line up 1 (1963)

- Gilles Briere -- lead guitar 

- George Brown -- vocals, rhythm guitar

- Tony Carocchia -- bass 

- Pierre Martin -- drums 

  line up 2 (1963-65)

- Gilles Briere -- lead guitar

- George Brown -- vocals, rhythm guitar 

NEW - Yvon Despatie -- bass (replaced Tony Carocchia)  

- Pierre Martin -- drums 

  line up 3 (1965-66)

- Gilles Briere -- lead guitar 

- George Brown -- vocals, rhythm guitar 

- Pierre Martin -- drums

NEW - Andre Patenteau -- bass (replaced Yvin Despatie)

  line up 4 (1966-68)

- Gilles Briere -- lead guitar 

- Pierre Martin -- drums 

NEW - Michel Pagliaro -- vocals, guitar (replaced George Brown)

- Andre Patenteau -- bass

  line up 5 (1968-69)

- Gilles Briere -- lead guitar 

NEW - Richard Lasnier -- vocals, guitar (replaced Michel Pagliaro)

- Pierre Martin -- drums

- Andre Patenteau -- bass

- Les Merseys (Richard Lasnier)

- Ouba (Michel Pagliaro)

- Michel Pagliaro (solo efforts)

- Vos Voisins (Andre Patenteau)

Genre: pop

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  Les Chanceliers

Company: Citation

Catalog: 16010

Year: 1967

Country/State: Montreal, Quebec

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: mono pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 5198

Price: $150.00

The album may be worth owning just for the hysterical mod velvet outfits these guys sported on the cover.  Complete with big 'Oliver Twist' ties, it's amazing they weren't beaten to a pulp by French Canadian loggers ...

The real story here is the connection with Michel Pagliaro.  Formed in 1963, the group started out as the instrumental quartet Les Chancellords with a line up consisting of lead guitarist Gilles Briere, singer/rhythm guitarist George Brown, bassist Tony Carocchia, and drummer Pierre Martin.  By 1965 Carocchia had been replaced by Yvon Despatie, followed in short order by d'Andre Patenteau.  They also changed their name to Les Chanceliers.  Shifting their sound to a more contemporary mix of soul and pop, the group attracted some attention on Montreal's club scene, which led to a one shot contract with the small Miracle label and their debut single: 'Pour Vous' b/w 'Personne ne Sait' (Miracle catalog number MIR-1304).

Another personnel shake up found George Brown replaced by singer/guitarist Michel Pagliaro (he'd also released a couple of solo singles) and a new deal with the Trans-Canada label.  Their second single proved equally unsuccessful - 'Tu Peux Ten Aller' b/w 'Non ce N'est Pas Fini' (Trans-Canada catalog TC-3189).  

Produced Yves Martin subsequently recommended the band to Denis Pantis' Citation label, which promptly signed them to a recording contract.  The group's initial breakthrough came via a Francophile cover of Mel and Tim's 'I'm Your Puppet' - 'Le P'tit Popy' b/w 'Toi Jeune Fille' (Citation catalog number CN-9014).  That led to a string of follow-ons:

- 1967's 'Toi Jeune Fille' b/w 'Seul Trop Long Temps' (Citation catalog number CN-9020)

- 1967's 'Ogum Boogum' b/w 'La Fille Dont je Reve' (Citation catalog number CN-)9022

- 1967's 'Noel Blanc' b/w 'L'enfant au Tamour' (Citation catalog number CN-9030)

In the wake of their successes Citation released 1967's "Les Chanceliers".  produced by Martin, the album offered up a mixture of earlier singles and new studio material.  Like their earlier releases, the showcased the band's pleasant if unoriginal repertoire of pop ('Non c'est pas Finis'), blue-eyed soul ('Seul Trop Longtemps'), MOR ballads ('Un Enfant') and occasional nods to a more rock oriented sound ('Attends et tu Verras').  Pagliaro had a likeable voice that was quite versatile, though to my ears he was at his best when pushing the band through their blue-eyed soul and garage moves.  Their cover of The Rascals 'I've Been Lonely Too Long' ('Seul Trop Longtemps') and the Pagliaro original 'Le Generation D'Aujourd'Hui' were both first rate. As mentioned earlier, the results were pleasant and had a certain exotic appeal - hearing some of the pop and soul covers sung in French was interesting (there's actual one English performance - 'Mickey's Monkey').  Elsewhere the album included a pair of  Bealtes covers - a forgettable 'Here, There and Everywhere' ('Le Fille Dont je Reve') and a more enjoyable cover of 'Baby You Can Drive My Car' ('Tu Peux T'en Aller').

"Les Chanceliers" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Le P'tit Popy   (Spooner Oldham - Dan Penn - Michel Pagliaro) - 

2.) Attends et tu Verras   (Michel Pagliaro) - 

3.) Un Enfant   (Jacques Brel - G. Jouannest) - 

4.) Seul Trop Longtemps   (Felix Cavaliere - Eddie Brigati) - 

5.) Le Fille Dont je Reve   (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 

6.) Tu Peux T'en Aller   (John Lennon - Paul McCartney - Michel Pagliaro) - 

(side 2)
1.) Oogum Boogum   (A. Smith) -

2.) Non c'est pas Finis   (Michel Pagliaro) - 

3.) Kilimandjaro   (M. Delaneray - P. Danel) - 

4.) Le Generation D'Aujourd'Hui   (Michel Pagliaro) - 

5.) Toi Jeune Fille   (Dusty Springfield - Dale) - 

6.) Mickey's Monkey   (Brian Holland - Lamont Dozier - Eddie Holland) -  

Foreshadowing the end, the band released a pair of singles as Michel & Les Chanceliers:

- 1968's 'A Paris Kla Nuit' b/w 'Attends et tu Verras' (Citation catalog number CN-1031)

- 1968's ''Boule de Suie b/w 'Hemeneglyde Godeefroy' (Citation catalog number CN-9041)

Shortly afterwards Pagliaro struck out in pursuit of a solo career.  He was replaced by ex-Les Merseys Richard Lasnier and the group struggled on until 1969 at which point the called it quits.

Pagliaro has an interesting website at: http://www.pagliaro.ca/home.htm

I've never seen or heard it, but there's actually a second Les Chanceliers LP .  In an apparent attempt to capitalize on pagliaro's solo successes, credited to Michael Pagliario et Les Chanceliers, in 1969  the Tradition label released "Le P'tit Popy" (catalog number TR-259-26).  The album simply seems to have repackaged the debut LP.

 cover) Record: M