VILLE EMARD BLUES BAND

As the reissue label ProgQuebec started their quest with VEBB's two albums, they also had the extreme pleasure to open their first FMPM in 2007 and had VEBB play for them. It seems that VEBB is now forever linked with PQ, but let's face it, there were only four of the dozen or so members that once played for the band that actually rose to the challenge, and no more than three at the same time. If Vallières and Dion played the whole concert, Gagnon and Séguin only played three tracks each and didn't overlap, but the rest of the group was made from younger musicians who more than picked up the slack and added the necessary energy into the mix, Gagnon bringing two members from his family and Séguin bringing his son.

Starting with the classic Octobre Au Mois De Mai, VEBB was playing it safe with the Quebecois public (obviously a hit with them), but it wasn't a sure fire strategy, because many of the crowd (coming from different continents) had never heard of the band or even understood French. One of the numbers that really broke the ice is the fantastic and brilliantly played Ste Mélanie Blues with some outstanding guitar works. Walter's Van with its strong Gong-Crimsison influence was another winner with the public, this leading the group into the free improv of Poireaux Névrosés (nervous-wrecked leeks) and later the great but XXXX Konky Donky, all three tracks with original bassist Bill Gagnon in the fold. As Gagnon left the stage, he was replaced with the legendary Séguin on percussion and the group launched itself in another excellent trilogy, although as you'd guess, a much more percussive one with Ambush, Strangle (with strong Santana accents) and the then-Quebecois cultural anthem Yama Nekh.

While most likely working on short notice, the VEBB line-up gels rather well, and it's a bit ironic that drummer Perrote now plays the concert, but had not joined the 70's adventure along with some more Contraction members. While I'm sure many of the attendance probably would choose another group as their fave from the FMPM07 line-up, I'm sure Stephen and Sean probably would say that VEBB was the most emotive and probably tore a few tears from their eyes. While a very good live album, with a new generation of musos paying dues to the VEBB heritage (that was THE Quebecois supergroup of back then), it is difficult to say that Live FMPM is more worthy than the first PQ release; but it's different, yet not as essential, but surely not from far!!

For the reviews of both albums, please see the album's reviews in their respective pages, but let it be known that the debut live album is augmented by one bonus track (placed in the context of the concert, but it was previously available as the b-side of a single) and that the album's over all length did not allow for a single disc, so it is rather strangely sprawled on this re-issue's two discs. So three tracks of their first album is present on the first disc, before having the studio album, and in terms of a finale, both sides of their second non-album single with the delicious and groundbreaking Yama Nekh and the twelve string guitar piece S'Assoir Dans Les Champs.

Yes this re-issue was really the best way to start ProgQuebec's extremely noble re-issue campaign, making sure the artistes get the full benefits of their works. Maybe, just maybe, without this re-issue of VEBB's works the second miracle of Quebec's prog might not have happened, just as the original vinyl's existence was as essentiakl to the first miracle back in the 70's.

This second album is their only studio recordings, but shows a fairly different facet (smoother and more refined) of the group. Not that the group got any smaller than its live version, on the contrary, there are 25 musos happening on wax slice. Nor has the music gotten less eclectic either: it is still rather wide-spectrummed, ranging from Piano tracks to full-brassed rock pieces, while passing though wild spacey jazzy fusions. Clearly this album is more bassist Bill Gagnon's with his excellent funky playing (he's also the producer), even if his closing track, the aptly titled Guess Who's Coming To Jam is relatively hard to integrate.

The album is a bit schizophrenic sharing some pure acoustic songs on half the tracks and some hard jazz-rock on the other half. Needless to say that for the proghead's interest those last ones are the most interesting, but compared to their first live album, their fusion is harder-driven, more extreme and if well recorded, not always easy on the brains. Some of the album's highlights are the superb and dramatic (brass section) Walter's Van and the highly intricate Machine Infernale (where one of the riffs resembles strongly The Who's Who Are You track some three years before the time), both Gagnon pieces.

So this live album shows a fairly different side of the group , but at the same time, it confirms the group's direction of a jazz-rock inferno that was rivalling and being as innovative as Mahavishnu or early Weather Report

Recorded in one night at the Theatre St Jean in January 74, this double vinyl presented a weird sideways artwork and the music that went along this gatefold was just as puzzling. While the majority of the tracks present an excellent fusion-jazz, some tracks were not always that well inspired either and the succession was sometimes chaotic. After the soft fusion track of Comme Par Magie, comes a kick-ass RnR track Ain't No Way To Be where a not-very-judicious flute appears. Some of the singing (especially the female ones) may even appear a bit weak or out of place, but nothing shocking and this is a bit of a minor flaw that is quickly offset by the many spontaneous nature of the evening.

The tracks succeed in an inordinate fashion with a Clayderman-Vangelis-like Belle Inconnue, followed by funky soft jazz ballad then a 9-min blistering 100 MPH jazz-rock Kondy Donky leading to an interesting Va T'En Vite (this is a bonus track on the Cd reissue) and a superb Pixieland resembling Soft Machine in some weird way. The combo is so tight that most of the tracks are succeeding each other with barely any interruptions. The album keeps getting deeper and deeper in madness with the improvised (almost free-jazz) Poivrots Névrosés (Neurotic Drunkards) and culminating in the 12-min Strangle full with drums (two drummers) and percussion solos (two players also). Then the group gets into their hit Yama Nekh (which will also be Toubabou's calling card), a superb funky-bassed semi-African piece.

This first album is a mixed bag (the songwriting is shared by too many people to give any sense to unity to this album), but with much more good elements than the rare sloppy ones, and the best moments are worthy of the best JR/F albums. This album holds very high historical importance in La Belle Province as it sort of marks the start of the next 5-year's prog-explosion that makes Quebec the North American centre of prog, all the while never being able to profit much from it because of the blackballing of most of their artistes once the PQ separatism crisis embroiled the situation.