A BARCA DO SOL

This is a very interesting album by one of the most underrated brazilian bands of all time. It´s almost totally acoustic, with some great guitar, cello and flute passages. Percussion is also very well done. The vocals are ok, though. They sometimes remind me of the legendary Secos & Molhados, but surely A Barca Do Sol lacks the vocal prowess of a Ney Matogrosso. Nevertheless, they made some excellent music, a kind of acoustic prog music, very much song oriented, but still quite bold for the time (including the surrealistic lyrics, written by poet Geraldo Carneiro). All the musicians are skilled and almost all of them would leave their mark in the Brazilian music scene in the following years. Cello player Jacques Morelebaum (only sixteen at the time) for example, would go on to become one of the most celebrated maestro and arrangers of the country, he would latter work with such legends as Tom Jobim and Caetano Veloso.

This debut LP was produced by the celebrated artist and multi instrumentalist Egberto Gismonti (who also played synthesizer in two tracks, but it is hardly noticed). He did a fine job, and the recording quality is great for the time. It was well preserved in the CD format, fortunately (specially if you buy the two LPs in one CD version, together with their second album).

The album is not really a masterpiece, though. It is very good and quite innovative for the time, but this one is for the prog folk clique only. Those quite obscure lyrics and the sometimes dissonant harmonies are not everyone´s cup of tea (which is probably the reason they never reached a wider audience). Anyway, the CD is very well worth a listen and certainly will please anyone who´s interested in the acoustic side of prog. With tight arrangements and not much noodling, they deliver some precious short songs that still are quite demanding for the average player. Sometimes less is more. 3,5 stars.