LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS

While i wouldn't call CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES totally obscure in this day and age thanks to the internet and outsider weirdo music guides like the Nurse With Wound List, it does seem that most who delve into the band's discography tend to check out the first four albums and then stop. This is a shame because this unique unclassifiable act produced its most creative and wild albums beginning with "Âme Debout" and continuing all the way up to "(Libertés?). While the quality dipped a tad afterwards even the next two albums are well worthy of exploration. Perhaps the fact that the focus was around RIBEIRO's poetry that delved into political and environmental issues but narrated completely in the French language throws many non-French speakers off however the music alone is well worth the price of admission for this strangely unique psychedelic experimental band that was neither folk, rock or classical yet somehow was all at the same time (and more!)

Starting out as CATHERINE RIBEIRO + 2 BIS and then switching out to + ALPES on the second album, RIBEIRO and her dedicated musical maestro composer Patrice Moullet cranked out an album each year ending with what's considered the band's crowning achievement, the much revered "Paix" in 1972. After a year's break and a complete lineup change the ALPES returned in 1974 with the band's fifth album LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS (The Feeble Rat And The Country Man). While RIBEIRO and Moullet were back and remained the only constant members throughout the band's nine album run, this release featured an expanded lineup with a wider array of instrumentation and dynamics. The new ALPES included Jean-Jacques Leurion playing orgolia (a large metallic violin), Daniel Motron on organ / piano, Gerald Renard on percuphone and bass as well as Denis Cohen on various percussion instruments and timbales.

Structured very similarly to "Paix," LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS featured four tracks with the entire B-side of the original vinyl swallowed up by one epic multi-suite movement. As usual the lyrics are written by RIBEIRO and set to Moullet's hypnotic musical flow that featured self-made instruments such as the percuphone. Compared to "Paix" though LE RAT is both more psychedelic and features more aspects of progressive rock. The eerie violin performances add a completely new element with Jean-Jacques Leurion giving some of the most unhinged performances like a Paganini on steroids. RIBEIRO nurtures her Portuguese roots with a fado type of mood setting approach that fuels her passionate delivery of her poetic prose. Often considered one of the most dynamic albums about ecology and environmental issues, the album's musical content is every bit as wild and dynamic amplified by CATHERINE's vocal intensity that offers desperate passionately delivered pleas, dramatic intensified shouting sessions and the occasional blood-curdling screams.

Beginning with "La Petite Fille Aux Fraise (The Little Strawberry Girl)" the band showcases a more intense infusion of energy with a busy percussive drive and a psychedelic church organ melody sound straight out of the wild swingin' 60s and also features RIBEIRO in full-on singing mode rather than frantically delivering her usual sermon in pseudo-narrative form. This bouncy track is quite catchy and easily the most accessible of the album's incrementally weirder and wilder tracks that follow. The first lengthy track "L'ère De La Putréfaction - Concerto Alpin En 4 Mouvements (The Age of Putrefaction - Alpine Concerto in 4 Movements)" features a knotty proggy time signature rich "Prelude" followed by two epic movements that rock the Farfisa organ and features a feisty bass groove that sounds like something you'd hear Jannick Top perform in a zeuhl-fueled Magma frenzy. Psychedelic and emotive, this piece features no percussion at first but ends with a dramatic build of of tension where all the instruments go nuts and deliver a final outburst of pure chaos including a delayed percussive presence.

"Un Regard Clair (Obscur) / A Clear (Dark) Look" follows and offers a bit of relief from the freneticism with a folky sing-songy performance by RIBEIRO and an atmospheric backdrop playing over a folky guitar strumming session. Once again the bass virtuosity of Gérald Renard whizzes up and down the scales in contrast to the otherwise chilled out mood setting. The grand finale is the side swallowing "Poème Non Épique - Concerto Alpin En 6 Mouvements (Suite) / Non-Epic Poem - Alpine Concerto in 6 Movements" which finds RIBEIRO in her usual ritualistic mode of delivering a frenetic sermon where she slowly builds to a series of screams and vocal outbursts unparalleled in the world of prog. Likewise through the various movements the the momentum slowly accrues and reaches a climactic frenzy after a staggering 25 plus minutes of psychedelic freakery. It all begins with the busy percolating percussion of some unorthodox instruments with the organ slowly oozing in with a stealth violin presence creeping in and slowly usurping control. The psychedelic frenzy just builds and builds until RIBEIRO finally joins in after six minutes of warming up. Likewise she goes on her usual tangents and the entire track ends in a thundering crescendo with the sickest most frenzied violin performance EVER! I swear that ole Jean-Jacques was possessed or something!

A woefully overlooked album in the ALPES discography, LE RAT DÉBILE ET L'HOMME DES CHAMPS is really a step up in many ways from "Paix" with a more diverse array of sounds and stylistic approaches while carrying on the same general layout. This is probably the most rocking of the ALPES canon with fiery virtuosic performances and more electrified instrumentation with less emphasis on the folky flavors of the past. Perhaps the complexities in this one make it even more alienating as even the most accessible moments of CATHERINE RIBEIRO + ALPES can be intimidating for a first timer however this one is a grower that creeps its way into your soul and takes hold. Steeped in the furthest reaches of psychedelia that will most appeal to lovers of lysergic Krautrock, ALPES scored another masterpiece in my book with this utterly unique mix of experimental prog. The album is probably the most demanding and trippy of the band's nine album run and the only one to feature the demented violin sounds that would make Paganini take notice. A triumphant and declarative album hindered only by the language barrier for those who don't speak French however RIBEIRO's emotive performances pretty much convey her passion regardless of actual lyrical content.