Theme Quebec 

 

Beau Dommage – ”Beau Dommage” (1974)

I’ll continue my theme on music from Quebec, today the region rather than the city. As in my last post, the emotions connected to this LP is more important than the content, even though the content is really good.

When I arrived in Quebec city in the summer of 2009 I knew no one, I had neither relatives nor friends. Since my life was staying at home with the kids, I had no colleagues to hang out with. All I had as adult company was my wife (and we all know how exciting that is).

In September my son started school and I picked him up on a daily basis at 3 o'clock p.m. After a while I started talking to a woman who also picked her son up every day, a boy who had started to play with my son in the playground after school. Every day we stayed in the playground for an hour and talked about this and that. It was a very friendly woman, and sometimes her partner showed up and picked up the son. He was a teacher and never worked later than 1.00 p.m., and he worked only four days a week (yes, that’s how it is to be a teacher in Quebec). To make a long story short, me and this man began to hang out and he became my best friend in Quebec. Countless times we have played soccer or ice hockey with our sons in the park and discussed various important issues. Since he, in addition to being a teacher, also was a musician, music was a topic that often came up. He teached me a lot about Quebecan music.

After two years had passed, it was time to say goodbye to the city and its people and return to Sweden. At this time, I felt a connection to the city of Quebec and liked my life, so this farewell meant some sad feelings. On one of the last days in town my friend gave me a parting gift in the form of two vinyl records, since he knew I had an interest in those. Beau dommage was one of these records, a classic Quebecan LP you had to bring home, according to my friend. He described the album as the music all the hippies in Quebec listened to. I wonder why he thought I should own a record like that?

Beau dommage is an old expression from Quebec and corresponds to absolutely in English. Pierre Huet and Michel Rivard started the art group Quenouille Bleu in 1970, the site was the University of Quebec in Montreal. Robert Léger then joined, and later Pierre Bertrand, Réal Desrosiers and Marie-Michèle Desrosiers at different times during the first two years (in 1975 Michel Hinton joined the band). In 1973 the name was changed to Beau Dommage. The album Beau Dommage was the band’s debut album and hit sales records, it also gave them the Jeune Chanson prize awarded in Cannes. They had a serie of hits from the album and the band sold more than any other Canadian band during the years of the mid-70s. The debut album, for example, sold 250 000 copies. It can be added that the follow-up sold platinum on the day of its release which was the first time this happened to a Canadian band.

The band of course toured in Canada, but also a lot in Europe. 1978 Beau Dommage broke up since some members wanted to focus on their solo careers. But in 1984 they returned and did two concerts with a subsequent live album. 1994 they were reunited once again and made a new album with the same name as the debut album. They then carried out a tour in Quebec 1995.
They are today regarded as a legendary band in the region of Quebec.

The music is very Quebecan, I think, and I recognize a lot of it from more modern Quebecan bands. It is easy to hear how bands like Beau Dommage or Harmonium has affected the music scene in Quebec, the echoes from these bands can still be heard in much of today’s music. Of course the French language puts its mark on the music but the sound is pretty typical, too. One thing that is often heard in Quebecan music, as on Beau Dommage, is the nylon stringed acoustic guitar that gives the records a rather soft and gentle sound. On Beau Dommage the songs are quite often sung in beautiful harmonies, usually in major. Yes, overall, the songs on Beau dommage are quite nice and soft, there are no neurotic anxiety-filled nightmares that are offered. Yes, maybe it's hippie music, what do I know? I like this album anyway – there are beautiful songs, I can train my French and the music reminds me of two nice years in a different part of the world. For those who are curious about music from Quebec I really recommend this album.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Tous Les Palmiers 3:20

2. À Toutes Les Fois 4:17

3. Chinatown 3:05

4. La Complainte Du Phoque En Alaska 5:15

5. Le Picbois 3:25

Side B

1. Harmonie Du Soir À Chateauguay 3:06

2. Le Géant Beaupré 4:02

3. Ginette 2:35

4. Ung Ange Gardien 2:56

5. 23 Décembre 2:14

6. Montréal 4:44