LIBÉRATE!

OK, this is my first review here at PA although i've been a member since the old days. When i noticed this essential and incredible prog album wasn't on "Los Canarios" discography I had to add it and comment on it.

Let's start by saying this is Los Canarios second LP and i think by far the best of them all. Although "Ciclos" has blown my mind several times when listening I do believe this album holds much more harmony in all its parts.

The album starts with Hello! a salsa, jazz, blues, swing mix introduction preparing the ear to a very well orchestrated second song Free Yourself, giving it's name to the album: "Libérate". The lyrics and vocals on this song are very well performed as well as the choirs. When listening to this song you get the feeling of hearing a bizarre version of the Beatles in the very best of senses. The presence of numerous wind instruments makes this song a marvelous piece.

The following song is Magna, beginning with a kind of a classical piece that reminds us a little to Ciclos, the album released 4 years later. Once again the wind instruments take a great part in the song. Also, you can hear a lot of strings that make the song even stronger. At the half of the song we hear a great sax solo with a great change in tempo and rhythm. Every piece gets connected once again with the main melody to close an incredible song.

Intro/Bossa/Oito is exactly what it's title says: a quiet and calm Brazilian like song with a touch of Bossanova and some Cuban influences.

Next we can hear You're My Sunshine: a fantastic piece following the same concept as the one before, with some stripes of Spanish and Latin American rhythms. Again, the exceptional voice of Teddy Bautista and the other members choirs leave us wanting more and more while the disc reaches a very high point.

Both Say Hi! To The Salvation Army and Say Bye! To The Salvation Army work as a perfect interlude.

Words of the Lord starts as a ballad and quickly evolves to a very nice and emotional song.

She Brought The Blues (Into My Life) is a fantastic soul song in where the sax and trumpet take the lead. Then again, Teddy Bautista amazes us with some great singing techniques making this whole song on of the very best of the album.

Hey, Mr. Teller!, Where Is The Hope?, a recited composition in spanish bring us the end of the disc with Let It Be Me.

This last song concludes and closes one of the most well performed albums of Los Canarios. It introduces some great free jazz sounds and more soul and jazz rock as we have seen in the previous songs.

In conclusion, I highly recommend you listening to this disc, you won't regret it. If you loved "Ciclos" and want something closer to jazz, soul and blues, this is the perfect album for you.

Cheers!

Ariel.

Gosh! What is this?

Lots of short to very short songs (four are clocking under the one minute barrier or just above it) which are totally useless. By any means, there are hardly anything progressive here! The bottom is reached with some heavy and dripping soul music ("Free Yourself"); and you can add a combo of almost the same but just with some more prog orientation ("Magna"). Although the syrupy string arrangements is nothing of my liking.

Lyrics are in English and don't convey a very authentic feel. What is really discouraging, are the weak trumpets which are to be listened all the way through. This album has NOTHING to do with symphonic prog ; but apparently their album "Cyclos" released in '74 is of another texture. But this will be for another review...

As far as I'm concerned, this album is totally uninteresting from A to Z. The dreadful soul experience can again be heard during "You Are My Sunshine". I bet you! Press next. In a hurry!

There is one very easy thing to do after such a listening: it is to rate such a "work". One star. Easily.

And this is really a maximum for such a sequence of poor songs. Don't spend your time on this one; but looking at the reviews, very few did.

Only one five stars rating before mine. Well, now it is balanced?