SINGLES AND EPS

"Singles And EP's" is a compilation of Quarteto 1111 and was released in 2006. It has songs released by the band on EP's, singles and also on their eponymous debut studio album, Quarteto 1111, released in 1970.

As I wrote before when I reviewed their debut compilation "A Lenda De El-Rei D. Sebastião", the importance of Quarteto 1111 to Portuguese popular music is completely undeniable, especially for the birth of Portuguese progressive rock music. The band was formed in 1967, in Estoril, a place near Lisbon, and can be considered the father of Portuguese progressive rock music. They opened the door for some excellent albums made by great progressive bands in Portugal.

"Singles And EP's" has fifteen tracks. The first track "A Lenda De El-Rei D. Sebastião" was their first song and was recorded on their debut EP, with the same name, released in 1967. It's a song based in a Portuguese legend and is about the missing of El-Rei D. Sebastião, a Portuguese king, allegedly killed in the fields of Morocco during the battle of Alcácer-Kibir. The legend said that he should appear again on a foggy morning to help Portugal to recover its independence lost to Spain in the XVII century. The second track "Os Faunos" was also released on their debut EP. It's a song about fauns, which was a rustic Latin god or goddess of Roman mythology often associated with enchanted woods and the Greek god Pan and his satyrs. The third track "Gente" was another song released on their debut EP. It's a song about anonymous poor persons abandoned in the world, without having home, care and love of someone. The fourth track "Balada Para D. Inês" was released on their second EP, with the same name, in 1968. It's a song about a famous and very popular episode of the history of Portugal, in the XIV century, the tragic love of the infant D. Pedro, heir of Portuguese throne and future king D. Pedro I with D. Inês de Castro, a noble Galician, which was executed by order of father's king, the king of Portugal D. Afonso IV, because he felt their love immoral and illegitimate. The fifth track "Partindo-se" was also released on their second EP. It's a sad song about emigration. It's about the anguish and the sadness in our eyes when we see our beloved family depart to distant places in search of a better life. The sixth track "Dona Vitória" was released on their third EP, with the same name, in 1968. It's about the big difference that separated the rich from the poor in those times in Portugal, in the dictatorship regime. It tells us about the contrast between those who lived well and had a good job and those who lived in the suburbs and had no job. The seventh track "Nas Terras Do Fim Do Mundo" was released as a single, with the same name, in 1969. It's a song based in one of the most brilliant chapters of the Portuguese History. It's about the deeds of the heroic Portuguese navigators, who in the XV century, discovered new lands, "giving new worlds to the world". The eighth track "Meu Irmão" was released as a single in 1968. It's a psychedelic song that speaks about love, solidarity, friendship and brotherhood among men. The ninth track "Domingo Em Bidonville" was also released on their first album. It's a song about the Portuguese emigrants who left their country in search of a better life, but who still miss their country, family and friends. The tenth track "João Nada" was released on their first album. It's another song about emigration. This is a very sad song about a man who returns to his homeland at the end of a hard working life far way from Portugal. The poem tells us that he has no longer his family, his friends and his dog waiting for him. Nothing is waiting for him, except his coffin. The eleventh track "As Trovas Do Vento Que Passa" was released on their first album. It's a cover of a song of Adriano Correia de Oliveira with a poem of Manuel Alegre. Originally, it was an important song, a symbol of the resistance of Portuguese Universitary students to the dictatorship regime in Portugal. The twelfth track "Epílogo" was also released on their first album. It's a song with short lyrics and is an ode to the nature and to the men, in their effort to find perfection in the search of God. The thirteenth track "Back To The Country" was released on their single with the same name, in 1970. It's an appeal to men to their return to the fields. It represents the first attempt to internationalize the band singing in English. The fourteenth track "Ode To The Beatles" was released as a single in 1971, with the same name, and represents a homage to The Beatles. It represents the second attempt to internationalize the band singing in English. The fifteenth and last track "Uma Nova Maneira De Encarar O Mundo" was released on their single "Sabor A Povo", in 1972. It's a song, as its name indicates, which makes an appeal to a new way of seeing the world. This is a way of seeing it with peace and love.

Conclusion: Like "A Lenda De El-Rei D. Sebastião", their debut compilation, this is also a very interesting and important compilation released by Quarteto 1111, because it was possible to have in only one album many of the songs released by the group in so many singles and EP's. However, of the fifteen tracks recorded on "Singles And EP's", only six are new in relation to that previous compilation. So, actually it doesn't bring to us practically any new stuff. Anyway, this is perhaps preferable to "Singles And EP's" because it has more three songs than the first one has.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)