line up 1 (1968)

- Robert Charlebois -- vocals, guitar

- Louise Forestier (aka Louise Belhumeur) -- vocals

  backing musicians:

- Philippe Gagnon -- electric violin

- Michel Robidoux --

- 1 Fois 5

- Robert Charlebois (solo efforts)

- Louise Forestier (solo efforts)

- Northern Lights

Genre: psych

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  Robert Charlebois avec Louis Forestier

Company: Gamma

Catalog: GS 120
Year: 1968

Country/State: Montreal, Canada

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: Canadian pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 196

Price: $100.00

I think it's safe to say that both Robert Charlebois and Louise Forestier are all but unknown outside their native Quebec.  

Having studied piano and acting, Charlebois started his professional musical career as a conventional folkie, playing Montreal clubs, recording a string of professional, but bland mid-1960s albums (1965's "Robert Charlebois, Vol 1", 1966's "Robert Charlebois, Vol 2", 1967's "Robert Charlebois").  And then in late 1967 Charlebois went on a trip to California ...

Three months in California gave him a front seat to the love generation and the counter-culture movement and Charlebois apparently came back to Quebec a changed man.  His initial projects were a pair of musical reviews "Peuple a Genoux" and "L'Osstidcho" (which translated into something along the lines of "one hell of a show") which brought him into contact with singer/actress Louise Forestier.   With Forestier having recorded a solo album of folk material (1967's cleverly-titled "Louise Forestier"), the pair apparently clicked artistically continuing their creative relationship with the release of 1968's "Robert Charlebois avec Louise Forestier".  Completely abandoning his earlier acoustic-folk moves, Charlebois reinvented himself as a psych-tinged, cabaret-rocker. Charlebois also sang the French lyrics  in Joual which was apparently a local French-Canadian dialect (and went a long way to explaining why it was difficult to understand some of the French lyrics).  Working with Quebec poets Claude Péloquin and Marcel Sabourin, he came up with some truly bizarre lyrics and adding to the sense of weirdness, about half the album included support from Quebec's only free form jazz ensemble - Quatuor du Jazz Libre du Québec.  Musically Charlebois didn't have the best voice I've ever come across.  To my ears he actually sounded a bit like David Byrne having spent too much time with Jacques Brel, but most of the songs were either propulsive enough or strange enough ('CPR Blues') where it didn't matter. Unique, but by today's standards most of the album sounds relatively placid, but upon its release in 1968, to folks accustomed to Charlebois the folk singer, acid-jazz tinged material like 'California', 'Lindberg', and 'Engagement' must have come as a complete shock.  Almost makes you wish you could have experienced some of those shows.  (Worth mentioning is the fact that Forestier doesn't appear on the entire album.  In fact, as far as I can tell, her contributions are limited the first three songs on the album with the remaining six compositions being Charlebois solo efforts.)

"Robert Charlebois avec Louise Forestier" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) California   (Robert Charlebois) - 3:26  rating: **** stars

Clearly a fond reflection on his recent trip, 'California' (he actually sang it 'Californie'), opened up with a combination of pulsing organ and Forestier's pretty harmonizing.  And then Charlebois' voice kicked in giving it that David Byrne-edge.  Love the freak-out trumpet that kicked in towards the end of the track.   With a breezy, slightly lysogenic tinge to it - the song sounded the way I would picture a perfect late-1960s sunny day ...

2.) La Marches du President   (Robert Charlebois - Gilles Vihneault) - 4:29  rating: **** stars

'La Marches du President' (I'm guessing it translates as 'March of the President'), brought Forestier into the spotlight.  Whereas the opening was acid-tinged, this one was lysogenic-soaked.  The opening led you to believe this was going to be a pleasant folk track and then the song simply blew a gasket with Charlebois and Forester literally cart-wheeling their way though four minutes of insanity.  Way cool.  The song was also released as a single.   

3.) Lindberg   (Robert Charlebois - Claude Pelogiun)  - 5:23  rating: **** stars

Their best known song (a meaningless statement to anyone outside of Quebec), 'Lindberg' started out as a bizarre mix of sound effects before morphing into a pretty jazz-tinged ballad surrounded by a forest of psychedelic effects (and some French cursing).  The song's always been a puzzle to me - I'd love to know what in the world it's about   Similarly I've always wondered about the strange English refrain and Forestier's weird whooping sound effects were about.  The track was eventually tapped as a single.   YouTube has a clip of the pair performing the song.  There are no credits, but it appears to be a late-1970s or early '80s reunion for a television program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSqhNWoUt-Q

4.) CPR Blues   (Robert Charlebois - Claude Pelogiun) - 4:08  rating: ** stars 

Easily the strangest song on the album 'CPR Blues' found the pair bouncing between demented blues exchanges and what sounded like circus music. Yeah, this one was just too bizarre to accurately describe.

5.) Joe Finger Ledoux   (Robert Charlebois) - 2:37  rating: ** stars 

I don't know how many folks are old enough to remember Saturday Night Live when Bill Murrray was a cast member.  Anyhow, Murray occasionally played Nick the lounge singer.   If you imagined Murray's character as a French Canadian with a penchant  for showcasing a drawn-out, schmaltzy style, you'd have a feel for what 'Joe Finger Ledoux' sounded like.  It had to be intended as a parody ...   Maybe not?  

(side 2)
1.) Egg Generation   (Robert Charlebois - Marcel Sabourin) - 2:39  rating: ** stars 

One of two tracks co-written with actor Marcel Sabourin, 'Egg Generation' was an irritating slice of old-timey music.  Seemingly meant to be cute, it wasn't.   Easy to imagine Spanky and Our Gang doing a cover of it.  

2.) Engagement   (Robert Charlebois - Marcel Sabourin) - 7:11  rating: **** stars

Clocking in at over seven minutes, 'Engagement' was the album's longest and most surprising track.  After opening up with a brief Charlebois-in-chanteur segment, the song exploded into a surprisingly funky jam session with Charlebois channeling his best James Brown moves over an increasingly frantic and frenetic performance.  Who would have thought a French-Canadian could pull of a James Brown impersonation.

3.) Dolores   (Robert Charlebois) - 4:43  rating: ** stars 

Showcasing Philippe Gagnon' screechy electric violin, 'Dolores' is probably best described as a slice of bluesgrass-meets Cajun folk music.  You'd have to be pretty stoned to enjoy this one.  Please; no more whistling ...   

4.) Long Flight   (Robert Charlebois) - 4:53    rating: *** stars

The only song performed in English (even if it was slightly fractured), 'Long Flight' was a dark and disturbing ballad which became increasing wild as it rolled along.  That slightly ominous vibe has always reminded me of an early Pink Floyd effort, though I'll readily admit the unexpected Beatles reference was hysterical ("and I heard that The Beatles gave their clothes to people who broke their windows...").  

As mentioned, the album was tapped for a pair of singles: 

   Canadian release

- 1968's 'California' b/w 'Lindberg' (Gamma catalog number AA 1026)

   French releases

- 1968's LIndbergh' b/w 'Californie' (Gamma catalog number 61.026)

- 1967's 'La Marches du President' b/w 'Engagement'  Barclay catalog number 61.065)

Wildly uneven, but truly unlike any other French-Canadian album I've heard, it isn't something I'd want to hear every day, but from time to time it find sits way back to my turntable (yes, I still own a turntable).

The pair hit the road in support of the album, touring Canada and France where their weird blend of folk and psych didn't go over too well - the tour supposedly ended after Charlebois threw a drum set at what he saw as an unappreciative Parisian audience (for obvious reasons the tour didn't make it to the States).

Shame the album didn't include the Charlebois-Forestier collaboration '50,000,000 D'hommes'.

You could literally write a book about Charlebois; his career including some 21 albums, a modest acting career, and a brief political career that included a 1969 run for Canadian Prime Minister (as part of his own Rhinoceros Party - Charlebois' platform was based on a promise he would do nothing while in office).  The other thing that makes him interesting is his interest in beer.  In the mid-1990s he started the Quebec-based micro-brewery Unibroue: http://www.unibroue.com/en/home