LE VOYAGE DE L'ENFANT LUNE

Claude Boisvert was the man behind this Francophone Canadian band.After taking studies in music he had been teaching composition, writing, orchestration and musical arrangement at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres for a decade or so.When the music department closed permanently, he decided to make his dream of a band come true, initially inviting his cousin Daniel Laroche on drums and later his childhood friends Mario Bouchard on bass and Yves Cossette on drums.The line-up was completed around the time Unisphere entered the studio to record their debut.Producer Rejean Bouchard took over the guitars and the album ''Le voyage de l'enfant lune'' came out in 2004.

The band was inspired by the classic groups of the 70's such as PINK FLOYD, ANGE, GENESIS and compatriots MORSE CODE to produce a light Neo/Symphonic Prog work, characterized by its long and elaborate tracks.With five compositions, the band shows a tendency to reproduce the progressive spirit of the past, because four out of the five pieces are 11 minutes or longer with ''Raconte-moi une histoire'' clocking at over 23 minutes!The opening ''Quand je serai grand'' follows more of a PINK FLOYD style with a spacious keyboard atmosphere, mellow bass and guitar work and constant display of poetic vocals with a bit of Arabian-like tunes in the smooth rhythms.''La femme sandwich'' is more of the same, based on hypnotic PINK FLOYD-ian textures with mellow strings added and some very DAVID GILMOUR-like ambiental, almost jazzy soloing, before expanding into the GENESIS' territories with excellent, vintage-styled organ and synth solos by Boisvert, much in the vein of ''The cinema show''.The cinematic and sentimental atmospheres continue with the 16-min. ''L'enfant lune (Le voyage)'', where the combination of sensitive lyrics and dreamy keyboards/light drumming have something of MARILLION circa-''Clutching at straws''.The more grandiose following with the symphonic keyboards, the old-school organ and the melodic guitar works are coming from the early IQ days.''Aide-moi'' is a short poetic ballad with discreet recorders and acoustic guitars in the vein of ANGE and the time has come for the long opus of ''Raconte-moi une histoire''.This is propably the more balanced effort by the band, a combination of FLOYD-ian organ/guitar soundscapes, dramatic ANGE hints with a strong vocal-theatrical taste and Neo Prog flashes on electric solos and synths.Maybe too extended for its own good, but still holding the interest of the listener until the very end.

According to Boisvert, keyboards were the most important instrument of Unisphere's music, thus a second keyboardist was hired, Annick Belisle, along with new guitarist Croteau Dennis.However the Canadian band never found its way to a second album and apparently dissolved.

Mellow, romantic and light Symphonic Rock in the vein of ANGE, PINK FLOYD and GENESIS.Nothing grounbreaking, still recommended to all fans of the style.