ProgQuebec's upcoming releases!

 

ProgQuebec,French-canadian prog reissue specialist label, will be releasing their first re-issues of 2008 with a trio of albums that should appeal to most serious proghead!

 

On May 27th they will be issuing Offenbach's ''St-Chorone de néant'' and ''Bulldozer'' as well as Jacques Blais' ''themes''.

 

Offenbach were the premier Quebecois heavy blues-rock band of the 70's/80's releasing a string of albums that got huge mass appeal during the second part of their illustrous carrer.But in the early days they were a little proggier, with accent on keys and tended to strectch and experiment a bit more, maybe like Deep Purple or early Uriah Heep.''St-Chrone de néant'' was a live recording of  a mass they held in an Oratory(sort of big church). Mostly sung in Latin,it was to be the crowning achievement of the original line-up's carrer.It features a 20+choir and a priests who recite the mass,with the band providing a heavy/space type of rock that sounds like Pink Floyd and Purple jamming with Jesus-Christ!!It was relesed in 1973.The re-issue will feature bonus tracks originally recorded for the mass but edited out of the original Lp.

 

''Bulldozer'' was a soundtrack to a movie done by one of the band members,Pierre Harel.It has never been released on CD yet and will too feature some bonus.No doubt one of the most unusual recording  by this band.It features re-workings of some older songs as well as new ones and a few short instrumentals who were used to enhance some of the movie scenes.It was also originally relesed in 1973.

 

Jacques Blais was a talented singer/songwriter/guitarist who released a couple of albums in the mid 70's.''Themes'' was is first and best.It feaures most of the band Contraction,thus ending sounding a lot like this band,wich is not a bad thing!

 

These 3 albums will be released May 27th.You can check it out as well as some other prog goodies from ''La belle province'' here  www.progquebec.com/