POLIFEMO

Lots of song titles are a good indication of the work you are listening to, and ''Que Hago Yo Aqui'' which means ''what am I doing here'' is no exception. Some blues oriented song with Spanish vocals. A big deal for sure (same feel for ''Vamos Al Campo'')!

Fortunately, ''12 Caras'' (12 faces) is of another calibre and pretty enjoyable: high pitched vocals, a real dynamic rhythmic section are quite good ingredients. It is rather difficult to understand why ''Que Hago Yo Aqui'' was placed as the opening number while one the worst of tracks featured here.

Actually, things are getting better and better as long as the album pursues. The long and quite symphonic ''Tu Forma Real'' is quite a moving tune, mainly thanks to the sweet vocals but also to the Trespass-esque mood of the first part of this short epic (almost ten minutes) which then evolves to a very dynamic and well crafted instrumental section. A highlight for sure.

The band is alternating the good and the weak though. It takes up with fine territories during ''Flotando'' (floating) which hasn't anything to do with a spacey song: on the contrary, this song is constructed as a fine crescendo which ends up in a quite sustained beat.

It is hard to define ''Polifemo'' music since they are frequently mixing blues, heavy prog ('' Dueña Del Comfort'' although this one is also tinted with blues influences) symphonic passages and classic rock'n'roll. I have to admit that to swallow all these genres in one single album is not an easy task.

In terms of symphonic, I guess that ''Temas?'' deserves the Palme d'Or. The arrangements are more complex and in terms of prog we are definitely in front of one of the best (even if mellow at times) songs from this work. A fine rock ballad with very good background mellotron.

The final part of this album is of no interest: two poor Spanish rock tunes which really don' t sit here.

Three stars (but this is an upgrade from a five out of ten, really).

Short-lived Argentinian supergroup, that came to life in 1975 after the demise of Sui Generis.Initially Polifemo started as a Blues Rock trio with Sui Generis's Rinaldo Rafanelli on bass and Juan Rodriguez on bass along with guitarist David Lebón (ex-Pappo's Blues and a bandmate of Rinaldo Rafanelli in Color Humano).After a first single in 1975 the trio was joined by Espíritu's keyboardist Ciro Fogliatta and Polifemo, who had already singed with EMI, debuted in May 1976 with a self-titled debut.

While the basis of Polifemo's music was still a standard well-played Blues Rock, the presence of Fogliatta and the anxious spirits of the rest of the band make ''Polifemo'' much more than a rock release full of bluesy solos and grooves.The short tracks of course are just Hard/Blues Rock pieces with strong guitar moves, expressive vocals and jazzy piano parts, very catchy and with typical song structures.As the compositions get longer though, things become more complicated.The guitars become sharper and the riffing monsterous and attacking like in the long ''Tu Forma Real'', while the rhythm section sounds a bit more powerful.Moreover the work of Fogliatta on keys becomes a main component of Polifemo's approach.Dirty organ themes, soft piano themes and suprisingly some lovely moog synth solos (am I the only one to hear some evident Italian Prog resemblances in these parts?) make the music enganging and more progressive, while the arrangements are definitely demanding with long instrumental parts and a fair amount of breaks.

While this should'nt be listed among the best Argentinian Prog releases, ''Polifemo'' is an album filled with nice moments of bluesy Progressive Rock with a touch of Classic Prog in the keyboard work.We should'nt expect less from such a talented line-up.Recommended and notice that EMI's CD reissue contains all four tracks of Polifemo's couple of early singes as bonus material.