BUBU

El Eco del Sol is their first release in 40 years! My interest was of course piqued as I became familiar with their first, Anabelas (1978, to make it clear), frankly a near-unsung essential in second-wave Prog. Reformed in 2016 with new membership, this Argentinian band then released a 3-song EP, its contents all available here.

Grandiose, angelic vocals introduce the album on "Resplandor", not unreminiscent to me of Yes harmonically, but also making me think, especially as the song moves around minute 1, of modern Zeuhl beloveds Universal Totem Orchestra. I'm really looking forward to this. Excellent song. Dark, complex, featuring horns and strings, not to mention once more the epic group vocals.

Of a softer tone, "El Eco del Sol", near-cognate for 'The Echo of the Sun', builds within the first half. Great, classic track. The quieted shift around the midpoint is a definite highlight. Around minute 6 is yet another shift. Great beat, great melody--likewise at its end.

"Ariel" was lovely. What else is there to say? haha. Appropriately followed by the at first even-more-mellow "Omer". Feels like light Van Der Graaf? The song then picks up with the whole ensemble. Very nice. The middle section is very modern yet timeless. All the more lovely in my opinion.

The low mix for "Cielo Negro" is a very odd choice. Sticks out like a very muddy sore thumb. Very tense instrumentation set atop a rolling bassline. The sax solo around minute 4? Very nice. The song itself is quite good; I love the composition. Just odd production-wise... Perhaps never remastered for the LP release (as this is one of, and the last of, the 3 tracks originally on the aforementioned EP).

No comment on the title "Penas"... Although, I guess me introducing it so is a comment in itself haha. It means 'Penalties' in Spanish, and indeed, rightly tense to fit that theme. Indeed, the first 3 minutes are a soft build driven by bass and a steady rhythm on the ride. The build and the tension is worth the wait, as it breaks at minute 3 (exactly?) to intense groove. Given its more static composition, I'm delighted to say this is a favorite for me, first listen. Specifically, in the second half, there is a riff that rolls, exchanged by the guitar, violin and sax to produce a wonderful effect.

"Por la mañana" is another that delightfully mixes older progressive idioms with freshness. Excellent composition, excellent melodies once more. Especially as it builds to end. And finally is "La Vaca Roja", a song of shifting feel and shades. Certainly a phenomenal closer.

I wasn't necessarily expecting more, so I was very pleased with this latter-day album. I'm just excited to see what else they may do in the coming years, as it's already been 3+ years since this release.

Best progressive rock album from south America; paired only by Los Jaivas "Alturas De Machu Picchu"

Argentina is a country that I was easily able to fall in love with. Going there twice, feeling the wonders of Buenos Aires´s winter, there was also opportunities to taste the best wine in the world, paired again by Chilean ones and to appreciate high level soccer and some of the most beautiful folk in the world as well.

After talking about good wines, let´s see a bit about progressive music. It took a long time for myself to be in touch with "Anabelas", from a band named Bubu, and immediately I saw that Argentineans are very good in music and beyond names like Carlos Gardel as well. This album is clearly a strong masterpiece of progressive music. Let´s point out reasons for it

1 ? Reading other reviews, prior to listening it, there was a fear of seeing it as kind of derivative, something just trying to emulate giants like King Crimson. NO, NO, NO! Bubu is a band with very consolidated bright and signature of its own. Hearing "Anabelas", you can develop a perception that gives you rapidly conditions to distinguish its sound from any other band.

2 ? The epic. Oh, the epic! There are two qualities very important for me to consider an epic as a well stablished piece of music. The most important is that it cannot be just the grouping of songs just slightly related among themselves in order to achieve an epic; which unfortunately happens lots of times. The other one is it must have musical complexities that leads the listener to uncountable visits until considering the album appreciated and known in a proper way. You can be sure, "El Cortejo de un Dia Amarillo"more than to match, clearly surpasses those criteria.

3 ? Musicianship. The diversity of instruments used and the way they are played here has the quality for sustaining a masterpiece of progressive music. The favorite of mine are the bass lines we can hear, they not only achieves its obligations in rhythm issues but also adds A LOT of beauty to the songs.

For me it is the best album of progressive music in South America. Better than "Alturas de Macchu Picchu", sorry folk in Chile; in a way of compensating this tonight´s wine will be Chilean. It is also better than my favorite progressive album from here in Brasil, "Influencias", from Marco Antonio Araujo, already reviewed by me. Three albums that must be present well appreciated in a collection of any prog music lover.

A complete madness. Being Argentine I am proud of this work and happy to have known it. It has an extremely symphonic sound with details and arrangements of Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant and perhaps some passages that can be directly related to the RPI. A fascinating circus trip with disorderly sounds and with a strong and extravagant role of wind instruments. Every few minutes vocal parts appear that do not seem to have a specific meaning but are still an important detail in the concept and in the album itself. It has a sound so compelling and so defined that it is impossible for me not to give it the 5 stars. I also have to add that, to date (1978), no album in Argentina has sounded so symphonic and with such powerful wind instruments. My respects to the members. They have created a timeless work.

For some reason Bubu likes to release their albums after everyone, they were late to the scene by releasing their first album in 1978 and now going back to business 10 or 15 years after so many bands have released a comeback album, this is of course not a complaint regarding the high quality of both albums. Anabelas in spite of being released late and coming from south america justifiably gained a classic status and have always been a much appreciated release between prog fans around the world. El Eco Del Sol shouldn't be any different since the band have managed to come up with some excellent material, the sound is different now but you can certainly hear the old Bubu spirit here. As I don't usually go for comeback albums because a lot of them are disappointing this was quite a surprise of how good and powerful it is. An EP titled Resplandor came out of the blue in 2016 and gave us a tease of how the band sounds today, I was immediately impressed of the new music and sound and knew the full album was going to be something special. Unfortunately no one from the original band appear here except for Daniel Andreoli the main composer and visionary, in spite of that the music is still in the same direction, I guess Andreoli's influence is very prominent on the band, one example would be again the use of a choir which works perfectly. By the way all 3 songs from the EP are included here.

Now the biggest difference between the albums is the sound, as Anabelas's sound was dominated and driven by saxophones, flute and violins and by that sounded jazzier, this time guitars, bass and drums come to the fore, making this album to sound much heavier and punchier. Sax, flute and violins are still present throughout the entire album and adds to a well balanced and fuller sound. I'm happy to see Bubu haven't lost their energies on the contrary just check out the album's opener Resplandor, it looks like a lot of aggressions were built inside Mr. Andreoli and had to come out, with less than 4 minutes the band explodes with this bombastic and powerful short progy tune. There's a lot happening here actually, half way through the song changes from a fast rocker to a calm slower atmosphere where the tension slowly begins to build until it breaks again into the original theme, a very promising beginning. Besides of being heavy their symphonic elements are still present with the use of violins which takes a big role in the music, check out Penas, Omer and El Eco del Sol for their outstanding ideas and interesting development. Not only the material is well written the playing is also very good I love the interplay between all instruments, it sounds wonderfull how saxophones, flutes violins and an upfront rhythm section goes together. The performance is tight and every track shows a high level of creativity and mature kind of songwriting.

So fans of the band's debut, although the sound has naturally changed all the main characteristics are still there and in full power. The album also works for anyone looking for contemporary prog due to it's updated and fresh sound. 4 stars.

Bubu and Banana from Argentina share the honour for having arguably the worst name for a progressive rock band.

Bubu's Anabelas is one of the most unique albums to come out of Argentinian progressive rock movement and still quite original at international level, too.

The strongest influence is born by King Crimson from years 72-74, there are Argentinian folk traits with violin and flute, dissonant and avantgarde moments full of sophistication. Some moments in the first track I could even attribute to Anglagard, in the flute and dissonant parts.

The only three tracks are go so well together after each other that you won't notice the end and start of each other.

Most of music is instrumental, thankfully, for the vocal is pretty average.

The first, the longest track, is the best one and very well developed. Chorals remind me of another Argentinian band, MIA.

The third track is played at fast pace for its first half before getting into a more reflective sung parts followed by instrumental cresciendo.

A very good and packed album although not representative of Argentinian 70's prog-rock.

Anabelas opens with the nineteen-minute "El Cortejo de un Día Amarillo," comprised of two subtitles: "Danza De Las Atlántides" and "Locomotora Blues." According to Google, this means "The Courtship of a Yellow Day (Dance of the Atlantis / Blues Locomotive)" "El Cortejo" can also refer to an entourage or a procession; indeed, at 8:15 the group plays "Pomp and Circumstance," the beautiful melody played as a processional at graduation ceremonies, at least in the US. I wonder, though, if the title is a play on "The Court of the Crimson King;" indeed, as has been repeated many times, there is a definite King Crimson influence here, especially on this first song. But I'd not go so far as to characterize this as a Crimson tribute. There are also hard-rock/fusion elements, and at least one section I'd refer to as either avant-garde or experimental. "El Cortejo" is largely instrumental.

The second song is the eleven-minute "El Viaje de Anabelas, which Google translates as "The Journey of Anabelas." I've been skeptical that "eclectic" is really a subgenre of any type of music - - it's just a description in my book - - but this song is eclectic per se, sounding a bit like Van Der Graaf Generator one moment before moving into a more avant garde section, then back to a more conventional motif. I'm pretty familiar with traditional Irish music, and "El Viaje" even has some parts that sound Irish to me. In the middle of the song is a theme that sounds like it was written for a marching band, and later they break into what could be the theme to a Spaghetti Western. "El Viaje," whose title comes from the same word as the French "voyage," begins with a relatively slow intro played on acoustic guitar and violin, with saxophones moving from the back to the forefront as a drumbeat becomes increasingly insistent. There is then a vocal part before the eclecticism takes over. Around nine minutes in, there is a break, and a plaintive solo violin enters, followed by some soft guitar accompaniment. A choir appears about a minute later, signaling the return of the winds, reeds, and percussion for a brief coda resolving on (what sounds like) a major chord.

The last song is "Sueños de Maniquí" ("Dreams of a Mannequin" or maybe "Dreams of the Mannequin"), which is a little like a rock interpretation of "El Viaje." The vocal section comes in the second half of the song, which devolves in its last minute into a freakout finish. One aspect of "Sueños" that distinguishes it from the other songs is the use of studio effects and what sounds like a bit of synthesizer (I didn't see any indication of this in the credits, although both the guitarist and bassist are credited with "effects" as well as playing their instruments). In a few places on "Sueños," as well as on "El Viaje," it almost seemed as if vocalist Petty Guelache was interspersing some English words here and there among the Spanish lyrics - - somewhat like Falco, the German new- wave singer, used to.

The sound quality of Anabelas is fair: nothing special, and somewhat limited compared to much of the progressive rock I'm used to hearing - - i.e., either remastered editions of older records or recordings of a much more recent vintage. The performances on Anabelas are good, though not outside of the normal range for this type of music. Meanwhile, the quality of the compositions is above average. This is especially true in the segues that tie together some rather disparate musical passages. I can't comment on the lyrics.

I had a little trouble in settling on a rating for this album. Ultimately, I decided that Anabelas is better than a three-star album. Despite the exaggerated claims of undue King Crimson influences, this is an original, adventurous album.

Where have these guys been for 40 years and why now?! This is an amazingly mature, diverse, and creatively fresh album of progressive rock songs in the very best sense of progressive rock. The integral use of full vocal choir on three of the songs is especially enjoyable.

1. "Resplandor" (3:49) choral voices singing over some very intricate and tightly performed symphonic prog music. The song has two significant parts to it, two different paces and dynamics, both very different. I think I like the first half best despite the somewhat discordant conflict between the choir and the rock music. (9/10)

2. "El Eco Del Sol" (9:05) jazzy, chameleonic Neo-Prog quite like Italy's LA COSCIENZA DI ZENO. After the intro period, the breakneck speed is quite impressive for the band's overall unity. It is, in fact, the more slowly drawn out vocal track that distracts and disturbs the latter, though, fortunately, the vocals are quite sparsely used throughout. Nice use of woodwinds and strings within, in front of, and outside of the overall weave. Quite a cinematic song with some very Bond-like "action" sections. The more Latin-flavored section that begins at the eight minute mark is unexpected but then smoothed over by the vocals that are consistent with earlier appearances. (18/20)

3. "Ariel" (3:45) a smooth and gentle instrumental with full band participation in the interlude-like weave--until, that is, the 1:45 mark when a heavier intensity is brought in with double-timed guitars and rhythm instruments. This "chorus" is, however, fairly short-lived as we are soon returned to the opening theme for the second verse--which plays out until the end. (9/10)

4. "Omer" (6:49) opens with a very gentle, spacious soundscape--full band all contributing to the subtly constructed tapestry. At 0:50 the music shifts into a second gear--a structure to support the entrance of the vocalist--but then it ramps up into third gear with some very busy bass work while the many layers provided by each of the band members steps in line to support the alternation of horns and vocals. Things begin to reverse their pace and complexity in the fourth minute, breaking down to pretty but much simpler tapestry in the fifth. The guitar solo and accompanying music in the sixth minute sounds like it's straight out of LYNYRD SKYNYRD's "Free Bird." This plays out till the end with some vocal support at the very end. (8.5/10)

5. "Cielo Negro" (5:41) opens like a theme to an old suspense/spy film's chase scene. Everybody is participating on this one (save the chorus). The structure and melodies feel very 1960s while the horns, electric guitar sound and stylings as well as the organ solo sound very early 1970s. The slowed down interlude in the third and fourth minutes are interesting--especially for their classical feel--reminding me of 1970s Québeçois band CONVENTUUM. Things ramp back up for the final two minutes as organ, sax, flute, and lead guitar take turns with their leads while noodling along in support throughout. Interesting song. (8.5/10)

6. "Penas" (7:25) notes the return of the chorus as well as the flute and saxes in lead roles--this time with the chorus's inputs being much more intricately orchestrated and dispersed. The complexity and slow development over the first three minutes combined with the seamless transition into the full-fledged song thereafter leads me to call this my third favorite song on the album. Great melodies, too! I especially enjoy the subdued yet real duet/duel between the lead guitar and violin in the sixth minute, which is then seemlessly handed off to sax and flute. Bass- filled stop-gap at the six minute mark is rather unexpected and interesting--especially as it ends up playing out (decaying) to the song's finish! (9.5/10)

7. "Por La Mañana" (3:52) opens up like a sad ballad for its first 30 seconds before bass and drums effortlessly elevate the song into a very comfortable grooving drive. Before the first minute has even passed a multiple guitar riff adds another layer of high tension and congestion before disappearing to allow the re-establishment of the cool groove. Then at 1:46 an orchestra-like slow down opens up the song to a lone solo guitar playing its arpeggi. This is very soon joined by orchestrated support to play out till the end. Wow! What a song construct! My second favorite on the album. (9.75/10)

8. "La Vaca Roja" (7:39) another song that begins with a soft, soulful, full band "orchestral" fusion before shifting into second and, later, more angular, Crimsonian third gear--all within the first three minutes--before cycling back to the heart-strings-pulling beauty of the pastoral opening. Just as one is getting used to the peaceful reverie of floating on a country river things begin to thicken and ramp up, and then, just before the beginning of the fifth minute, everything just disappears leaving "far away"-sounding cymbals, congas, and, soon, violin to paint a picture of late night streets. Then the equally distant activities of chorus and other independent and seemingly disconnected instruments appear and meld into a kind of neighborhood polyphony--to end! Very unusual and creative. I love it! My favorite song on this surprising album. (15/15)

Five stars; a masterpiece of progressive rock music. Excellent sound engineering with very mature songwriting (though sometimes showing a style that feels dated), there is very little "fat" or "slough"--as well as many surprising twists and turns--in any part of any of these songs.

As the 21st century churns on it's amazing how popular classic progressive rock has made somewhat of a renaissance with some bands like Gentle Giant finding surging sales of their ambitious musical gems that have been surpassing the sales of the initial releases of the 1970s. As the public tires of simple and uninspiring musical mediocrity and turns to the more complex constructs to get their fix, they will ultimately find themselves scouring the classic years to see what they've missed out on. While many a band struggled to stay true to their musical vision, most folded under the financial pressure and zero record company backing. However despite the hardship they endured, many managed to release some of the absolute best music ever laid down to any musical format.

While one can point to England, France and Germany as having the lion's share of classic prog, they were hardly the only game in town. While lesser known Argentinean prog may not have been as popular in terms of world interest, this South American country which is more famous for the tango than prog has indeed generated some top notch progressive rock with the Buenos Aires based BUBU possibly ranking as the best the country after having dished out their classic 70s prog in the form of their masterpiece "Anabelas." While the band was active from 1975-79, they only managed to crank out the one album and then disappeared into the ethers never to be heard from again. Well?.

?.until the year 2016 when founder, composer, bassist and band leader Daniel Andreoli decided he should jump on the bandwagon of prog rock's upsurge in world popularity and resurrected his classic band to catch the new prog wave hitting every corner of the globe. So resurrect it he did, however this is not a typical reunion of past members but rather Andreoli rounding up the talents of a whole new younger generation, whipping them into shape and showing them how prog was done in the good old days. While this may sound tantamount to herding cats in a tuna cannery, somehow his efforts on the 2016 comeback "Resplandor" were quite satisfying.

"Resplandor" was quite the teaser. Seemingly emerging from nowhere with no prior warnings, BUBU was back which offered the prog world an initial gasp of excitement only to be quashed by the fact that this was just a three track EP that hit the fifteen and half minute mark. While no guarantees were given that this was a teaser prognosticating a bona fide comeback album, it was a satisfying return to form for this Argentinean outfit so beloved by many a proghead around the globe. Well, lo and behold, it was an omen indeed that the great BUBU was back for a second run and finally in 2018 we see the release of the long awaited second album EL ECO DEL SOL (The Echo Of The Sun) a full 40 years after "Anabelas."

Yeah, many a classic prog band that released a single album has made a comeback in years past only to disappoint beyond belief including the greats like Maxophone, Gnidrolog and Cherry Five just to name a very, very few. What sounds like a great idea to latch onto the current trend of retro prog doesn't always pan out as many bands seem to lose the mojo that made their music great in the first place, however BUBU thankfully still got it! Yep, Andreoli has lost none of his prog chops in the least bit and even though he's working with an entirely new generation of musicians, he successfully ekes out all the required ebbs and flows that made "Anabelas" so utterly brilliant.

If you were expecting something radically new from the BUBU of 2018 then you shouldn't bother. EL ECO DEL SOL faithfully picks up exactly where "Anabelas" left off and i would imagine that Andreoli has been working on some of these tracks for the past 40 years and perfecting them until they shimmer in the sun like a diamond. BUBU retains its core essence in every aspect. Eclectic as ever, the new rendition of the band returns with all those beautiful progified riffs and rhythms laid out symphonically and augmented with flutes, saxes and violins. Once again the choirs are back in full effect and Andreoli has lost none of his magic regarding the dynamic and mood shifts that made "Anabelas" a classic of the ages. One little disappointment of EL ECO DEL SOL is that it contains two tracks from the "Resplandor" EP, namely the title track and "Omer" but since they are such great track i guess i can't complain.

Unlike "Anabelas" which contained two sprawling tracks and a third shorty at a near 8 minute running mark, EL ECO DEL SOL exhibits eight shorter tracks but they all run together quite remarkably giving the album an overall unified feel. There is nothing on EL ECO DEL SOL that sounds out of place or derails the beautiful feeling that only BUBU can provide. Once again, BUBU dish out all the expected influences ranging from King Crimson, Genesis, ELP, Focus and their classical hero Tchaikovsky. The music runs on symphonic prog mode but adds touches of jazz, classical and occasional bursts of rock energy. The album is noticeably less aggressive and bombastic than "Anabelas" and drifts in a more ethereal mode yet retains a heavy presence of rock instrumentation. While Argentinean, BUBU's closest musical lineage sounds like they would easily fit into the Rock Progressive Italiano scene of the 70s as there are no tango tributes or anything tying the band to their geographical homestead.

As far as prog comebacks go, EL ECO DEL SOL is a smashing success and delivers everything i could want from a classic 70s prog band. While it does not outdo it's classic predecessor in intensity and compositional prowess, it does nevertheless deliver the goods as a brilliant sophomore album that in all honesty sounds like it truly could have come out two years after the debut "Anabelas." This album easily captures the zeitgeist of the original timeline of BUBU's first rendition and although some could deem that too safe for its own good, i would argue that i'd rather hear an anachronistic album that is done brilliantly than something half-baked that the band was trying to capture and had no realistic ability to pull it off. Andreoli knows his strengths and on EL ECO DEL SOL he nurtures them well making BUBU's long awaited comeback an effort well worth waiting for. Do expect a mellower album than "Anabelas" in the overall scheme but the compositional constructs exude the classic vibe that made that album so great.

RADIANCE and TRANSCENDENCE

Una luz detrás de las puertas del Sol y detrás de esa luz la canción que vendrá por vos.

Mundos de gris a la luz de otro sol su color cambian.

Lo que alumbres será lo que verás y brillará más.

Algo viene del cielo Algo va

Las miradas Lo crearán Lo completarán

Al cruzar el eco del sol esplenderá de verdad tu verdad.

En tus pasos otra canción encontrará su lugar, tu lugar.

(A light behind the doors of the Sun and behind that light the song that will come for you/ Worlds of gray in the light of another sun its color changes/ What you illuminate will be what you will see and will shine more/ Something comes from the sky/ Something goes/ The visions/ They will create It/ They will complete it/ By crossing the echo of the sun, your truth will truly shine/ In your steps another song will find its place, your place.)

A HYMN of SPIRITUAL LONGING

Here is the return of BUBU, Argentinian eclectic progressive rock outfit, about 1 1/2 years after the comeback release of "Resplandor" in 2016.

As you can see from the lyrics above, of the second and title track, the theme of this album is wide and searching. I consider it in toto as a hymn, in the sense of "song of praise" to the infinite.

The longing is conveyed in the masterful use of mood, atmosphere, musicianship, diversity, and lyrics which suggest that there are radiances, universes- indeed, multiverses- losses, hopes, and ultimately faith in something beyond the mortal experience.

This is confirmed and elaborated in the lyrics to track 4, "Omer"- (And in the light of another sun we will be born in an endless infinite/ And the shadow will finally shine/ In the azure birds are weaving their flight/ They paint the salt with a color brought from a dream/ Small diamond of solitude in your voice is the song of the sea/ Small diamond drawing the sea.)

TITLES

The sense of spiritual longing and praise is also confirmed by the titles to these tracks, original Spanish title followed by rough translations into English.

1. Resplandor "Radiance" 2. El eco del sol "Echo (or emanation) of the sun 3. Ariel "gazelle, lioness of the divine, spirit of the air" 4. Omer "eloquent, long-lived" 5. Cielo Negro "Black Sky" 6. Penas "Pity/Shame" 7. Por la mañana "In the morning" 8. La vaca roja "The red cow" (symbol of purification, coming of messianic age)

MUSIC

This is eclectic progressive rock music, par excellence. There are liberal uses of choral passages, keyboards, a fine rhythm section, saxophone, flute, and violin, along with acoustic and electric guitars.

Music shifts and flows between classical, jazz, and progressive rock, and a highlight for me is the clean, crisp punchy bass guitar.

Sometimes there is stunning interplay as guitar, keyboards, and violin or sax or flute take charge. Instrumental sections are exceptional.

VOCALS

To my ears, the choral sections were lovely; the two tracks that have lyrics and vocal solos are weaker.

IN SUM

An excellent addition to any progressive rock collection, a soaring, lovely journey into the infinite.

MY RATING

4.5 out of 5 Emanations of the Sun

As the 21st century elapses ever closer to its third decade and grows further away from the 70s when the progressive rock world was at its golden age, it has seen many of the older bands trying to make a comeback. While certain bands managed to survive the initial demise in popularity, certain bands like Argentina's BUBU released their sole album "Anabelas" as late as 1978 and although had little impact on the world at the time has become revered as one of the great classics of the Americas. While the trend of past masters picking it up where they left off decades later to revive these long forgotten projects has been more en vogue as of late, it's always a complete surprise when a band that dropped one musical bomb upon the world and has been attracting listeners to ride in its wake ever since suddenly emerges from the musical abyss and releases new material after so very, very long. More often than not such antics only remind you of why the golden era of prog was so wonderful and that the bands trying to relive those glory days should in fact have checked into a nursing home since all creative mojo had shriveled up like sagging granny boobs.

BUBU on the other hand have never been the "typical" prototype of a progressive rock band. The band was in fact created by someone who didn't even play in it. Daniel Andreoli began the band as a project in 1975 and acted solely as the composer as he rounded up talent to fulfill his eclectic mix of symphonic classical music mixed with progressive rock and kept BUBU active for only four years having disbanded in 1979 after the release of "Anabelas" the prior year. Fast forward 38 years into the future and Andreoli decides to dust off the BUBU moniker and give it another go with RESPLANDOR which emerges as a strictly digital EP that clocks in at a mere 15 and a half minutes, roughly a third the length of the 1978 classic. Andreoli is in fact the only connection between the two renditions of the band since the modern day version of BUBU doesn't have a single member of the past reprising their performances. Andreoli on the other hand DOES play on RESPLANDOR where he serves as the band's sole bassist.

While the differences between "Anabelas" and RESPLANDOR are great. For example the 70s classic had a huge lineup of eight official band members with an extra six vocalists and an extra pianist, RESPLANDOR is more of a stripped down affair with only five official musicians and two guests. However, what's more striking is how much RESPLANDOR sounds like it has traveled through time from that very era only to land in the years 2016. My hunch is that this was indeed leftover material from that era as everything about RESPLANDOR could easily have existed as a followup to the 1978 full length album. Once again the music is an eclectic mix of Western classical music that nurses a Tchaikovsky type of bombast and complexity interlaced with the guitar workouts of King Crimson, the pastoral drifting passages of early Genesis and the plethora of Italian prog bands from the 70s as well as some extra touches that were heard from bands such as Nektor, Focus (especially in the flute department) and others only with a unique flair that sounds like classic BUBU. Also included are some stellar jazz-fusion stellar sax workouts by newbie Juan Ignacio Varela.

I'm quite taken back by how great this short but sweet little EP is and i'm hoping that it is only a teaser that was designed to feel out the marketplace to see if there is any demand for a new BUBU release. Personally i find this little slice of heaven that only feels like it's getting started before it fizzles out leaving me wanting more to be one of the best comebacks of modern prog history. Andreoli has lost none of his magnificent musical mojo over the ensuing decades and effortlessly conducts a new cast of characters to fulfill the continuation of one of Argentina's greatest musical exports. If you have listened to many older prog bands release modern day albums and have been nothing but disappointed, i'm happy to say that this is one that should be very high on your list to check out if you were a fan of the 1978 album because this one, while not quite as dramatic and demanding still retains the spirit of that era with some excellent prog performances.