RECUERDOS DE MI TIERRA

Mezquita is a spanish progressive rock band that blends a music inspired by the italian and english scene of the earlier seventies with elements of their own culture and some arabic influences. Vocals are in Spanish and very expressive. Track 1 opens with a binary rhythm that turns soon to prog territories with a great keyboard/guitar work. Track 2 is a Led Zeppelin/Rush-inspired song with an interesting bass line. Track 3 is a prog tune that highlights the band's interest for the arabic traditional music through the use of guitar and violins. Track 4 is the most adventurous of all tracks. It is strongly anchored in the spanish culture. In fact, the handclaps at the beginning and the end of the song evoke flamenco. The first handclaps are followed by a Rush-influenced section. Then vocals and the music are reminiscent of arabic traditional music. The track ends where it began. Track 5 begins as a hard-rock tune, with references to Deep Purple and Rush, then the pace slows down and bells and keyboards enter, soon followed by guitar and a choir at the very end. Track 6 is entirely instrumental, guitars being reminiscent of Howe's playing with Yes, lots of keyboards and odd-time signatures. Once again, this band proves that the prog attitude lies not only in the use of complex rhythms and dramatic vocals but also in the expansion of the music to other cultures than the european.