The Brégent brothers Jacques (vocals) and Michel-Georges (keyboards) may have flourished on the Québec progressive rock scene for a short period of time in the 70's but what they accomplished on the two albums released, Poussière Des Regrets in 1973 and this reissue Partir Pour Ailleurs in 1979, was enough to secure their legacy within the vibrant provincial progressive music scene. Initially the brothers formed their band as a way of paying tribute to some of the greatest works of the French poets by bringing back their words and setting them to music which was performed by some of the best musicians available at the time. After their debut album the duo continued to explore and expand their musical boundaries and after forming a new group they ended up in the studio and began work on their 2nd album Partir Pour Ailleurs in 1978. Once again they surrounded themselves with the best possible players, egos were left at the door and they ended up delivering their most adventurous and ambitious piece of work yet.
One of the first things the listener notices about this release besides the fantastic musicianship and well crafted songs is just how varied overall the material is. The songs range from dreamy spoken word, progressive jazz epics (Mes Longs Voyages) to all out fiery rockers laced with elements of fusion and R&B (L'Intersection). Michel-Georges' brilliant keyboard work throughout is an absolute joy to revel in and as musical director and writer of the bulk of the bands music it's clear that he was the driving force behind Brégent. One never gets the feeling though that the music on Partir Pour Ailleurs is anything but a collaborative effort as all the contributions of the various musicians are felt equally which makes for an exciting and cohesive record. The brilliant driving rhythm section of Sylvain Coutu (drums) and Claude Chapleau, Jacques Laurin on bass is particularly inspiring as is the guitar work delivered by Jean–Guy Monpetit. The album proper runs 10 songs after which you get 7 bonus tracks recorded live at the University of Montréal in 1977. Altough the majority of the album tracks are repeated, the rather primitive equipment used in the live setting gives the songs more of a rawer feel overall .
Once again the folks over at ProgQuébec have delivered the goods and done a fantastic job with this reissue. The only bit of sadness here is that Michel-Georges Brégent passed away in 1993 and can not be around to see how well his compositions have stood the test of time and how vibrant they still sound in 2007. I'm sure he ultimately would have been very proud of the care and respect that was put into this reissue.
Track Listing
1) T'es Rock Coco
2) Mes Longs Voyages
3) Les Mouillures
4) En Muet
5) La Folle Complainte
6) L'Intersection
7) Couvre-Feu
8) Liberté
9) Qu'ont Vu Tes Yeux
10) Sur Le Balcon
11) En Muet (live)
12) La Folle Complainte (live)
13) Sur Le Balcon (live)
14) Mes Longs Voyages (live)
15) L'Intersection / Couvre-Feu (live)
16) T'es Rock Coco (live)
17) Dieu Est Nègre (live)
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