Thirty years after the release of his classic LP
Jaune, singer/songwriter
Jean-Pierre Ferland managed to record an album that came very close to it in terms of quality and became almost as influential in Quebec music. The mid-'90s saw the rise of a strong acoustic rock movement in America. Some critics said
Ferland jumped on the bandwagon, but one must remember he began as a folksinger and that the acoustic guitar held a leading role on his 1977 album La Pleine Lune.
Écoute Pas Ça ("Don't Listen to This," an odd choice for a title) was recorded at the singer's country house deep in the woods as a guitar trio with
Alain Leblanc and
Bob Cohen. Songs were collectively written and recorded on the spot. The album has a rare sense of cohesion, atmosphere, and camaraderie.
Ferland's love songs have rarely been so poignant, especially the title track in which a man asks the woman who just left him to marry him. The sense of desperation in the singer's voice and the careful arrangements rank the song as one of the most beautiful Quebec has produced during that decade. Its seven-minute duration didn't prevent it from becoming an FM radio hit (especially on non-commercial radios). "Envoye à Maison," "After-Shave," and "Une Chance Qu'on S'A" all got radio airplay. Many Quebec artists would later try to achieve the same level of production quality and derive adult contemporary pop recipes from this album, but
Écoute Pas Ça stands unsurpassed as an incredible achievement from a singer whose career has become more and more dull with time. ~ François Couture