Apparently, this Canadian progrock outfit released what seems to be their only album in 1977. There is some debate whether they're from Canada or France, because there are at least two French guest musicians on this album that have a huge influence on the overall sound. Especially the soaring guitar of Jean Jacques Goldman is stunning. Goldman (like fellow guest musician and keyboardist Jean Alain Gardet) played in a band called Tai Phong, a rather successful French prog band from the mid-seventies. Hence the confusion about the heritage of Alpha Ralpha.
Goldman, as far as trivia should go, went on to develop an interesting and very successful solo-career, writing music for people like Johnny Haliday, Khaled and Patricia Kaas. His most infamous piece of work, however, is Celine Dion's album D'eux, which he wrote in the mid-nineties. It was a huge success, and became the best selling album in the French langauge ever (!). Fortunately (and I mean that in the most respectful way, really...), none of that can be heard on Alpha Ralpha.
So don't be misled by the cheesy cover, this is some seriously good music. Spacey, folky, heavy, mellow, all good prog-influences are here. But what makes this album really special, as far as I'm concerned, is the sheer joy of playing. The mid-seventies progrock scene that existed outside the UK (and, to a lesser extent, the USA) tends to be overlooked by progheads (and music lovers in general), which is totally unfair. Want proof? Since nobody bothered to give this album a proper re-release on CD, I feel no moral objection to giving you Exhibit A.
