Addison Project - Mood Swings ($9.99)
Titles are arranged alphabetically with the latest additions highlighted in yellow.
Addison Project - Mood Swings ($9.99) Addison Project is a band assembled by Richard Addison, who played bass on the first two Mystery albums, and has a lot of studio experience in Montreal. This 2003 CD is sophisticated progressive fusion, sounding very modern in that there is a groove to most of the songs, propelled by Addison’s throbbing bass lines. Some of this sounds like what Frank Zappa might have done in 2003.
Agah Bahari - The Second Sight of a Mind ($9.99) Agah Bahari is an Iranian ex-pat guitarist now living in Toronto. After an initial independent release, Unicorn Digital has reissued Bahari’s 2008 debut CD The Second Sight of a Mind, on which Derek Sherinian plays keyboards, Virgil Donati drums and Rick Fierabracci bass. Not surprisingly then, this is instrumental fusion/metal/prog in the Sherinian and Planet X style, with fine guitar work from Bahari, sometimes reminding one of Allan Holdsworth. Apparently Bahari’s decision to leave Iran had a lot to do with the Iranian Ministry of Culture’s decision to ban him from performing or recording in Iran. Everybody’s a critic.
Ken Baird - Further Out ($12.99) 
Ken Baird - Fields ($12.99)On Further Out (2009), Ontario songwriter/composer Ken Baird leads his band (guitar, bass, drums) through nine tracks while playing predominantly keyboards and singing, with Sue Fraser and others adding backing vocals. Even though it’s been a while since Martin Road, the music seems to be a logical extension of that style, with a stronger individual identity and greater maturity. Production-wise it’s a big step up too. It’s another very strong album for Baird, and in particular, the 10-minute title track is a tour-de-force.
Martin Road (2004) continues Ken Baird’s remarkable career arc, from instrumental Mike Oldfield-influenced solo works to more ensemble-oriented Renaissance/Genesis-inspired songs with confident vocals. Baird’s warm vocals are now to the point where he could get a gig solely as a singer, and Sue Fraser again contributes her lovely backing vocals. Multi-instrumentalist Baird, primarily a keyboardist, gets help from several other musicians on drums, bass, and guitars (one of whom, Steve Cochrane, is a fine recording artist in his own right). Both the folky side as well as the symphonic side of Renaissance are suggested here, and the Genesis/Tony Banks influence first heard on Fields continues, but Baird’s songs are more personal and intimate than either of those references would imply. Needless to say, highly recommended.
Orion is Ken Baird’s third album, not only a quantum leap forward for this artist, but one of the best symphonic rock albums of 2000. Orion features a greater role for singer Sue Fraser; she and Ken share vocal duties and when they sing together, the harmonies are sublime. While the Mike Oldfield and Genesis influences are still present, the music now feels closest to Renaissance, with some Rick Wakeman-like synth leads.
The music on Fields (1998) is situated between Mike Oldfield and Genesis/Tony Banks, closer to the latter in fact, a very warm vocal symphonic rock album with touches of folk, both Celtic and otherwise. The emphasis is on melody, arrangement, and texture. Ken’s voice is pleasant and intimate, and Sue Fraser’s backing vocals are most welcome when they appear. She sings lead on the album’s centerpiece, the 11-minute Into Night, and her voice is exquisite. Ken is an accomplished keyboardist and also plays recorder, whistle, guitar, bass, trumpet, and percussion. Other musicians assist on drums and guitar.
August (1996) is Baird’s first album. It is more strictly in the early-Oldfield style, less rock-oriented, instrumental save one track. Consider it Baird’s Ommadawn. These albums exude such analog warmth - they just don’t make them like this any more.
Robert Beriau - Selfishness: Source of War & Violence ($14.99) Falling Back to Where I Began (2005, 63-minutes) is the work of French-Canadian Robert Beriau on piano, synths, acoustic & electric guitar, bass, and drums/percussion. It is an instrumental work somewhat similar to the first Clearlight album, spacey and classically-influenced, with biting electric guitar leads, generally ponderous and serious-sounding.
Beriau adds vocals and uses two other musicians to handle the drums on Selfishness: Source of War & Violence (2008, 65-minutes). Here Beriau’s admiration of Peter Hammill is readily apparent, and his vocals are in the Hammill style, though there is still a lot of instrumental content. The music is dark progressive rock that, in addition to the Hammill influence, has a degree of Floydian spaciness and those same biting guitar leads found on his debut. Read reviews here.
Jacques Blais - Thèmes ($16.99) ProgQuebec says: “Quebecois guitarist Jacques Blais released this mostly-instrumental album back in 1975. It features most of the members of Contraction (check below for their CDs) at the time of their second album. More specifically, it’s produced by Yves Laferrière and features him on bass, Lachapelle on keys, Perrotte on drums, and Christiane Robichaud on vocals on various tracks. Jacques Blais sings and plays guitar. The material has some similarities to Contraction, but Blais is a more prominent presence than Robert Stanley was on the Contraction albums, and there aren't really any pop influences, just a slightly funky but mostly ethereal atmospheric progressive rock. Reissued for the first time on CD, remastered from the original tapes”. There is some Yes influence present, primarily in the guitar, and a little Pink Floyd, but as with most of the Quebec progressive rock of the seventies, it is a unique style. Since ProgQuebec have been in no hurry to get mp3 clips from this album up on their site, we’ve provided a link to samples on Archambault’s site, but bear in mind that these are just the first 30 seconds of each track, which in progressive rock is often just the intro.
The Box - Black Dog There ($14.99) The Box are a Montreal-based band that were active during the 1980’s as a pop band, with one album going platinum in Canada. The Box disbanded in 1992 after having sold 400,000 albums, but the original vocalist Jean-Marc Pisapia returned in 2005 with a new lineup and behold, Black Dog There is a progressive rock concept album that has little to do with the pop band. Actually the band had prog rock roots, and as Jean-Marc says, “This was the record I wanted to make when I was 20. I grew up listening to Gentle Giant, Genesis, Pink Floyd… those were big groups in Quebec.” The musicians all appear to be French-Canadian, but aside from accordion in one song and a Cirque du Soleil influence in another, the style here is Anglo. It is often spacey with a dark ambience and comes closest to Pink Floyd, though it ends up being rather unique. There is a Marillion influence in the final song at least; The Box had played with Marillion in Montreal. There is some excellent songwriting here, especially the majestic choruses of songs such as So Beautiful and Watching Over You, and the whole album has grown on us each time we’ve played it. The only negative is that it’s a short album by today’s standards at 38:19. Digipack.
Brégent - Partir Pour Ailleurs ($16.99) In the early 1970’s, well before joining keyboard/percussion duo Dionne-Brégent, keyboardist Michel-Georges Brégent fronted the group Brégent with brother Jacques on vocals. Following the dissolution of Dionne-Brégent, Brégent reformed to produce a second album, 1979's Partir Pour Ailleurs. The poetry of Verlaine, Léo Ferré and Felix Leclerc are given dramatic treatment by Jacques and set to an adventurous symphonic and electronic rock music, resulting in an album that was ahead of its time. Or maybe from a different time stream altogether. The dramatic/poetic French-language vocals may remind some listeners of Ange, though there are times when they sound more like a French David Byrne. The music is progressive rock with an avant-garde edge, not in the sense of dissonant and unlistenable, but more in a Zappa sense of taking chances and constantly surprising the listener. This reissue on the ProgQuébec label comes with eight unreleased bonus tracks recorded live in concert in 1977.
Capharnaüm - Le Soleil est une Bombe Atomique ($9.99) This is the 2007 edition on Unicorn Digital of a CD released independently in 2006. Capharnaüm is an instrumental progressive rock quartet from Montreal featuring two guitarists, bass and drums. Their sound is centered on the interplay of their two guitarists, who are brothers with distinct but complementary styles. The music is intricate but always melodic, with the variety of guitar tones giving the band a full sound. There is some heavy guitar, but more often they use cleaner, ringing tones. It’s a fresh sound that is not overly technical but rather full of atmosphere as well as energy.
Steve Cochrane - With or Without ($11.99) While his first two albums (1991, 1995) are rock-oriented new age, The Purest of Designs (1998) is Steve Cochrane’s salute to 1970’s symphonic progressive rock. Cochrane is impressive as a one-man orchestra and singer. The best reference points are Yes and Mike Oldfield, and the music certainly doesn’t shy away from bombast and grandiosity. The highlight is the seven-part, 27-minute Songs for Spring.
Fast forward to 2007 and With or Without, on which Cochrane is joined by Ken Baird on keyboards (Cochrane in turn has played on several of Baird’s CDs), two drummers splitting the workload, and backing vocalists. Cochrane has altered his approach on this CD. Not only is it more band-oriented, but there is a lot more acoustic guitar. It is Cochrane’s best album by a wide margin. The two contemporary comparisons that spring to mind are (Guy) Manning and Steve Unruh, that is, progressive troubadours who frame folky singer-songwriter songs in rich symphonic prog arrangements. With Cochrane, there is more influence of Renaissance (piano-based classical-rock arrangements) and some of the pastoral nature of early Genesis or Anthony Phillips. The electric guitar provides melodic leads in a progressive (e.g., Steve Hackett) style that balance the acoustic guitar perfectly. Read author Jerry Lucky’s review.
Contraction - Live 1974 ($16.99) 
Contraction’s self-titled debut (1972) captures the beauty, originality, and adventurous nature of a group recognized as one of Quebec’s greatest progressive rock bands. One long thread permeates the entire album, blending beautiful songs and instrumentals. There was an English version of this album, but this is the French version. Contraction’s second album La Bourse ou la Vie (1974) features another long cycle of progressive songs highlighted by the 18-minute title track, which has a bit of a King Crimson influence. Contraction is fairly representative of Quebec’s 1970’s progressive scene, with beautiful female vocals in French (and sometimes wordless), a very organic 1970’s sound bordering on fusion at times, merging complex rock with delicate, folk-tinged passages emphasizing acoustic instruments, plus touches of funk and blues.
The performance captured on Live 1974 was originally broadcast over the radio in February 1974, a month before the La Bourse ou la Vie sessions. It has not been previously released. The audio has been remastered from the original 1/4" tapes, and the performance and recording quality are both excellent. The set list is a mix of material from the first album, including some English versions, material that would later appear on the second album, and three previously unreleased tracks.
Conventum - À l'affût d'un complot ($15.99) These are the 2006 reissues on the ProgQuébec label. Conventum was formed in 1973 by several of Quebec’s best self-taught, counter-cultural musicians. On their first album À l'affût d'un complot (1977), guitarist and singer-songwriter André Duchesne is joined by guitarist extraordinaire René Lussier, violinist Bernard Cormier, bassist Jacques Laurin, and guests such as Louise Forestier and Charles Kaczynski. There are seven live bonus tracks, and this edition includes a 16-page booklet. Their second, Le Bureau central des utopies (1979), has two bonus tracks (one live) totaling 16-minutes. The music of Conventum blends acoustic chamber music with rock as well as traditional folk and early music, all masterfully played. It is full of delicate passages and an enticing classical-folk fusion, so while one can label it avant-folk-prog or something like that, the music is not inaccessible. That is, except for the live bonus tracks, which are much weirder and may be of no value to non-French speakers what with all the dramatic, theatrical speech.
Dagmähr - As Far as We Get ($14.99) 
As Far as We Get (2001) is the second CD for French-Canadian band Dagmähr, a modern day Van der Graaf Generator record with a few forays into Gabriel-era Genesis territory. This is a great album, and the faithful 1970’s sound makes it a sure bet for fans of classic progressive rock.
Dionne-Brégent - same (2CD, $17.99) This 2CD set reissues the complete works of Dionne-Brégent, the Québécois duo of Vincent Dionne (drums/percussion) and Michel-Georges Brégent (keyboards). Their two instrumental albums Et le Troisième Jour (1976) and Deux (1977) are actually quite different from each other. The first is an electronic music work that begins symphonic and spacey, with some influence of Terry Riley, but much of it is abstract and menacing a la the earliest Tangerine Dream. Deux is a beautiful progressive rock album, though there are still touches of electronic music such as sequencers incorporated into a driving rock piece. It has a much fuller sound, with the addition of a string quartet, harp, and brass. In addition to remastered versions of both of these albums, there are two bonus tracks. One is a performance of a Karlheinz Stockhausen piece by Vincent Dionne, the other a lost Dionne-Brégent soundtrack which never appeared on LP. A lavish 20-page booklet completes another essential reissue from the ProgQuébec label.
Vincent Dionne - Nil Bleu Nil Blanc ($16.99)This 2006 CD reissues two of Vincent Dionne’s solo albums on one 70-minute CD: Destinations (1998) and Parade (1991). Both these albums have aspects of sequencer-driven electronic music, symphonic jazz, progressive rock, and you may as well throw world music and new age in there as well. Destinations is mostly a trio work with Dionne on drums/percussion/synth, Paul McCandless of Oregon on woodwinds, and Roxanne Turcotte on keyboards. Parade is Vincent aided by five or six musicians on different tracks with similar instrumentation plus bass and tabla. None of that preceding description conveys how good this music is, the way so many diverse influences are fused into something original, remaining melodic and energetic. Dionne is influenced by Steve Reich, and one can hear that in this music, but it is not minimalist, repetitive, or boring. Here are audio samples from Destinations and Parade.
Dionysos - Pionnier 1969-1994 ($15.99) A compilation from this pioneering French-Canadian progressive rock band, believed to be the first rock band in Quebec to have a repertoire entirely in French. (This CD has one song in English.) It appears these are re-recorded versions of their songs, because despite the date range in the album title, the latest tracks are from 1978. Dionysos have a powerful vocalist, and with the French lyrics, English-speakers at least will probably be reminded of Ange, though the music is not the same. Naturally, the earliest material is the more blues-based early progressive style, and with the songs sequenced chronologically, you can hear their music evolve through the 1970’s.
Direction - Est ($9.99) Direction are a Québec City band with strong vocals in French, playing progressive rock along the lines of Morse Code. A cross between later Ange and classic Rush is a fair approximation of much of their music. The Rush influence is easier to spot during the instrumental passages, as once the French vocals enter, the character of the music is changed considerably. Ère is the reissue of their 2002 first album which was originally titled simply “R”, completely remixed and remastered for this 2009 edition on Unicorn Digital.
For Est (2008), Direction joined the Unicorn Digital label and cranked the Genesis influence up to 11 on the first two tracks. If you are playing these tracks while another symphonic rock fan enters the room, he/she will demand to know who the band is and will not hesitate to strangle you if you don’t answer quickly. For the remainder of the album, the Genesis influence is present to varying degrees, along with some Yes. The Rush influence is there but less prevalent, so perhaps the significance of the title is that instead of looking west to Ontario for direction, Direction are looking east (est) to England on this album. And of course to France, since the French-language vocals give the music a special character and invite the inevitable Ange comparison. Direction’s best and most symphonic album.
The D Project - The Sagarmatha Dilemma mini-LP ($15.99) 
The D Project - Shimmering Lights jewel box ($14.99) The D Project is the new band of Stéphane Desbiens, who is the guitarist and principal composer of Sense, the primary musician in Mélia, and has been a member of Qwaarn, Ère G, Red Sand, and Jupiter9. Desbiens sings (in English) and plays acoustic and electric guitars (including a designer guitar) and keyboards. On Shimmering Lights (2006), several other musicians assist, including some familiar international names. Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings) plays keyboards on two songs, Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer) plays keys on one song, and Martin Orford (IQ) plays keys on one song. The music is the high grade symphonic progressive we’ve come to expect from Desbiens, marred only by a small amount of tuneless metal. Genesis is the primary influence, one track is pure Pink Floyd, and there’s a bit of Yes and King Crimson, but by and large it is original and creative.
On The Sagarmatha Dilemma (2008), Desbiens is assisted by Mathieu Gosselin (Sense, Jupiter9, Red Sand) on bass, Chapman Stick, and backing vocals; Jean Gosselin on drums; and other musicians on violin, cello, and backing vocals. Guests include Stu Nicholson (Galahad), Derek Sherinian (Planet X), Brett Kull (Echolyn), and John Green (Singularity). It’s another stellar symphonic prog album with influences from Pink Floyd and Genesis through to more modern prog styles such as Sherinian’s. Desbiens is representative of a generation of talented musicians who’ve assimilated the styles of a number of earlier progressive bands and are able to vary the dominant influence on a track by track basis and still produce a cohesive album. The mini-LP editions are the 2009 limited editions released by the MALS label under license from Ipso Facto, which come in heavyweight gatefold cardboard sleeves.
L’Engoulevent - L’Île où Vivent les Loups ($16.99) L'Engoulevent was formed by guitarist Michel McLean and keyboardist Pierre Moreau, with the core band fleshed out by violin and cello. They were aided by a number of musicians from Conventum on their first album L'Île où vivent les loups (1977). It’s a magical music, graced by McLean's French-language vocals and occasionally a choir. There are few comparisons for this style of music, which blends classical, traditional-style folk, and rock. There are some drums and some percussion, but often the rhythmic drive comes from the acoustic guitar. The album is about half instrumental. Moreau sticks mainly to piano and McLean to acoustic guitar, so the music is primarily acoustic, but immensely rich, beautiful, and sophisticated. This CD also includes the entire second L'Engoulevent album Étoifilan (1979), composed by Moreau and McLean and played by the entire group, accompanied by many guest musicians. The second album is closer to progressive rock as conventionally defined, higher-energy with drums on most tracks, some brass, and female vocals supporting McLean’s. Étoifilan is rare on vinyl and little-known, so it will be a very pleasant surprise for many. This CD is another gem from the Quebec 1970’s progressive scene, the likes of which we will probably not see again.
Ère G - Au-delà des Ombres ($14.99) Ère G’s 2002 debut CD is the best French-Canadian progressive album in ages, one that sounds like the great Quebecois prog bands of the 1970’s such as Harmonium. Influences of 1970’s Genesis and Yes are combined with the characteristic French-Canadian 70’s style. Beautiful French harmony vocals, loads of Mellotron, flute and 12-string guitar remind one of Harmonium’s Les Cinq Saisons, as well as early Genesis. There is also electric guitar, Rickenbacker and fretless bass, and drums. All told, a beautiful, delicate and refined progressive album full of melody and atmosphere.
Excubus - Mémoires Incubusiennes ($16.99) One of the missing bands from Quebec’s progressive rock history is Incubus, who were part of the early Quebec prog scene along with Necessite, Contraction and Maneige. They played out quite a bit between 1970 and 1974 but broke up while in France recording what would have been their first album. Four of the recordings survived and make up the first half of this CD. The second half was finished in 2008 by three of the four original members plus two other musicians. The music is a mix of instrumentals and songs sung in English, early-70’s style symphonic rock that reminds one of bands such as Van der Graaf Generator, Le Orme, Trace, Ange, Goblin, and Pollen. The group is now called Excubus to avoid confusion with the California-based band.
Daniel Gauthier - The Wish ($14.99) Above the Storm (2000, 57-minutes) is the terrific second CD by Daniel Gauthier, who was once the bassist and singer for a Yes tribute band. Here he handles vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar and bass, while two other musicians add electric guitar and drums. The music sounds like a mélange of 1970’s Yes and Pink Floyd, with various other Euro-prog influences added. Here is an mp3 of the track Evening of a New Romance (6:47).
The Wish (2008, digipack) is the third album for Gauthier, one that he’d been working on for some time. Gauthier does everything here and does an admirable job sounding like a full band. Yes is again the dominant influence; in particular, Gauthier’s bass playing is close to Chris Squire’s. Gauthier sings in English and his voice can sound a bit like Jon Anderson, if Jon Anderson’s first language was French. The Wish doesn’t reach the heights that Yes do, but then how many bands do? The Yes styling is blended with a Pink Floyd influence and a typical symphonic prog approach for which early Machiavel might be one reference point -- the slight French accent in the English-language vocals contributes to the association, but there are musical similarities as well. 58-minutes. Read Jerry Lucky’s review.
Jim Gilmour - Great Escape ($12.99) Saga keyboardist Jim Gilmour’s 2005 solo album Great Escape simply goes for it, an unabashedly progressive rock album that shows off Gilmour’s keyboard chops but within great songs that include touches of jazz-rock and pop. These keyboards are exactly what had been missing from the Saga albums of the previous years, and Great Escape eclipses most if not all of the Saga albums in proginess. Gilmour is assisted by a guitarist and a female backing vocalist, while two drummers divide the drum duties. There are five instrumentals and five vocal tracks, with Gilmour doing a very respectable job on vocals, not surprising since he handles backing vocals and some lead vocals in Saga. Think of Eddie Jobson / Zinc - The Green Album but without the wimpiness that kept that album from being as good as it could have been. This cover is green too.
Greylevel - Opus One ($13.99) Greylevel is a Canadian (British Columbia) outfit debuting in 2006 with Opus One. This is a beautiful progressive rock album close to the melancholy (older) Porcupine Tree and Pineapple Thief styles, spacey and soaked in atmosphere. Greylevel have their own take on the style though, including a classical influence in the keyboards and the use of beautiful female vocals to complement the vocals of bandleader Derek Barber. One could argue that there is more of a traditional progressive rock element present than in the P.T. bands, and the ambient aspects are worthy of Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. Barber says that although it’s not a concept album, it does follow a general theme of lost love and of finding hope in looking beyond one’s self. Very sophisticated for a debut, it is richly textured with compelling melodies and an almost spiritual quality. 59-minutes.
Grey Matter - Long Distance Singer ($14.99) Grey Matter is a French-Canadian instrumental heavy progressive and prog-metal quartet (guitars, keys, bass, drums), influenced by Dream Theater certainly, especially in the guitar, but not overly metallic. There’s a lot of quality symphonic progressive here as well. This 2000 CD is their only release to date. 74-minutes.
Hamadryad - Live in France 2006 ($13.99) 
Conservation of Mass (2000, 58-minutes) is the debut by this Montreal band and is one of the freshest and most exciting albums of mainstream symphonic progressive rock we’ve heard in some time. Powerful and often heavy, the first half of the album sometimes flirts with prog-metal, but never dwells there long enough to warrant that tag. As the album progresses, the Yes influence gets stronger and stronger and the music closer to 1970’s prog. Three tracks hover around the 10-minute mark, and they are the highlights. Vintage keys (Mellotron, Hammond, Mini-Moog) tie the music to classic prog, while the approach and production are very modern.
Lead singer Jocelyn Beaulieu left in 2002, so Hamadryad’s second CD Safe in Conformity (2005, 58-minutes) has bass player Jean-Francois Desilets singing lead; he sang lead on one song on Conservation of Mass. Desilets’ voice is more Gabriel-esque, but he isn’t as strong a singer as Beaulieu. So there are pluses and minuses with this new CD. On the plus side, if you discount the two tracks of tuneless prog-metal, the band has moved their sound much closer to 70’s Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. As is almost always the case with modern Genesis-influenced bands, the songwriting skills are nowhere near those of Genesis, so there are no hooks, and truly memorable moments are infrequent, whereas with Genesis pretty much everything was memorable. That said, the Genesis and Van der Graaf sound and style are here, and the musicians are excellent players. Unlike the first CD, it appears that everything on the second CD was recorded in Hamadryad’s own studio and was self-produced and self-engineered, yielding a CD that sounds inferior to their first CD. It doesn't sound terrible, but these dense arrangements demand more clarity throughout the midrange, where pretty much all the instruments are playing all at once.
The Live in France 2006 CD is a 77-minute live CD recorded at the Crescendo Festival, which by now you may have guessed took place in France in 2006. The 12 tracks are drawn from both of their studio albums. What is significant is that the tracks from Safe in Conformity sound much better here. One can really appreciate those early Genesis-style tracks for the first time (fans of The Watch take note).
Hune - De l’Autre Côté du Monde ($15.99)Hune are an absolutely outstanding new symphonic prog band from Quebec City. De l’Autre Côté du Monde (The Other Side of the World) is their 2009 debut. Hune sing in French, a requirement for this style, though there is a lot of instrumental content. Imagine a blend of Pulsar, Metabolisme, and Atoll, something like that. Without hyperbole, had this album been released in France at least 30 years earlier, it would today be considered one of the classic French progressive albums. Here is an mp3 (8:06, 7.43 MB) containing excerpts from the CD. 59-minutes.
Irrgarten - Home and Sanctuary ($14.99)Home and Sanctuary (1997) is the only album to date by this French-Canadian band singing in English. It blends 1970’s British-style symphonic prog with some of the neo-prog directness and some guitar-driven hard rock. It tends to be dark and plodding, but the addition of sax, flute, cello, and choir adds welcome complexity to their sound.
Jelly Fiche - Tout ce que j’ai revé ($9.99) This is the most exciting new band to come out of Québec since the golden age of the 1970’s. Montreal’s Jelly Fiche debut with Tout ce que j’ai rêvé (2008, 63-minutes), a concept album that takes some inspiration from the great 70’s Québec prog bands such as Maneige and Harmonium, but could just as easily have come out of France. The other influences are diverse, but it is all classic 70’s-style progressive. One can hear Pink Floyd, Yes, touches of early-70’s hard rock and, during the few occasions when the keyboardist switches to sax, Van der Graaf Generator or Clearlight may come to mind. These are eight beautiful tracks of pure progressive rock and French poetry, with stellar vocal melodies and harmonies. If these songs were sung in English, the vocals would lose most of their beauty and grace. (Also the paper the booklet is printed on smells really good, so make sure you get a copy while they’re fresh.) C’est magnifique! Here is an mp3 of the complete 8:43 title track.
Jupiter9 - same ($14.99) This is the 2005 debut of Jupiter9, the band of bass player Mathieu Gosselin (Sense), here responsible for bass, Chapman Stick, keyboards, acoustic guitar, E-Bow, and loops. Joining him are Sense bandmates Danny Robertson (drums) and Stéphane Desbiens (guitar). The music lies between instrumental progressive rock and jazz-rock, generally atmospheric and highly textured. Sylvain Laberge plays flute on two tracks, one of which blends Celtic and bluegrass with the rock, while a few tracks are Gosselin solo. 55-minutes.
Charles Kaczynski - Lumière de la nuit ($16.99) Here is another much-needed reissue of a collector’s item from the Quebec 1970’s progressive scene, courtesy of the ProgQuébec label. Classically-trained violinist Charles Kaczynski first appeared on record as a guest with Conventum in 1977. His sole album is the epic Lumière de la nuit (1979), on which Kaczynski plays over 20 instruments himself as well as singing in French. It’s a beautiful work of symphonic and chamber music with some folk touches, multi-layered and rich in instrumentation. Even if drums are only used sparingly, it is a rock album in that it would never pass for classical, and it is something that could only have come out of the progressive rock era. Digipack.
Kaos Moon - The Circle of Madness ($9.99) Canadian prog band Kaos Moon trace their roots to the early 1980’s but didn’t release their first album until 1994’s After the Storm. It took more than another ten years to release their second, but The Circle of Madness is well worth the wait. The label (Unicorn Digital) has suggested this is for Marillion fans, but this really has nothing to do with neo-prog or the British 1980’s bands other than that it is melodic and has songs. It reminds us of the first Ambrosia album or (for the two or three of you familiar with them) Canadian band True Myth. A large number of musicians complement the four core members, and the playing is top notch. The keyboardist favors vintage sounds, and the violin on two tracks is a great addition. This album will remind you that great prog rock songs continue in your memory after the disc has finished spinning.
Karcius - Episodes ($9.99) Karcius are a quartet (guitar/keys/bass/drums) from Montréal playing complex instrumental progressive rock. They began in 2004 with Sphere, which was in the vein of Liquid Tension Experiment or Planet X, a mix of progressive rock and fusion with some heavy passages. Kaleidoscope (2006, digipack) is their 57-minute second CD. It demonstrates a good deal of growth in two years, with a level of originality that makes it difficult to describe their music. They continued to grow on Episodes (2008), their third, with only vestiges of their original heavy style remaining. Keyboards (grand piano, Rhodes, Hammond, synths) play a big role now, and much of the album has a Floydian feel. Karcius vary things quite a bit, including relaxed space jams, pieces dominated by classical piano, jazzy bits, pieces with string arrangements, heavy fusion, symphonic rock and more.
Yves Laferrière - same ($16.99) Former leader of the group Contraction, Yves Laferrière released his first solo album in 1978. This impressive and tasteful album includes several compositions that had been destined for a third Contraction album. Yves is accompanied by a who’s who of Quebec musicians from the 1970’s, hailing from Harmonium, Beau Dommage, Conventum, and L’Orchestre Sympathique. This edition adds a bonus track that includes several pieces from the soundtrack of the film La Cuisine Rouge. Yves’s work on that soundtrack is from the same era as this album but remained unreleased in audio form until now. The music is in the characteristic jazz-tinged Quebec 1970’s progressive style, featuring one song with lyrics and the rest instrumental with some wordless female vocals. Don’t overlook this album because it’s under an individual’s name (and because the original label didn’t spend much on the LP cover art). This album is on a par with most of the better-known albums from that very rich scene.
Jérôme Langlois - Live au FMPM 2006 + Thèmes (2CD, $16.99) Molignak (2005) is the first non-reissue by the ProgQuébec label, and it’s easy to see that this was too good to pass on. Molignak is the first new release in 20 years by Jérôme Langlois, co-founder of Maneige. Featuring members of Maneige, Conventum, Octobre, and others, it is an exciting and fresh musical exploration informed by progressive rock, jazz, chamber music, contemporary classical, and film scores. The same musical ambition and inspiration that resulted in the classic Maneige albums Maneige and Les Porches is alive and well in Molignak, a beautiful, exotic, and adventurous musical suite arranged for piano, clarinets, guitar, violin, cello, bass, and drums. Conventum is also an excellent reference point. Though released under an individual’s name, this can stand with any of the Maneige or Conventum albums. It’s one of the best albums to come out of Quebec since the golden age of the 1970’s.
The first disc of the double-CD contains a live performance by Langlois at the first Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montréal (FMPM). Langlois was joined onstage by a veritable who’s who of Quebec’s 1970’s progressive scene: Gilles Schetagne (Maneige), Paul Picard (Maneige), Mario Légaré (Octobre), François Richard (L'Orchestre Sympathique), and Bernard Cormier (Conventum), as well as his daughter Romie de Guise-Langlois on clarinet. Langlois chose the occasion to revisit all major facets of his career: Lasting Weep, Maneige, Le Spectacle de l'Albatros, and his solo work leading up to his most recent release, Molignak, as well as one previously-unreleased track. The second disc of the set is the first CD reissue of Langlois’ 1984 Thèmes album, which is a solo piano album. In addition there are two previously-unreleased 1976 bonus tracks totaling 18 minutes, recorded just after Langlois had left Maneige. All the recordings on Disc 2 are accompanied by new notes from the composer himself.
Lasting Weep - Le Spectacle de l’Albatros 1976 ($15.99) Lasting Weep was a seminal French-Canadian band. Two of their members went on to form Maneige in 1972, a third ended up in Conventum and L’Orchestre Sympathique, and the fourth played with Bregent and formed the band Zak. 1969-1971 (75-minutes) compiles their best tracks, eight studio and two live. The music is instrumental, jazzy proto-prog with psychedelic touches and some flute and sax. Lasting Weep began integrating flute before knowing of Jethro Tull; later they performed some of Tull’s early songs. The early Maneige sound can be heard emerging in some of these tracks.
Le Spectacle de l’Albatros (71-minutes) was recorded live in 1976 and features all the members of Lasting Weep and Maneige, plus Raoul Duguay, members of Conventum, L’Orchestre Sympathique, L’Engoulevent, and more. Jerome Langlois began writing this epic in 1970 while with Lasting Weep, finished it in 1976 after leaving Maneige, and it was performed live several times that year. A progression from their early days, Le Spectacle de l’Albatros was Jerome’s magnum opus in Lasting Weep, and marries progressive rock, jazz, and classical music. There are some French-language vocals, but the music is heavily instrumental.
Mahogany Frog - DO5 ($13.99) Mahogany Frog’s DO5 (2008) is the fifth full-length release from this Winnipeg-based outfit. The music is instrumental, relying both on electric guitar and an array of vintage keyboards (Farfisa organ, MicroMoog, ARP string ensemble, Korg MS2000, electric & acoustic piano, and others), plus bass, drums and occasional trumpet. The music is melodic, even stately at times, and sometimes close to instrumental Caravan. But Mahogany Frog’s sound is more psychedelic, as they often saturate the sonic space with feedback, grungy distortion, and odd electronic effects, beats and noises. The themes progress quickly, and the instruments change roles often. The music is only challenging to one’s preconceptions, not a challenge to listen to as it remains grounded in melody and form. Digipack. Read the DPRP review.
Maneige - Libre Service / Self-Service ($16.99) out-of-stock 
Maneige - Maneige ($16.99) 
Maneige was one of the best-known French-Canadian progressive bands, an instrumental band whose first album appeared in 1975, with the band continuing into the early 1980’s while shifting towards jazz-rock. The ProgQuébec label has reissued Maneige and Les Porches, their highly sought-after first two albums, both released in 1975. Co-founder Jérôme Langlois (see above) was a member for only these two albums, and they remain Maneige’s most ambitious, featuring sprawling compositions with a variety of instrumentation dominated by piano and flute, classically-influenced with elements of jazz and folk. The first album contains two live bonus tracks, one a previously-unreleased track and the other a live version of one of the album tracks.
Following the departure of Jérôme Langlois, Maneige launched its second era with 1977’s Ni Vent... Ni Nouvelle, considered by many to be their best album. The band gravitates towards more concise compositions, melding classical, jazz and rock influences. One can detect a little Gentle Giant influence here. This 2006 edition on the ProgQuébec label contains the 10 original tracks which were recently remastered, plus four bonus live tracks from the 1979 album Composite, as well as a 12-page booklet full of photos.
1978's Libre Service - Self-Service shifts the style of Ni Vent... Ni Nouvelle a bit more towards fusion. This 2006 edition on the ProgQuébec label contains the 10 original tracks which were recently remastered, plus three bonus live tracks from the 1979 album Composite, as well as a 12-page booklet full of photos. Between the Ni Vent... Ni Nouvelle and Libre Service - Self-Service CDs, you get the entire Composite album except for one track.
There was an archival release in the late 1990’s called Live Montreal 1974/1975, from the time of their first two albums. Live a L’Évêché (2005, 78-minutes) includes the three long tracks from that CD and adds four more from the same two performances, including the early composition Manège, which has never before appeared in recorded form.
Les Porches Live contains a recently rediscovered concert from 1974 or 1975. (The band isn’t sure either.) The concert includes a live rendition of all of Maneige’s 1975 second album Les Porches plus two tracks from their debut album. It also includes a previously-unreleased composition: the 16-minute masterpiece Chou-fleur.
Rick Miller - Falling Through Rainbows ($9.99) Rick Miller has been composing, producing, performing and recording since the early 1980s, gaining a great deal of production experience while working at Sound Design Studios in Toronto and later in his own studio in Lakefield, Ontario, all the while honing his skills as a singer and songwriter. Early this century, Miller turned his attention to progressive rock, the music he grew up listening to, and released four prog CDs between 2004-2009. This is the new Unicorn Digital edition of Falling Through Rainbows (2009). Rick lists his influences succinctly as The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Steve Hackett, and Gabriel-era Genesis, but it’s the first two that dominate, such that Falling Through Rainbows can easily be described as a cross between The Moodies and Floyd. Miller sings and plays guitar and keyboards (lots of Mellotron), assisted by other musicians on flute, cello, guitar, violin, and drums. This is old-school melancholy, and those David Gilmour-style guitar leads are just what is needed to shift The Moody Blues out of the late 1960s into the 1970s progressive rock era.
MMCircle - Requiem pour un Vivant ($14.99) MMCircle is the other band of Spaced Out’s drummer Martin Maheux, a quintet exploring a different side of fusion than Spaced Out. MM Circle is more atmospheric, exploratory, and jazzy but also more symphonic, while Spaced Out is more aggressive. Maheux’s intricate drumming is suitably busy but never overpowers the music. MMCircle’s second album Sibylle (2006) moves further into the jazz realm while also exploring chamber music, featuring as it does a string quartet in addition to the jazz quartet.
Requiem pour un Vivant (2008) is the third MMCircle album. Initially a jazz quartet accompanied by a violinist on the first album, MMCircle enlarged to an octet on their second album, combining a jazz quartet with a string quartet. This third MMCircle album was created for string quartet, piano and drums, Maheux of course being the drummer. Requiem pour un Vivant is the most contemporary classical of the MMCircle CDs, the combination of string quartet and intricate drumming making it quite unique as well.
Morse Code - Je Suis le Temps ($15.99) These are the three classic albums from one of the top Quebec symphonic progressive rock bands, issued on CD for the first time in 2007 by the ProgQuébec label. File these next to Pollen and Opus 5. Morse Code began as a psychedelic rock band singing in English, under the name Morse Code Transmission. They shortened the name and initiated their progressive phase with La Marche des Hommes (1974), also switching to French lyrics. This album shows influences of Genesis and Ange and the characteristic Québecois magic. The CD contains two bonus tracks: Qu'est-ce que t'as compris? (single version) and Cocktail (disco mix), the latter an instrumental featuring Mellotron, flute, and funky clavinet, second only to Mike Oldfield’s Guilty for Best Disco Song Ever.
Procréation followed in 1976, highlighted by the 26-minute title track. In addition to the Genesis/Ange hybrid style, a Yes influence can also be heard. This CD adds two bonus tracks: Punch and Image. Capitol sent the band to England to record Je Suis le Temps (1977), which resulted in a more polished and streamlined prog sound, and of course the times were changing, Morse Code with them. Still an excellent album. All three CDs are fairly indispensable, but if you have to pick only one, go with Procréation.
Mystery - Beneath the Veil of Winter’s Face ($9.99)
Mystery - Theatre of the Mind ($9.99) With Destiny? (1998), this Canadian band took the most progressive elements of Rush and Saga and married them with a more symphonic and ambitious approach to produce this gem of a concept album. To their credit, Mystery use delicate passages for contrast, something Rush and Saga never spent much effort on. The 10th Anniversary Edition of Destiny? features an entirely new mix that sounds much better than the original, a new cover and one new track. We have just a few copies of the original edition available now at a discounted price.
The previous album, Theatre of the Mind (1996, revamped in 1998), leans slightly more to the melodic rock side. The vocals really remind one of Journey, though the music is more elaborate than that. At the Dawn of a New Millennium is a 71-minute compilation CD drawn from Theatre of the Mind and Destiny? plus the rare 1992 self-titled first Mystery album.
Beneath the Veil of Winter’s Face (2007, 63-minutes) features new singer Benoit David, who participated in the recording of Mystery’s tracks on the Pink Floyd tribute album Signs of Time and the Moody Blues tribute album Higher and Higher. David used to sing for a Yes tribute band called Close to the Edge, and as Yes fans know, he is filling in for Jon Anderson on tour these days. This is the best, most symphonic Mystery album to date. It seems to lie at the midpoint between Saga and Genesis, still with touches of Rush, pomp rock and AOR, but solidly progressive.
The Odysseys - Voyagers ($12.99) This young Toronto band made an amazing retro album for their self-titled 2006 debut. Amazing because it sounds like a British prog album from circa 1970, which is before the band members were born. This is dreamy early progressive rock with a psychedelic feel, or in their own words: “These songs are journeys through the mind. They are an explosion of sounds from a time long past.” With the Mellotron strings & flute and the harmony vocals, The Moody Blues (at their most progressive) are often evoked, although the vocals actually sound more CSN&Y... if CSN&Y ever used Mellotron. There are also suggestions of the earliest King Crimson, early Genesis, even a little Black Sabbath. They even get the period drum sound right, that is, the sound of wet cardboard being slapped. Intoxicating stuff for those who love the sound of progressive rock first emerging from psychedelia.
Voyagers (2009, 65-minutes) is their second studio CD, which has more modern production but retains the charms of its predecessor. The tracks Thought Police and The Freerider are more guitar-oriented and sound like they were intended as candidates for airplay on Canadian radio, while the rest of the album is solidly progressive. Many songs have an early 70’s folkiness featuring a combination of acoustic guitar, harmony vocals, and Mellotron strings that is sublime. There are more intense sections that may suggest early Yes or King Crimson, never plagiarizing with one exception: the middle instrumental section of The Last Relayer makes it obvious the guys were listening to Genesis’ The Return of the Giant Hogweed. Hard to think of another band today that sounds quite like The Odysseys.
Offenbach - Bulldozer ($16.99) ProgQuebec’s descriptions: “Offenbach was one of Quebec’s best-known bands in the 1970s. They were known primarily as a hard rock band, though their early material, featuring two organists, tends to be more experimental than their later commercial output. Saint-Chrone de Néant was their biggest cult album, a recording of the Mass of the Dead sung in Latin. Due to the instrumentation and the language, this is reminiscent of the Italian proto-progressive/psych scene. This remaster contains about 20 minutes of bonus material that was never released, as it restores the entire mass including some rites performed by the priest, and their original encore as the mass was ending”.
“Bulldozer was a soundtrack to a 1974 film by Pierre Harel, who was the organist and band co-leader at the time. It includes a number of instrumental tracks and rearranged versions of some of the band’s early hits. The style ranges from bluesy hard rock to more experimental conceptual tracks. No one is going to confuse this with Morse Code, but these guys have some muscle to their music and it has been compared to Uriah Heep or Atomic Rooster”.
L’Orchestre Sympathique - En Concert à la Grande Passe ($16.99) L'Orchestre Sympathique was a progressive jazz-rock quartet founded in 1976 by classically-trained vibraphonist/percussionnist Jean Vanasse, flutist/pianist François Richard, and drummer Mathieu Léger. They were joined by various bass players through the years. From 1981 to 1986, L'Orchestre Sympathique was based mainly in Paris and toured Europe extensively with several different drummers and bass players. They released no studio albums but did release three live albums between 1979-1981, of which En Concert à la Grande Passe is the first. This album is of particular interest to progressive music lovers, sounding very much like early Maneige, with flute and mallet percussion providing their signature sound. It may as well be a studio album, as the audio quality is flawless and there is no crowd noise until after each song.
Osmosaïc - Un ($14.99) Osmosaïc is a Québec male/female duo of multi-instrumentalist/singers playing acoustic and electric guitar, keys, bass, and some programmed drums. The vocals are split between English and French. Un (2004) is as yet their only CD. This is lovely folky progressive with symphonic textures, close to the style that Harmonium made famous. The French-Canadians do this style better than anyone. Short CD at 35-minutes, but nearly perfect.
Yvan Ouellet - Le Chant des Choses ($16.99) “Yvan Ouellet was the pianist in Toubabou, and was also with the Ville Emard Blues Band (VEBB). Like many others artists at the end of the 1970’s, he released a solo album: Le Chant des Choses (1979). Yvan is accompanied by several guest artists such as Christiane Robichaud (vocals) and Yves Laferrière (bass), both formerly of Contraction and VEBB, as well as Raôul Duguay. The music is keyboard-led, light progressive jazz, which was prevalent in Québec at the time. The album includes a cover of the Beatles’ The Fool on the Hill as well as a track from Toubabou’s Attente album.” [ProgQuebec]
Pollen - same ($16.99) This 1976 album from a Québec band is one of the finest progressive rock albums to come out of North America. It was issued on CD in 1994 but did not remain available long as the label folded. This is the 2005 reissue on the ProgQuébec label, which has been remastered from the master tapes and features an expanded booklet. Pollen sounds most like a French-Canadian version of early PFM, with a stronger vocalist (singing in French). There are a few touches of Gentle Giant (Pollen toured Québec with them in 1974), but for the most part, this adheres to the Italian progressive style while including elements typical of the 1970’s Québécois progressive bands.
Progzy - Men Were Brave ($12.99) Progzy is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Alain Bergeron, who spent five years as the drummer of Nathan Mahl, recording two albums with the band. Men Were Brave (2004) is the first Progzy album, with Bergeron handling everything aside from a little rhythm guitar from Guy Leblanc: vocals, keyboards, electric guitar, bass, drums and percussion. The music is a respectable progressive rock blend that doesn’t strongly resemble any one band. As with many such solo projects, the weakest link is the vocals. Bergeron is a passable vocalist, but his French-Canadian accent does show through in spots, and the vocal melody lines are somewhat vague. Instrumentally though this is a fine debut.
Quartik - Hecho a Mano ($14.99) Quartik are a new jazz-rock band from Québec City; Hecho a Mano is their 2005 debut. The instrumentation is guitar, bass, drums and vibes. The use of vibes naturally invites comparisons to Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, but Quartik lack the melodic richness of Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, so Gongzilla is a better comparison.
Qwaarn - Aberrations ($9.99) On their 2004 debut The Word of Qwaarn, this Québec prog band features some familiar names in the Quebec scene: Mathieu Lessard (Dagmähr, Red Sand) on vocals and Stéphane D. (Red Sand, Sense, Ère G) on bass, but the core of the band is the other three musicians on guitars, keys and drums. The cover artwork on their debut CD is by Paul Whitehead, and that alone gives you a pretty good clue what the music is like. It’s a Genesis-inspired concept album sung in English, based around an original story about, er, a guy named Qwaarn. It’s not particularly helpful to call this a neo-prog album as some have; if Marillion, IQ, and Pendragon had never existed, it would make no difference to the music on this album. Their inspiration is from the 1970’s but Qwaarn have not set out to sound as retro as possible. So even though they do use a lot of vintage sounds, the music is stamped with their own identity. A fine 55-minute debut.
After some lineup changes including a new singer, Qwaarn returned in 2007 with their second concept CD. Aberrations continues the story of Qwaarn begun on The Word of Qwaarn. The lyrics are again in English, but the musical style has evolved since their debut, less overtly Genesis-influenced, more (for lack of a better word) unusual. The music is a rich symphonic progressive, not at all retro but often dramatic and bombastic in the 70’s tradition, with frequent Mellotron. There is a very slight Marillion feel, and there are also more contemporary elements. In fact there is such a wealth of ideas here that it’s difficult to get the sense of it in just a couple listens. No songs really stand out individually; the album is best appreciated as a whole. 59-minutes.
The Rebel Wheel - Diagramma ($12.99) Ottawa’s The Rebel Wheel expand to a quintet for their second full-length CD. Their brand of progressive rock is more instrumental than vocal and favors dark ambiances -- dark but not despairing or ugly. Though nothing sounds unfamiliar, the level of originality is high; The Rebel Wheel don’t sound quite like any other band. Ultimately one has to call their sound contemporary. There is a lot of classic symphonic prog here as well as a little fusion, but they mix that up with modern sonics and current technologies. It is atmospheric, cinematic, dense, and complex, yet it is also melodic and emotive. 60-minutes, digipack.
Jacques Tom Rivest - same ($16.99) This is a reissue that connoisseurs of the Quebec 1970’s progressive scene have been craving for years, and another example of the unique style that flourished during the golden age of prog in Quebec but that is in danger of being lost. Jacques Tom Rivest was singer and multi-instrumentalist in the quintessential Quebec progressive rock band Pollen. He regrouped the first Pollen line-up plus bassist Daniel Mathieu (Solstice) for his 1979 first solo record. It blends progressive rock with Harmonium-style folk and pop and French-language vocals for a melodic album considered to be the continuation of Pollen, though with more acoustic timbres. This CD also includes a bonus track, a single released just prior to the album.
Michael Sadler - Clear ($13.99) This 2004 solo album from the frontman of Saga is surprisingly good. As progressive rock goes, yes it’s mainstream, yes it’s accessible, but it is completely professional and remarkably well written, played, and recorded. A host of other musicians participate. Not just another Saga album, the songs here are more personal, and there is a bit of a 1980’s pop flavor, though few of the 80’s synth-pop bands ever made anything this good!
Saga - The Human Condition ($14.99) Saga’s 2009 studio album is the first with new signer Rob Moratti. No worries, Moratti is a good singer, and The Human Condition picks up where Saga left off on 10,000 Days. The final track You Look Good to Me is very catchy. Digipack. Read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
Saga - Contact Ltd. Ed. 2DVD+2CD ($30.99)Recorded during Saga’s 30th anniversary tour, Contact: Live In Munich (2009) also documents the end of an era. This was the farewell show for singer and co-founder Michael Sadler, who left the band to spend more time with his family and newborn son. This is one reason the sold-out show in Munich turned into an emotional musical highlight for both band and audience. Saga performed most of the best songs of their career, combined with material from their then-recent studio album 10,000 Days. The 2DVD (NTSC, all-region) comes in a standard Amaray case, while the Limited Edition combines the 2DVD with the audio 2CD and comes in deluxe packaging. The second DVD disc contains a documentary, photo gallery, and six tracks from the live show in Mannheim recorded by Underground TV. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio on the DVDs. The Limited Edition counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
Saga - 10,000 Days ($14.99) 
Saga - The Chapters Live (2CD, $15.99)
Saga - Silent Knight ($11.99)
Saga is the best known Canadian progressive rock band after Rush. Their sound is more streamlined and song-oriented than the classic prog bands, but Saga began in the late 1970’s, when the first-generation prog bands weren’t doing any better themselves. Saga’s first five albums are their classics: Saga (1978), Images at Twilight (1979), Silent Knight (1980), Worlds Apart (1981), and In Transit (1982). Saga made steady progress on their first albums, peaking on Silent Knight and Worlds Apart. In Transit is a live album that covers their first four studio albums. They later went through a period during which they became less progressive and lost key members, but their popularity continued to grow, more in Europe than at home. These are the latest remastered editions with new booklets and liner notes and bonus video tracks on Images at Twilight, Silent Knight, and Worlds Apart.
10,000 Days (2007) helps mark Saga’s 30th anniversary as a band. Sadly it also marks the final CD that Saga will record with co-founder and lead singer Michael Sadler. But fittingly, it is a great Saga album, not quite Worlds Apart, but close. This is Saga’s trademark melodic progressive sound, something they seemed to rediscover circa 2004’s Network album, and 10,000 Days is a testament to the band’s resurgence. This is the lavish digipack version, limited to the first 3000 CDs worldwide.
This special edition of Saga’s 2006 studio album Trust comes with a bonus DVD (NTSC, all-region) entitled The Making of Trust and is housed in a tri-fold digipack with 20-page booklet. Following their strong showing with 2004’s Network album, Trust may be the best Saga album since the 1980’s. You can go home again, sort of. Here are a couple reviews: Review 1 • Review 2.
This is the 2005 Special Edition of Saga’s 2004 Network album, which comes in a jewel case with outer sleeve. In addition to the CD, this edition adds a DVD (NTSC, all-regions) containing a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix of the entire album. That might not be a great thing if not for the fact this is the best Saga album in quite a while. This actually sounds like the same band that made Silent Knight and Worlds Apart, which could not be said of some of their later albums.
Those familiar with Saga know that most of their studio albums have had tracks subtitled Chapter x, where x is an integer between 1 and 16. The chapters were not released in order, so the story behind them was not the easiest to discern. On the live double-CD The Chapters Live, all 16 chapters are performed in order for the first time, and the whole story begins to make sense. Check our DVDs page for Saga’s DVDs.
Seismic Cry - Reverence ($13.99) Seismic Cry is a unique progressive project, primarily the work of Philippe Gaudet, now residing in Montreal. The Hopeless Flare (2004) sounds like two different half-albums. The first half is taken up by the four-part Saint Laurent suite, a progressive instrumental with some French narration. It blends progressive rock and classical into something fanciful, theatrical, and bittersweet, like a collaboration between Karda Estra and Mike Oldfield. The second half of the album is more rock-oriented and features female vocals in English. Gaudet handles guitars, synth, glockenspiel, and voice, while other musicians contribute drums, recorder, French horn, trumpet, and vocals (including a choir trio).
Reverence (2006) is a conceptual work regarding the gold rush to Alaska and the Canadian northwest that makes use of poems by Robert W. Service. It features male and female vocals (in English) throughout. Gaudet again handles most of the instruments with the assistance of a drummer, the other vocalists, and a guest on accordion. It’s difficult to compare this to anyone else. The music occasionally breaks out into rock but is usually gentler, melancholy, evocative and surreal, with a slight folkiness but also an almost Genesis-like pastoral flavor. The music is as poetic as the lyrics, and some of the Karda Estra feel of the first album has carried over.
Sense - Going Home mini-LP ($15.99)
Sense - Madness ($14.99) Madness, the 2002 debut CD from this Québec City prog band, is very good 1970’s-style progressive rock, closest to Yes (especially the Rickenbacker bass) but far from being derivative, and with modern-sounding production. The prominent acoustic guitar immediately sets them apart from most current prog bands, bringing to mind Harmonium and the other great 1970’s French-Canadian bands. The English-language vocals are up front in the mix, and the harmony vocals can sound like those of Starcastle, America, or Barclay James Harvest, adding a slight folk/pop element. Guests on Irish flute, recorder, and violin add distinctiveness to the band’s style.
Out of Range (2004) features guest spots for Brett Kull (Echolyn) and Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer) and continues to develop the style established on their debut, with a couple heavier spots and one track of more overtly Celtic material. The French-Canadian progressive style was defined in the 70’s by a unique combination of folk and acoustic elements and the British progressive rock style. Sense do it differently than Harmonium and the rest of those bands, singing in English for one thing, but they are one of only a small number of bands continuing this tradition in the new millennium.
Stone in the Sky (2005) is a CD+DVD set. The CD contains two new studio tracks and five live tracks, including covers of Mood for a Day and I Know What I Like. The DVD (NTSC, all-region) captures Sense in concert in 2004 performing eight songs from their first two CDs.
Going Home (2007) is another good one and the most Yes-influenced of the Sense CDs. Andrew Marshall of Willowglass guests on Mellotron and other keys. This mini-LP edition is the 2009 limited edition released by the MALS label under license from Ipso Facto, which comes in a heavyweight gatefold cardboard sleeve.
Signs of One - Innerlands ($9.99) Signs of One is a Quebec City prog rock band who released two albums on their own prior to Innerlands (2007), which is on Unicorn Digital. This is elaborate Yes/Genesis style symphonic prog with enough prog-metal added to let you know they’re a contemporary band. There are 14 tracks, but for all intents and purposes, this is a single 71-minute piece of music. The vocals are in English and have that sound that a fair number of continental European prog bands manage, Clepsydra for one.
Sloche - Stadaconé ($16.99) At last, two of the most requested CD reissues from the Quebec progressive scene appear on the ProgQuebec label in 2009, remastered from the original master tapes. J’un Oeil was released in 1975; Stadaconé followed the next year. “Sloche is one of those incredible bands from the Quebec progressive explosion of the mid-70’s that sadly only managed two albums. They sound like a cross between Mahavishnu Orchestra, a bit of Gentle Giant, but mostly like their compatriots, the incredible Maneige or the emotional Opus 5. Both their albums are absolutely successful, the former being slightly more symphonic, the second being more fusion. If you like the above-mentioned groups and are not afraid of a little adventure, this is highly recommended.” [Hugues Chantraine, Belgium] Read a band biography. Lots of reviews at ProgArchives of J’un Oeil and Stadaconé.
Spaced Out - Evolution ($11.99) 
Spaced Out - Live at the Crescendo Festival CD ($13.99) 
Spaced Out - Eponymus II ($9.99)Spaced Out are a Montreal-based instrumental progressive fusion quartet (keys, guitar, bass, drums) whose 2000 self-titled CD is a very impressive 54-minute debut in the Allan Holdsworth, Bruford, and Brand X styles. Eponymus II (2001), their second, is a monster progressive fusion album, moving closer to the highly-arranged style of Bruford, but also sounding a bit like Keith Emerson-joins-Magma. While Spaced Out may lack the strong melodies of Bruford, their music is higher intensity, always shifting, with a particularly hyperactive bass player in Antoine Fafard, who is also the primary composer.
Their third, Slow Gin (2003), shows the band is not standing still. There is a shift toward rock and away from jazz, the music is heavy at times, and more room is allowed for Fafard’s amazing bass playing. Spaced Out are down to a trio for 2006’s Unstable Matter. While that may affect their live performance, the keyboards generally had more of a supporting role on past efforts, adding symphonic textures but usually not taking the lead. So there are keyboards overdubbed on Unstable Matter that play much the same role, if a slightly reduced one. The shift toward rock and away from jazz continues with this album, and Antoine Fafard continues to impress as one of the most nimble and inventive bass players out there. There are moments of metal riffing, lots of odd time signatures and controlled chaos, yet there is still a degree of melody and warmth to it. Evolution (2008) continues the trio format with guests providing keyboard solos. Musically Spaced Out continue to get more metallic and technical, jettisoning melody and warmth along the way as unnecessary encumbrances.
Spaced Out’s first live CD Live at the Crescendo Festival was recorded in 2006 at the Crescendo Festival in France, their first concert in Europe during the Unstable Matter tour. It’s an enhanced CD that includes two videos: the music video of Antimatter and a live video of Art Attack Part 2. The Live at the Crescendo Festival DVD (all-region) contains the same concert as the CD with five additional tracks, running time 100 minutes. Extras include rehearsal footage and a slideshow. If you don’t know the difference between an NTSC and PAL DVD, North Americans and Japanese should choose NTSC, Europeans PAL.
Spaced Out’s Live in 2000 DVD (NTSC, all-region) presents a concert filmed in October 2000. The tapes of this performance remained on the shelf for four years before the decision was finally made to release it on this DVD. While Spaced Out have gone on to release several more CDs, this DVD shows what the band was like at that moment in time. Video samples here.
Symphonic Slam / Timo Laine - same ($15.99)CD reissue of a 1976 Canadian progressive rock LP. Timo Laine is a native born Finlander who led this trio. He pioneered the use of the guitar synthesizer, and this album features it heavily. Timo also plays standard guitar and sings, while the other musicians add keys and drums. The album has a few moments of a slightly commercial, dated 1970’s rock sound, but overall this is a fine symphonic rock album which hopefully a few of you remember from its vinyl incarnation.
Talisma - Quelque Part ($9.99) 
Talisma are a Québec band that date to 1993. It’s unclear whether all their previous releases were merely demos; in any event, Corpus (2003) is the first release in their trio format. Instrumental aside from two tracks with some wordless or scat-style female vocals, this perhaps comes closest to Edhels, albeit a bit heavier in spots. The Steve Hackett and King Crimson influences that shaped Edhels are here also, though that only partially describes Talisma. There’s a bit of Rush in here too, but also touches of jazz, ethnic, space, and more lyrical and delicate passages befitting a Québec band. Both the guitarist and bassist add synth or guitar synth, and both play 12-string at times.
Chromium (2005) is completely instrumental and takes Talisma’s innovative brand of progressive rock even further. Their musical tapestry weaves many styles together fluidly, and there isn’t anyone that they really sound like. The pieces sound structured but they evolved out of studio jams and were recorded the same day, giving the music a great energy.
For Quelque Part (2008), Talisma have expanded to six musicians plus one guest, and while it is again mostly instrumental, there are beautiful vocals from Florence Bélanger on two tracks. The first track hits the listener like a blast of vintage Steve Hackett, but even more intense. The second track features nimble playing that sounds like a prog rock circus on speed, the third track is Crimsonoid, and it continues with each track distinct. There is some more acoustic, Genesis-like material to offset the intensity. At their best, Talisma feature searing electric guitar leads at the mid-point between Hackett and Fripp over a rich symphonic backbone. Hopefully this CD gets Talisma the attention they deserve, as they are now one of the best (mostly-)instrumental prog bands working.
Le Temps - same ($14.99) out-of-stock The self-titled Le Temps album (1975) and Ailleurs Avec (1977) are reissues from a typical French-Canadian 70’s progressive band. They incorporate folk and classical elements, emphasizing acoustic textures and lovely vocals in French, similar to the first Harmonium album. The first album has no drums while Ailleurs Avec does, but the latter is not necessarily better for it.
Unisphere - Le Voyage de l’Enfant Lune ($14.99) This is a very good 2004 debut CD from a Quebecois progressive band. The album is progressive rock through and through, but goes through a couple changes before settling into the dominant style, which is close to best French symphonic prog, with a serious and somewhat dark feel and a slight Pink Floyd influence. The album opens though sounding like Peter Gabriel singing in French, almost to the point of plagiarism. (You’ll hear Biko during track 1.) Next the album moves into Genesis and Yes territory. Then all that is pretty much abandoned for the much more original style that covers most of the album’s 67-minutes. The tracks are very long but never feel drawn out, and the French-language vocals are superb, as we’ve come to expect from the Quebec prog bands (those that sing in French anyway).
Upright - Opinion ($14.99) Upright is a jazz band with progressive touches from Montreal, with a lineup of guitar, keyboards, saxes, bass and drums. Opinion is from 2004.
Vecteur K - La Peur du Désert ($14.99) This is the 2009 debut of a progressive rock band from Quebec. Vecteur K play a style similar to the band Direction but slightly harder edged. It’s a combination of the lyrical, entrancing Québécois prog style descended from Harmonium, Octobre, Pollen, Morse Code, et al., and Rush-like guitar and hard rock energy. French lyrics are essential to this music, as is the balance between acoustic and electric guitar. 65-minutes.
Claire Vezina - Cyber Neptune ($9.99) Cyber Neptune is a 2008 release on the Unicorn Digital label from Quebec’s Claire Vezina, her fourth album. From what we can gather, Vezina is a singer/songwriter who has been making increasingly progressive albums each time out, expanding well beyond the singer/songwriter universe with the assistance of other musicians and a co-writer. She is also a keyboardist, especially fond of Rhodes, also using piano, organ and Mellotron. When it comes to progressive music in Canada, the French-speaking areas have long been nearly the only areas that matter, both in terms of producing and buying it. This is reflected in the music of Cyber Neptune, which is very progressive-flavored, with full electric rock instrumentation on many tracks, impeccably performed and full of magical atmospheres. Vezina has a beautiful voice to deliver the lyrics, in French of course, essential to the feel of her music. Claire Vezina joins Emily Bezar and Kate Bush in the aristocracy of female progressive artists. Read the reviews at Proggnosis and JerryLucky.com.
Unicorn Digital followed in 2009 by reissuing Claire’s 2003 third album Alambic, which is nearly as good as Cyber Neptune. Here Claire collaborated with Jeff Grenier (co-producer, musician), Marc-André Dubé (cowriter, bass) and Olivier Couture (drums).
Ville Emard Blues Band - Live au FMPM 2007 ($16.99) Complete 1973-1975 is the first release on the ProgQuébec label, whose mission is to reissue 1970’s Québec progressive albums on CD. This was one of the richest scenes in progressive rock, and many LPs remain to be reissued on CD. This 146-minute 2CD set reissues the complete works of the seminal Ville Emard Blues Band (VEBB). It includes the double LP Live à Montreal (1974) and Ville Emard (1975), plus three bonus tracks. Despite their name, the band actually played a mix of progressive rock, jazz-rock, and funk. At least half the material is instrumental, while the remainder features male and female vocals in English and French. The tracks with female vocals tend to be more delicate and lyrical, reminiscent of Harmonium, while the other tracks often fall between a 1970’s jamming style and a more progressive take on Chicago or Santana.
VEBB today includes a second generation of musicians, led by the son of the original VEBB leader. Live au FMPM 2007 contains the VEBB set from the 2007 edition of the FMPM festival in Montreal, containing the more progressive and jazzy aspects of their repertoire, including songs by Contraction and Toubabou. Mixed by the original VEBB engineer, the energetic performance is presented with the production quality it deserves.
Visible Wind - La Dæmentia Romantica ($14.99) out-of-stockVisible Wind - Barb-à-Baal-a-Loo ($14.99) |     |
