YVAN OUELLET - LE CHANT DES CHOSES

Although Ivan was a member of Ville Emmard Blues Band and Toubabou, both recording all their stuff by the end of 75, Yvan's only solo album came out in late 79, and with the help of ex-Contraction members (hence his entry in their page), but his career had started as soon as 72 , co writing one of Quebec most poignant classic song Le Plus beau Voyage.. So by the end iof the 70's, he met the Contraction crowd and let their bassist/producer convince him of recording a solo album. Soo while there are only four Contractionists (not present all the time either), it's definitely an album that bear the palm of Laferrière (with one of the Perrotte brothers in the engineer booth and the other on the drum stool, and the delicious Christiane on three tracks) but this has limits.

The opening title track is already a song that had appeared on the second Toubabou album, that time sung by Lise Cousineau. I have a hard time preferring one version to the other, Ouellet's piano is always solemn, often romantic, sometimes drowned under orchestral arrangements (the instrumental St Pierre), but at times it feels like a piano bar (St Pierre again). The album's centrepiece is obviously the 8-mins Sagitaire, but it sinks relatively quickly into a huge pot of cheese fondue Clipperton is more of the same. Just soft pudgy easy-listening stuff, which was probably aimed at another public than the rock crowd. The only track to pull us out of our sleep-induced torpor is the Beatles's Fool on The Hill, but even then, you'll sink back quickly as it is a two-piano part only, and at a full six minutes, it's overstaying its welcome. The presence of Raoul Duguay and Marie Séguin is due to Ouellet's prior collaboration with them, and here they pay a polite visit, but their presence doesn't change the outcome of the music. Certainly not one of Quebec's better album (or is it that prog for that matter??) and signifying that Quebec's prog boom was all but over and even Contraction couldn't do much about it. I don't want to be pessimist, but I don't see this album climbing up the sales charts of our friends at PQ. As a matter of fact, I'd probably advise them to advertise this one to a different crowd of people than the progressive one, if this album is to hit the target at someone.