Catherine Ribeiro, France *** REISSUED ***

Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis - s/t. 1969 Festival.
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - No. 2. 1970 Festival.
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Le Temps de l'Autre. 1977 Philips.
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Passions. 1979 Philips.

*** No.2 Reissued as part of a box set released by Mercury in 2012.
***The remainder were reissued as part of a 9 CD box set from Mercury in November 2015

First two albums from band lead by the beautiful model Ribeiro, who sings with a tortured passion like none other. On "No. 2" she is completely anguished in an amazing set of tunes that has as much in common with Ash Ra Tempel (freaked out fuzz guitar) as it does with something that could have been on the Futura label (many creative avant garde moments). The debut is sublime as well.

"Le Temps de L'Autre" is a fine mixture of electronic music, acoustic folk guitar, Ribeiro's ever present haunting voice, and the final track on each side is a heavy Zeuhl like piece. The cover shown is the original gatefold. It also came out it in a single sleeve with a portrait painting of Ribeiro. Not sure why there are two different covers of this title.

"Passions" finds Ribeiro in unfamiliar commercial territory. Fear not, as it's not exactly that Ribeiro suddenly sounds like Dale Bozzio from The Missing Persons. She still sings in her impassioned haunting manner - it's just that the background music is a little more digestible. Little being the keyword here. David Rose's violin is a much welcome addition. Robin Kenyatta is a surprising guest on saxophone.

Special thanks goes to SF for ensuring I include these last two titles.

Surprising no one has put these out yet given that the rest of her extensive catalog has been reissued and is still available.

Priority: 2 (based on the strength of 2 Bis)