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Argentine Groups - A
Miguel Angel Peralta was born on March 23rd, 1946. At 20 he met poet Pipo Lernoud and the members of the band Los Beatniks. All of them were regular visitors of La Cueva, the now mythical club from Pueyrredón Avenue, and pioneers of the newly born argentine rock.
After forming Los Abuelos de la Nada (The Grandfathers of Nothingness -the name taken from a book by the Argentine writer Leopoldo Marechal), with whom he cut a single, Miguel launched a solo career with the new label Mandioca.
Mandioca began its activities by releasing 3 singles with beautiful poster sleeves in November 1968. The lucky artists were Manal, Cristina Plate and Miguel Abuelo.
Miguel’s single featured the ballad "Oye Niño" on side A, and "¿Nunca te miró una vaca de frente?" on side B. Miguel played acoustic guitar and sang on the first track, while was joined in the latter by Ernesto Zimberlin on cello, Pablo Goldstein on flute and Mayoneso (ex-Los Abuelos de la Nada) on piano.
The next year a compilation record was released, Mandioca Underground (MLP 331), featuring Miguel’s "Mariposas de madera", a great song, and "Levemente o triste", both recorded live during the label’s presentation show.
Due to his fickle temper, Miguel would never finish a scheduled album. Eventually, Mandioca released a second single (with PS) taken from these sessions with arrangements by the orchestral conductor Rodolfo Alchourrón. The outcome was pretty interesting: "Hoy seremos campesinos" and a new version of "Mariposas de madera" were two great pieces of folk-psychedelia.
Miguel tried to form a new group, El Huevo (The Egg), with Pomo (drums -ex-Los Abuelos de la Nada) and Carlos Cutaia (organ - later on Pescado Rabioso) with no luck. He also acted in the highly controversial local version of Hair.
In 1971 he set off to Europe in search of Ibiza’s shores. After wandering around several countries, he met French producer Moshe Naim who signed him for an album. Miguel decided to form a band with other Argentine musicians like Daniel Sbarra (on guitar), Pinfo Garriga (on bass) and Diego Rodríguez (on drums), and the Chilean Carlos Beyris (on cello). Hijos de Nada (Sons of Nothingness) toured France sponsored by Naim.
1974 found the group in a 16-channel studio, recording the songs for the album with the help of Gustavo Kerestesachi (moog), Juan Dalera (quena -a South American Indian kind of flute), Luis Montero (drums), Edgardo Cartor (sound effects) and Teca and Veroniqe (backing vocals). When they were done, the group split... and the record was held back.
Miguel returned to
Spain where he played with fellow Argentine musicians. In 1978 the LP was finally
released, but only in France. After setting an agreement with the other musicians, the
record was credited to Miguel Abuelo et Nada.
The album is probably the best recording Miguel Abuelo ever did. A truly magnificent progressive work. "Tirando piedras al río", the first superb cut, sounds like Van der Graaf Generator meets Led Zeppelin. The more psycho oriented "El largo día de vivir" (with flutes and acoustic guitars) and "Estoy aquí parado, sentado y acostado" (actually a new version of "Pipo, la serpiente" -an old Los Abuelos de la Nada song), both penned by Miguel, completes side one. "Estoy aquí..." starts melodic and soft but soon turns intense with a terrific Sbarra guitar work and Abuelo reminding Peter Hammill with his marvellous voice.
Side B features an old Miguel’s song, the gloomy "El Muelle", and three Sbarra compositions: the hard-rock oriented "Señor carnicero", the melancholic "Recala sabido forastero" that features acoustic guitars, cello, moog and backing vocals, and "Octavo sendero" which gives the album a powerful finale. A highly recommended album but extremely hard to get now! Unfortunately, the sluggish edition -and the fact it was sung in Spanish- let the record to go unnoticed. It was no longer 1974...
Strangely enough, Miguel Abuelo et Nada was never released in Argentina, not even when a new pop-reggae version of Los Abuelos de la Nada enjoyed an enormous success in the 80s! Thus, very few Argentine fans have heard this masterpiece.
Miguel Abuelo passed away in a hospital due to AIDS, that hideous illness of our time, on March 26th, 1988. We lost an extraordinary musician.
"Oye niño" was included in Alternativa (Talent I-395) and "Mariposas de madera" was included in Rock (Microfón ASI-179), among other compilations. Both songs are available on CD.
The very rare French LP was counterfeited somewhere in Europe with a non-foldout cover.
When Miguel Angel Peralta and poet Pipo Lernoud (author of the lyrics of "Ayer nomás" -the b-side of the Los Gatos hit single "La Balsa") met producer Ben Molar, the first question was if Miguel had a group.
To Pipo’s surprise, Miguel answered in fact he did. Molar asked for the name of this group. Peralta quickly remembered a quote taken from a book he was reading by the Argentine writer Leopoldo Marechal and answered "it is called Los Abuelos de la Nada (The Grandfathers of Nothingness). Thus, they got a contract to record an album with a group that did not exist!
Next step was to recruit the musicians: Héctor "Pomo" Lorenzo on drums, Eduardo "Mayoneso" on organ, Alberto "Carozo" Lara on bass and his brother Miki Lara on rhythm guitar. Guitarist Claudio Gabis was not a member but guested on the recording sessions.
This group cut a wonderful single: "Diana divaga" -a psychedelic jewel featuring cello, bells and sound effects, plus the peculiar Miguel’s way of singing- b/w "Tema en flu sobre el planeta" -a psycho-garage song. Both songs were written by Miguel Peralta with lyrics by Pipo Lernoud. The PS showed a photo of the group featuring lead guitarist Pappo (who was actually a member of the band, though he didn’t play on the single).
In a short time session, Los Abuelos recorded two new songs: "Pipo, la serpiente" y "Lloverá" -also penned by Peralta/Lernoud.
"Pipo, la serpiente" was released late in 1981 on a compilation LP. Unfortunately, the vocal track of "Lloverá" got lost, and the instrumental track was released as a bonus track on a compilation CD in 1997. This double CD also included all above mentioned songs, plus "La Estación", a blues sung by Pappo after Miguel’s departure due to "musical differences" with the guitar player and the fact that "Diana divaga" was edited without his consent for radio airplay. (From then on, he adopted the name Miguel Abuelo for his new solo career).
"La estación" was the first Pappo composition to be recorded. This superb psycho-blues was included on the compilation LP Mandioca Underground (MLP 331) in 1969.
Los Abuelos de la Nada soon broke up, but when Miguel Abuelo returned from Europe in 1982 he used the same name to form an outfit with totally different musicians to play totally different music. This new pop-reggae version of Los Abuelos achieved enormous commercial success.
Their only single is very hard to get, but fortunately all songs are available on different formats.
- PAPPO (lg, v)
- ALEJANDRO MEDINA (b, v)
- ROLANDO CASTELLO JUNIOR (d)
Pappo (born Norberto Napolitano), after wandering in and outside the country with different variations of Pappo’s Blues, decided to form Aeroblus with bass player Alejandro Medina (ex-Manal and La Pesada) and Brazilian drummer "Junior" Castello. As usual, they played rock and blues, ...but this time a little harder!
They cut one album influenced by bands like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, with great instrumental work by all three members. Best moments are the opening "Vamos a buscar la luz", "Nada estoy sabiendo" and the excellent blues "Vendríamos a buscar".
The group did not survive their first album. Castello returned to his country, while Pappo and Medina formed yet another version of Pappo’s Blues. Shortly afterwards, Pappo would enjoy success with Riff, a heavy metal band.
Aeroblus LP is scarce but was reissued on CD.
- RICARDO TERSSE (b,v)
- LUIS SÁEZ (g,v)
- ARCHI BASÍLICO (g,v)
- RICARDO BONETTO (d,v)
- CECILIA GLARIA (flute)
- LAURA FAZZIO (K,fl,v)
- ALEJANDRA BERNIE (v)
- GRACIELA GIROTTI (v)
- MARCELA CANAUS (v)
- GRACIELA CASSANO (v)
This group from Santa Fe (Capital City of the Province of the same name -475 Km North Buenos Aires) is included here because they recorded a good symphonic album highly desired by collectors.
Originally formed in 1973, after several line-up changes, Agnus finally released an album late in 1980 through a private pressing. It is extremely hard to get and is the only known vinyl recording of this group (cassette recordings exist, though).
Pinturas y expresiones features Enrique Schussler on violin. It was released on CD by a progressive Brazilian label.
- GUSTAVO MORETTO (k, v, trump) AB
- ALEX ZUCKER (b,g) A
- CARLOS RIGANTI (d, per) AB
- PEDRO AZNAR (b) B
After the break up of Alma y Vida, trumpet player Gustavo Moretto joined bass player Alex Zucker and drummer Carlos Riganti to form Alas. Zucker had played with Montes and Pedro y Pablo in their LP Conesa. Riganti was formerly with Materia Gris. Moretto was now devoted mostly to keyboards and vocals.
Alas achieved a great number of followers due to intensive live activity. The music was a blend between ELP-type symphonic rock, jazz a la Chick Corea, Argentine folklore and the tango style of the innovative Astor Piazzolla.
By the end of the year they released a single: "Rincón, mi viejo rincón", a nice melody with " porteño" sound ("porteño" means "belonging to Buenos Aires") b/w "Aire (surgente)" an instrumental with great technical skill.
In 1976 their first LP was released featuring two long compositions. Side A included the tango flavoured symphonic "Buenos Aires sólo es piedra", whilst side B comprised of "La muerte contó el dinero" with strong Argentine folkloric rhythms. It was a very interesting album, based on the now fairly dated sound of the keyboards.
Moretto decided to delve into tango even further, and recruited the bandoneón player Daniel Binelli. Shortly after, Alas played a big concert with three bandoneón players onstage!
Alex Zucker moved to the USA and left the group the following year, being replaced by Pedro Aznar (ex-Madre Atómica). The new outfit recorded a self-indulgent second LP (Pinta tu aldea), shelved by the record company until 1983.
Alas split when Moretto decided to move to the USA as well, where he still lives.
None of their records were reissued on vinyl. Originals are rare to find, though we recommend only their first LP. Both albums were reissued on CD with not so good sound quality by a Brazilian label.
They were also released officially in Argentina on a doble CD-set (with the singles as bonus), now out of print. First album with the single and 3 songs from Pinta Tu Aldea is available on CD as Grandes Exitos (EMI).
- CARLOS MELLINO (org, v)
- JUAN BARRUECO (g, v)
- BERNARDO BARAJ (sax, fl)
- GUSTAVO MORETTO (trump, k, v)
- CARLOS VILLALBA (b, v)
- ALBERTO HUALDE (d)
Some of these excellent musicians, all of them coming from the jazz scene, had experiences with rock music: Mellino was an ex-member of The Seasons, and Baraj, Hualde and Villalba were regular visitors of the now mythical club La Cueva on Pueyrredón Avenue.
After playing as the backing band of a mellow singer, they decided to form their own group which was highly influenced by Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The original line up included Mario Salvador on trumpet, with whom they recorded their debut single: "Niño de color cariño" b/w "He comprendido", for the Mandioca label. "Niño..." was also enclosed on the compilation Pidamos peras a Mandioca (MLP 335).
Soon after, Moretto replaced Salvador, and Alma y Vida signed with RCA to release their Chicago-influenced magnificently performed first album, featuring the great hit song "Mujer, gracias por tu llanto", "Veinte monedas" (with superb guitar) and "Lágrima de ciudad".
Despite the lack of support of the "rock audience" and the bad reviews of the "trendy rock press", Alma y Vida stayed true to their style and recorded and excellent second album, Vol 2 (it seems that the "Chicago influence" went as far as the album titles as well). The LP features two hit songs: "Hoy te queremos cantar" (allegedly dedicated to Che Guevara) and "Don Quijote de barba y gabán" -both released as a single-, and a bunch of nice songs like: "Un hombre más", "Para mí no hay jaula" (featuring wah-wah pedal guitar), and "Fantasía sobre los Reyes Magos".
Their lyrics were somewhat left-wing, mature and to-the-point; and their music was rich and complex... too much intellect for the early 70´s! Anyway, they produced hit singles and good albums like Del gemido de un gorrión, their next effort. This LP (the only who has a title) features the hit song of the same name plus the remarkable "Vos te equivocaste, amigo" (great guitar work!), "Bussi a las tres y media", "Vamos hermano americano", and "Carna rock y suficiente" (one of their most rock-oriented tunes).
Their fourth album includes their biggest hit ("Salven a Sebastián") along with "Cadenet" and "Alguien llega y alguien se va". They also premiered the conceptual work Las Cuatro Estaciones (The Four Seasons) in a live show which was not recorded.
Gustavo Moretto left the group in search of new musical grounds and formed Alas. Now a quintet, Alma y Vida released a non-LP new single with a good b-side ("La llovizna se quedó en el cristal").
Their last album (the uninspired Vol 5) includes "Le daré su mano a Dios", a nice ballad written -as most of their repertoire- by Carlos Mellino with his actor brother Esteban.
Alma y Vida disbanded soon afterwards. (They reunited in the 90s with a forgettable new LP). Mellino began a solo career during the 80s, and recorded several albums in his classic ballad style. Bernardo Baraj blew (still does) his saxophone in lots of sessions with several musicians (most noteworthy Litto Nebbia).
All Alma y Vida LPs had been reissued. A compilation CD also exists.
- LUIS ALBERTO SPINETTA (g, v)
- EDELMIRO MOLINARI (g, v)
- EMILIO DEL GÜERCIO (b, V)
- RODOLFO GARCÍA (d, v)
Though nobody thought about it when the whole thing started, nowadays everybody agrees that the Argentine rock movement was stablished by three groups: Los Gatos, Manal, and Almendra.
While Los Gatos played beat-pop, and Manal played urban blues, Almendra (Almond) played something completely creative, innovative and... different. No other group had sounded that way before! Almendra played beautiful melodies and magnificent lyrics, sometimes mixed with extremely moody sounds and sometimes mixed with extremely furious -but always melodic- lines.
Almendra was formed in 1968 after the break up of three teenage school groups: Los Sbirros, Los Mods, and Los Larkins. The initial rehearsals were held at the Spinetta´s house in Belgrano (an upper-middle class neighbourhood of Buenos Aires). By mid 1968, they met producer Ricardo Kleiman, who signed them for a single. (Kleiman was the owner of an important clothing shop -Modart- and ran a radio show -Modart en la Noche /Modart at Night- that aired the latest editions of beat and rock music of the world).
On September 20th, 1968, "Tema de Pototo" (a.k.a. "Para saber cómo es la soledad") b/w "El mundo entre las manos" was released. "Tema de Pototo" is a beautiful beat ballad about a friend they thought was dead. Both sides feature orchestral arrangements by Rodolfo Alchourrón (a producer’s request). This was the starting point of the brief career of one of the most wonderful groups in the world!
By the end of the year, "Hoy todo el hielo en la ciudad" with a great fuzz guitar work by Edelmiro, hit the stores. The b-side features "Campos verdes" from which a promotional film was made.
Due to their performance at the Festival of Aucán, in Peru (something completely unusual at that time) the single became a huge success in that country. They even appeared on a TV show in Lima.
Back in Argentina, Almendra played during the summertime -that is, beginning of 1969- in Mar del Plata (a beach city 400Km South of Buenos Aires). Their debut in Buenos Aires was on March 24th, at the DiTella Institute (the avant-garde cultural centre of the 60s). Almendra spent the rest of the year performing at different venues, until September 21st (the first day of Spring -also the Student’s Day) when they played at the Pinap Festival. Pinap was the name of a beat magazine, and this Festival was the first major event of Argentine rock.
Meanwhile, the group was recording their debut album. An odd event marked the completion of it. Spinetta had drawn an original enigmatic face character for the cover. Days afterward, the record company told the boys that the drawing had been lost, so they were planning to use a photo of the group instead. Obviously upset, the musicians looked for the lost drawing and eventually found it discarded in the garbage! Spinetta stayed up all night reproducing his original artwork and took it to the record company the following day. They offered no excuses the second time!
The extraordinary debut album was finally released on November 29th, 1969. Along with the infamous drawing, it included an insert with the lyrics and technical information. The black & white back cover pictured the group live at the Pinap Festival.
This LP is astonishingly beautiful. All songs are excellent. It is really hard to try to explain them!
The opening track is an argentine rock hymn: "Muchacha (ojos de papel)", an acoustic Spinetta song devoted to an old girlfriend that still thrills the listener. Next comes the superb 9 -minute long "Color humano", written by Edelmiro, featuring his now famous long fuzz guitar solo. Molinari would name his next group after this song.
"Figuración" is a soft tune brilliantly sung by Spinetta with Pappo on backing vocals and Emilio del Güercio on flute. The energy and fuzz guitar returns with the superb "Ana no duerme", one of the best tracks of the album. Santiago Giacobbe guests on organ.
Side two begins with the sweet "Fermín", another beautiful song where everything is well done: the guitar, the organ (played by Edelmiro), the vocals... followed by a lullaby tune "Plegaria para un niño dormido" with yet another inspired Spinetta lyric.
I am personally fond of "A estos hombres tristes", a song with changing rhythmic and melodies. Emilio wrote and sung lead in the next one, the pleasant "Que el viento borró tus manos".
The LP ends with the slow and beautiful "Laura va", yet another great Spinetta song full of urban moods. Rodolfo Alchourrón was called on again for his fruitful orchestral arrangements and Rodolfo Mederos played the bandoneón to complete the sound of Buenos Aires.
This indisputable masterpiece is one of the best albums ever recorded in South America and a must to anybody interested in the music of these latitudes.
By the end of 1969 the record company released a new single featuring "Tema de Pototo" and "Final". The latter was originally scheduled to end their debut album, but could not make it due to time length limitations. The group wanted "Gabinetes espaciales" to be the a-side of this single but RCA wished to promote "Pototo" instead. "Gabinetes..." was eventually included on the compilation LP Mis conjuntos preferidos (RCA Vik 3836).
In early 1970 another single was released with two songs from the album. Meanwhile, Spinetta was working on a highly ambitious -though not original at that time- project: a rock opera about mankind’s inner search. But while they were working on this new album the group split.
On December 19th, 1970, Almendra (a.k.a. "Almendra double album") was released, along with a new single taken from it. The 2-LP set included only traces of the unfinished opera but was full of songs that previewed what the members of the group (noteworthy Emilio and Edelmiro) would do next. Although Luis Alberto Spinetta was the main composer of the first album and most of the singles, it was clear that his fellow musicians had their own ideas as well.
The brilliant double album is, thus, pretty heterogeneous. The music is more complex and has much organ and guitar playing.
Side A begins with "Toma el tren hacia el sur" featuring a great Edelmiro guitar solo. Next to the short and simple "Jingle", a Molinari powerful guitar composition ("No tengo idea") follows. "Camino difícil", written by Emilio, would fit in any Aquelarre album. The steady rock of "Rutas Argentinas" (a very popular song on live shows), the dark "Vete de mí, cuervo negro", and another two Molinari compositions: "Aire de amor" (advancing the Color Humano style) and the excellent "Mestizo" completes this side.
Side B features the chirping hard-psycho 14-minutes-long "Agnus Dei" and the cute "Para ir".
Side C includes the powerful "Parvas", "Cometa azul", my favourite "Florecen los nardos", -all with great guitar work- and Del Güercio's rhythm ballad "Carmen".
Side D begins with "Obertura" (obviously the ill-fated opera’s overture), followed by the country-folk "Amor de aire" and "Verde llano" (both written by Edelmiro). This last side continues with "Leves instrucciones", a nice tune sung by Emilio & Luis Alberto and the outstanding "Los elefantes". "Un pájaro te sostiene" -a rock number written by Del Güercio- and the great Spinetta’s guitar oriented "En las cúpulas" close this highly recommended album.
Almendra’s split produced these wonderful outcomes: Aquelarre, Color Humano, and Pescado Rabioso.
Years later, on December 7th & 8th of 1979, Almendra reunited to play live at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium in Buenos Aires. These highly successful shows led to a big tour including various cities of Argentina and Uruguay. A 2-set live album -Almendra en Obras (Almendra ML 712 & 713)-, and a studio album of new material -El valle interior (Almendra ML 135)- were also released, this time on their own independent label. My advice: forget these and stick to the old stuff!
Some interesting compilations are 1972’s Almendra (serie Rock Progresivo) (RCA Vik LZ-1227) and 1977’s Muchacha, ojos de papel (RCA AVS-4765). Both include singles.
A rare 4-song EP with PS (RCA Vik 3ZE-3704) also exists.
Also, a now-impossible-to-get book (already guessed it’s name? ... you bet: Almendra -!!!) featuring poems and drawings was published in 1970.
All records were re-issued on CD. [Note: CD Cronología 1 includes the first RCA album plus all the singles and CD Cronología 2 -now out of print- includes all the songs of the second album in chronological recording order, except the songs released as singles (since they are already included on Cronología 1). This way, these 2 CDs features the Complete Almendra recordings on RCA. Also, the double RCA second album was later released as a 2-CD set with its complete original running order. A ridiculous compilation counterfeit exits. Beware!
BMG released a 4-CD Box with all their studio recordings.
- JOSÉ LUIS RODRÍGUEZ (v, g)
- BOCHA (b, org)
- MARIO VIANNINI (lg)
- MIGUEL (d)
This outfit would only release a very rare flower power PS single on the legendary Mandioca label. More noteworthy is the great b-side: the fuzz-guitar psycho-oriented "Flotando". The song, written by Viannini, talks about "floating in a glass of milk". Impressive!
Another track with great guitar work, "Brisa de un día", would make it on the compilation Pidamos peras a Mandioca (MLP 335).
They faded into oblivion, but Rodríguez -with the nickname Silvestre- eventually became a popular teen singer and soap opera actor!
None of their recordings have so far been reissued in any form.
- EMILIO DEL GÜERCIO (b, v)
- HÉCTOR STARC (g, v)
- HUGO GONZÁLEZ NEIRA (k, v)
- RODOLFO GARCÍA (d, v)
After Almendra’s break-up, three new extremely important groups were formed. Luis Alberto Spinetta formed Pescado Rabioso, Edelmiro Molinari formed Color Humano, whilst Emilio del Güercio and Rodolfo García formed Aquelarre.
For this project, Del Güercio and García were joined by González Neira (a keyboard player from the jazz scene), and the great guitarist Starc (formerly with the beat combo Alta Tensión and a regular at every endless guitar rock jam). The group played highly rehearsed progressive music, with surrealistic lyrics, led by the peculiar sound of the electric harpsichord.
Aquelarre officially debuted on March 17th, 1972 at the Lorange Theatre on Corrientes Avenue in Buenos Aires. Soon afterwards, they released their outstanding first LP, recorded in two months at ION Studios (sharing dates and studio with Huinca).
The album starts with the powerful "Canto" (featuring another characteristic of the group: the fast wild guitar). The soft and beautiful "Yo seré el animal, tú serás mi dueño" is followed by the best track of the LP: "Aventura en el árbol". Listen to that brilliant wah-wah echo guitar!
Side B begins with "Jugador, campos para luchar", led by the guitar riff and powerful harpsichord, and the pretty "Cantemos tu nombre" (sung by Hugo with his peculiar voice). The album closes with the sturdy "Movimiento". A highly recommended record.
The cover was drawn by Emilio del Güercio (years later he quit music to become a graphic designer), and both the cover artwork and the lyrics subtly reflected the dark period just about to arise in the country (the military coup).
Just four months later, the group began the recording sessions for their second album: Candiles. The cover reproduced the painting "Aquelarre" by fame Spanish painter Francisco de Goya (1746-1828). It was another way to reflect the current political situation.
This great LP includes the energetic "Cruzando la calle", the soft melody of "Soplo nuestro", the rhythmic and changing "Hermana vereda" and the ballad "Cuentos tristes" (with Emilio on flute) on side A. Side B features the keyboard led with the guitar riff "Miren a este imbécil", the frantic instrumental "Patos trastornados" (with a great guitar performance) and the album’s most inspired track: "Iluminen la tierra".
The music of Aquelarre was becoming much more progressive and melodic, moving somewhat away from rock. This sound would stabilise in their next album (for a new label), recorded with better production and instrumental resources.
Before this third effort, Aquelarre cut a great single: "Violencia en el parque", their most famous song b/w "Ceremonias para disolver" (sung by Hugo).
In 1974 they released Brumas their most popular LP. The album was previewed at the Coliseo Theatre in Buenos Aires, a concert I fondly remember.
Brumas is another great record. The most inspired moments are the beautiful "Brumas en la bruma" (with superb orchestral arrangements by Rodolfo Alchourrón), the complex "Milagro de pueblo", the alluring "Aves rapaces" and "Parte del día".
At this point Aquelarre toured fervershly through the country, motivating young musicians to form their own bands!
With great enthusiasm, Aquelarre recorded a fourth album and announced their desire to move to Spain in search of new boundaries. They said goodbye to the Argentine audience by playing three great farewell concerts at the Coliseo Theatre.
Siesta was released in October 1975, along with a 7" featuring a non-LP b-side. The album had a stronger symphonic style, with heavier use of keyboards and synthesizers.
The album has its great moments, like "Pájaro de la locura", "Canto cetrino" or "Cacería en el bosque", but falls short when compared to their previous releases.
Once settled in Spain, Aquelarre played intensively in Barcelona, Ibiza and Madrid, but they could only cut one instrumental track ("Mágico y natural") for a compilation album of Spanish groups in 1977 (Ni lo uno ni lo otro, sino todo lo contrario- [Beverly Records L30017])
Disappointed, the group decided to split. They planned a farewell concert in Buenos Aires, but González Neira refused to return to Argentina. The concert was held anyway, with former Pescado Rabioso Carlos Cutaia on keyboards, at the huge Luna Park Stadium. (Actually, their very last performance took place a few days later -on March 16th 1977- at the Nueva Estela Theatre in Montevideo, Uruguay).
Héctor Starc and Rodolfo García later joined bass player Machi Rufino (ex-Invisible) to form Tantor, a jazz-rock oriented group which released two LPs (Tantor and Mágico y natural).
Emilio del Güercio recorded a good intimate local-flavoured solo album in 1983 (Pintada -Microfón SUPS 80236).
All Aquelarre LPs were reissued on vinyl. A compilation LP (Lo mejor de Aquelarre -Talent SE-859) featuring the non-album singles, was also released. Except for Candiles, the LPs are available on CD with the singles as bonus.
- GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA (g, v) AB
- ARA TOKATLIAN (winds, k, v) AB
- GUILLERMO BORDARAMPÉ (b, v) AB
- ALBERTO CASCINO (d) A
- HORACIO "DROPPY" GIANELLO (d) B
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla, together with church fellows Tokatlian and Bordarampé, formed several bands in the 60s (The Rovers, The Blackbyrds, The Crows) to play covers and, later on, his own songs.
After recording a 3-song demo tape, they met producer Ricardo Kleinman (owner of the successful radio show Modart en la Noche) who agreed to sign them with the condition that they sing in Spanish... and change their name!
So Arco Iris recorded two late-60s pop tunes: "Lo veo en tus ojos" and "Canción para una mujer" (no relation with the Vox Dei song with the same name) with orchestral arrangements by Rodolfo Alchourrón (another Kleinman demand -note the great similarities with the first Almendra single!). The b-side is one of my personal favourites.
Months later, Arco Iris released a second disappointing single and met former model Danais Wynnycka (a.k.a. Dana), who became their "spiritual guide", and began to live communally with her.
Their next single, "Blues de Dana" (obviously dedicated to the beautiful lady) reflected changes in the music as well. This 5-minute guitar blues won the Mar del Plata Beat Festival.
By the end of 1969 Arco Iris began recording sessions for their first LP, to be released in May 1970. The pink cover showed a triangular logotype that represents the philosophy of the group.
The album includes some very beautiful songs penned by Santaolalla in a vocal pop-folk style with both acoustic and electric instruments. Among them "Hoy te miré", "Te quiero, te espero", "Canción de cuna para un niño astronauta", "Tiempo", and the lengthy "Y ahora soy". The latter sort of previewed the instrumental development of future releases.
Alberto Cascino quit, uneasy with the "commune life" (this is the reason why he is not in the album cover). Several drummers replaced him until "Droppy" Gianello took the job.
Arco Iris kept working at the studio, and released a single in January 1971: "Es nuestra la libertad" b/w "Zamba", which showed their first attempt to mix rock with Argentine folkloric music -style they developed ever since.
At this point they changed record companies. Now on Music Hall label, they cut a highly successful single, the now classic "Mañana campestre" (with a non-LP b-side and PS).
Their former label issued Suite Nº1 (RCA Vik LZ-1210), an album of singles and unreleased tracks (some sung in English!) from their first LP. ("Woman" is the English version of "Tiempo" and "And I want" is the English version of "Y ahora soy"). RCA also issued yet another LP of singles and LP tracks called Blues de Dana (Groove 80020).
At the same time, Tiempo de Resurreción, their first album for Music Hall hit the stores. To complicate things a little bit more, this record included a new version of "Blues de Dana", along with "Mañana campestre". The new folkloric-rock fusion was now clear, with the increasing use of saxophones and the distinguishing electric guitar of Santaolalla.
To sum up an intense year they released a non-album PS 7" ("Llegó el cambio") and a 2-LP box set: Sudamérica o el Regreso a la Aurora -a Latin-American rock opera.
Sudamérica,
probably the highest point of Arco Iris’ career, was an ambitious work both in
musical and ideological aspects. It tells from a deeply political standpoint the story of
a heterogeneous group of pilgrims at the verge of the resurgence of an Old Latin-American
Empire in a New Era.
Musically, it achieves an excellent mixture between different Latin-American folkloric rhythms along with rock, blues and jazz using a wide range of native instruments. It is a truly masterpiece in it’s own style. Although it is a whole work, we can single-out tracks like the bluesy "La canción de Nahuel", the beautiful "Gira", the continuity of "Sígueme", "El negro" and the rhythmically rich "Los campesinos y el viajero", the brave "Sálvense ya", the lengthy "Hombre" (featuring a great fuzz guitar solo), "Persecución de los peregrinos" (with killer guitar), and the superb carnavalito finale "Sudamérica" (also released as a PS single). (Carnavalito is an uptempo dance style from the Altiplano -at the Northwest of Argentina and South of Bolivia and Peru).
Sudamérica o el Regreso a la Aurora is, in short, a highly recommended album for those willing to try new -and I mean NEW- sounds.
An instrumental percussion fragment of "Hombre" is played live on the movie Rock hasta que se ponga el Sol (filmed at the BARock Festival), thought it is not included on the Soundtrack LP.
The next album, Inti
Raymi, carried on with the folkloric-rock ideological style. A good record altogether
though not as good as its predecessor.
Both Sudamérica and Inti Raymi feature great cover artwork, based on pre-Columbus motives. The original edition of Sudamérica was released in a box -it was later reissued with a foldout cover- and included a poster.
At this point, Arco Iris was also known for their highly controversial live appearances.
Their next step was another 2-LP conceptual opus: Agitors Lucens V. Not exactly an opera, the "story" this time was based in the alleged relationship between the pre-Columbus native culture and visitors from outer space. Without losing their identity, the music was more symphonic with long instrumental segments and heavier use of keyboards.
To promote this interesting album, Arco Iris joined efforts with renowned Argentine choreographer Oscar Araiz and played some unforgettable shows for ballet and group.
Unexpectedly, Santaolalla -the indisputable leader- and Gianello quit to form Soluna.
Tokatlian and Bordarampé recruited other musicians and released the disappointing jazz-rock album Los Elementales (Cabal 9013) together with a PS single ("Sin contratiempos" b/w "Los del casco de oro"- Cabal 101). Then they moved to California (USA) and got involved in the jazz-rock and new age scene (Dana still with them!). Way back in 1973, Tokatlian and Bordarampé recorded an LP with argentine jazz pianist Enrique "Mono" Villegas titled Inspiración.
One odd gact to note is that Sudamérica... was also entirely re-recorded with English lyrics for a foreign release, but the record company shelved this project. For one of the regular reissues of this album in the late 70´s, someone made a mistake picking the master tapes and the English version was cut on vinyl and thus released... but with the regular Spanish cover and the regular reissue label number! (Music Hall 90970-1). This short lived reissue is extremely hard to get now!
The rest of the records have not been reissued on vinyl. A good compilation is Mañana Campestre (MusicHall 2649-1) released in 1979 featuring album and non-LP tracks. All the RCA recordings are available on two separate CDs. Tiempo de Resurrección and Sudamérica are also available on CD.
- MIGUEL "BOTAFOGO"VILANOVA (g)
- DICKY CAMPILONGO (g, v)
- CARLOS PAN (b)
- CARLOS "PIRIMPIMPÍN"GENISO (d)
- LILIANA LAGARDÉ (v)
Along with Polifemo (who actually would achieve much more success), Avalancha made a serious attempt to play Rolling Stones-type rhythm & blues during the sophisticated-rock era.
They could only release a single with a classic rock on the a-side, an excellent blues on the b-side... and funny lyrics on both!
Liliana Largardé had been the "inspirational muse" of David Lebón’s debut LP. But in Avalancha days this former groupie relaxed in different arms...
Later, with minor line-up changes, the group returned as Cisco Kid.
After the split of this short-living combo, Botafogo, one of the greatest blues guitar players of Argentina, formed several rhythm & blues groups. With Carolina (one of the best of them) he tried to make it in Spain, but nothing really happened.
The hard to get Avalancha single has never been reissued on any format.
- LUIS BORDA (g, v) A
- FEDERICO SAINZ (g, v) AB
- OSCAR GLAVIC (b, v) AB
- OSVALDO CALÓ (k) A
- DADDY ANTOGNA (d) A
- ALFREDO SALOMONE (k) B
- FRANCISCO ARREGUI (g) B
- HÉCTOR RUIZ (d) B
The original Ave Rock line-up included Borda, Sainz, Glavic and drummer Marcelo Saborido. Antogna (who have had collaborated with Orion’s Beethoven) soon replaced Saborido and Caló joined afterwards.
The progressive sound of this group -full of rhythm changes and rich melodic treatments- was based on the virtuosity of Caló, Borda and Sainz.
Their first album includes the sweet "Ausencia", the moody "El absurdo y la melodía" and "Gritos", with great guitars and organ. Side B features the powerful "Déjenme seguir" and the long improvised instrumental "Viva Bélgica". It was a very good effort though the LP was released by a small record company with very poor sound.
Unable to achieve a deeper symphonic sound, due to the lack of sophisticated equipment, Caló quit and was replaced by Salomone. (Some time later, Caló went on to play with Astor Piazzolla, the great tango innovator. He is still involved in the new-tango movement).
With a new line-up led by Sainz (who wrote all the songs), Ave Rock premiered their second album at the Astral Theatre in Buenos Aires, on November 12th 1976.
More influenced by bands like Yes, Flash, or Greenslade, Espacios -featuring only three long compositions ("4:30 en el universo", "Surcos en el aire" and "Pausa en espacios")- was still a good record, though not as good as the first one. The LP went unnoticed and Ave Rock split.
The gifted guitarist Luis Borda later played and recorded with Raúl Porchetto, to finally devote to... new-tango! He formed his own instrumental tango group and released several CDs as well.
Both Ave Rock LPs are extremely hard to get (especially the second one) and have never been reissued. However, CD versions are available from a progressive Brazilian label.
