ALMANACH

A few years back, some of my family visited the Breton region of France. I casually mentioned to them to keep an eye out for the Breton band MALICORNE, thinking that they would be impossible to find. But, as luck would have it, many of the older locals were still familiar with the band, and they quickly recommended "Almanach" as a perfect place to start. This 1976 album is not 100% "prog rock", but it is of interest to prog collectors who also enjoy European folk, acoustic JETHRO TULL, The POGUES, and GRYPHON (progressive folk in general). The music is 90% acoustic, and done using a combination of violin, viola, mandola, dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, krumhorn, and some percussion. The "electric" portion of the band consists of the bassist, Moog synth, some electric guitar, and an electric dulcimer. Overall, this is some beautiful music.