CATHERINE RIBEIRO & ALPES

One of the strangest and most original acts to haunt the psychedelic French underground of the 1970s was CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES that existed from 1969 (starting as CATHERINE RIBEIRO + 2 BIS) and ending in 1980. Despite delivering a total of nine albums and touring the entire nation of the band's native France, the band has remained mysterious, elusive and still relatively unknown outside of small circles of hardcore prog and psych lovers. The band featured the incomparable CATHERINE RIBEIRO at the helm delivering her politically charged poetic prose and unique vocal bravado along with Patrice Moullet, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and inventor of strange musical devices as well as the only member other than RIBEIRO to play on every album of the band's 11 year run.

The band was not only unique in its idiosyncratic approach of mixing progressive rock, avant-folk and a compositional style more akin to Indian ragas that appealed to lovers of complex music and hippies alike. Sounding something like a more avant-garde Nico, RIBEIRO is probably better known for her lengthy career as a solo artists where she belted out traditional French chanson with her brash baritone vocal style that sounded like no other. While the albums "Paix" and "Âme Debout" have captured the attention of some who have developed a taste for all things strange and weird from the 1970s, the rest of the band's canon has been a little more difficult to track down as the albums remained out of print and the rare reissues were of limited quantities.

In 2015 the Mercury label compiled all nine of the albums released titled INTÉGRALE DES ALBUMS ORIGINAUX 1969-1980 - 9 CD which featured every album in its entirety including the band's final two albums which have been virtually impossible to track down. While it's unclear if these 9 albums received any remastering, each album exhibits an excellent sound quality and at long last offers a one stop shopping experience for anyone who has been seeking some of the more obscure releases and a true bonanza for anyone discovering the band for the first time. Each album is essentially a mini-version of the original vinyl LP with identical album sleeves as well as a booklet that offers a historical narrative of one of France's most unique underground sensations that seems to have remained more obscure than deserved for the last few decades.

The 9 albums are contained in a sturdy cardboard box with a pleasing display of the band's entire canon. The downside is that there are no bells and whistles, no bonus tracks, no live albums or nothing other than the band's 9 original albums in their entirety however for the price of the band's entire discography in one shot you simply cannot go wrong with this one as it's virtually the only way to get some of the later albums including the final two "Passions" and "Le Débousille" which despite not being the band's strongest efforts are well worth owning as each RIBEIRO + ALPES album offered a totally unique display of the band's stylistic approach. There has never been any artist sounding even close to what CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES delivered with these albums making this excellent box set a mandatory addition to any collection of fans of outsider weirdo music.

The last album for CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES found the band succumb to the pressures that psychedelic and progressive artists of the previous decade had been falling victim to for the latter half of the decades that being abandoning long experimental tracks in favor of snappy and catchier pop hooks. The band's final album LA DÉBOUSSOLE which literally translates into English as "Discomfiture" which means frustration, disappointment, lack of ease and the most damaging "D" word of all: defeat. The band literally stamped their frustration on this final album which basically found RIBEIRO's solo career of chanson and funky grooves mostly replacing the wild and uncompromising progressive rock and psychedelia that the band staunchly retained until the previous album "Passions."

While "Passions" was already heading into shorter more accessible songs, the album still retained enough of the band's classic style to be recognizable. On LA DÉBOUSSOLE most traces of the past had been abandoned for funky bass grooves and a simple percussive backing however keyboardist Patrice Lemoine still managed to sneak in a few trippy organ runs and heady atmospheric effects. Once again the band underwent a final lineup change with RIBEIRO and Patrice Moullet welcoming violinist René Werneer and drummer Pierre Gasquet to the team however bassist Francis Campello stuck around for this final chapter of ALPES where he unleashed his most serious funk chops. Despite the simplified poppier song structures, RIBEIRO delivers her usual vocal bravado with her poetic depth still finding its way into the mix however once again everything is delivered in the French language.

Despite the shorter tracks, the band did manage to include the 11 minute "L'Oiseau Devant La Porte" which most resembles the band's former glory with the more familiar song structures that graced the previous albums but even here the funky bass is the dominant force which ends up sounding like a clash of two distinct worlds, namely the pop chanson solo career that RIBEIRO had launched in 1977 with her debut solo release "Le Blues de Piaf" which clashed with the experimental progressive rock and psychedelic folk sounds that ALPES had crafted throughout the 1970s. Likewise the album ends with an updated new version of "Paix" in the form of "Paix 1980" which incorporates the funky bass grooves and modern commercial flavors to the track that appeared on the album that is the band's best known and most popular. The rest of the tracks are all focused on a quick delivery system however RIBEIRO's vocal style that displays an emotional depth beyond the average singer sounds a little stilted in these simplified tracks.

While it may be tempting to hate this album for its reckless abandon of the band's classic sound, it's actually not a bad album at all showcasing the band adapting to the times as best they can although it certainly is the weakest album in the entire RIBEIRO + ALPES canon for sure but like many progressive acts, ALPES displayed a knack for adapting their classic style to the brave new world of funk and disco without sounding ridiculous. This is by far the most forgotten album in the entire ALPES catalogue and has pretty much been out of print since its original pressing however it has found new life on the excellent box set "Intégrale des albums originaux 1969-1980 - 9 CD" which features every album from 1969's "Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis" all the way to this final effort LA DÉBOUSSOLE. Personally i find these prog artists gone pop albums to be fascinating as it creates a bizarre tension and a touch of surreality that no artist would've ever conjured up left to their own forces. The end of the line for ALPES as the band would call it quits in 1981 while RIBEIRO herself continue her solo career singing classic French chanson. R.I.P. ALPES and in 2024 R.I.P CATHERINE. A true legend of the French underground.

3.5 rounded down

With the psychedelic and prog era ceding into the more commercial and accessible sounds of punk rock, new wave, disco and various forms of chart topping pop music, almost all of the bands that electrified the experimental underground of the earliest part of the 70s had either long disbanded or modified their style to suit a more contemporary audience or face complete obscurity in the case of many others. As for CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES, on the band's seventh album PASSIONS, the team started to merge RIBEIRO's solo career as a traditional French chanson performer with the experimental psychedelic rock and avant-folk of its earlier years that managed to continue right up to 1977's "Le Temp De L'autre." But the times were a-changin' as they say and even this eclectic group succumbed to the pressures of infusing its heady politically charged music with more pop friendly hooks.

A remarkable shift in direction was coupled by yet another substantial lineup change. RIBEIRO was still at the helm delivering her brash vocal bravado with her partner in crime guitarist, composer and self-made instrument inventor Patrice Moullet by her side. Also early organist Patrice Lemoine who rejoined in 1976 was back however a new cast of characters joined the ALPES which included violinist David Rose, bassist / clarinet player Francis Campello and Mirelle Bauer on percussion, vibes, marimba. Also joining in was saxophone player Robin Kenyatta who added some jazzier than usual touches to the ALPES sound. The album featured nine tracks almost all of which were on the shorter side of around four minutes or less with the notable exception of the two tracks "Tous Les Droits Sont Dans La Nature" at over 7 minutes and "L'Oiseau Devant La Porte" which extended past 11.

While the progressive rock and psychedelic features had been seriously tamped down, the band retained enough of their familiarity to keep this album sounding like a natural albeit simplified and more commercial continuation of its classic sound. The biggest surprise will come first with the opening track "Loana Mélodie" sounding more like a RIBEIRO solo effort than anything ALPES would dare venture into however the following "Frères Humains" restores a sense of familiarity with the classic repetitive groove format with RIBEIRO's strong vocal accompaniment with that haze of psychedelic organ electrifying the backdrop. It becomes obvious though that this is a very different album with the third track "Critalpin" which takes on a catchy synth-pop sort of organ run although it is in the context of a more complex compositional approach that turns out to be a classical crossover track with folky clarinet performance and violin jig.

The most traditional of the tracks which was obviously thrown in to appease the longtime fans of the olden days, is the 11-minute "L'Oiseau Devant La Porte" which follows the now classic playbook of a dark mopey procession through the familiarity of those 20-minute plus tracks that ended the albums of the golden years however the bouncy rhythms and the fidgety violin accompaniments that follow follow the updated sound the band is striving to maintain. The track does however feature RIBEIRO's familiar style of bringing her poetic prose into a musical format. Despite the more commercial leanings on the album, the lyrics continue completely in the French language. While the song features that new wave "bounce" it sounds more like the darkened psychedelic efforts of the past although the violin offers a lugubrious weeping touch. The album ends with the orchestrated ballad "Femme Témoin" and the jazzy chanson crossover track "Détournement De Chants" which sounds like RIBEIRO switched out the ALPES for Supertramp!

Certainly a major departure from the experimental progressive uncompromising nature of the band's past but despite the more accessible elements and the merging of RIBEIRO's solo career with the ALPES, PASSIONS is actually a beautifully delivered slice of progressive pop, chanson and psychedelia with remnants of the past. Virtually forgotten in time mostly due to the fact PASSIONS and the band's final release "Le Déboussille" have been out of print since their first pressing, the album has found new life on the complete album box set "Intégrale des albums originaux 1969-1980 - 9 CD" released in 2015. While certainly not the most essential release of the ALPES canon, it nevertheless is a lot better than one would expect given the more commercial leanings proving the band was extremely versatile in how it could navigate a large swath of stylistic approaches, a trait which it had displayed from album to album since the very beginning. While definitely a step down from what came before, the album is still very worthy of checking out and i can't recommend the box set enough.

3.5 rounded down

In honour of Catherine's recent passing I re-visited this 1971 album, spinning it all last week. She was 30 years old here and I'm surprised she was only four years younger than my Mom. "Ame Debout" is the first of a three album run that is the pinnacle of their careers. How cool is it that Laurent Thibault produced this album. Big fan. They brought in Patrice Lemoine for this album to play organ. He would play keyboards with GONG briefly in the mid seventies.

While the first two records by this band were more in the experimental folk realm, this one goes beyond that. It's like there is a pall cast over this recording. Dark with vocals like I have never heard before. She improvises these wordless melodies like I have never heard. Angry, theatrical and passionate. She does not hold anything back here folks. The price of admission.

The two part "Alpes" tracks are my favourites, especially "Alpes 2" but combined we get thirteen minutes of great music, lots of it instrumental. Plenty of atmosphere but intense as well. We get Moullet singing on "Alpilles" which is more folk sounding. I'd also mention "Aria Populaire" for the emotion it brings to me. Of course that opening title track which is the longest at almost 8 minutes is so impressive for Catherine's vocal display. She has to be heard to be believed.

She could have been a model, using her looks to make some money, but instead she chose to use her voice. For this I am grateful, and I call that integrity.

While the prog scene had significantly declined at this point since the debut of CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES in 1969 France, RIBEIRO and her music maestro partner Patrice Moullet continued the band through a series of nine albums that ended in 1980. While maintaining the same recognizable style that had haunted the fans since the debut when they were still CATHERINE RIBEIRO + 2 BIS, the constant lineup changes brought in new talent and new instrumentation which gave each and every album a completely distinct flavor with each offering a fascinating new recipe of progressive rock, avant-folk, psychedelia and passionate poetry delivered exclusively in the French language. RIBEIRO's Portuguese origins allowed her Fado musical heritage to seep into the duo's own unique universe of experimental rock based musical forms which set the band well apart from its progressive French counterparts.

While many never bother to explore the band's canon beyond the popular "Paix" released in 1972, this group's extreme dedication and passion to craft its unique art form continued almost all the way to the end with only the final release "Le Déboussole" significantly toning things down and jettisoning the prog while focusing on RIBEIRO's solo style of traditional French chansons. LA TEMPS DE L'AUTRE (The Times Of The Other) released in 1977 continued the unique freaky musical expressions which featured yet another lineup change. Once again organist / pianist Daniel Motron stuck around but Jean-Daniel Couturier (bass) and Jean-Louis Do (drums) joined the team for this sole album before yet another lineup change. The album while similar to previous ones was the first not to feature a sprawling 20-minute + epic closer and rather featured five tracks that ranged from about six minutes to nearly ten.

Sounding more psychedelic rock than avant-folk at this point, LA TEMPS DE L'AUTRE featured a stronger presence of beefy bass grooves and percussive drive as well as a much more robust use of psychedelic organ thus adding an entrenched trippy atmosphere that softened RIBEIRO's oft harsh vocal style which admittedly is an acquired taste! The album created quite a stir in France upon its release as the first album cover showcased RIBEIRO as the Mona Lisa with a joint in her mouth. The public reaction was fierce and the album was immediately banned so the Philips label was forced to offer a secondary release with a new album cover that simply found RIBEIRO posing behind a bunch of candles. The modern day musical Joan of Arc she was! Despite the public uproar the album received little attention otherwise and remained obscure and out of print until the complete album box set "Intégrale des albums originaux 1969-1980 - 9 CD" was released in 2015.

Musically the album is a mixture of lots of arpeggiated acoustic folk guitar mixed with thumping groovy bass lines and complex songwriting techniques. While the musical accompaniment often lingers in a droning hypnotic repetitive loop, the chord and key changes offered a unique style of inventive progressive meanderings all topped off with an abundance of psychedelic organ runs and creative use of electronic wizardry. The keys offer a more varied assortment of tones and timbres not experienced on previous albums and the percussive elements had been turned up a few notches however the band had dipped further into rock territory on the previous album "(Libertés?)" RIBEIRO's vocal style as always was the most consistent feature of the band's overall sound from album to album and that's no exception here. While at this point she was engaging in a solo career of French chanson, in ALPES she belted out her usual mix of spoken word poetry, shouted prose along with heavier than usual delicately sung musical styles. Noticeably absent are the climactic vocal frenzies that often ended her albums.

An unfortunate forgotten album from the obscure tail end of one of France's most distinct vocalists of the 1970s along with her band that sounded like no other no matter who was in the ever rotating team of musical backup however this like the previous two which are also woefully neglected is a brilliant slice of progressive / psychedelic rock, folk and electronica. While all these elements existed on the previous albums, LE TEMPS DE L'AUTRE was the one that you could most identify with the progressive psychedelic space rock label as the rock heft is in strong form as are the extra psychedelic touches of the many sounds of keys and organs. The melodic constructs are just as strong as ever if not stronger as the emphasis on each song is to craft a rather addictive catchiness and then fortified with the progressive and psychedelic touches. At this point the music sounds less bombastic and confrontational and more about crafting a smooth album experience rather than unleashing tirades of political rage. One of my favorite bands of the 70s was still in fine form even at this later stage of its existence. Highly recommended.

While casual fans tend to associate CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES with its first five albums (the first as CATHERINE RIBEIRO + 2 BIS), the group did carry on well past 1972's "Paix" and released five more albums before disbanding in 1981. A major reason for many overlooking these later releases is simply because of their relative obscurity until recent times when at long last the entire nine album canon was released as the box set "Intégrale des albums originaux 1969-1980 - 9 CD" in 2015. While the quality admittedly tapered off towards the end with "Le Déboussole" adopting the solo career chanson style that RIBEIRO had launched simultaneously in the late 1970s, many albums that followed "Paix" up to the group's sixth overall release (LIBERTÉS?) were equally as bold, daring, creative and psychedelically infused.

Undergoing yet another major lineup change, only RIBEIRO, Patrice Moullet and organist / pianist Daniel Morton return from the previous album "Le Rat Débile Et L'Homme Des Champs" with only bassist Henri Texier and percussionist Caroll Reyn joining the team. Noticeably absent is the virtuoso violin performances of Jean-Jacques Leurion and the album has a much more stripped down feel than previous release with more emphasis placed on heavier bass grooves and percussive drive making (LIBERTÉS?) the most rocking chapter of the CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES canon. Similarly the album is structured to previous albums with several shorter tracks leading up to a side swallowing multi-suite epic, which in this case is the near 23 minute sprawler "Poème Non Épique - Concerto Alpin En 6 Mouvements (Suite)."

The album will come off as fairly familiar at least in terms of format. "Une Infinie Tendresse" starts (LIBERTÉS?) with a pounding bass groove and psychedelic spaced out keyboard runs while RIBEIRO passionately delivers her feisty vocal prowess lamenting about the usual social injustices and environmental woes of the modern world replete with Moullet's exquisite lyre playing skills and the usual assortment of homemade percussion giving the band its own distinct sound which remained intact and uncopied throughout the band's existence. The six-minute opener is followed by the short "Prélude Medieval" which offers a (mostly) instrumentally updated psychedelic touch of medieval musical majesty with RIBEIRO offering wordless vocals as extra instrumentation. The track leads into "Parle Moi D'Un Homme Heureux" which is the most sing-songy of the lot with RIBEIRO displaying her unique singing skills in context of a melodic more mainstream psychedelic rocker.

"Qui A Parlé De Fin" starts off with some unaccompanied whistling followed by spoken word poetry by RIBEIRO (en français) also without any musical backing. In fact the entire track is simply a poetry session in near whispered form which will be comprehensible to only French speakers. The highlight of the album is the closing B-side "Poème Non-Epique N° III (Concerto Alpin En 3 Mouvements Et Un Tombé)" which follows the previous playbook of multiple suites that build up into RIBEIRO's frenetic screaming sessions as if she's performing some evil casting ceremony that finds her final bursts of anguish dissipating into the universe. The track like the majority of the album featured a more traditional progressive rock feel than the folk-infused settings of yore. The album concludes with the usual tirade and climatic release of energy before drifting off.

One of the lesser known albums by CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES is one that shouldn't be missed for those who are enamored with the band's past glories. I consider (LIBERTÉS?) to be the last great album of their band's epic period with enough of the cosmic consecutiveness of previous efforts fortified into a new rendition of the band's lineup which once again pays off handsomely. As always the main barrier to enjoying one of France's most unique 70s psychedelic outfits is that RIBEIRO's poetic insight is exclusively in the French language but lyrics aside the music on this one is every bit as innovative as what came before. Perhaps the band sounds a bit like it's running on steam at this point and the albums that follow continued to slightly dip in quality with each subsequent release but even those are well worth checking out, at least i find them worthy.

While i wouldn't call CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES totally obscure in this day and age thanks to the internet and outsider weirdo music guides like the Nurse With Wound List, it does seem that most who delve into the band's discography tend to check out the first four albums and then stop. This is a shame because this unique unclassifiable act produced its most creative and wild albums beginning with "Âme Debout" and continuing all the way up to "(Libertés?). While the quality dipped a tad afterwards even the next two albums are well worthy of exploration. Perhaps the fact that the focus was around RIBEIRO's poetry that delved into political and environmental issues but narrated completely in the French language throws many non-French speakers off however the music alone is well worth the price of admission for this strangely unique psychedelic experimental band that was neither folk, rock or classical yet somehow was all at the same time (and more!)

Starting out as CATHERINE RIBEIRO + 2 BIS and then switching out to + ALPES on the second album, RIBEIRO and her dedicated musical maestro composer Patrice Moullet cranked out an album each year ending with what's considered the band's crowning achievement, the much revered "Paix" in 1972. After a year's break and a complete lineup change the ALPES returned in 1974 with the band's fifth album LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS (The Feeble Rat And The Country Man). While RIBEIRO and Moullet were back and remained the only constant members throughout the band's nine album run, this release featured an expanded lineup with a wider array of instrumentation and dynamics. The new ALPES included Jean-Jacques Leurion playing orgolia (a large metallic violin), Daniel Motron on organ / piano, Gerald Renard on percuphone and bass as well as Denis Cohen on various percussion instruments and timbales.

Structured very similarly to "Paix," LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS featured four tracks with the entire B-side of the original vinyl swallowed up by one epic multi-suite movement. As usual the lyrics are written by RIBEIRO and set to Moullet's hypnotic musical flow that featured self-made instruments such as the percuphone. Compared to "Paix" though LE RAT is both more psychedelic and features more aspects of progressive rock. The eerie violin performances add a completely new element with Jean-Jacques Leurion giving some of the most unhinged performances like a Paganini on steroids. RIBEIRO nurtures her Portuguese roots with a fado type of mood setting approach that fuels her passionate delivery of her poetic prose. Often considered one of the most dynamic albums about ecology and environmental issues, the album's musical content is every bit as wild and dynamic amplified by CATHERINE's vocal intensity that offers desperate passionately delivered pleas, dramatic intensified shouting sessions and the occasional blood-curdling screams.

Beginning with "La Petite Fille Aux Fraise (The Little Strawberry Girl)" the band showcases a more intense infusion of energy with a busy percussive drive and a psychedelic church organ melody sound straight out of the wild swingin' 60s and also features RIBEIRO in full-on singing mode rather than frantically delivering her usual sermon in pseudo-narrative form. This bouncy track is quite catchy and easily the most accessible of the album's incrementally weirder and wilder tracks that follow. The first lengthy track "L'ère De La Putréfaction - Concerto Alpin En 4 Mouvements (The Age of Putrefaction - Alpine Concerto in 4 Movements)" features a knotty proggy time signature rich "Prelude" followed by two epic movements that rock the Farfisa organ and features a feisty bass groove that sounds like something you'd hear Jannick Top perform in a zeuhl-fueled Magma frenzy. Psychedelic and emotive, this piece features no percussion at first but ends with a dramatic build of of tension where all the instruments go nuts and deliver a final outburst of pure chaos including a delayed percussive presence.

"Un Regard Clair (Obscur) / A Clear (Dark) Look" follows and offers a bit of relief from the freneticism with a folky sing-songy performance by RIBEIRO and an atmospheric backdrop playing over a folky guitar strumming session. Once again the bass virtuosity of Gérald Renard whizzes up and down the scales in contrast to the otherwise chilled out mood setting. The grand finale is the side swallowing "Poème Non Épique - Concerto Alpin En 6 Mouvements (Suite) / Non-Epic Poem - Alpine Concerto in 6 Movements" which finds RIBEIRO in her usual ritualistic mode of delivering a frenetic sermon where she slowly builds to a series of screams and vocal outbursts unparalleled in the world of prog. Likewise through the various movements the the momentum slowly accrues and reaches a climactic frenzy after a staggering 25 plus minutes of psychedelic freakery. It all begins with the busy percolating percussion of some unorthodox instruments with the organ slowly oozing in with a stealth violin presence creeping in and slowly usurping control. The psychedelic frenzy just builds and builds until RIBEIRO finally joins in after six minutes of warming up. Likewise she goes on her usual tangents and the entire track ends in a thundering crescendo with the sickest most frenzied violin performance EVER! I swear that ole Jean-Jacques was possessed or something!

A woefully overlooked album in the ALPES discography, LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS is really a step up in many ways from "Paix" with a more diverse array of sounds and stylistic approaches while carrying on the same general layout. This is probably the most rocking of the ALPES canon with fiery virtuosic performances and more electrified instrumentation with less emphasis on the folky flavors of the past. Perhaps the complexities in this one make it even more alienating as even the most accessible moments of CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES can be intimidating for a first timer however this one is a grower that creeps its way into your soul and takes hold. Steeped in the furthest reaches of psychedelia that will most appeal to lovers of lysergic Krautrock, ALPES scored another masterpiece in my book with this utterly unique mix of experimental prog. The album is probably the most demanding and trippy of the band's nine album run and the only one to feature the demented violin sounds that would make Paganini take notice. A triumphant and declarative album hindered only by the language barrier for those who don't speak French however RIBEIRO's emotive performances pretty much convey her passion regardless of actual lyrical content.

A brilliant record from Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes from 1972, "Paix" will take you on all sort of lovely journeys. You'll hear what a Cosmophone sounds like on the first track, "Roc Alpin", a sort of joyous and whimsical cross between a reed instrument and an organ in sound. In this first track, there are moments when you'll feel they channel a British psychedelia sound here reminiscent of Kaleidoscope.

"Jusqu'à Ce Que la Foce de T'Aimer Me Manque" is where the record really takes off. A lovely and moody pastoral folk prog with acoustic guitars, organ and synth like sounds emanating from the varied instruments. Ribeiro's vocals are stunning?lower in range than many female singers and this presents a dramatic haunting quality to it that is essential to the effectiveness of their sound for me. Her voice has texture and passion and a beautiful resonance?its presence is well felt, but never dominates the record.

The third track, "Paix" is a stunner?hypnotic and with a wonderful bass and organ melody over a sort of heartbeat-style drum pattern. The middle of the tune is rather chant-like before eventually returning to the main theme toward the end. You will feel you traveled to far out spaces on this one, and this is all before you flip the LP over for a side-long final track "Un Jour... la Mort". I hear some moments that remind me of Romania's Phoenix, or Sam Gopal?at other times Pink Floyd.

Although there is a variety of approaches they take in sound and songwriting on here, the record never feels like it lacks cohesiveness. They collage these sounds together wonderfully and are patient, not wanting to give up on a melody too quickly. The 2018 Universal Music France reissue LP sounds delightful, and any fan of psych-folk-prog and international rock should consider this essential listening. 4.5 stars.

When it comes the idealistic hippie psychedelic rock 60s evolving into the more serious musical workouts of the progressive rock 70s, few integrated the two styles more elegantly and convincingly than CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES who found a unique niche in the zone that lay in between. RIBEIRO and her team found instant notoriety with their unique one-of-a-kind album 'No. 2' which scored them a seven album run on the Philllips Records label. Not only would the band enjoy the stability of a supportive label but CATHERINE found a secondary career with more pop oriented solo albums where she revived the songs of Edith Piaf and Jacques Prevert in more traditional French fashion.

Pictured in full hippie regalia somewhere in the forested mountains of southern France on the album cover, the band's third album PAIX (French for 'Peace') which was the second on the Phillips label saw the addition of bassist and percussionist Jean-Sébastien Lemoine joining the team after the exit of percussionist Claude Thiebaut. The band shifted gears a bit more towards the world of psychedelic space rock with long organ fueled hypnotic grooves which found less emphasis on the experimental homemade instrumentation of Patrice Moullet and focused more on the lysergic possibilities of the interplay of the organ, bass and guitars fueled by tribal drumbeats and RIBEIRO's vocal eccentricities.

On PAIX the band crafted the perfect balance between the unique avant-folk of the previous works and psychedelic rock which featured a new emphasis on bass grooves and guitar textures. PAIX also featured RIBEIRO expanding her vocal style into more traditional folk arenas as well as her electrifying declarative poetic prose that existed somewhere between Janis Joplin styled singing and recited spoken word tangents. While performed entirely in the French language, CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES sounded like no other and was easily one of the most unique acts to have emerged from the progressive musical world of France possibly second only to space trippers Magma.

PAIX features only four tracks with the first two only hitting the three minute mark with the remaining running time dedicated to the 15 1/2 minute title track and the grand finale, the side swallowing 24 1/2 minute 'Un Jour' La Mort' which is actually several musical motifs merged into one massive psychedelic behemoth. 'Roc Alpin' starts PAIX in a rather catchy upbeat folk rock mode which features a tamer RIBEIRO engaging in a more sensual approach to her singing style. The following 'Jusquá' Ce Que la Foce de T'Aimer Me Manque' features the longest title track name but the shortest playing time at just under three minutes. The most authentically folk number features RIBEIRO unleashing a series of oooo's and aaaah's as she weaves majestic melodic melancholy with the acoustic guitar providing the musical accompaniment along with tribal drumming.

The title track somehow teased an instantly addictive melodic motif into a near 16-minute marathon of variations of a bass groove, lysergic organ runs with psych-soaked atmospheres and a hypnotic drum circle vibe. The track takes a good six minutes just to warm up before RIBEIRO unleashes her classic declarations in half spoken form seemingly having a conversation with Lemoine's stealthy bass workouts. RIBEIRO whips you into a frenzy as she sounds as if she's performing some kind of ritual or perhaps an exorcism of some sort as she brings back some of the more outrageous proclamations that made ''Âme Debout' so intense. Overall PAIX is a much less frantic release with RIBEIRO having chilled out a bit and finding clever ways to weave her lyrics and wordless utterances into the fabric of the instrumental interplay with remarkable elegance.

The closing 'Un Jour' La Mort' is a bonafide transcendental journey and in many ways the logical conclusion to the psychedelic hippie era having unfolded in its unadulterated natural purity. By opening with a layered atmospheric effect of swirling ambience and pointillistic guitar notes that hint at the melodic developments to come, the track is like a spiritual ride in the astral plane. The rather simple yet catchy melody oozes into the framework as a bass note adds the missing pieces. Around the four minute mark CATHERINE begins delivering a series of wordless vocals while the acoustic guitar and bass grooves accent her hippie chants. The music coalesces into a unique folk-infused gleeful tune with sing-along oooo's and aaaah's building up the momentum and a lead guitar lick transmogrifying the hippie folk into psychedelic space rock. The track showcases several motifs which excel in recurring themes and variations on those themes. The track climaxes with RIBEIRO delivering a frenzied almost psychotic series of screams while the musical build up leaves you with the most pleasant mix of organ, bass and guitar strumming.

While CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES would follow PAIX with five more albums, this unique act would peak with this 1972 release in tandem with the previous album ''Âme Debout.' While this team would never create such majestic magic that rose so high seemingly to the stars, the band remained fairly consistent for the next few albums in staying true to its core values of melding its unique brand of avant-folk with psychedelic rock. What's cool about this album is that while most 60s psych bands totally reinvented themselves and strayed far from where they began their journey, CATHERINE RIBEIRO and her boys were very much still rooted to the idealisms of the hippie culture without having been derailed by the nihilism and reality checks that followed. Instead they fueled their stylistic approach ever so intensely and in the process refined the possibilities of their musical vision until it shined like a diamond. PAIX is without a doubt one of the most magnanimous expressions of free form musical expression coupled with catchy pop sensibilities, folk inspired melodic underpinnings and the excesses of progressive rock all wrapped up in pure psychedelic escapism. One of the best albums that the era had to offer period.

There were many like-minded artists of the day who emerged as a congregation of kindred souls in the late 60s with the sole purpose of creating a new musical paradigm. This fertile era succeeded in artists exploring hitherto unthinkable niches in the form of musical expression and France's CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES which arose out of the 1968 riots and social upheaval. The results were that they became one of the most original and timeless sounding acts of the day having created some of the most unclassifiable and idiosyncratic musical paradigms there was to be heard. Unfortunately they were so far out in the clouds that very few related to their bizarre brand of psychedelic freak folk and rock.

CATHERINE RIBEIRO may have began as an underground actress turned leader of a psychedelic band much like her German contemporary Nico, however RIBEIRO led her ALPES outfit into more Gallic pastures that sounded like a more lysergic version of Bridgette Fontaine delivering psychedelic chansons of medieval folk traditions that crossed paths with contemporary free jazz laced with the confrontational poetic lyrics that was in line with the rebellious spirit of the era. After a debut album under the moniker CATHERINE RIBEIRO + 2BIS, she dropped the second affixation and it become ALPES on the aptly and unoriginally titled "No. 2." However on album No. 3 beautifully titled AME DEBUT ("soul debut") is where it all came together and all the idiosyncrasies that were delivered so well on the first two albums united into harmonic perfection.

AME DEBUT like all ALPES releases was the perfect union of RIBEIRO's poetic and moody stage performances and the musical genius of Patrice Moullet, whose brilliance expanded beyond the mere art of compositional creations. One of the key elements of the band's unique sound was his self-invented musical instruments which gave the ALPES one of the most uniquely recognizable sounds of the entire revolutionary 70s. While these instruments played a huge role from the beginning, on AME DEBUT the mastery of these idiosyncrasies in unison with the folk, jazz and rock elements finally reached the perfect balance. Also new to the band was Patrice Lemon from Gong as well as his brother bassist Jean-Sébastien.

The melodies on AME DEBOUT are downright haunting, suiting RIBEIRO's unique vocal style to a T and nowhere is that more apparent than on the opening title track which findings a hypnotic dueling effect of the percolating percuphone and ethereal cosmophone pacified by acoustic guitar all the while heavily caffeinated with an incessant tribal percussive drive of the bongos which all somehow transverse and straddle the folk melodic drive with a groovy bass and jittery organ. While RIBEIRO is the star for the album's run, the one-two punch of the tracks "Alpes 1" and "Alpes 2" finds the band in the driver's seat with RIBEIRO supplementing wordless backing vocals instead of her frenetic angst filled outbursts that range from subdued to hysterical.

AME DEBUT has the perfect flow of sensual and aggressive moments with focus shifting from the psychedelic cosmic to more down to Earth folk driven numbers such as the closing "Dingue." As with all RIBEIRO albums, the lyrics are exclusively in the French language so for non-speakers the lyrically content will completely be missing, but even if that's the case, the music on AME DEBOUT is utterly divine as all the elements the band had made their own converge into a sublime display avant-garde originality married with beautifully emotionally driven melodies that transcend language and drift into the soul. While almost all RIBEIRO albums are excellent with rich dynamic content, for me AME DEBUT is the one that achieves sheer perfection where all the elements are in the perfect context and where all the ingredients are mixed into a flawless recipe of accomplishment.