Alas - Alas
SKU
15-EMI094638912620
they were a progressive rock, keyboard-led trio, who fused ELP-style classical rock with fusion ala Chick Corea/Return to Forever and perhaps even some traces of nuevo-tango stylings. The band played out frequently and attracted a lot of attention for their shows, so by the time they were ready to record this album, they were ready! Lots of then current, now charming analog keyboards performed by Gustavo Moretto, who also contributes vocals. The rhythm section of Alex Zucker (guitar and bass) and Carlos Riganti (drums) also perform well. The album contained two side-long epics, here augmented by two non-lp tracks taken from a single. This has been released on CD before, but not very well and it has been unavailable for a long time. This is the first time that it's been done by EMI from their original master tapes in the vaults!
Customer Reviews
Average Rating
This is probably one of the finest prog rock albums from Argentina I've ever heard. Alas is Spanish for "Wings", that explains why the album cover, and the band's trademark logo featured wings on the letter "A". This was their 1976 debut album and consisted of bassist Alex Zucker, keyboardist Gustavo Moretto, and drummer Carlos Riganti. Basically it's keyboard-driven progressive rock with fusion elements. The electric piano is rather dominate, but Gustavo will also use Hammond organ, ARP String Ensemble, Minimoog, and ARP 2600. He is also credited to trumpet. The album is really all over the place from fusion-influenced passages to highly experimental passages, to some mellower, more reflective passages, and everything in between. The ELP comparison is mainly due to some of the keyboard playing, but it's more like as if ELP's sound was more dominated by the electric piano. There are some vocals (in Spanish), but few and far between. I guess, aside from ELP, and maybe some American fusion acts, I get reminded a bit of some of those Quebecois prog acts that combine fusion and prog like Sloche, but more experimental. The group is often referred to as a tango rock band, but much of the tango influence was to be found on their second (and final) album Pintu tu Aldea, because of the use of bandoneon on that album. This is truly a great album worthy of your attention!
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