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GAROLOU

Prog Folk • Canada


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Garolou biography
GAROLOU was a pan-Eastern Canadian group with members from Ontario thru to the Maritimes. Its origins could be traced to Franco Ontarian brothers Marc and Michel Lalonde who were living in Prince Edward Island in 1974 and part of a theatre troupe. Their musical career began humbly as a folk duo, but their interests and their popularity resulted in expansion to a full rock ensemble including keyboards, bass and drums, performing revved up and re-interpreted folk songs with plenty of progressive flourishes, Canada's answer to STEELEYE SPAN if you will.


The group was ultimately based in Quebec, partly because a studio in the Laurentian Mountains was kind enough to provide free time to produce their first recording, even without any label signing, which eventually came. Their history is a turbulent one. While personnel changes were frequent and almost de rigueur for the communal lifestyles of the period, Garolou survived the indignity of a name change from their original LOUGAROU moniker, the result of a threatened lawsuit from a folk dance troupe with a very similar name. The original name is a contraction of the French word for werewolf, while Garolou is a play on words at several levels, perhaps at least one being a slight at the dance troupe. One interpretation is "Beware the wolf", while another is "Boy of the Wolf".


Their first two albums, Lougarou (1976) and Garolou (1978), are widely regarded as their best and sold well. The 80s brought forth Romanceros (1980), which received critical acclaim, and Centre-ville (1982), but by then the golden era of Quebecois folk had withered, and the group called it a day in 1983.


In 1993 the band re-united and has performed on and off since then. Rekindled interest resulted in re-releases of the four albums packaged as 2 two-fers, a live album, and a 1999 studio recording, all testament to the band's enduring appeal.

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GAROLOU discography


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GAROLOU top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.53 | 17 ratings
Lougarou
1976
3.72 | 22 ratings
Garolou
1978
3.03 | 12 ratings
Romancero
1980
2.07 | 12 ratings
Centre-ville
1982
2.47 | 10 ratings
Mémoire vive
1999

GAROLOU Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.74 | 11 ratings
Réunion
1995

GAROLOU Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

GAROLOU Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.33 | 3 ratings
Profil
1981
3.80 | 5 ratings
Tableaux d'hier vol. 1
1991
3.57 | 7 ratings
Tableaux d'hier vol. 2
1991

GAROLOU Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

GAROLOU Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Garolou by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1978
3.72 | 22 ratings

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Garolou
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nº 713

The progressive rock scene in the Anglophone Canada during the 70's wasn't particularly robust. In spite of Canada's close connection with British music, the progressive scene didn't really take hold. Rush was the most well known band to attempt to apply English prog sensibility to their sound. However, for Francophones, progressive rock was given a huge welcome. Progressive rock was a way of creating contemporary music that gave them more freedom to express themselves without turning to the English language. Furthermore, progressive rock incorporated a lot of jazz and classical influences and for many Québécois musicians with degrees in the classical music or experience with jazz, progressive rock offered them the liberty of composing music as they liked. Several English bands were first welcomed to North America by Quebecers. Prior to the prog trend catching on in the rest of Canada and in the U.S., bands like Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, Camel, Supertramp, and Pink Floyd were filling concert halls in Québec, and as the Québec prog scene grew up, local bands opened for their major English counterparts. So, it was during those years that the progressive rock Québécois scene was at its strongest and with the several and varied influences of the English prog scene sewn in the music of many bands, such as, Morse Code, Maneige, Harmonium, Pollen and Garolou.

Garolou was fouded in 1975. It was originally called Lougarou, but had to change its name after being sued by a dance troup named Les Loups-Garous. The group became popular not only in Québec but across Canada, with its rock sound and its lyrics taken from French and French Canadian traditional songs. The group performed at many music festivals all over the Canada. During those years, Garolou released four studio albums, "Lougarou" in 1976, "Garolou" in 1978, "Romancero" in 1980 and "Centre-Ville" in 1982. By the time, the golden era of Québécois prog was in decline and Garolou cessed their activity in 1983. The band returned in the 90's and released in 1995 a live album called "Reunion", which captured Garolou's live experience. In 1999 a new studio album was released under the name of "Mémoire Vive".

So, "Garolou" is the second studio album of Garolou and that was released in 1978. The line up on the album is Michel Lalonde (vocals and guitar), Marc Lalonde (vocals and bass guitar), Gilles Beaudoin (backing vocals and lead guitar), Réginald Guay (backing vocals and keyboards) and Michel "Stan" Deguire (drums and percussion).

An interesting thing about the line up of Garolou is that they aren't properly originary of the French Canada what would to be expected. All five members of the band hailed from Ontario and not from Québec. Originally, the band was formed by the two brothers Marc and Michel Lalonde that started their artistic careers as members of the Prince Edward theatre group. After that, the pair formed a folk duo which then morphed into a full band with the addition of the guitarist George Antoniak, the keyboardist Steven Naylor and also the already mentioned drummer Michel "Stan" Deguire.

Garolou with their second work cling to the progressive rock and the traditional folk fusion. Fans recognize themselves in it and can appreciate it. "Garolou" is probably the best and most sucessful album of the band. The album was more successful than their previous one, even aligning several successes with the various charts. Musically, the band apparently made some major changes. Whereas "Lougarou" supposedly explored their interest in French Canadian folk music, "Garolou" found the band opting for a more conventional and commercial sound. It can be seen on many tracks on the album. "Germaine", "Aux Illinois", "La Complante Du Maréchal Biron" and above all "Victoria" became reference pieces and songs that the bar entertainers keen on the Québec repertoire take up again and again. For instance, "La Complante Du Maréchal Biron" was one of the most popular tracks on the FM radio. The same happened with "Aux Illinois". Both sounded great in the mid 70's FM radio stations and they would sound nice even in our days. Tracks like "Alouette" and the acapella "Wing-Tra- La" were traditional folk music songs that are part of the repertoire of the band.

Conclusion: This is another hidden piece from the Québec prog/folk scene. It may be easy to draw similarities to their more successful compatriots with their French crooning and strong use of acoustic instruments, Garolou do so in a way that is noticeably more light hearted and jovial, conjuring up an atmosphere all of their own, in a modern rock way with a prog rock twist. The references to various Québec folk songs and tales make of it an all the more intriguing and engaging experience. From what I know, this is one of their best and most accomplished prog albums. It's an album that oscilates between the traditional folk, such as, "Alouette", "Victoria" and "La Retraite De Bonaparte", and the prog folk music, like, "La Complainte Du Maréchal Biron", "Le Départ Pour Les États" and especially "Germaine". This is an album with some great musical moments, indeed, especially "Germaine", the great prog highlight on the album. And, above all, there isn't a single bad song on the album. So, I rated it with 4 stars. Garolou deserves more love on this site.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Mémoire vive by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1999
2.47 | 10 ratings

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Mémoire vive
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

2 stars Perhaps buoyed by their "Reunion" live album of 1995, the core members of GAROLOU regrouped in 1999 for what appears to have been a one-off studio project as of this date. Given how the live work was justifiably focused on their first 3 and best albums from 1976-1980, it's rather disappointing that "Memoire Vive" is more in the vein of the dispirited "Centre Ville" from 1982.

Most of the tracks find refuge in a generic soft rock format, smooth and admittedly melodic but lacking the serration of their best work, where the band more than overcame and even capitalized on the dearth of traditional instrumentation with a rustic allure. One major exception is the reggae tinged "La fille du roi d'Espagne", which triumphantly resurrects the group's fascination with historical settings, a feat not repeated enough elsewhere in this offering. Two folk-country tunes "Le cheval en peinture" and "Mes souliers sont ronds" are enjoyable enough without scaling previous peaks. The opening number "Quand l'amour n'y est pas" is by far the most impressive of the slick arrangements that dominate the rest of the disc, and the enthusiasm from the albeit modest levels wanes noticeably on the last few tracks.

The problem with such reunion projects is that, rather than rejuvenating the dwindling fan base with vivid memories of how things were, they make us wonder whether we overrated even the classic material. While slightly better than "Centre Ville", this is substantially inferior to "Romancero", with which it cannot share the middling rung. 2.5 stars rounded down then.

 Réunion by GAROLOU album cover Live, 1995
3.74 | 11 ratings

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Réunion
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

4 stars In 1993, after the better part of the decade on hiatus, French Canadian Celtic rockers GAROLOU reunited for well received concert appearances. The live document of this period is "Reunion", from a 1994 concert at the Theatre de la Ville in Longueuil just off the island of Montreal. All the material here is culled from their first 3 and most popular albums, with the focus being "Lougarou" and "Garolou". A French language blend of STEELEYE SPAN with JETHRO TULL approximates the friendly sound of GAROLOU, but with generous infusions of their own personality.

The lineup is intact and the versions are generally quite faithful to the originals, including the lead guitar and synthesizer flourishes, but with a touch more energy and audience participation sprinkled about. As such, this offers a reasonable approximation of a greatest hits package. The main drawback is that, while in their early period the most progressive and most popular tracks were one and the same, by the time of "Romancero" a fault line had been gouged between the two. While the 3 tracks chosen from that album are all superior in the concert setting, particularly when younger brother Bobby Lalonde contributes fiddle, a few of the band's best songs are omitted. Still, for most who want one document of the best that GAROLOU can muster, this reunion makes for more than congenial company.

 Centre-ville by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1982
2.07 | 12 ratings

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Centre-ville
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

2 stars With the double entendre of the title signifying a shift to the bland stylistic center of 1982 rock, and an abandonment of essentially rural folk for city glitz, "Centre-Ville" did nothing to stymie the perhaps inevitable collapse of GAROLOU's initial run. Displaced from a field with few professional purveyors to a weedy city lot, they abandoned all folk roots and homogenized their sound, notwithstanding a fun reggae-tinged opener and an above average ballad "Aller-Retour". Rockers like "Terre" and "Je Savais Pas" are utterly without distinction. Perhaps the album's most notable "first" is that of first GAROLOU album to contain an English lyric, on the closing "Seul au Centre Ville", the only waking moment of a piece so light that it rivals the mellowest fare by mid 1970s AMAZING BLONDEL. You'll wish you'd been allowed to sleep right through it.

It appears that the band spirited somewhat out of retirement in the early 1990s with a fine live disk that conspicuously omits anything from "Centre Ville", if only because this made so little impact in 1982 that it could not be resurrected even by occult ritual. If "Centre-Ville" isn't totally awful, it also isn't worth seeking out by anyone but unapologetic fans, who all appear to have gone uptown by this point.

 Romancero by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1980
3.03 | 12 ratings

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Romancero
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

3 stars The dark forces of punk and new wave of the early 1970s were crowding out folk rock acts like GAROLOU, the resurgence of the genre under the auspices of bands like the POGUES and the WATERBOYS was still a few years off. It is thus not surprising that their third disk, released at the dawn of the 1980s, received less attention than its predecessors. It didn't help that it was also somewhat less inspired.

The compositions and arrangements are generally not as ambitious, but, if one explores more objectively, 3 tracks are prime prog folk, rivaling the best of earlier output: the heavy and atmospheric "Nicholas", the ominous epic "D'ou reviens-tu mon fils Jacques", and its apt successor "Le Condamne". Unfortunately none of them received their due, probably because the airplay outlets had vanished, and the album's most popular tracks, while thoroughly competent and, in the case of "Sur le Bout du Pont", quite refreshing, were concessions to the era, furthering the group's decline. I am also torn about the way in which the album ends, with the firing squad at the end of "Le Condamne". On the one hand, it's commendable that they continued to explore sober historical matters, but what a downer, especially when the album offers a good deal of lighter fare. Among these are the suave lightly jazzy "Dans Paris" and the live Cajun-tinged "La Danse de La Limonade". While the breadth of fare is eclectic, saving the best for last, where the best is so dire in subject matter, might not have been the canny choice.

"Romancero" proved to be the penultimate album of GAROLOU's initial run, and the last of interest to prog folk audiences. Guardedly recommended as a fling rather than an extended courtship.

 Lougarou by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1976
3.53 | 17 ratings

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Lougarou
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team

4 stars Having a rare distinction of two self titled albums with different names, GAROLOU, or LOUGAROU as they were initially known, hit the ground running with this 1976 release. The combination of muddy production and ragged arrangements offers rustic charms that were largely smoothed over on this album's highly accomplished successor, which means that both are sine qua non in the realm of Francophone prog folk of the 1970s.

This debut focuses on story songs that are both near and distant variations on traditional tunes, but nary a traditional instrument is used, with the group relying on with vocal harmonies and meters to convey connections to the past. The instrumental arrangements are decidedly rock oriented, with versatile and occasionally aggressive electric guitars, economical pianos, and occasional synths announcing their intentions. While every track has merit, the lengthiest are those that best fulfill the band's promise, namely "La Belle Francoise", the surprisingly hard rocking "La Partance" and the brilliant adaptation of "A La Claire Fontaine". In the latter case, the band parlayed a tune that everybody at the time and place knew by rote, yet effectively obliterated all memory of the original.

The shorter pieces are hardly less impressive, as young sibling Bobby Lalonde contributes violin to the lively "La Vendee", with nimble plucking and sublime call and response vocals that rival the best of what TRI YANN was on about at the time. "Ah Toi Belle Hirondelle" might be my favourite of the lot, exuding a breezy mid 1970s ambiance, with an ultra catch riff and propulsive rhythm section that seems to presage the imminent arrival of DIRE STRAITS on the scene, although concurrent Laurel canyon artists and their ilk might be a more apt comparison. It's the sort of arrangement that might help warm a sub zero Northern Ontario night, if only by getting you out of your seat,

It is far from hyperbole to suggest that GAROLOU were the closest that any Canadian act came to attaining the highs of overseas Celtic prog folk artists of their day, which makes them pretty much essential if your wheelhouse boasts a Celtic cross.

The re-release business being what it is, you might have trouble finding this on CD, but I recommend it in any form you can manage, including as part of "Tableaux D'Hier" Volume 1, where only the final track, which happens to be one of the two weakest, is omitted. It's an album I never had much time for when it was current, having satisfied myself with the next album by these talented guys. Well, there is no time like the present to right old wrongs, and let the (were) wolves bay at your door for a spell.

 Réunion by GAROLOU album cover Live, 1995
3.74 | 11 ratings

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Réunion
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by Walkscore

3 stars "Reunion" is the only album that documents Garolou live in concert. Recorded in Longueuil in 1994, it also represents the reunion of the band after so many years inactive (their last album before then was "Centre-Ville" in 1982). They do a very good job recreating their most popular songs in concert, and the sound quality is excellent. The song list represents what most consider to be their best pieces, and for the most part I do not disagree (I would have also liked to see "Nicholas" or "Le Condamne" from the third album, but one can't have everything) . It is telling that there are no songs here from their fourth album "Centre-Ville", clearly their weakest album and no one in the audience is requesting those numbers. For the rating, I had to think about this one. As a live greatest hits album, it covers the bases, and with their best songs, excellent sound quality and strong performances, one might rightly expect a 4-star rating. However, my complaint is that they are too faithful to the studio recordings. Some (although not all) of the guitar solos are in fact note-for-note. Yet, I would not say that any of the versions on this live album are better than their studio counterparts, and in fact in every case the studio versions are better (even if just so slightly). So if you like the songs you should pick up the studio albums first. On balance, I give it 7.6 out of 10 on my 10-point scale (which translates to 3 PA stars).
 Mémoire vive by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1999
2.47 | 10 ratings

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Mémoire vive
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by Walkscore

3 stars This album is the first studio album by Garolou since 1982. For the most part, this is a fine return to form. While the songs remain normal-length and pretty safe, most of the songs are really good, very musical, and the sound quality is excellent. Of the 11 songs on this album, there are only 3 I find weak, although not too weak as I can still listen to them (tracks 4, 8, and 9). The album opens with the excellent "Quand l'amour n'y est pas", and continues through two more excellent songs ("La fille du roi d'Espagne" and "Le saoleil s'en va se coucher"), each of which would fit very well on their first three albums, with classic 70s-sounding organs and guitars (and if these had been on the third album they would be among its strongest tracks). Two other highly enjoyable tracks are the more Acadian-tinged pieces, "Le Cheval en peinture" and "Mes souliers sont ronds" - fun tunes with highly memorable melodies that stick in your head. This album is admittedly on the tame side, with only hints of progressivity on a couple of tracks, but most of this music is of very high quality and the sound is classic Garolou. So if you like their first two albums and do not require complex progressive arrangements, you will like this one. I give this album 7.7 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, so, at the top end of 3 PA stars.
 Centre-ville by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1982
2.07 | 12 ratings

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Centre-ville
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by Walkscore

2 stars It took Canadian record companies a bit longer than their US and UK counterparts to start putting the squeeze on their artists to get them producing more radio-friendly commercial music. However, by the early 1980s this had become the norm, and one can clearly hear the influence on this album. This album is more highly produced, with shorter songs and more of an 80s sound, with perhaps the best example (ie worst song, for me intolerable) the track which closes the album - "Suel au Centre-Ville". However, even the better songs on this album have just enough of this slicker sound to make me not want to listen to it very often. There are some decent songs on this though. I actually like the opener with the reggae-related beat ("Tu Ouvres La Porte"), and even though more AOR in style, the second and third songs ("Je Deviens Fou" and "Aller-Retour") are still fairly musical. The best song is the second-last track, "Je Savais Pas", which would fit in on their earlier albums, although it does not come close to the best songs on those albums. So, there are four decent songs here, making the album worth picking up by (true) fans for these tracks. But the rest are just OK, and I can no longer sit through the whole album. On balance, I give this 4.6 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 2 PA stars.

 Romancero by GAROLOU album cover Studio Album, 1980
3.03 | 12 ratings

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Romancero
Garolou Prog Folk

Review by Walkscore

3 stars This album continues with the classic Garolou sound, although with less of the traditional folk and multi-part vocals that worked so well on their previous self-titled album. This album contains two of their concert favourites "Sur Le Bout Du Pont" and "Quand J'Etais Garcon", which are among their more rocking tunes, although they are not my own favourites. The most musical tunes on the album, and the ones closest to their sound on their first two albums, are "Nicholas" and the closer "Le Condamne". There is also the Acadian- and zydeco- influenced "Danse de La Limonade", which was recorded live, and is a lot of fun. There is only one song I don't like on this album - "Dans Paris" - it is the only one that might be considered AOR, with slick sounding synths and saxophone solos. If you like their first two albums, you will like this one too, as it really (mostly) keeps to the same sound. I don't think it is quite as good as those though, so only pick this one up after you get the earlier ones. I give this 7.2 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.
Thanks to kenethlevine for the artist addition.

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