PROCRÉATION

MC's second album of their second incarnation (MCT being the first) is the band's apex in their career. Following their Marche Des Hommes album's breakthrough, the group began touring all over Quebec and eastern Canada with harmonium, Offenbach and Octobre. Gradually they started introducing new tracks to their repertoire, most of which wouyld come to fruition on this album, including the 26-mins Procreation and its intro. They released a non-album single which find its way on here in terms of bonus tracks, on this first real Cd re-issue by the great team ProgQuebec. So the album got released at the end of the 76 summer and gets a fully respected re-issue with great bonus tracks, great live photos (one can see they had a few years on their colleagues, too) and re-printed lyrics.

Right off the opening Procreation prelude/intro, one can hear they the group has climbed up one more flight of stairs to prog heaven as the instrumental lead-off, even if it hints a bit at Genesis, is a fantastic piece of keyboard-led prog, from organs, mellotrons and piano to flutes and others. While many groups from La Belle Province chose the joual alternative, MC tried to be as neutral as possible, while remaining resolutely Quebecois, and the great "Qu'Est-Ce Que T'es Venu Faire Ici?" is the perfect example of this and a wink to their earlier album's other track. Again a mega-Genesis feel, but nothing shocking, either. Nuages is a very much a classical organ intro, before the group takes things a step higher, but remaining a full speed organ thing over great back up. While the following play on word Eau Tonne (Autumn) is another semi-Quebecois/French dilemma but over a Fender Rhodes. A much-superior "Hauts Et Ha!" duplicates the fun play on words, but the album takes a risk at plunging into music hall-type as Charles Trenêt or Maurice Chevalier, if it wasn't for the great instruments playing behind it. More of the Same for Pays Du Monde, with a good dose of cheesiness to top it all off.

And then comes the flipside with its sidelong self-tiled epic, which from the first notes sends you out in Nirvana-land, where outsider Robitaille's lyrics are grabbing you by the throat. The epic is of great quality and mixes subtlety with adventures, and the lengthy slow 2/3rd of time passage is a pure joy even if it is a bit déjà-vu.

As for the two bonus tracks, they were rumored to aim at the disco market (as they had previously done with Cocktail), but believe me, you'd have a hard time guessing this was supposed to win over the dance floors, even if they are funked-up. Both compositions are instrumentals, up-tempoed and up-lifting

The group will then start a monster 65 dates eastern Canada (this writer remembers having to pass up on concert tickets for lacks of means, having invested in a hi-fi chain) throughout four provinces, with extended lightshow, explosives and full theatrics, soon pushing them to refuse opening acts or headliners, due to their show's complexity. Having avoided Montreal and Quebec City (hoping to finish triumphantly there), the group ended up exhausted and wearied by their shot at bigger times.

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