HARMONIUM EN TOURNÉE

L'Heptade done in full in concert in 77, just released after the band stopped to exist in 80 . Strangely enough this was recorded in Vancouver where theoretically the band would have less support as the linguistic tension were at a peak, but then again politics were the furthest thing away from youngsters into Harmonium. The orchestral arrangements are replaced with more KB and some tracks are longer one even going into a jam session and another one is extended by a section that was not present on the studio album.

Although the oeuvre is respected, the whole thing is a bit looser and jazzier.

I remember seing Harmonium for that show twice. I started slowly with Harmonium, found the first album good when it was a revolution in Quebec. When the second album came out i tought it was a masterpiece and i remember one night i had the choice between going to see them in Cegep Maisonneuve in Montreal and another gig , i think it was Shawn Phillips, i choose Shawn. Then L'Heptade came out and i tought great album but...a bit too ...( put the word you want) for being a masterpiece.I was really into Maneige who was my favorite group...Then i saw the concert of L'Heptade at Centre sportif of University of Montreal.... The mythical place where Genesis had played 3 times for the Selling Tour and twice with Hammill in opening act ( i was there). So instinctively i tought if Harmonium is playing there (5 minutes from home) it's gonna be an amazing gig. And it was! The live l'Heptade was Amazing, somptuous and magical. A lot more rock, jazz, and free spirit. Libert Subirana was Fantastic on H orns and Flute, the slide show was great, the music even better. At Last Harmonium was coming totally Free and loose and at his most powerfull point it would have never come.

Weeks later they played for one week at another mythical place (another five minutes from my home) The theater Outremont....( where within a year i didn't know at the time ) i would produce Peter Hammill in an amazing ,legendary concert! That' s another story!

The one week at the Outremont was for Harmonium one of the most festive week of their carrer in Montreal! The band was even tighter and night after night they were magical. The hall was smaller they had scrap the slide show (wich was ok) and concentrate on the music...Woof and they were playing their best ever.

The Vancouver gig (wich is the subject of this ) is not as strong but still is fantastic! This Cd coming out was a bonus. Fiori put a law order on this album after 2 days on the market and CBS had to drawn it back from the bins. The Legend says that all the records where lost somewhere in an a basement of the company. And for years the double lp was one of the rarest of all Quebec history.Now you can listen to it and discover a band at his summit!

Harmonium played once in California ( in front of 100.thousands, it was partly filmed by the CBC ) and were offer a golden pound if they where to sing in english . Obviuosly they refused...i wonder why those separatist golden boys refused!

I finally tracked down this recording, a live version of Serge Fiori's masterpiece double album, L'Heptade, released after the breakup of Harmonium. I had figured it would be pretty close to the original, so I wasn't in any real hurry to get it, but I was pleasantly surprised at the variations on this album. L'Heptade had orchestrated bits by composer Neil Chotem linking the songs, which obviously are not present here. On this recording, the band is revealed to be a tight, jazzy ensemble capable of some remarkably funky playing, particularly the rhythm section, which is killer. The band is also capable of wonderful subletly on the more profound acoustic numbers, and Fiori's incredibly expressive, emotional vocal style comes across, if anything, better on this album than on the original studio recording. Some songs are extended to give room for piano, synth and guitar solos that are virtuosic and interesting. Fiori and Monique Fauteux also do some great scatting, sometimes as a duet. This live version is basically a leaner, more direct version of the original piece that provides a different perspective on the songs, and will certainly be very welcome to the ears of anyone who loved L'Heptade. In my opinion, L'Heptade is a work of great emotional impact and is certainly one of the most memorable landmarks in the history of progressive music.

"Pour tous les fous ici présents"

Harmonium en Tournée is simply one of the most beautiful, somptuous and grandiose live album ever. This full version of L'Heptade is magical from the first word spoken to the last not played. L'Heptade is often criticised because of it's over-orchestration and of its somewhat flat production. This live version is the answer to all these problems. It's way rockier and jazzier than the studio album. The orchestrated part are totally omitted and replaced with jazz breakdowns and symphonic jamming.

One of the strength of this recording is the true live feeling we get from listening to it. It has a warm magical feel that only a true live show can give. The introduction speech by Fiori really helps to get yourself "into" the concert. Well, it may be because I speak french but nevertheless, his warm voice speaking words of wisdom in a very simple way is just soothing. Then, the fun starts. All of L'Heptade is performed and most songs are extended into intense and powerful jam sessions. Every musician is showcased at his best and the whole thing really rocks.

Serge Fiori shows that his almost perfect beautiful voice isn't only the result of studio production. In fact, he delivers his most brilliant performance ever on record in this concert. He reaches his peak in L'Exil but anywhere in the album, his performance is crystal clear and stunning. I also have to speak about Monique Fauteux's subtle and perfect back vocals. She has also a truly beautiful tone in her voice. This is obviously more evident in Le Corridor in which she takes the job as the leading singer. With her soothing voice and the delicious Fender Rhodes parts she provides make this song memorable.

This album showcases Harmonium's musicians at their best and they sound proggier and rockier than ever. Long Moog solos, jazz guitar inserts and inspired drumming make the extended pieces epic. My favorite cut is without any doubt the twenty minute long version of Le Premier Ciel. The instrumental section is just amazing. The part where that incredible bass line appears and the moog solo rocks the place just throws me to the floor everytime. L'Exil and Lumière de Vie are two other brilliant tracks. Libert Subirana also does a wonderful place on sax and flute. The winds are way more present than in the studio version and they give us a chance to appreciate the skills of this great musician.

The only bad thing I can find to say about this album is that they only play songs from L'Heptade. It's a good thing that they decided to play the whole L'Heptade because taking cuts out of it would have made the whole songs pointless but it's kinda sad that they don't play anything from Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison, their studio masterpiece. Histoire sans Paroles or Depuis L'Automne would have added a lot to an already astonishing show.

Finally, this is probably my favorite live recording ever. It is an incredible memento to a band that broke up a short time after the recording of this album. It is also the only chance to hear any of their material played live. My words are not enough to describe the magic and warmth provided by Harmonium en Tournée. It's rare but it's worth it. 5 stars!

-Bern

Stunning, remarkable, beautiful, brilliant! I cannot think of enough adjectives to describe this album. Simply perfect, easily one of my favorite live albums. Harmonium takes L'Heptade and gives it a complete rebirth, with extended jams, and content that was impossible in the studio format. Serge Fiori's voice portrays emotion that can rarely be found and even is improved in the live format. Immediately after finishing this album I want to hear it again. I recommend it to anyone and everyone, especially those fond of acoustic music, keyboard music, and those hoping to find raw emotion through vocals. Basically the album takes the main songs from "L'Heptade" and extends them with very good results. Le Premier Ciel for example is extended 9 minutes with a wonderful sax solo and longer equally impressive keyboard solo to the studio version. This album is a masterpiece of Symphonic Progressive music and definitely deserves 5 stars.

Okay I know I'm just sounding like a fanboy but really, those who like live albums should really give this a shot, if you like "Les Cinq Saisons" you should really enjoy this album. And the good news is its now legally downloadable on iTunes and thus no longer a rare commodity.

This is a MASTERPIECE LIVE album! It is among my all-time favorite live albums. Harmonium with modern & vintage keyboards is a perfect combination. Fiori's eccentric lead vocals are amazingly fluid. The ecstatic compositions parts have outstanding follow through, because the complex music is VERY changing here and significantly varies in intensity. The musicians play absolutely flawlessly & irreproachably. Every note is absolutely CAREFULLY placed with the right level of intensity: the ensemble is all the time perfectly synchronized. The very melodic flute & saxes may also participate to the complex & colorful rhythm involved. The music can be funny but melodramatic too. All the time, the emotion is VERY palpable. The enthusiastic crowd is very favorably responding after each track. The electric piano reminds me a bit Supertramp at their best. The soaring electric guitar notes contribute to produce ultra pleasant ethereal & atmospheric textures at the right time & at the right place. The music can be very loaded, fast and complex like on "Le premier ciel". The dynamic music is the opposite of linearity and monotony. Almost 90 minutes of unforgettable music with neither fillers nor dull parts, that's a real tour de force!

First of all, L'Heptade is my favorite album over everything I have ever heard, and since this live album is basically a live run-through of L'Heptade, it starts on a high level. The performance is great, but I think there is a weakness in instrumentalisation comparing this to the studio album, because they could not bring a whole orchestra on tour. An interesting thing about this recording is the changes made from the original music. Most of the material is faster, Le Corridor don't have the instrumental part and Le Premier Ciel is extended by 10 minutes of improvisations. In overall, this is a nice recording of a great performance of a magnificient album. Not a must have, but an interesting adition to a prog collection.

Harmonium takes to the stage, with excellent results. Although this is a true team effort, the Serges are featured most prominently: Serge Locat on synths and Serge Fiori on vocals. The general progression of the songs is to start slowly with some delicate vocals over guitar, then add some keys and wind fills, and finally building up to memorable crescendos of heavy synth leads. Even though it perhaps sounds a bit formulaic, there is more than enough variety given the instrumentation and dynamics to keep you interested throughout.

These guys just know how to write captivating songs, and they also pair that with great interplay and variety in their performance. Whether you are looking for tender, intimate tunes (Comme un Fou), playful, folksy numbers (Chanson Noire), prog epics with grand finales (Le Premier Ciel), eerie, haunting melotron and synths (L'exil), fantastic instrumentation (Lumiere de Vie), or the classic Harmonium vocal harmony choruses (Comme un Sage), you can find it on this album. It's all very tasteful and recorded in a quality fashion, especially for a live album of that era. It also helps greatly that the crowd is respectful of Harmonium's quiet sections.

This variety may be a bit of a downside though: most songs are extended pieces feature both up-tempo and louder parts as well as mellow sections. If you are in the mood for just one or the other, your mind may wander a bit throughout this show. However, if you simply want to listen to well-performed and tasteful music, I don't see how En Tournee can disappoint.

Great live performance of this Canadian band. I listen the double cd and both are amazing. Great keiboards atmosphere, very balanced, with some piano parts, very calm but quite good. Nice balanced atmosphere in same vein of studio albuns, that have to, high quality. Harmonium have a great sound, tipical of 70 decade, that I like very much, and we can see high quality of composers and musicians. Some guitar parts, with old distorction pedals, but with a nice tone, that create a unique context of synphonic atmosphere. This live performance is excellent because we don't listen error's and all band members, must work very hard to play like this. I give 5 stars because is a great performance and great music. If some symphonic bands are boring, Harmonium is a band that we foud pleasure, listen his music. This album is for all fans of 70 synphonic décade.

Well, I heard high praising about those canadians first two albums, specially the second. But, to me, it didn´t work at the time I had the record. And since I had so many other CDs to listen, I just put it away and forgot about it. I remember once or twice going back to it and thinking it might be good and the problem might be I was not in the right mood to hear it. Whatever the reasons, it never clicked. But the same cannot be said of their live album. A friend brought it for me and I thought it would be interesting to hear them live. I was quite surprised!

The album was released in 1980 and shows the band playing in front of an english speaking audience (in Vancouver), but they only address them in french! Anyway, the crowd is respectful and the recording quality is top notch. The first two songs Comme un fou and Chanson Noire were not very convincing and made me think I would not like this CD either. Not that they are bad, no, but I didn´t like the former´s mix of styles too much, with too many time changes and moods shfiting too fast to fully enjoy it. The latter was just too jazzy and cheesy for my taste, with little or no prog, nor rock. the vocals are also quite different and takes some time to get used to (specially to the occasional scat singing).

But, from then on the album is simply superb! Terrific performances of all involved (absolute fantastic and skilful players), very good songwriting and incredible balanced sound. Their mix of rock, jazz, bossa nova, traditional french music, folk and symphonic prog is quite unique and very, very captivating. L´exil is one of the most poignant songs I´ve had ever heard. It is a pity that those guys broke up soon after this tour.

En torunée isa very powerful and surprising live album that shows how good those guys were on stage. If you´re looking for something different and very good, this is surely a CD to listen to. 4 strong stars.

There are bands that supposedly made, or even makes, albums of the most extraordinary quality, bands that one (i.e. I) know more by name than by musical strengths. Harmonium is one of those. Their second album ranks as one of the finest among symphonic prog. It must be said that I have not spent alot of time examining that record but sure, it is sort of amazing. However, I would like to push for another of theirs.

Live albums are, for the most part, uninteresting or unnecessary. At least that is my personal opinion. Then it happens, a live album comes across your path that really gives you something just a little extra. Harmonium's "En tournée" is one of those examples.

Atmospheric. That is the word that most frequently spring to mind. Atmospheric, rich and varied. See, now there's three words and I do feel that each one of them fits like any glove bought directly from the most merited glovemakers shop. The opening track, setting "Introduction" apart, is one hell of a way to start. Seeing that this live album is made up of the entire "L'heptade", it may be no wonder that "En tournée" starts off just there, with "Comme un fou" but rather it puts the finger on just how amazing a track it is. Especially in a live environment. Everything keeps going after that. "L'exil" is obviously brilliant, as is "Lumiere de vie" or "Comme un sage".

The music is a weird but excellent blend of everything french and beyond. Just as with any band from any country, the music of Harmonium is very much of it's origins. Apart from the symphonic prog rock (which in itself is a vast ocean of sounds and textures, depending on your origin) there are chansons, folk and just about anything that in the musical field makes you think of France or the french speaking Canadian territories, from where Harmonium hails. It may be hard to digest at first, if you're squemish or particular, but I find that after a while it all falls in place. The result is a soundscape impossible to evade, if you were thinking of doing so. It really is spectacular.

The conclusion, then, is that "En tournée" is an album of extraordinary music. The grandest of epics, the most beautiful and haunting melodies and an atmosphere you can touch and feel in the very fibres of the soul. It is sort of sombre but never depressing. Though varied it sometimes seems an album made for reflection and soulsearching. Lovely!

Apart from the brilliance displayed, it came out in a time when progressive music was fighting for it's life and, better still, recorded in 1977, the year when punk rock (some say) brought havoc to the lands of Prog. A live album is never essential in my book but this is probably as close as it will ever get.

Four shining stars and two thumbs up.

En Tournée has developed a bit of a reputation with it being the only known testament of the legendary Quebec band Harmonium's live prowess. The album itself has a rather odd history, in that it was originally released but quickly withdrawn due to it not being approved by the band. It only recently saw the light of day again in 2002, as a rather reluctant response to the (at the time) recent emergence of bootlegged versions on CD. Even still it's not the easiest album to get a hold of, especially due to it not being available digitally.

The audio quality in this release is absolutely fantastic, and I wouldn't expect any less from a show professionally recorded by Radio-Canada. The show itself only covered the band's 3rd album, L'Heptade an album which I have been quite into at the time of writing this.

Its always interesting to see a live version of an album you've become so familiar with, as you never quite know what to expect. En Tournée provides a rather unique take on L'Heptade, while not as polished as the album itself, the variation presented in the performance is enough to keep anyone familiar with the source material interested. Most songs are faithful to the original recording with some slight variation. For example, the track Le Premier Ciel features a good deal of saxophone work not heard on the album version.

I would have wished that it had covered material from all three of their albums rather than just L'Heptade, but I should be grateful there is even as fantastic a live recording as this available at all. I'm feeling a strong four stars, maybe 4 1/2, it's pretty darn close to perfect and should definitely be owned by anyone who considers them-self a fan of Harmonium's work.