''Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison'' (''If We Needed a Fifth Season''), also known as ''Les Cinq Saisons'' (''The Five Seasons''), is the second studio album by French-Canadian

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band

Harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

, released on 15 April 1975 by PolyGram. The album marked a departure from the

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

sound of the band's self-titled debut album towards a unique progressive rock sound, and also marked the growth of the band, as members

Serge Fiori Serge Fiori (born March 4, 1952) was the lead vocalist and guitarist for Harmonium, a progressive rock band from Quebec. After Harmonium broke up he pursued a solo career. Biography Serge Fiori grew up in the Little Italy district of Montreal, ...

, Michel Normandeau and Louis Valois were joined by Pierre Daigneault and Serge Locat. ''Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison'' is regarded as "one of the best transitional albums ever recorded and an essential item in Québec's music history". It was nominated for the Juno Award for Best Selling Album in 1976 and was ranked at 56 in music journalist

Bob Mersereau Bob Ellis Mersereau is a Canadian arts journalist.Rockingham, Graham �"Randy Bachman: lord of the song"''The Spec'' He is a music columnist and longtime arts reporter for CBC Television in New Brunswick.The Top 100 Canadian Albums ''The Top 100 Canadian Albums'' is a book by journalist Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions. Mersereau surveyed 600 music journalists, retailers, musicians and disc jockeys of all ages, from all parts of Canada, who each submi ...

''. In 2015, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' placed it 36th in its list of the 50 best

albums of all time. The album revolves around a seasonal concept; the first four songs each represent one of the traditional four seasons, respectively

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

, summer, autumn, and

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

, while the final track, "Histoires sans paroles", represents the imaginary fifth season. Some lyrics on this album, like on ''Depuis l'automne'', show the separatist ideology shared by the band at that time. The band was supported by Marie Bernard playing the

Ondes Martenot The ondes Martenot ( ; , "Martenot waves") or ondes musicales ("musical waves") is an early electronic musical instrument. It is played with a keyboard or by moving a ring along a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin. A player ...

, as well as the voice of

Judi Richards Judi Richards (born 12 August 1949) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. Born in Toronto, Richards is the daughter of musician Bill Richards and actress Billie Mae Richards (née Dinsmore). She has sung numerous jingles for the Canadian ...

in "Histoires sans paroles".

Track listing

Side one

# "Vert" (Michel Normandeau,

) – 5:35 # "Dixie" (Serge Fiori) – 3:26 # "Depuis l'automne" (Serge Fiori, Michel Normandeau) – 10:28

Side two

# "En pleine face" (Serge Fiori) – 4:50 # "Histoires sans paroles" (Serge Fiori) – 17:12 #* "L'isolement" #* "L'appel" #* "La rencontre" #* "L'union" #* "Le grand bal"

Personnel

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, lead vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

*Michel Normandeau – guitar, vocals *Louis Valois –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, electric piano *Pierre Daigneault – flutes, clarinets *Serge Locat –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Si on avait besoin d'une cinquieme saison 1975 albums Concept albums Harmonium (band) albums