L'HEPTADE

For the first time, Harmonium put some drums and electric guitars on this double LP, and there are more varied instruments and keyboards: piano, moog, mellotron and electric piano, among others; there is even a very good sax solo on "Chanson noire". The acoustic folk tendency present on the previous albums is more absent here. There are many bits that sound very much like the Anthony Phillips' "Geese and the ghost" album: not because of the guitars, rather because of the celestial & delicate oboe, flute and piano parts. There are some very good female lead & backing vocals. There are still floating mellotron, but it is more in the background: there are many orchestral-like arrangements in the background, and I wonder if it is not the mellotron that makes those arrangements. Serge Fiori sings in French, and he has the typical Quebecker accent. The electric guitar on "Lumieres de vie" sounds a bit like the Camel of the 70's, and I think it ends with a floating harmonium sound. Unfortunately, this is their last studio album.

Rating: 4.5 stars