PAIX

When it comes the idealistic hippie psychedelic rock 60s evolving into the more serious musical workouts of the progressive rock 70s, few integrated the two styles more elegantly and convincingly than CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES who found a unique niche in the zone that lay in between. RIBEIRO and her team found instant notoriety with their unique one-of-a-kind album 'No. 2' which scored them a seven album run on the Philllips Records label. Not only would the band enjoy the stability of a supportive label but CATHERINE found a secondary career with more pop oriented solo albums where she revived the songs of Edith Piaf and Jacques Prevert in more traditional French fashion.

Pictured in full hippie regalia somewhere in the forested mountains of southern France on the album cover, the band's third album PAIX (French for 'Peace') which was the second on the Phillips label saw the addition of bassist and percussionist Jean-Sébastien Lemoine joining the team after the exit of percussionist Claude Thiebaut. The band shifted gears a bit more towards the world of psychedelic space rock with long organ fueled hypnotic grooves which found less emphasis on the experimental homemade instrumentation of Patrice Moullet and focused more on the lysergic possibilities of the interplay of the organ, bass and guitars fueled by tribal drumbeats and RIBEIRO's vocal eccentricities.

On PAIX the band crafted the perfect balance between the unique avant-folk of the previous works and psychedelic rock which featured a new emphasis on bass grooves and guitar textures. PAIX also featured RIBEIRO expanding her vocal style into more traditional folk arenas as well as her electrifying declarative poetic prose that existed somewhere between Janis Joplin styled singing and recited spoken word tangents. While performed entirely in the French language, CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES sounded like no other and was easily one of the most unique acts to have emerged from the progressive musical world of France possibly second only to space trippers Magma.

PAIX features only four tracks with the first two only hitting the three minute mark with the remaining running time dedicated to the 15 1/2 minute title track and the grand finale, the side swallowing 24 1/2 minute 'Un Jour' La Mort' which is actually several musical motifs merged into one massive psychedelic behemoth. 'Roc Alpin' starts PAIX in a rather catchy upbeat folk rock mode which features a tamer RIBEIRO engaging in a more sensual approach to her singing style. The following 'Jusquá' Ce Que la Foce de T'Aimer Me Manque' features the longest title track name but the shortest playing time at just under three minutes. The most authentically folk number features RIBEIRO unleashing a series of oooo's and aaaah's as she weaves majestic melodic melancholy with the acoustic guitar providing the musical accompaniment along with tribal drumming.

The title track somehow teased an instantly addictive melodic motif into a near 16-minute marathon of variations of a bass groove, lysergic organ runs with psych-soaked atmospheres and a hypnotic drum circle vibe. The track takes a good six minutes just to warm up before RIBEIRO unleashes her classic declarations in half spoken form seemingly having a conversation with Lemoine's stealthy bass workouts. RIBEIRO whips you into a frenzy as she sounds as if she's performing some kind of ritual or perhaps an exorcism of some sort as she brings back some of the more outrageous proclamations that made ''Âme Debout' so intense. Overall PAIX is a much less frantic release with RIBEIRO having chilled out a bit and finding clever ways to weave her lyrics and wordless utterances into the fabric of the instrumental interplay with remarkable elegance.

The closing 'Un Jour' La Mort' is a bonafide transcendental journey and in many ways the logical conclusion to the psychedelic hippie era having unfolded in its unadulterated natural purity. By opening with a layered atmospheric effect of swirling ambience and pointillistic guitar notes that hint at the melodic developments to come, the track is like a spiritual ride in the astral plane. The rather simple yet catchy melody oozes into the framework as a bass note adds the missing pieces. Around the four minute mark CATHERINE begins delivering a series of wordless vocals while the acoustic guitar and bass grooves accent her hippie chants. The music coalesces into a unique folk-infused gleeful tune with sing-along oooo's and aaaah's building up the momentum and a lead guitar lick transmogrifying the hippie folk into psychedelic space rock. The track showcases several motifs which excel in recurring themes and variations on those themes. The track climaxes with RIBEIRO delivering a frenzied almost psychotic series of screams while the musical build up leaves you with the most pleasant mix of organ, bass and guitar strumming.

While CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES would follow PAIX with five more albums, this unique act would peak with this 1972 release in tandem with the previous album ''Âme Debout.' While this team would never create such majestic magic that rose so high seemingly to the stars, the band remained fairly consistent for the next few albums in staying true to its core values of melding its unique brand of avant-folk with psychedelic rock. What's cool about this album is that while most 60s psych bands totally reinvented themselves and strayed far from where they began their journey, CATHERINE RIBEIRO and her boys were very much still rooted to the idealisms of the hippie culture without having been derailed by the nihilism and reality checks that followed. Instead they fueled their stylistic approach ever so intensely and in the process refined the possibilities of their musical vision until it shined like a diamond. PAIX is without a doubt one of the most magnanimous expressions of free form musical expression coupled with catchy pop sensibilities, folk inspired melodic underpinnings and the excesses of progressive rock all wrapped up in pure psychedelic escapism. One of the best albums that the era had to offer period.