Triangle - s/t. 1970 France

Triangle is one of the earliest of the French progressive rock bands. At one point they were lead by the diminutive Alain Renaud on guitar, though he left after a few singles, and explored his more experimental tendencies - most notably with Richard Pinhas and Heldon.

Their debut is a consistently excellent album, that mixes French and English lyrics, with a hard psychedelic bite in the guitar work. The vocals have a slightly gruff sound that recall Family, and especially fellow countrymen Ergo Sum, who they share a similar sound overall with. The highlight is also the longest track. 'Cameron's Complaint' sees Triangle take on a more jazzy sound with additional flute, that recalls the Canterbury scene, and predicts the coming of bands such as Moving Gelatine Plates.

This debut is generally considered their best album. I haven't heard the second album, and it's been many a year since I heard Homonymie, almost to the point I don't trust my rating there.

Personal collection
LP: 1970 Pathe / EMI
CD: 2010 Culture Factory

The LP is a single sleeve with a catalog "tab" in the back. Like the RYM photo, mine has the 1971 sticker, so that would indicate a later press. The album sold well in its day, so it isn't too scarce.

For an album that was once popular, it had been surprisingly ignored in the reissue market, save for the always lame Mantra CD. This travesty was finally addressed by Culture Factory. The CD comes in a fine mini-LP styled cover, with an insert and a small history (in French). Best of all is that the CD has all 3 of their singles prior to the album proper, and each is just as good as the LP itself.