Scott's Spotlight #16-- Mystery

May 19, 2025

Scott's Spotlight #16-- Mystery

Originally posted to Facebook on January 9, 2025

Link to post:

https://www.facebook.com/share/15uBytZtpV/

Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #16 For more information about this series, please click here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk

As I resume the series after a brief hiatus, I will be spotlighting the French-Canadian prog band Mystery. As I mentioned in my review of the band’s most recent album, “Redemption,” (#scottssongbysong issue 4 - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19iiNr7Af4/), I first became aware of the band when in 2008, their then current singer Benoît David, was tapped to replace Jon Anderson in Yes. As I began to add their music to my streaming library, I became aware of just how good of a band they are. The origins of the band go much deeper, however. Bandleader, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Michel St-Père formed the band in 1986. The first music that was released was in the form of an eponymous EP in 1992 which featured Raymond and Gary Savoie on lead vocals, Richard Addison on bass, Benoît Dupuis on keyboards, and Stéphane Perreault on drums & percussion along with St-Père. The EP contained five songs, however, the version that I just discovered on Apple Music, known as “!992-The Lost Tapes” leaves off the opening track called “Dreaming.” The songs are all written by St-Père. I have heard and loved two of the songs from it– “In My Dreams,” and “Cinderella” – as they were included in a compilation called “At the Dawn of a New Millenium,” which was released in the year 2000 to close out the first era of the band. There are only 500 original copies that were initially released in 1992 on the “PAGI” label. It remained out of print until 2022 when St-Père’s label Unicorn Digital remixed and re-released it in 2022.

The band’s first full length album, titled “Theatre of the Mind,” was released in 1996, and was the first album on the Unicorn Records label (now Unicorn Digital). While St-Père is still the primary composer, there are contributions from other band members as well. The line up included St-Père, Gary Savoie (vocals), Stéphane Perreault (drums), Benoît Dupuis (keyboards), Richard Addison (Bass, except 1 track), and Michel Painchaud (classical and acoustic guitars). There are also a number of guest musicians, including Patrick Bourque who played bass on track 7, and would become a member of the band. The album is divided into two sections: “The Reality” (tracks 1-3) and “The Dream” (tracks 4-10). I am familiar with and have “loved” four of the songs on this one: “Black Roses,” “Believe in Your Dreams,” “The Inner Journey, Pt II” and “Heart of Stone.”

Up next for Mystery is the second full length album, called “Destiny?” from 1998.The album is the end of Mystery’s early era, as it is the final album for vocalist Gary Savoie. It is also the first for bassist Patrick Bourque (as a full member), and drummer Steve Gagné. Those three and St-Père, who played keyboards as well as guitar on the album, constitute the official lineup on this album. However, there are some additional performers for certain tracks. I have heard and “loved” five of the nine tracks– “Legend,” “Destiny?”, “Queen of Varja Space,” “The Mourning Man,” and the 15 minute + epic “Shadow of the Lake.” Savoie left the band shortly after this album due to “musical differences”.

Although singer Benoît David was hired soon after the departure of Savoie, the band would not release a new album of original material until 2007. St-Père focused on expanding the artist roster on his Unicorn Label, and a few sporadic releases of individual songs for different tribute and compilation albums, including a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Hey You,” released in 2000. I just found this on YouTube and it’s fabulous https://youtu.be/7PXx0hiIFlI. The aforementioned compilation “At the Dawn of a New Millenium,” was released in 2000.

Finally in 2007, although work on the album was begun in 2000, the next full length Mystery album, “Beneath the Veil of Winter’s Face,” was released. The official line up is David, St-Père, Gagné, and Borque, along with additional studio musicians. Sadly, though, Borque would end his own life shortly after the album was released. I have heard and “loved” 8 of the 10 tracks on the album, and the title track is one of my favorite Mystery songs. The 11+ minute “The Awakening,” is another standout track.

As previously mentioned, Benoît David was hired as the singer for Yes in 2008. He had also been in a Yes tribute band prior to joining Mystery. While he performed on a few tours with Yes, that also featured Oliver Wakeman (son of Rick Wakeman) on keys in the Yes line up, he would really only be featured on one full studio album (“Fly From Here”--2011) and a few tracks from the abandoned album they began recording before deciding to replace Oliver Wakeman with previous Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes and making FFH. Those tracks were released on the album “From a Page” in 2019, which also contains the previously released (in 2011, from the 2009 tour) “In the Present–Live in Lyon”. Yes later re-released “Fly From Here” with David’s vocals removed in favor of vocals from Trevor Horn and called it “Fly From Here–Return Trip.” As he also remained a member of Mystery, the rigors of the road took a toll on his voice, and he left Yes in January of 2012.

In 2010, however, while David was in Yes as well, Mystery released “One Among the Living.” I have heard and “loved” 10 of the 14 tracks on the album. The album contains the 22 and a half minute suite “Through Different Eyes,” which constitutes six tracks on the album (I wish it was combined into one). “‘Till the Truth Comes Out,” is another standout. As for the line-up, St-Père, David, and Gagné remain as official members and are joined by returning keyboardist Benoît Dupuis, new bassist François Fournier, and additional guitarist Dean Baldwin as well as a few guest musicians, including Oliver Wakeman who appears on track 5 “Kameleon Man.”

The next Mystery album appeared in 2012 and was called “The World Is a Game.” Steve Gagné left the band in 2011, so only St-Père and David are credited as official members. The drums were handled by a very notable guest member–Nick D’Virgilio, of Spock’s Beard, Big Big Train and Genesis fame. Session players Antoine Fafard played bass and acoustic guitar and Marilène Provencher-Leduc played various flutes. This is Benoît David’s final studio album with the band, but a fine one it is! It included two of my favorite Mystery songs in “Dear Someone,” and the epic “Another Day.” I have “loved” 5 of the 8 tracks on the album.

In January of 2013, drummer Jean-Sébastien Goyette joined to replace Steve Gagné. Keyboardist Benoît Dupuis and bassist François Fournier reappeared in the lineup, along with guitarist Sylvain Moineau. Benoît David would remain in the line-up through most of 2013. Of course St-Père remains constant. This six-piece lineup would release the live album “Tales from the Netherlands,” recorded on May 10, 2013, but not released until October of 2014. This is the final album that Benoît David appears on. Earlier, in February of that year, a compilation of the Benoît David era called “Unveil the Mystery,” had been released. St-Père, Dupuis, Fournier, Moineau and Goyette along with singer Todd Farhood recorded the Gene Simmons song “See You Tonite,” for a KISS tribute album called “A World Without Heroes,” sometime after David’s departure. By January of 2014, it was announced that Benoît David had officially left Mystery sometime the previous fall. Soon after it was announced that Jean Pageau would become the new singer and also play the flute. On July 7 Antoine Michaud was announced to be filling in for Sylvain Moineau for all 2014 concerts, and that he had already been practicing with the band for a month.

The next album for Mystery, the first with Pageau, would be released in November of 2015, and titled “Delusion Rain.” Michel St-Père, Benoît Dupuis, François Fournier, Sylvain Moineau, and Jean-Sébastien Goyette round out the official line-up on the album. Two additional musicians: Antoine Michaud (guitars) and Sylvain Descôteaux (who plays with St-Père in his other project, Huis) provided piano. I have heard and “loved” five of the six tracks on the album including the 19 minute epic “The Willow Tree,” and the 12 minute + ”A Song for You.” This line-up would go on to tour and play several festivals to promote the album. A show from the Progdreams V in the Netherlands, from April of 2016 was filmed and recorded for a live DVD and album that were released in 2017 under the title “Second Home,” apparently as they are quite successful in that country (as you probably noticed, the earlier live album was recorded there as well).

In 2018. The band put out their 7th studio album, “Lies and Butterflies.” The line-up remained stable with the exception of Benoît Dupuis who left the band in 2016 and was replaced by Antoine Michaud on keyboards (even though he had worked with the band as a guitarist previously). I have heard and “loved” five of the eight tracks on the album. It is bookended by two epics. The opener is the nearly 17 minute “Looking for Something Else,” and the 15 minute “Chrysalis,” closes the album. Originally the name “Chrysalis,” was suggested for the album title (the song by that name was then called “Butterfly.”) When the song’s name was changed to “Chrysalis,” then Goyette suggested the name “Lies and Butterflies.” On April 7, 2019, a show from the tour in Poland was recorded and released as the live album “Live in Poznan,” in November of that year. Another live album/DVD from the “Lies and Butterflies” tour recorded in November 2018, in the Netherlands once again, was released in 2020 as “Caught in the Whirlwind of Time.”

Mystery first began to work on the follow up to “Lies and Butterflies" in late 2018. However, as with the rest of the world, Mystery’s progress was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic. They began to reconvene for live shows in June of 2022, and became inspired to complete the album. Keyboardist Johnny Maz (also from St-Père’s other band Huis) would fill in for Antoine Michaud on parts of the tour. The previously mentioned “Redemption,” was released in May of 2023. See the link above for my full review, but the album is amazing! I loved every track, and I consider it to be one of the best prog albums of 2023. The line-up stayed the same as “Lies & Butterflies”, although Johnny Maz provided additional keyboards. As I said, I have enjoyed every song on the album, but “Pearls and Fire,” and “Is this How the Story Ends?” stand out in particular; I’m a sucker for the epics! Mystery performed frequently in 2024, as recently as November and they seem alive and well as a band–-perhaps better than ever!

I have to say that as I have been writing this spotlight, I have had Mystery’s catalog on shuffle, and there is a very consistent sound and level of quality throughout. I have not heard a single track that I didn’t truly enjoy. I hope that those who are not familiar with Mystery will check out the “Links for Listening,” and give them a shot. Their music is definitely prog, but maybe a slightly more accessible version of prog with great melodies and rock guitar sounds. St-Père is a fantastic guitarist and composer. The musicians in every line-up are top-notch. Don't fear the Mystery, embrace it!

Links for Listening:

From the Debut EP:

“In My Dreams”

https://youtu.be/Rg7PUAAXLjo

“Cinderella”

https://youtu.be/PSc5jWhbfhs

From “Theatre of the Mind”:

“Black Roses”

https://youtu.be/95upIPAwlpI

“The Inner Journey” (Pt. 1)

https://youtu.be/0cizCoipC20

From “Destiny?”