Search - Alas :: Alas

Very complex prog rock with an experimental edge

Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 03/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The overwhelming complexity of the music on this 1976 release by Argentinian proggers Alas completely and utterly floored me. Indeed, it took me several listens to fully appreciate what these guys were up to and this album now ranks up there with some of my favorite classic prog albums.



The lineup on this album includes the trio of Carlos Riganti (drums and percussion), Alex Zucker (Rickenbacker bass and electric guitars) and Gustavo Moretto (piano, synthesizers, electric piano, Hammond organ, violin, flute, trumpet, violin and vocals). These guys are simply top shelf players and the ensemble work is breathtakingly complex. I especially like the trebly tone of the Rickenbacker bass and the synthesizer tone colors that Gustavo selects. Gustavo also plays a mean Hammond organ; the style of which is largely influenced by Keith Emerson, and his trumpet playing is excellent. I guess it is worth noting that these guys were not alone when it came to working the sounds of the trumpet into the mix and the English group Jonesy is another impressive example.



The two tracks on the album are arranged as lengthy suites with Buenos Aires Solo es Piedra clocking in at 15:48 and La Muerte Conto el Dinero clocking in at 17:36. Musically, this is very sophisticated symphonic progressive rock, with touches of jazz rock here and there. The most distinctive aspects of this album however, include the experimental sections; many of which have neither a rhythmic nor tonal center and are essentially free form "freak outs". In fact, the quieter, psychedelic experimentation on the piece Moonchild (King Crimson, 1969) comes to mind, although there are heavier sections that feature simply wild bass playing. Grounding this sheer instrumental virtuosity and wildness are nice vocal sections. Vocals, by the way, comprise a very small percentage of the overall album.



This remastered effort by EMI is fantastic and boasts great sound quality. The liner notes (in Spanish) are a bit skimpy however and there is one page of the booklet that features the (what I am guessing to be) inner artwork, which is very surreal. The short bonus tracks (3:35 to 4:35 respectively) are OK and were presumably released as singles in 1975.



All in all, this is yet another incredible piece of music from the Argentinian progressive scene and is highly recommended."

Simply one of the greatest South American prog albums ever

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 10/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alas was a three piece prog rock band from Argentina that managed two albums, their self-entitled 1976 debut, and Pinta tu Aldea which was recorded in 1977, but because likely of political turmoil of Argentina at the time (smack in the middle of the Jorge Rafael Videla regime), that album didn't see the light of day until 1983, both albums released on EMI.



On this debut, the group consisted of keyboardist Gustavo Moretto, bassist Alex Zucker, and drummer Carlos Riganti. Moretto also played trumpet, flute and violin, plus did vocal duties. His keyboard gear included electric piano, ARP 2600, Minimoog, ARP String Ensemble and Hammond organ. This is some really incredible keyboard-drived prog rock with fusion elements. It's like how ELP might have ended up if they were more fusion-influenced, or Crucis without guitar, or Bubu with keyboards in place of wind instruments. As for the tango influence, it's really much more present on Pinta tu Aldea as that album features bandoneon (but not forsaking the prog/fusion sound of the group), the tango influences are much more subdued on their debut. The album consists of two side-length cuts, "Buenos Aires Sólo es Piedra" and "La Muerta Contó el Dinero" featuring lots of creative keyboard arrangements, some highly experimental passages, and that rare example of a trumpet solo in a prog album (the trumpet solo is very rare in prog albums, and even in fusion). Vocals (in Spanish) are used on occasions, which work great in my book. This album is so good that you can even forgive the drum solo that's tagged near the end of "La Muerta Contó el Dinero". This latter piece also includes some really intense jamming on synthesizers (I really love how Gustavo Moretto played his synth like a big band brass arrangement), and then how a short vocal interlude leads to a really amazing atmospheric passage involving electric piano and synthesizer, plus some use of flute, before the drum solo. This CD reissue, from EMI Argentina also includes two bonus cuts, "Aire Surgente" and "Rincón, Mi Viejo Rincón", both from a 1975 single the band released prior to their proper album. The former shows the band able to create complex progressive rock of the first order within such a short time constraint, while the latter is more of a ballad, bringing to mind the Italian bands of the time. This single, although excellent, also demonstrated the band really needed a full LP to show what they were really made of, as their self-entitled LP demonstrated.



One thing I have to say, I'm seeing this CD being sold as "Latin Pop", which really gets me laughing. For one thing, every time I think of Latin Pop, it conjures up nightmares of cheesy commercial pop for the masses from the likes of Ricky Martin or Jennifer Lopez (or anyone from Latin America who records such similar music). Not every band from a Latin American country is considered Latin Music. Much like a rock band from Germany isn't automatically called Krautrock (everyone calls Can or Ash Ra Tempel Krautrock, but no one says the same for the Scorpions, or Milli Vanilli, especially). Luckily Alas is not Latin Pop whatsoever! This is simply top rate progressive rock, up there with anything I've heard from Europe. It's very much an essential album to your collection, you won't regret it!"