Les cinq saisons

Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison (french for If We Needed a Fifth Season), better known as Les cinq saisons (The Five Seasons), is the second studio album by Canadian progressive rock band Harmonium. It was released on April 15, 1975, in Canada by Celebration Records, a subsidiary of Quality Records. It was the band's second and final release for the label, as its contract ended in October 1975. Les cinq saisons was released in France via Gamma Records. PolyGram, which absorbed the interests of Quality Records, later reissued the album on various formats in several countries.

The album revolves around a seasonal concept; the first four songs each represent one of the traditional four seasons, respectively spring ("Vert"), summer ("Dixie (Une toune qui me revient)"), autumn ("Depuis l'automne..."), and winter ("En pleine face"). The final song, "Histoires sans paroles," a seventeen-minute instrumentals piece, represents an imaginary fifth season. Some of the album's lyrics, notably the ones for "Depuis l'automne...", reflect the band members' separatist political leanings, popular at the time. Les cinq saisons ' cover artwork was painted by Canadian artist Louis-Pierre Bougie.

The release marked a departure from the folk rock sound of the band's eponymous debut album, Harmonium, towards a unique progressive folk sound (later evolving into proper progressive rock for L'heptade). It also showcased the growth of the band, as members Serge Fiori, Michel Normandeau, and Louis Valois were joined by Pierre Daigneault and Serge Locat. The band self-produced the release, with the help of mixing engineer Peter Burns, who had worked on Harmonium. Invited in the recording sessions were Marie Bernard, who perform the Ondes Martenot on "En pleine face," and vocalist Judi Richards, who sang a solo on "Histoires sans paroles."

Les cinq saisons is regarded as "one of the best transitional albums ever recorded and an essential item in Québec's music history." It spent sixteen weeks on RPM's Top Albums chart, peaking to number 46. Within a year of its release, it was certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association, for sales exceeding 50,000 copies within Canada alone. Its success lead the band to sign with Columbia Records' Quebec-based subsidiary CBS Disques (following a bidding war) on February 12, 1976. A few days after signing with CBS, the album was nominated for a Juno Award for Best-Selling Album of the Year and the band was nominated for Group of the Year. Peter Burns was also nominated for Recording Engineer of the Year for his work on the release, as was Robert A. Morten (who executive-produced the album) for Producer of the Year. In May 1979, Les cinq saisons was certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association, for sales exceeding 100,000 copies within Canada alone. Music journalist Bob Mersereau ranked the album number 56 in his 2007 list The Top 100 Canadian Albums, and in 2015, Rolling Stone ranked it 36th in its list 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time.

Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.


 * Harmonium
 * Serge Fiori – lead vocals, twelve-string acoustic guitar, six-string acoustic guitar, mandolin, harp zither, western concert flute, cymbals, bass drum, spoons
 * – backing vocals, six-string acoustic guitar, accordion, dulcimer
 * – backing vocals, bass guitar, electric piano
 * – western concert flute, piccolo, soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, recorder
 * – grand piano, electric piano, mellotron, synthesizer


 * Additional musicians
 * Marie Bernard – ondes Martenot (on "En pleine face")
 * Judi Richards – vocals (on "Histoires sans paroles")


 * Production


 * Harmonium – producer, musical arrangements
 * Peter Burns – producer, mixing engineer, recording engineer
 * Robert A. Morten – executive producer
 * Nelson Vipond – mixing engineer
 * Fred Torak – musical arrangements
 * Louis-Pierre Bougie – illustrations
 * Yves Ladouceur – management and artistic direction