I'll start:

A highly melodic band from Canada which mixes elements of pastoral folk with some symphonic rock elements such as extended song format and mellotrons. Their third album abandons most of the folk sound and brigs a classical touch.


HARMONIUM

Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquième Saison

1975 Studio Album

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Review | Album details | All reviews | Buy Music Review by Zitro
[Prog Reviewer ]
Posted 4:03:31 PM EST, 3/24/2006

This is an absolute masterpiece! Perfection! This is probably the best album I have heard of all times, and easily the best folk album I own. The progress from the debut to here is astronomical. They have piano, mellotron, 2 more musicians, even a song as long as Close to the Edge! They transformed from a simple melodic folk band into a progressive rock-folk one. For now, this album gives me more goosebumps than any album from Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and the Flower Kings. Here, you have the mellotron used at the best way possible, beating Rick Wakeman, and even Fripp! This record is the definition of beauty. Anyways, the songs are the seasons and the last one something else (who knows, I don't know french)

Vert (Spring) begins the album with a wonderful flute melody. This is a song not very different from a song in the first album, yet much superior in every aspect. The vocal harmonies are at their catchiest (think about the opener of the debut), the instrumentation is complex, accessible, and incredibly magical. Masterpiece.

Dixie (Summer) sounds like a pop tune, but it is not a generic one. IT has some jazzy touches, yet keeps the folk. It is very upbeat, joyous, and makes you wanna dance to it! The piano playing is excellent here, especially the main riff. I can repeat it as many times as I want to, and I'll never get tired of it! Masterpiece

Depuis l'automne (Autumn) is the song I heard in progarchives. This song is a bit darker than the previous two, and proggier. After the first verse/chorus (great simple folk), there's a short part where you hear a wonderful mellotron. After the second time, you get a much longer instrumental break where you hear a mellotron just impossible to describe in terms of how pretty it sounds. You don't only have the mellotron, you have other instruments, including an acoustic guitar that has both "echo" and "sustain" effects. The result is probably the best passage of music I have heard in my life, surpassing anything from Yes, Genesis, and even this band itself! After that, a theme is repeated but then another theme is repeated which changes melancholia into pure euphoria!. This theme has some of the warmest, happiest, and most addicting vocals I have heard in a long time. Overall, another definite masterpiece from this disc.

En Piene face (Winter) is another gorgeous short song, but a bit more melancholic. The last two minutes of the track features a wonderful repetitive theme with a great use of vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar and accordion.

Histoires Sans Paroles is the epic of the album after the four seasons. The first movement is very uplifting and has one of the best flute melody I ever heard. The next one is introduced by a wall of mellotron. It makes you think as if it is God playing the mellotron. I never heard humankind play an instrument with such beauty. Later, an electric piano plays with a multitude of guitars in unison. The theme continues with minor variations that make it even more gorgeous to listen to. A somewhat bizarre musical break follows and is faded eventually when the mighty mellotron takes over again until it is alone. Here, it sounds similar to the one used by Wakeman during Tales of Topographic Oceans. Strong musicianship that keep giving me goosebumps continue and the lonely mellotron passage is repeated. Brilliant music with with sax follows and Im still wondering what this song is about. Is it a fifth special season as a reference to something? Is this a musical version of heaven? of an utopia? What is this? This theme lasts for about 5 minutes as it grows and shape shifts into a much needed climax (mellotron freaks: here you have some beautiful flute-like mellotron). A very uplifting and upbeat section that brings back the intro of this composition concludes this gorgeous disc of heaven.

What are you waiting for? Even if you don't like folk nor prog, I think it is impossible to not get moved by the beautiful passages making up the 41 minutes in this album.

Highlights: Depuis l' automne, Histories Sans Paroles

Letdowns: None, all of them are brilliant!

My Rating: A+






HARMONIUM

Harmonium

1974 Studio Album

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Review | Album details | All reviews | Buy Music Review by Zitro
[Prog Reviewer ]
Posted 2:56:43 PM EST, 3/24/2006

3 2/3 Stars

What a beautiful debut from a beautiful band! This album reminds me of the beginning of Charly Garcia's music career: melodic folk/rock that anyone could like. The prominent instruments are only acoustic guitar, bass, and singing. Don't get put off by the fact that it is sung in French. Maybe I'm the guy who does not pay attention to lyrics. If you are like me, then you'll find that good vocals are more important than lyrics.

The title track tells you how the album will sound like. Catchy bass guitar, pastoral acoustic guitar playing, and absolutely gorgeous vocalizations often appearing in harmony. The ending of this song is excellent. In short, the opener is a pop masterpiece and the highlight of the self-titled album.

However, don't feel that the rest is inferior folk/rock, because it is not. Listen to a song like Aujourd'hui which features an orchestra of acoustic guitars playing rhythm, counterpoints, solos, everything. After listening to this song just now, I don't know if I can call the opener the only highlight. You got Veilles Courroies' catchy "na na na" vocalizations. The famous "Por un Instant" that has a great instrumental break is also not to be missed. De La Chambre is yet another track where there are many acoustic guitars playing with a very rich sound. "Un musicien parmi" is the longest and most complex song here featuring deeper instrumentation, including some electric piano. The vocal harmonies near the end are like a Canadian anthem. This song kind of foreshadows the masterpiece that was about to come.

In conclusion, this is a magical album, and one of the best albums I have heard in last 6 months. It is hard to believe that they came up with something even better in the next album.

Not Prog ... It doesn't have to be.

Again: Magical. Go get it! If you remotely like folk, you'll fall in love with this album.

Highlights: Harmonium, Aujord'hui, Un Musicien parmi Let Downs: Maybe Si Doucement (but It is still good)

My rating: B-

proger wrote: wow I love them so much, its a real shame that they have only one good album...

Have you heard L'Heptade?! Sure, it isn't a masterpiece like Si On Avait, but it's at least "good" (if not great)

Anyways, I haven't heard their debut, but IMO their two best songs are Vert and Dixie(it's so effin' happy!), which are necessary to listen to back-to-back, of course.


Edited by ClassicRocker - November 22 2007 at 12:01

Why is Octobre so overlooked ? Harmonium were only around for a couple of years before they took off for California. I`m in a French music store here in Montréal and they don`t even have Octobre`s anthology CD Octobre `72-`89. Mind you I`m not knocking Harmonium. AS I mentioned on the rennaisance thread whoever hasn`t heard of them should definitely check out the two tracks available for streaming onthis site, Depuis L`Automne and L`Exil.

Edited by Vibrationbaby - November 22 2007 at 18:40

Absolutely fan of "Si on avait besoin d'un cinquième saison", I'm listening to "Histoires sans Paroles" and it's so beautiful!!