FLASHBACK

Jaimie Rosas has returned with this, the fourth album.

Jaimie Rosas is undoubted one of the best keyboardists (is that an English word ?)..... make that; tangent player in this scene. He is on par with the profesionally universities educated tangent players from ex USSR, Rick Wakeman and in particular; Keith Emerson. He is in the Keith Emerson mould too when he paints big synth pictures in his compositions. Minimalism is not what he is a fan of. ELP fans can safely order his albums and in particular; his live album.

In my reviews of that album and two other studio albums, I have also mentioned Dream Theater as the second reference source. Which was true for those albums. But Jaimie Rosas has changed tack on this album and put/showed Dream Theater to the background. I do not know if the title of the album; Flashback, gives me a clue there. I need to ask him, in fact, because that is a question that is almost keeping me awake during my work now. But.... This album is far more a flashback to older scenes than the one inhabitated by Dream Theater. Yes, ELP and the 1970s symph prog scene. But Jaimie Rosas has introduced a lot of more tender, pastoral melodies into this album. A lot of this album actually takes a lot from the Rock Progressivo Italiano scene. In fact; a lot from Angelo Branduardi. That is something I never ever expected from Jamie Rosas. But it is a step in the right direction. Santiago moves to Rome.

This album still have a lot of those big symphonic prog ELP like aural paintings, but now also with some Rock Progressivo Italiano elements too. That summarises this album which also includes a 20 minutes long suite called Primera Luz.

The above mentioned Primera Luz is the best track on this album. But the rest of this album is also absolute great. This album is not an immediate hit, though. It takes time (yes, the dreaded term "takes time"). His melodies always sneaks up on you and then takes over. Then you starts to hum them at work. I am at that stage now.

In short; Jaimie Rosas has again delivered a great album. An unexpected, but great album. Maybe he has come of age. A piece like El Principio Del Ritmo feels like it could had been done by an old fox in the jazz scene.

In short; a very varied album with a wide variety of music and his best studio album so far.

4 stars

Jaime Rosas is a very talented keyboardist from Chile who gained quite good reputation while playing in progressive metal band - Entrance. However not too many people know that he also recorded few solo albums (sometimes under Jaime Rosas Trio or Jaime Rosas Cuarteto moniker) where he showed completely different face - symphonic prog "wizard". While first 2 albums of this artist - "Virgo" and "Extremos", where a bit too modern, electronic sounding for me, Jaime turned into more retro-prog direction from his 3rd studio output - "Creciendo" and even more bombastic, concert recording - "Viajero Astral ?Live in Brazil". However those last two albums were more in the vain of Japanese bands like Gerard or Ars Nova which mix razor-sharp organ riffs with modern, digital synthesizers, the new born "child" of Rosas called "Flashback" sounds even more faithful to ELP style of prog thanks to similar approach to the music and devotion to good, old Hammond organ all the way through (compared with previous stuff Jaime rarely uses synthesizers on "Flashback"). And as an ELP - and in general Hammond-driven prog - fan I have to admit that I love this album!

So let's check all 6 tracks included on this disk:

1. "Primera luz" - album begins with definitely the strongest composition - 20 minutes long suite called "Primera luz". This track is a really orgy of mindblowing Hammond organ solos & other ultra-fast passages played in absolutely virtuosic manner. Overall style and those percussion organ effects makes it like XXI century version of ELP's "Tarkus" but treating it like a simple copy would be very unjust for Rosas as he also managed to mix many other influences as in few slower fragments we can also hear some Rick Wakeman inspired synthesizer moments and in many ways "Primera luz" was also clearly influenced by another South American group - "Nexus". As I mentioned, hard-hitting organ is a dominant instrument here but synthesizers (often Moog-like sounding, but I think all gear of Rosas is in fact digital, I'm not sure) and piano surely aren't absent too, so in general it's a real prog heaven for such keyboards-driven music aficionados like me. I'd like to add that just like "Tarkus", this epic is mostly instrumental but in the middle there are also a brief vocal sections of Jaime Scalpello (in Spanish language) which are quite nice and touching. I want to stress that drums and bass work are competent too, but Jaime's pyrotechnics are so astonishing that you hardly think about other things than his keyboards. In the end I need to point one more thing: ultra memorable section which begins from 15:20 minute. This overwhelming, almost Gothic-like Hammond melody is simply fantastic. I have goose bumps everytime I hear this grandiose part. It's this kind of stuff I always loved in Par Lind Project's (contemporary Swedish symphonic-prog band) music! Seems that if Jaime will manage to record more of such albums, he have a chance to replace Par Lindh's position of the most talented prog-rock keyboardist in XXI century. Brilliant!

2. "El principio del ritmo" - another track let as catch a breath after restless keyboards extravaganza of ""Primera luz". This time we can enjoy very sober, delicate smooth-jazz composition with simple instrumentation: acoustic piano + relaxed sounding electric guitar. Nothing midblowing but it's a good rest after first 20 minutes of "Flashback". And surely it's very original for this artist.

3. "Buenos momentos" - Jaime and his friends come back to bombastic style! This time Javier Sepulveda provides lots of heavy guitar riffs which blend perfectly with Rosas' swirling organs. Electric guitar makes "Buenos momentos" sound a bit more like Entrance music, but thanks to dominating keyboards we're still sure that it's true symphonic style here (however mixed with heavy prog and prog-metal). Once again I want to praise Jaime for his ear-shuttering Hammond sounds here, they truly cut the air like a hatchet! I think that he listened to Nexus music a lot before recording this composition, and Moti Sakuraba could be another strong influence here. By the way, Moog fragments are also amazing here!

4. "Lejos" - if I had to pick up the weakest track on "Flashback" it would be this one. It's just a soft ballad with pre-dominant acoustic guitar, piano and discreet digital synthesizers in the background. Rodrigo Godoy's voice is surely nice, but in general this song doesn't bring me any emotions I'm afraid. Average.

5. "Memoria" - after slightly dull song called "Lejos", comes much better instrumental "Memoria". While first half sounds similar to Pink Floyd (Gilmour inspired guitar soloing of Ignacio Ruiz), in the middle we have a great Hammond solo in the vain of Rick Wakeman's performance in "Close to the Edge". After that guitar kick in again and smoothly lead as to the end of the song.

6. "Flashback" - the last composition seems to be an epic, but in fact it sounds more like a collage of different music ideas. Especially the beginning is quite mysterious and experimental in its nature. There are different famous melodies of 70s prog-rock giants played on Hammond organ (in one point you can even hear a brief part of Jon Lord's organ solo from "Child in Time"!) which are buried under much louder soundscapes built by digital synthesizers. After that there is atmospheric, slow-tempo section with angelic-choir-like synth-background and "lazy" keyboard "plumping". I'd say that it's quite similar to J.M.Jarre's or Vangelis' progressive-electronic style. But from 5th minute composition picks up the tempo significantly and we enter grandiose fanfare-synthesizers created symphonic wall of sound, which is quickly followed by unbelievably dynamic organ soloing in the vain of the best moments of Keith Emerson! Track finishes with a couple of minutes of baroque-like symphonic prog a la Rick Wakeman, but in the end there is a very humorous oddity as we hear alarm clock and angry yell of suddenly awaken guy! Seems he just had a dream about good, old 70s prog-rock and some God-damned alarm woke him up :-).

In general, "Flashback" is a fantastic recording which is a must have for all fans of retro symphonic progressive rock music, rooted deeply in 70s. In fact, I have to admit that while this kind of style may be "an art just for art" for many people, for me it's still a classic 'cos I'm a big admirer of keyboards-led prog and nothing will change it! That's why (so far...) 4th studio recording of Jaime Rosas immediately became by favorite album of this (2011) year. And I don't care if elitists of modern music call it "regressive"...

There's a long list of bands I can compare with Jaime Rosas, like: ELP, Trace, Triumvirat, Collegium Musicum, Sixty-Nine, The Nice, Duncan Mackay, Trikolon or Quill, and their modern "imitators" like Par Lindh Project, Nexus, Little Tragedies, Survival, Gerard, Ars Nova, Social Tension and early Combination Head.

Best tracks: "Primera luz" and "Buenos momentos"

Full-blown 5 stars from ozzy_tom

Wonderful album by this Chilean talent!

Jaime Rosas is a trained and talented musician from Chile, who has been involved in several musical projects through his career. I could see him on stage some years ago at Baja Prog Fest with his band Entrance, but I did not know his solo work. So with some luck I could meet him some days ago, had a great talk and received his music which I have really enjoyed so far. So in this 2011 he released a new album, entitled 'Flashback' which reunites six compositions in which Jaime had been working in the past.

And I will quote him: 'It is a 'greatest hits' CD of never-recorded (and sometimes never- composed) music. During this process, I have rediscovered several worlds which I had previously abandoned, I have been able to discover new ones and it has been an excellent opportunity to meet old and new friends'. So with this, we can understand that it is a very personal album to him, which surely encourage him to finish it and make its high-quality songs. As I said, it comprises six compositions making a total time of 53 minutes. It starts with the longest and probably most complex and ambitious track, a 20-minute song entitled 'Primera Luz', in which we will listen to bombastic keyboards, fast-tempo rhythm, a wonderful and elaborated bass, and a constant drumming. Here we can easily appreciate the compositional and technical skills of Rosas, his Hammond solos are mind-blowing, they don't let you escape once you are inside the song.

The first half of the track is instrumental, with those fast moments full of keyboard explosions; while the second is calmer, with the introduction of a male voice, synthesizers creating background and a melancholic feeling. However, after 15 minutes the song changes and turns once again into a bombastic keyboard feast, creating the omniscient symphonic sound, but adding a kind of heavy-prog touch. What a wonderful way to start the album, I was impressed since the first time I listened to it, because it is really, really good.

'El principio del ritmo' highly contrasts with the previous one. Here you will find a delicate piano full of tranquility and peace, accompanied by a bass and a guitar, creating a relaxing and delicious jazzy song. It is nice how he decided to intercalate these two completely different songs, but someone said 'after the storm comes the calm'.

But don't say victory, because after that calmer song, Jaime Rosas returns once again with an explosive one. 'Buenos Momentos' begins fast and heavy, closer to symphonic metal, but what I like is that later a combination of styles appear, with the guitar the music sounds rockier, with the bass a bit funkier, and with the Hammond solos closer to the symphonic prog styles of old monsters such as Wakeman or Emerson. This is the shortest track, but an excellent one nonetheless.

Once again, a notable change in rhythm and mood. 'Lejos' begins with a soft guitar riff and seconds later vocals appear, creating a delicate and ballad-like track. The piano sound is warm and charming, the guitar emotional, however, after those first three outstanding tracks, this one sounds a bit weaker, which does not mean it is bad, not at all, it is only my least favorite song of the album.

'Memoria' is on the other hand, a favorite of mine. This is a six-minute instrumental song with a wonderful structure that little by little is involving you. Here I would like to highlight the guitar work, with constant riffs and a protagonist role, great work of Ignacio Ruiz. And of course, the keyboard playing of Rosas is once again excellent. This song is easy to love, with me it was like love at first sight, and every time I listen to I truly enjoy it.

Finally the title-track, 'Flashback' is the song that finishes the album, here we will have the last ten minutes of this journey to the past. And the song actually starts like that, with all those noises, I imagine being inside one's mind and getting loads of memories for a split second, something really fast. But later the song calms down and I still imagine the memories, but this time in a state of tranquility and relaxation. In the CD booklet we can see a collage of images, which in my opinion reflects what this particular track shares. After some minutes that tranquility disappears and a sort of chaotic electronic sound appears, reminding me a bit of Tangerine Dream, but with some orchestral arrangements that put a different and own sound. Excellent final song!

What a great album by Jaime Rosas, with works like this, his music will surely reach more people and get positive criticism. I highly recommend it. Easily, four stars.

Enjoy it!

Jaime Rosas is a talented Chilean keyboardist, and it shows here. The obvious influence is Emerson, Lake & Palmer, but that's as far as style goes. The approach is vastly different. Rather than focusing on melody or structure, each piece serves to highlight Rosas' acumen on the keys, usually rattling off one blistering solo after another. It's a display of talent, but overall, a display I find uninteresting.

"Primera Luz" Breakneck organ and other keyboards race against bass and drums. As a demonstration of keyboard skill, this excels, but does so at the expense of compositional charm. Halfway through, the vocals emerge, but do so in a quiet piano passage that feels tacked onto the keyboard showmanship. Otherwise, it's an exhausting exhibition of rapid-fire and grainy organ.

"El Principio Del Ritmo" This is a glaring contrast to what came before. Lounge bar piano runs and jazz chords are performed over a simplistic progression.

"Buenos Momentos" Don't get too comfortable with that last number- this returns to mile-a-minute soloing, this time with a guest on lead guitar. The bass solo is a growling treat, however brief.

"Lejos" A more melodic approach, with hushed guitar and vocals, takes center stage here. That jazzy piano makes another appearance.

"Memoria" Here is something more akin to a jam, with the guitarist and keyboardist trading leads over a Pink Floyd-like backdrop.

"Flashback" While what has come before has been firmly on the side of progressive rock bombast or smooth jazz, the title track delves into New Age placidity and progressive electronic music while returning to ELP-inspired pomposity. It's more of a hodgepodge of ideas glued together into one concluding track.