CRIATURAS DA NOITE

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O TERÇO started life playing straight rock and pyschedelic rock, introducing elements of Progressive Rock in the second album. For this third album two of the previous three group members changed, keyboard player Flávio Venturini joined to make it a foursome, and the group - all talented musicians it should be said - produced its first classic album, a big hit in Brazil. Although the last track '1974' - an instrumental if one discounts the occasional vocalisations - is the highlight of the album in Progressive Rock terms, I find the other tracks very pleasant indeed; this is Brazil, sun and the '70s put to rock music. I like the light, carefree feel of the tracks and the way some incorporate Brazilian rural and popular music styles (even a samba beat on occasion), straight rock and Progressive Rock. And thank goodness the singing is in Portuguese.

Here's a rundown of the tracks:

'Hey Amigo': Early 1970s-style simple rocker, but not bad for it - good, in fact. A foot-tapper and the band's anthem ("Hey friend, sing the song with me").

'Queimada' (burnt): Some lovely, upbeat Brazilian-style acoustic guitar. A bouncing melody, with Brazilian rural influences and happy-sounding vocals. Nice one!

'Pano De Fundo' (backdrop): More Progressive Rock-sounding than the previous two tracks, this pleasing song rocks along nicely. Near the end it changes style and reminds me a little of the music of SANTANA.

'Ponto Final' (final point): Another Progressive Rock-sounding number. Apart from the vocalisations this is a laid-back instrumental, and a very pleasant one too, with some nice electronic keyboards and piano. Good melody.

'Volte Na Proxima Semana' (come back next week): Another simple rocker along the lines of 'Hey Amigo', although sounding more 1960s than 1970s. It's a bit of a head-banger. An OK song, but no masterpiece.

'Criaturas Da Noite' (creatures of the night): Another of the band's hits. This title track starts nicely with calm piano and high-pitched vocals. It has a rather 1960s pop-style melody, with backing strings. A simple enough song but I find this very pleasant, and it gets more complex and classical-sounding about two-thirds of the way through. Sunshine Prog?

'Jogo Das Pedras' (game of the stones): Another track with acoustic guitar and with a nice, upbeat melody that reminds me of Brazilian rural music. A lovely, sunny feel to the music and a catchy tune. Another 'Sunshine Prog' number.

'1974': Tinkling piano starts off this 12-minute Progressive Rock masterpiece. I really enjoy this one. There are some vocalisations but, to all intents and purposes, it's an instrumental. Again, it's 'Sunshine Prog', with a light, breezy feel and lots of melody. There's even a brief samba beat at one point, which works perfectly with the keyboards and guitar and does not feel at all out of place. A high point of the genre in my opinion, which should be heard by all lovers of Progressive Rock.

If you want moody, profound, complex Progressive Rock then look elsewhere, but if you want Progressive Rock that makes you hum along and feel good (not to mention want to get out into the sunshine) then this is definitely worth adding to your collection. It's so consistently enjoyable that I'd be tempted to award it 4.5 stars if such a thing were possible, but I'll settle for 4 (Excellent addition to any progressive music collection). Highly recommended if you're willing to try something different to the usual European/North American fare.

By the way, the LP was re-released on LP under the title "O Terço" instead of "Criaturas Da Noite" and with a different cover: a photo of the band on stage, with the front showing Sérgio Magrão and Luiz Moreno's drum kit. The tracks were the same as on "Criaturas Da Noite", though. The cover of the copy-controlled 2003 "2em1" (two LPs on one CD) CD from EMI Brazil shows the cover of the re-released LP plus the cover of "Casa Encantada". N.B. The 2003 "2em1" CD was a different release to the 1999 "DOIS EM UM" (two in one) CD containing both "Criaturas Da Noite" and "Casa Encantada". Unlike the 2003 release, the 1999 release did not have copy-control software on it. Confused? I don't blame you! Anyway, whether you buy the 1999 'two LPs on one CD' or the 2003 'two LPs on one CD', you get the same tracks, although the latter installs software on the hard disc if you play it on a PC or Mac. It doesn't stop you ripping the tracks to MP3 for your portable player, though.

O TERÇO is doubtlessly the most important symphonic band in the Brazilian scenario, and I'm quite sure that they are also important in the continental range (I put things in the present tense, 'cause they are still ACTIVE). The original line-up grouped in 1968 and since the beginning they did art-rock and although they grabbed influences from Procol Harum, Moody Blues, late Beatles, etc, the main fuel came from their proper country, be it popular or folk or even experimental and avant-garde. They were very original, if you consider the real time, and influenced many other prog acts, since they were heard in many parts of Latin America and Europe too, hence they need to be more recognized and appreciated as bulwarks of the prog-rock.

That said, after a 3-year hiatus, in 1975, they released "Criaturas Da Noite" which happens to be their magnum opus and with at least 2 noticeable features:
First, a different line-up, led by the omnipresent Sergio Hinds and adding the figure of Flavio Venturini, who proved to be an asset to the band, with his tangible lyrics, fine keyboard playing and brilliant singing ability - one of the most tuned voices amid all Brazilian singers. O TERÇO, a band always very concerned in the singing section reached then an impressive paramount; and
Second, the incredible deed, certainly dubious for some prog-heads, of hitting three tracks on the parade.
What? Well, follow me.

'Hey, amigo', the first track in the album, was one of the mentioned hits, a nervous and swung hard rock that was a fine choice to open the can. The folk 'Queimada' did also the parades and what a nice melody it is, provided with heart-of-the-country guitars and soft and catchy vocals.

'Pano de fundo' starts album's middle-section with powerful playing and singing, soon softened with the mellow and romantic 'Ponto final', an intermezzo before the rockabilly 'Volte na próxima semana' begins, with its funny and amusing tunes.

'Criaturas da noite', the third hit of the album is the most beautiful track heard here, a dreamy and unique song - what a majestic vocals and mesmerizing tunes! Truly unforgettable. 'Jogo das pedras' is a neat and exquisite short song that prepares the ground for the mini-epic '1974', a rare and splendid work, one of the best prog songs ever produced in Brazil. Think in all good things our beloved genre can produce, do you? You'll find them all waiting for you in '1974', a year to last forever for the band.

As soon as the album is fading a feeling with a blend of joy and sadness passes by the spine. was it real or another dream? Even not being exempt of certain flaws, "Criaturas Da Noite" is a definitive landmark in the band's catalog and mainly in the entire Brazilian prog-rock landscape, hence an incontestable masterpiece.

Criaturas da Noite is the most acclaimed album by the Brazilian progressive rock band O Terço, which is one of the most famous progressive rock band from Brazil. It is sure a great album, but it is not a masterpiece. Not that Terço was not capable of doing a masterpiece, but the collection of songs in each album is much varied and it is hard to make a masterpiece of that.

Hey Amigo, the opener, is an organ-driven hard rock song, with dull lyrics, but nice musicianship (guitar, organ and bass are very good). As a contrast, Queimada has much of Brazilian folk/country music, with folk acoustic guitars and choir singing. It is a nice song, but nothing impressive. Pano de Fundo is a song bordering hard rock and progressive rock, with good organ and guitar.

One highlight of the album is Ponto Final is one of the best songs from the album, a beautiful instrumental with superb guitar and keyboards. But then comes the worst song of the album, Volte na Proxima Semana, with awful vocals, semi-punkish riff, that evolves in some short instrumental interludes, but that doesn't help much.

The title track is a beautiful prog ballad, with great piano and string arrangement. The vocal work is very beautiful also. Jogo das Pedras is another song with dull lyrics, but the instrumental part is not dull. It is a mix of Brazilian folk music and prog rock arrangement, with nice contrast between the acoustic and electric guitars.

And the real gem of Terço's entire career is the 12-minute instrumental epic 1974. The song goes through different instrumental parts, with superb guitar and keyboard work. There are many different keyboard and guitar sounds in the song and many moods, making it a masterpiece of progressive rock music.

So, 1974, Criaturas da Noite (song) and Ponto Final make the album very good for any symphonic prog rock fan. And the other songs are nice also, making Criaturas da Noite a great album for any prog rock fan to have.

One of the most important albums in Brazil´s prog music. O Terço was, up till then, considered a good rock band by critics and public, but not outstanding. With Criaturas da Noite everything changed. Gone were the primitive recordings and the basic rock format. Now the band has a permanent keyboards player (Flávio Venturini) and a new bassist (Sérgio Magrão). With that line up they´d record their best albums ever and would produce some of the best prog rock songs of the 70´s brazilian scene.

Criaturas da Noite showed the many faces of this talented outfit: straight rock songs (Hey Amigo, Volte na Próxima Semana), Folk rock (Queimada, Jogo Das Pedras), symphonic prog (1974, Pano De Fundo, the title track) and even an interesting instrumetal track (Ponto Final). The musicians were very talented and skilled (everybody in the band wrote songs and all the members sang lead and harmony vocals). With no fillers and done with passion and skill, the album was, deservely, a massive hit at the time. Even the production was superb for a third world country at that period.

Introducing some new elements like the brazilian viola (a 10 string acoustic guitar, not the classical instrument) to their sound, it gave a brazilian coutry feel on some songs, something quite unusual until then. That feature would be further explored in their next album, Casa Encantada, but that´s another story. For the progheads, this is the album to look for if you´re interested in the Brazilian prog scene in the 70´s.

A classic, a masterpiece. At least for us, in Brazil. You should listen and judge for yourself. For its beauty, novelty and importance, 5 stars, no less.

A very melodic and pleasant symphonic album that was released by O TERCO in 1975.As others have noted this recording is one of the first and most famous progressive albums from Brazil. "Hey Amigo" is catchy with prominant organ throughout.It's a good full sounding song with vocals. "Queimada" opens with strummed acoustic guitar as vocals join in.Another pleasant and enjoyable track. "Pano De Fundo" has more bottom end to it and the vocals are outstanding.The guitar solo 3 minutes in is a nice touch. "Ponto Final" is my favourite.It's mellow with piano and vocal melodies to open.Synths and bass then take over.We get a heavier sound before 2 minutes.Nice.Some raw guitar leads come in briefly followed by strings.Just an impressive sounding song. "Volte Na Proxima Semana" makes me smile 'cause it sounds like TEENAGE HEAD a punk band from my area. "Criaturas Da Noite" is a piano led ballad with some strings but it's a little too sweet for my tastes. "Jogos Das Pedras" is melodic and lush with wonderful vocals.The guitar 2 1/2 minutes in is fast yet light. "1974" is the 12 1/2 minute closer.It opens with piano as synths,bass and drums join in.Vocal melodies 2 minutes in.The tempo picks up 5 1/2 minutes in.A calm 2 minutes later as vocal melodies return followed by bass then drums as the tempo picks back up again.Another calm 10 1/2 minutes in with vocal melodies and piano then it kicks back in. A significant album that in part helps it to be a 4 star album.