice experimental touches yet based in traditional sounds.

CANO enjoyed quite a bit of success even on an international scale with its first two albums but band leader André Paiement committed suicide in 1978 and left the band struggling to find its way and although three more albums were released, both the band's musical quality and popularity took a dip. While i wouldn't call this debut by CANO an essential listening experience, it is sure an enjoyable slice of 1970s French prog folk and a historical lesson of French prog emerging from Canada outside the province of Quebec. While the tracks are decently done, there's also none that really stick out as unabashed masterpieces. This is merely a pleasant dreamy album to encounter with a few more upbeat countrified numbers.

— First review of this album —

This is a better, and longer, collection than the other greatest-hits collection listed here on PA ('Spirit of the North'). Many (but not all!) all the songs on this are very good or great, so musically together it is probably in the 4-star range. However, a greatest-hits album has to be judged not only on the musicality of the songs, but also the representativeness of the selections. And on this point, this collection (like the other above-mentioned collection) does fare as well. Of the 12 tracks on this album, 5 are from the first album. There are only 2 songs from their second album ('Au Nord De Notre Vie'), 3 songs from their fourth ('Rendezvous'), and only one from their third album 'Eclipse'. There is nothing from their last two albums. While I don't think the latter two albums are very good, they still merit some acknowledgement given those were released in 1981 and 1985 and this collection was released much later in 2003. But even more, this collection is missing a number of worthy tracks from the albums they did cover (such as the song "Mon Pays" from their second album, 'Earth Mother' and 'Moon Lament' from their third, and 'Entente' or 'Other Highways' from their fourth). Indeed, while some of the tracts they selected from the third and fourth albums are great (eg "Bienvenue 1984" and "L'Autobus de la Pluie") the other tunes they chose from the fourth album are some of the weaker ones on that album ("Rebound" and "Sometimes the Blues"). Given the over-weight on the first album, and the missing good tracks from the others, I would on balance recommend picking up their first album instead of this collection, if you want a good entry into this group. The main reason to pick up this collection is for their single "Carrie", which was not released on any album and thus is now quite rare. However, it is also the worst song in the collection, so it is not much of a draw (it was also released in the earlier greatest-hits album). But I do think this one is better than the other greatest hits album ('Spirit'...). On balance, 3 stars.

The fourth CANO album, 'Rendezvous', continues on the same trajectory set by the former "Eclipse", but now roughly half of the songs are sung in English instead of French. I don't think this is a problem in-and-of-itself, since this is a bilingual band from northern Ontario. (and the vocalists all have perfect accents in both languages). Saying this, it does speak to their desire to tailor their sound for more commercial appeal, and this clearly shows on the album, *particularly* on the English songs. Of the 8 songs on this album, I think only 3 are really good ("Entente", "Other Highways", and "L'Autobus de la Pluie"). Meanwhile, two of the songs here ("Clown Alley" and "Floridarity Forever") are virtually unlistenable (while the remaining 3 are OK but nothing to write home about - I don't have any desire to ever put them on again). So really I would get this album only for the 3 good songs (and only if you already have the first three albums). On balance, I give this 3.9 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 2 PA stars.

Unfortunately, Andre Paiement, one of the founders, key song-writers, and vocalists of this musical collective passed away after the second album, leaving the band in a state just as they were getting some attention. They chose to continue on, with the rest of the band picking up more of the song-writing duties. Given these circumstances, their third album, 'Eclipse', is pretty decent. Four of the seven songs here ("Ryshnychok/Earth Mother", "Cirque de la Nuit", "Moon Lament", and the closer "Bienvenue 1984") are excellent, and would fit right in on their first and second albums. However, unfortunately, the album does not get off to a good start with the opener "Soleil Mon Chef", in which one of the male vocalists attempts humour but it falls very flat (a similar problem is found on 'Rumrunner's Runaway"). The songs are generally shorter (although "Bienvenue 1984" is around 8 minutes), and slightly more rock-y than their earlier albums, although the style changes sufficiently from song to song that the album maintains sufficient continuity of their sound with their previous works. I give this album 6.2 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which is on the low end of the 3-PA star range (but still better than 2 stars).

Their first album is, in my opinion, their best. The album flows very well, and all the songs are great or very good. While Rachel Paiement does not sing as many of the songs here as she does on the second album, Andre Paiement does a great job with those songs he sings and in general the vocal qualities among the male singers are much better here than on any of their later albums. It seems to me that these songs were written over a long time, so the quality is generally much better, whereas on later albums there is a lot of filler that has not aged nearly as well. The last tune here ("Baie Ste-Marie") is similar in structure to the last song on their second album ("Spirit of the North"), and although the violin solo on the latter is very good, I prefer the more relaxed build-up on Baie. Among CANO's regular albums, this is the one I would recommend picking up first. I give it 8 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 4 PA stars.

This is another Franco-Ontarian progressive folk collective, releasing albums around the same time in the late 1970s as Lougarou/Garolou. Cano was based in Sudbury, and is much larger, with a more fluid line-up. Their songs are quieter and longer with more of a distinct folk edge. This is their second album, and largely considered their best. Other than two longer songs (the 'A la Poursuite du Nord' suite, and 'Mon Pays') the songs are regular-length. Rachel Paiement's vocals stand out as a defining feature (good) of their sound, as well as Wasyl Kohut's violins (acoustic and electric), while the vocals by the male singers generally do not make much of impression. Acoustic guitar and piano are the main other instruments, with a few synthesizers and electric guitars occasionally present. The last song, 'Spirit of the North' (written by Kohut) was one of their concert show-stoppers. On the whole this is a very listenable and enjoyable album. However, it does not quite (in my opinion) live up to their first album. The compositions on this one are mixed, and some of the tunes (now that I have listened to this for over 20 years) I just have to skip over (such as 'Automne' and 'La Premiere Fois'). The best tunes are the two long ones, but even those have mixed musicality. Even 'Spirit of the North' I find has worn on me after multiple listens - while it checks all the boxes for what one might expect from progressive folk, somehow there is not enough weight to it - it is more like an extended solo than a composition with real staying power. On balance, I give this 7.2 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which corresponds to 3 PA stars.

This would have to be THE essential prog. folk album from the Canadian scene. Everything is perfect - the mix, the atmosphere, the imagery. I hear Ponty-like colourings in the violin department. The grand piano work of Michel Kendel is superb as is the fender rhodes. This album would not only appeal to prog.folk fans, but also jazz/rock fans in the ECM vein. This music creates that Metheny-like atmosphere and Eberhard Weber(Colours of Chloe). Fans of Joni Mitchell's jazz/pop would really enjoy this. Rachel Paiement's vocals don't quite hit the high register a la Annie Haslam, but that's not what the music requires. The french vocals are neutral and not particularly Quebecois...more of a franco-Ontarien tone (after all, CANO is based in Sudbury). Even if you don't understand french, the vocals will not be a problem. The long players "Mon Pays" and "Ã? la poursuite du nord" are the highlights but never overstay their welcome. Fans of Curved Air, Renaissance, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Harmonium and the Quebec prog.rock scene would enjoy this. When CANO stretches out on the long players, I'm reminded of a fusion between Maneige and Harmonium...and some Octobre. The acoustic guitar work is stellar. This is a personal masterpiece in my books, but a 4 - 4.5 star rating would be appropriate here as it is for the select few on this website. But heck, I'm giving it a 5 star rating as I am pretty sure this is a grower and will become a personal favourite of many listeners willing to give CANO some ears. Every citizen of Canada should make "Au Nord de Notre Vie" an essential part of their music collection, even if they are not a fan of prog.rock, jazz or folk. It's that essential!

Cano is one of the good Canadian folk rock bands which arrived in the 1970s. Harmonium, Buffy Saint Mary, Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield were others in this scene.

Style wise, Cano is a blend of early Harmonium, Maneige and Renaissance. The female vocals are excellent. So is the very Maneige like jazzy fusion stuff which pops up now and then. The Harmonium bits is due to the symphonic prog vibe that sometimes pops up during this album. But everything here is based on a laid back folk rock mood. There is a lot more pure music, symphonic and jazzy music, here than on an average prog folk album.

This is the strength of this album. The solo runs on piano and the musicality of the whole album. That and the quality of the songs. There is no outstanding tracks on this album and that is my gripe with it. But this album is a great listen throughout and really captivating. If you love the great Harmonium album Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquième Saison, you will also like this album. The difference is that Cano has better vocals.

File this album alongside the other great Canadian prog rock albums and do thoroughly enjoy it as I have done.

4 stars

''Coopérative des Artistes du Nouvel-Ontario'' was a French-Canadian artistic community based in Ontario,Canada,which included not only musicians,but also sculptors,actors,painters and other people,who devoted themselves to the language of art.Regarding the bunch of musicians around CANO,they were lead by singer/guitarist Andre Paiement,who was also member of New Ontario's Theatre,and wrote most of the material of the band's debut.No less than eight musicians participated on this first effort of CANO,supported by various guest musicians on different traditioonal instruments.Actually the band owned a farm near Sturgeon Falls,where most of the recordings took place.

''Tous Dans L'Meme Bateau'',released in 1976,was a mix of pleasant Folk tunes with more intricate pieces of Folk Rock music,like the dark opener ''Viens nous voir'',featuring beautiful violins and acoustic guitars accompanied by the poetic performance of Paiement.The four short followers are nothing more than Pop-Folk tracks with somekind of a rural edge,based mostly on pleasant harmonica and violin passages along with joyful voices,where I notice the sensitive voice of Paiement's sister Rachel (listen to the nice piano-ballad Les rues d'Ottawa).

Placing side B,I was really a bit dissapointed,expecting musically much more from the almost 10-min. long ''En plein hiver''.About half of the track is covered by intense lyrical music with strong acoustic content and ethereal choirs and you'll have to wait for the middle-section for some fine instrumental music with electric piano battling with bass,congas and even some electric guitar sounds.''Chanson pour Suzie'',sung by Rachel Paiement, functions as a bridge between the previous track and the closer ''Baie St. Marie''.Here the traditional folk side of CANO blends with their Art Rock nature.Wasyl Kohut mixes seagulls' effects with violin solos supported by David C. Burt's mellow electric guitar,before the vocal section introduces the listener to the jazzy side of CANO with some good instrumental playing and a horn section delivering deep funky sounds until the end.

As for the rating this is a hard decision.The truth is that the pure Folk tracks hold no particular interest for the prog fans.Regarding the three longer ones,the opener and closer of the album will leave every prog fan rather satisfied,while ''En plein hiver'' holds some interest for the half of its duration.So my true rating is close to 2.5 stars,but I will have to go with the 2 stars here,as my final taste is that the album heads mainly to fans/collectors of Folk-Rock.Admirers of Classic Prog or more adventuruous listenings will propably be dissapointed by ''Tous Dans L'Meme Bateau''.