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SERÚ GIRÁN

Serú Girán

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Serú Girán Serú Girán album cover
3.94 | 76 ratings | 9 reviews | 30% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1978

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Eití Leda (7:01)
2. El Mendigo En El Andén (3:47)
3. Separata (1:36)
4. Autos, Jets, Aviones, Barcos (4:12)
5. Serú Girán (7:35)
6. Seminare (3:32)
7. Voy A Mil (3:07)
8. Cosmigonón (1:31)

Total time 32:21

Line-up / Musicians

- David Lebon / acoustic & electric guitars, vocals
- Charly Garcia / piano, MiniMoog, ARP Solina, acoustic guitar, vocals, co-producer
- Pedro Aznar / bass, fretless bass, vocals
- Oscar Moro / drums, percussion

With:
- Daniel Goldberg / arrangements, orchestral direction
- Syd Sharp / 1st. violin
- Grupo Novo Conciencia / percussion

Releases information

Artwork: José Luis Pederneiras (photo)

LP Sazam Records ‎- 50-16.052 (1978, Argentina)
LP Garra Records ‎- LP003 (2015, Argentina)

CD Music Hall ‎- MH 10 070 2 (1991, Canada)
CD Grafisound ‎- DK 12017 (2011, Argentina)

Thanks to Atkingani for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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Buy SERÚ GIRÁN Serú Girán Music



SERÚ GIRÁN Serú Girán ratings distribution


3.94
(76 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(30%)
30%
Excellent addition to any rock music collection(54%)
54%
Good, but non-essential (13%)
13%
Collectors/fans only (1%)
1%
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
1%

SERÚ GIRÁN Serú Girán reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Zitro
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars 4.4 stars

Initially panned by both the public and the press, Serú girán gradually won the Argentine people and became a historic album and the beginning of Serú Girán, the Argentine Beatles!

I would not blame them completely. Charly Garcia was their folk/pop hero from "Sui Generis" and hearing him play something so different from that might have disappointed many of the fans, until some were open-minded enough to let themselves warm up to the music and find it at least as enjoyable as Charly's first band.

So what does the band sound like? It sounds like Latin-rock with influences of the last album of "Sui Generis", a bit of the jazz-rock of "La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros", a bit of the jazz-rock of "Weather Report", Brazilian influences, classical elements, and has a big emphasis on melody and poetic lyrics (In my opinion, Seru Giran is one of the strongest bands in terms of melody, surpassing even the Beatles). Three of the musicians are capable vocalists and tend to harmonize their voices frequently. The fret less bass sounds very much like Jaco Pastorius and plays an even larger role to the music in parts as if it were a lead instrument. The drumming is impressive, you can't expect dull percussion from the rhythm man of "La Maquina." The keyboards are prominent throughout the album; Charly plays the grand piano, keyboards, and vintage synthesizers. The orchestra is present in some tracks, dominating in the title song. The guitar plays a somewhat small role here, which is not the case in the following albums.

The hugely popular Argentine Anthem "Eiti Leda" starts with an almost a capella introduction and minimal instrumentation. It turns into a fantastic rock song with most of the elements I described in the previous paragraph, and finishes with Charly dueling and harmonizing with an orchestra. Pedro Aznar (bass) especially shines and plays an excellent solo.

"El Mendigo en el Andén" mellow things a bit. It is a melodic tune with a memorable climax with high-register vocals and beautiful orchestral arrangements.

"Separata" is a short classical-tango hybrid with great vocals and keyboard arrangements.

"Autos, Jets, Aviones, Barcos" ... se está llendo todo el muuuuuuundo!! What a catchy and sing-along song while being far from a mainstream song. It has extremely accelerated tempos, frenzied fretless bass playing lead, irressistibly catchy vocals, tempo changes, and bass,guitar, and synth solos. Compositionally, it doesn't reach "Eiti Leda" but it's a lot of fun.

"Seru Giran" is a beautiful classical symphony with nonsensical lyrics. If you are into classical music with a bit of rock, this would most likely be a clear highlight here, even if the album is consistently strong. The arrangements and dynamics are brilliant and this is the most "progressive" song in the album.

Sure, "Seminaré" is as pop as it gets, but the melodies rival the best that the Beatles came up with. This might be the band's best-known song alongside "Eiti Leda" and "Viernes 3AM". The simple synth solo is so happy and melodic that it boosts my mood.

"Voy a Mil" is an prog rock track. It's very tight and features many changes in its 3 minutes.

"Cosmigodón" sounds like a musical Armageddon thanks to its doom-like atmosphere created by the keyboards and symphony, and the chaotic guitar riffery.

Overall, this is highly recommended to fans of Sui Generis and La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros. However, don't expect this to sound like those bands. I also recommend it to almost anyone who wants to explore some of the best music to ever come from Argentina.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars A legendary, short-lived and very succesful Argentinian band, formed in 1978 by keyboardist Charly García and ex-Polifemo guitarist David Lebon, following the demise of La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros.Starting months are somewhat confusing, it appears that Garcia and Lebon travelled to Brazil to write songs for a new band and album.Garcia returned to Buenos Aires after some months and got impressed by the bass playing of Alas' Pedro Aznar, so he was invited to join the new project along with drummer Oscar Moro, whom Garcia new from their common stin in La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros.Originally they worked with singer Billy Bond in Brazil as Billy Bond and the Jets, but after an album Bond decided to dissolve the formation.Seru Giran originated from the disbanding and the remaining quartet worked on new songs, partly recorded in Brazil and partly in Los Angeles, USA.The self-titled debut of the band came out later in the year on Sazam Records.

Basically a Symphonic Pop album, ''Seru Giran'' reveals the talents of the involved members in many pieces, however the shorter cuts are following a more Pop Rock vein, apparently affected by the trends of the time, when playing progressive music was like a curse.Still Seru Giran tried to offer refined and sophisticated arrangements, even if the singing lines are too melodramatic and sentimental and occasional poppy tunes are detected throughout the album.The album is led by a soft orchestral atmosphere due to Gracia's always gifted keyboard plays and the involvement of Daniel Goldberg as a director of the orchestral moves.While the album is pretty short, two tracks exceed the 7-min. mark, ''Eiti Leda'' and the eponymous one, in an attempt by Garcia and the crew to revive the sound of LA MAQUINA DE HACER PAJAROS, flavored by some Orchestral Pop moments.These pieces follow a mellow Symphonic Rock vein with lots of piano, soft guitars and light synth flashes, backed up by a Classical background, which reminds me of 69'-days' KING CRIMSON.The rest of the tracks are more confusing with acoustic parts, discreet jazzy colors, still some symphonic ovetones (even reminding of GENESIS) and plenty of Pop thrown in, resulting a bunch of decent arrangements, still quite far from the true talents of the exhibition team.Generally the album lacks energy, being too smooth at moments, but the material is pretty good with many artistic parts, which hold a progressive interest.

On the thin line between Pop and Symphonic Rock.Equal to Italians FORMULA TRE or LA BOTTEGA DELL'ARTE, but the musicians here were much more experienced, so an even better result was expected.Still recommended to fans of the lighter side of Prog Rock.

Review by Dapper~Blueberries
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Prog in Latin America is quite deep, to where you can arguably find bands from now and from the past, some of which create some well known prog albums that are still well regarded to this day. You can find groups like Crucis and Invisible that show off a symphonically enriched prog landscape. Bubu and La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros who give off a more jazzy prog outlook. And, on today's subject, Serú Girán, who takes you on a progressive pop rock side of the olden days of the late 70s.

Serú Girán is a band that came from the remnants of La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, with Charly Garcia and Oscar Moro from that band, as well as David Lebon, and Pedro Aznar of Alas and Pat Metheny Group, making this band kind of a supergroup in a way. That said, I noticed some people not quite agreeing with the connotations of this band being considered prog rock. Heck some go as far as saying they aren't prog at all, but make no mistake, while they may not be as progressively inclined as ELP or Uriah Heep, if you put them next to bands like Alan Parsons Project, ELO, or Klaatu, bands which I coin as progressive pop rock, then you'll see they are quite proggy in that aspect.

Well let's talk less about Serú Girán and more about?Serú Girán, their debut album.

Now I am gonna say something that may be a hot take, but this is my favorite album from the band, so far as of writing this. I do not think it is a full on masterpiece, but in my listening of their discography, compared to the two albums I have heard from them so far (Grasa de las capitales and Peperina), this album ranks above those as my favorite.

The music here is both very pastoral and almost nature-like, with some elements that make it have this almost urban edge to it. I really like the sound this album exudes, mainly due to this balance between a more classically entwined prog rock sound, with this funk rock and jazz pop essence that makes this both a very complex, but also a rather fun poppy time, and one that I like a lot. I think the track that perfectly showcases this intertwining of romantic classical natures with the more modern pop sound of the time has to be the first one, being Eiti-Leda, which is my favorite track off the album. Such a beautiful track by the way, definitely a good way to start the album.

I will also go out on a limb and say this album's sound is also oddly city pop-esque. I wouldn't say it is 100% city pop since that genre is more of a Japanese thing, not an Argentinian thing, but tracks like Autos Jets Aviones Barcos, and or Serú Girán have moments that make me feel like I am listening to a Masayoshi Takanaka or Yuji Ohno song, which I think is really cool, since I really like city pop. Seriously, if you like the music Serú Girán is putting out, check out Taeko Ohnuki's Sunshower, you'll thank me later.

City pop aside, there are things that kinda irk me about this album, namely the length of the album, and in conjunction the track listing. This album feels too short for me. Obviously I am not really expecting an hour worth of music with like 4 tracks that are 15-20 minutes long, each with multiple passages, nor am I opposed to the shorter tracks we got here, but I feel like there should've been more. I guess in that respect their later albums are better, but still I kinda wished there were a bit more songs, maybe bumping this album to be around 40 minutes. On the flipside though, I guess that means I really like the album enough to ask for some more music after the fact.

I also think the track listing could do some work, in more of how top heavy this album feels. The B-side tracks are pretty good, but compared to songs like El Mendigo en el Anden and Seperata, they kinda fall short from being truly amazing, especially with such a bizarrely weird and kinda bad ending like Cosmigonon. These faults do not quite break this album for me, in fact I still really adore it, but I cannot deny these things do not at least make me raise an eyebrow on occasion.

If you want some high quality prog pop rock, similar to ELO or The Moody Blues, or wanna check out what some of the guys over at La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros did after disbanding, then it is worth checking out this album, and especially this band. You'll be surprised with the charm and beauty this album has, trust me.

Latest members reviews

5 stars Let's start with the Argentinian progressive rock history with THE band, I don't know if it's the only supergroup, but it's THE supergroup or Argentina. Serú Girán, formed by Charly García on keyboards, David Lebón on guitars, Oscar Moro on drums and Pedro Aznar on bass; has been one of the most ... (read more)

Report this review (#2918418) | Posted by progrockeveryday | Thursday, April 20, 2023 | Review Permanlink

3 stars The beginning of a sonorous search that was to become the biggest band in Argentina. Serú Girán starts from an unknown place, with a very progressive Charly García as leader. After dissolving his previous band La Máquina De Hacer Pájaros and leaving jazz/fusion behind, Carlos began to search for a m ... (read more)

Report this review (#2599418) | Posted by Argentinfonico | Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | Review Permanlink

4 stars I've been a fan of Charly García for almost 4 years now and this man never ceases to amaze me. As a fan of Sui Generis and La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, I had thought that this man had already peaked his creative peak. A couple of months ago I discovered this legendary argentinian band by refer ... (read more)

Report this review (#286893) | Posted by AcostaFulano | Thursday, June 17, 2010 | Review Permanlink

4 stars The first album of Serú Girán came after the band spent a whole year in Brazil preparing their new project - the ''brazilian feel'' can be heard in some tracks. The band arrived back in Argentina with their new album full of innovation (yes, even having a full backing orchestra was an innovation t ... (read more)

Report this review (#201363) | Posted by Tycho | Sunday, February 1, 2009 | Review Permanlink

4 stars After quitting La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros, Charly Garcia decided to form a new band called Seru Giran, this debut album IMHO stands confidently along other latin prog gems, this one has the same escence of previous Maquina works, but in some ways this record reminds me of Fragile from Yes...lon ... (read more)

Report this review (#163457) | Posted by Carlos | Saturday, March 8, 2008 | Review Permanlink

4 stars I listened to this songs when I was 12... Welcome to PA, Serú!. Serú Girán was a band which mixed many influences: Charly García was formed at a classic school, with tango influences too; Pedro Aznar (a 18-year-old boy!!) studied Jazz (he's a follower of Jaco Pastorious style); David Lebón and Os ... (read more)

Report this review (#146138) | Posted by Marcos | Saturday, October 20, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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