RECUERDOS DE MI TIERRA

A few years ago I had the chance to listen Hijos del Agobio by TRIANA and since that moment I fell in love with this form of Symphonic Prog blended with Flamenco or Andaluz ethnic touches, two styles that despite being so different they blend perfectly.

MEZQUITA is a bit different because as it's name clearly implies there have more Moorish influences than other bands, as a fact one of the tracks Ara Buza (Give me a kiss) is named in an Arab language.

People talk about King Crimson and even Wakeman influences, but to be honest I feel some distant ELP reminiscences rather than from any other band, the first track Recuerdos de mi Tierra (Memories of my Land) presents this clearly, after a soft Andaluz intro, the band starts to rock with the energy that only the famous power trio was able to provide, the electric guitar work is simply amazing and combined with the keyboards plus accurate drumming, almost reaches perfection, But that's not all, there are radical changes every few minutes but around the middle it's simply dramatic, they start to play in the purest Flamenco style with acoustic guitars and cante hondo included, only a subtle keyboard reminds us we are before a Progressive rock band, just perfect.

El Bizco de los Patios (The Cross-Eyed of the Patios) is much more frantic than the previous one, even when the Flamenco Moorish atmosphere is more than evident, the Prog and Rock element is predominant, the heavy and sometimes distorted guitars morph into Spanish guitars in a matter of seconds, the keyboards and bass sections are simply spectacular, not a second to breathe.

Desde que Somos Dos (Since we are Two) is even weirder, the Moorish sound is completely fused with the Symphonic performance of keyboards and guitar, their sounds has similarities with the classic early 70's Prog, but is so unique that you can't hardly identify any band in particular, they manage to create something new but with respect for the pioneers of Symphonic and their Flamenco inheritance.

In Ara Buza (Give me a Kiss), MEZQUITA guys go even further, now not only the guitar and Cante Hondo, but also palmas (hand clapping) are added, but again the bass breaks the ethnic sound with a hard section, but as usual José Raffa and his peculiar vocals don't let us forget they are Spanish. Again full of dramatic changes and for the first time they remind me a bit of KING CRIMSON with MAHAVISHNU touches, because after the clear and melodic passages, they hit us with strong dissonances, just delightful.

Suicidio (Suicide) returns us again to ELP territory, at least during the intro, because hardly heard any band able to make so many changes in such a little time. This time Roscka adds a Psyche touch with the keyboards that reminds me of early PINK FLOYD,. but almost in a second they return to the ultra complex and elaborate music they are used to play.

Strangely around the middle of the track they start to prepare the grand finale with dramatic vocals, Moorish and Flamenco elements all thrown into our faces with the confidence that only the good musicians who know they are good have, just fantastic.

I don't understand why, but they left Obertura en Si Bemol (Overture in B Flat) for the end, when I should expect an overture for the beginning of the album, but after listening it it's clear that this song is the cherry over the pie, extremely complex and elaborate with incredibly dramatic changes and elements of previous songs, so complex that wouldn't disappoint an Avant fan but with enough melody to please the most demanding Symphonic listener.

The finale is simply perfect, something that I won't ruin using simple words, deserves to be listened without any previous description that could only spoil the effect

My favorite album from this Spanish Symphonic movement is still Hijos del Agobio by TRIANA which I rated with 4 stars, but this album leaves me speechless, and even if the first one mentioned suits my taste a bit more, I can't deny that technically Recuredos de mi Tierra is slightly ahead, so 5 strong stars.