ARC-EN-CIEL

Here's another unjustly overlooked band that never received the wider attention it deserved, a victim of geographic isolation (despite their English name, the group hailed from northeast Spain), or maybe the fierce competition between likeminded musicians for a loyal but dwindling fan base in the late 1970s.

ICEBERG played instrumental Fusion in the spirit of early MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, but Jazz Rock is too mild a term for the type of music on tap here. This is Fusion more akin to Edward Teller's Cold War fantasies: a Latin-flavored thermonuclear warhead able to detonate a musical fireball bigger than the one that vaporized Bikini Atoll in 1946. All right, so that's a tacky analogy, but you get the point: these guys had serious chops.

The quartet was led by guitarist Max Suñé, playing with a passion and skill equal to any guitar hero of his time. He could solo with the pinpoint precision and white-lightning speed of Al DiMeola (always the yardstick used to measure any Fusion axe-man in the 1970s), but favored a raw, emotional guitar tone more reminiscent of "Birds of Fire" era John McLaughlin. Match this with the virtuoso mini-moog runs of Josep Mas and the results could turn even the most unlikely time signature into a thrilling, and often surprisingly graceful, adventure.

Listen to the guitar and keyboards trading solo spots during "El Caminant Nocturn", a song almost guaranteed to blow your socks off and dry-clean them in mid-flight. Or the 11-minute "Càntics de la Carn", another album highlight, beginning with a furious percussion workout under which Primitivo Sanchez (the name makes him sound like a Catalan punk rocker) lays down a speedy flamenco bass line for Suñé and Mas to race across in perfect stop/start unison.

The homegrown Spanish influence surfaces even more strongly on the remaining tracks, adding the warmer textures of acoustic guitar and piano but sounding no less dynamic than the earlier all-electric salvos. My only complaint is with the unresolved fade-out at the tail of the curtain closer "Crisàlide" (and in the middle of another monster Suñé solo too!). But in retrospect it's probably fitting that the band's last studio album should end this way, giving the impression that they never really stopped playing.that maybe someday, on another album, they might simply flip a switch and continue the same track right where it left off here.

At one time I owned several ICEBERG albums (and at least one Max Suñé solo effort), back in the days when even the coolest, most obscure European imports were available Stateside in any decent LP emporium. A lifetime later this is the only survivor of the bunch, but it's the one worth hanging on to.

Another overlooked band that never received the attention they deserve. They are from Spain and plays a truly great jazz latino. This is the last studio labum of Icebrg released in 1978. Among the best they ever did, but i'm remaining to Sentiments, the previous one to be the best. So an album full of great guitar work and here and there when needed keys full of emontion are added. Forget to mention Iceberg has a stunning drumer named Jordi Colomer. Iceberg is led by guitarist Max Suñé, playing with a passion and skill and composing some great tunes like the opening track El caminant nocturn and Crisalide the best pieces from here. 3 stars for Arc en ciel, good but not the best of Iceberg. An intristing band from the '70's in jazz movement that never was in the front line of that period, strange, because the music is awesome jazz with latino influences, but not like Al DiMeola for example more like early Mahavisnu Orchestra albums .

Last studio album from Spanish band with not very Spanish name. Very energetic jazz-fusion, based on guitars and keyboards interplays. Guitarist is skilled and very fast ( his speedy guitar playing reminds Al Di Meola's technique, but sound is much more liquid, not sharp). Keyboards gave strong support to talking and crying guitars, and drummer is really another great team member.

Music in general is softer,more rounded (Latin) version of Mahavishnu Orchestra sound with some excurses to more mellow (sometimes on the border with cheese) melodies. But if guitarist speed and energy are both attractive, main problem is composition. You will hardly find few tunes in all album. Guitarist is very happy demonstrating his abilities, but too often it sounds as jazz-fusion axe-hero, not real fusion musician.

Another problem is some Latin pop-jazz inclusions: as the result all album combines ultra- fast guitar technique demonstration, with melodic almost pop-Latin tunes in between. And if some moments there are really nice and interesting, the whole work isn't such a good product.

Arc-En-Ciel was the last album from the great spanish fusion band Iceberg before its two main members guitarist Max Sunyer and keyboardist "Kitflus" would form the catalan fusion supergroup Pegasus together with ex-Gotic bassist Rafael Escote and ex-Fusioon drummer Santi Arisa (with some solo albums in between, the first Pegasus album was released in 1982).

The musicianship is top-notch as ever, and any fusion lover not knowing their previous albums might easily rate this album with 4 or even 5 stars, it's only by comparison to their previous works such as Coses Nostres and Sentiments that I limit my rating of this album to the 3 ? 3.5 stars level.

The formula is still the same, a fantastic rhythm section (Jordi Colomer was really a hell of a drummer and Primi Sancho a great bassist) on which Max and Kitflus develop their melodies and solos, the keyboards taking the more musical side (not forgetting solos either) and Max's guitar taking care of the hardest soloing in the footsteps of McLaughlin or Di Meola. However the general tone is softer, more polished than in their previous albums, and there is a shift towards a more latin sound.

The opener "El Caminant Nocturn" (The Night Walker) is the best track, with Kitflus trademark Rhodes piano, very good melodies and a killer guitar solo by Max followed by a no less impressive synth solo by Kitflus. 5 stars for this song.

"Cantics De La Carn" (The Singing Of The Flesh) is based on a samba-like rhythm, a style I don't fancy much so even if the development is clearly proggy being the longest track clocking at 11:18, and the musicianship outstanding, it drags a bit too much for me. Just a matter of taste, if you can enjoy a prog-samba it can be an excellent track.

"Riu D'Agost" (August River) has a beautiful piano and acoustic guitar intro, then all the instruments come in and develop into a great latin jazz track with piano reminding of Michael Camilo and very good acoustic guitar, and impressive alternating solos of keys and guitar, really great stuff, just a bit too latin for my taste.

"Embrujo" (Enchant) is again latin featuring nice piano parts, a killer guitar solo and a good keys solo too.

"Crisalide" starts atmospheric with piano and acoustic guitar, after 1 min all the instruments come in and it sounds more like their older albums, electric guitar on Rhodes, then some funky feel and a killer guitar solo which sounds like Santana mixed with McLaughlin. If this was not enough we still get a great Rhodes solo, but this is a bit the problem, it's like there's too little melody, just great solos.

In summary 2 thoughts: 1. this album is undoubtedly good and has terrific solos but fewer and weaker melodies than their previous albums. 2. There is a clear shift to a more latin style, this is a purely personal taste matter but personally I prefer the previous more standard fusion style.

Same lineup as Coses Nostres and Sentiments, last album from these awesome J-R Fusionists. The band here sliding a little more into the Latin-biased sounds and styles that Chick Corea was gravitating to in his solo work of the same period.

1. "El caminant nocturn" (8:21) Fender Rhodes chord play is soon joined by bubble-effected bass and militaristic jazz drumming before synthesizer and electric guitar step in to take the lead. Lots of stops and goes, lots of rock and prog-sounding riffs and passages give this an almost NOVA-like feel, though something about it also reminds me of The MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA's last album, Inner Worlds. We've definitely entered the gratuitous world of commercial J-R Fuse that Herbie Hancock's Thrust and Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior opened up to the world. (17.5/20)

2. "Càntics de la carn" (11:18) so like the music that Chick Corea was doing with Leprechaun, My Spanish Heart, and The Mad Hatter that I had to keep checking as I was listening to this to make sure it wasn't something from him, Al Di, or a hidden RTF album that I'd missed! Excellent performances top to bottom (despite Kitflus' rather schlocky and now-dated array of keyboard sounds). (18/20)

3. "Riu d'agost" (7:41) piano and acoustic guitar opening that sounds suspiciously like something from Al Di Meola and Chick Corea. Even the sound engineering seems perfectly imitative of some of those earlier RTF albums (not Romantic Warrior). At 1:45 the full band breaks the spell of the acoustic duo and launches into a long bridge before settling into another Latin-rhythmed dance tune. The lead instrumentalists retain their acoustic orientations while bouncing back and forth between 10-to-20 second bursts as soloists often bridged by patches in which they play together. Quite a nice, light and jolly, and impressive song of instrumental prowess--and such tight, whole-band feel coming from the quartet. (13.5/15)

4. "Embrujo" (6:14) yet another song in which the band lets their ethnic roots come shining through--though once again expressed with incredible virtuosity and intuitive interplay. These guys are really gelling! And Max has never been more effusive! (9.25/10)

5. "Crisàlide" (6:30) piano and acoustic guitar open this one until 1:20 when searing Al Di MEOLA-like electric guitar ushers in the rest of the band. This complex, never straightforward song offers some great bass playing as well as tight disco-ish drumming with Kitflus' DEODATO-like bouncy Fender Rhodes play when Max is shredding up front. (9.25/10)

Total Time: 40:04

A-/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of Second Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion approaching the Smooth Jazz era.