LE KOMUSO À CORDES

Since 2006 I have been really amazed at the amount of great prog to come out of Quebec in the 1970s. The fact I was able to get a lot of these LPs for a real decent price helps big time (many of them on major labels helped so they were pressed in large enough quantities for the Quebec public in general to buy). The type of space rock as pioneered by the likes of Gong was not common in Quebec, but Michel Madore is that rare exception. Too bad he only came up with two album, this being his first. While Gong is a frequent comparison, this is all instrumental, and actually has a more serious vibe (no Pot Head Pixies here), so comparisons to the likes of Clearlight and Carpe Diem are more valid to my ears. Lots of spacy synths (not like Tim Blake), jazzy drumming, and similar style of sax playing to Didier Malherbe. I noticed how "L'Avant-Dernière" bears more than a passing resemblance to Dave Mason's "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave", the acoustic guitar theme sounds very similar. Of course, "L'Avant-Dernière" is all instrumental and progressive and spacier (where Dave Mason's song had a more down to earth folk rock sound reminding me of The Band). This is the kind of music, had Madore been French, Musea would have been reissuing. Sadly neither of his two albums had ever been reissued, forcing you to find an original LP. Another one of those total obscurities that I highly recommend.