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ACONCAGUA

Los Jaivas

Prog Folk


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Los Jaivas Aconcagua album cover
3.16 | 54 ratings | 5 reviews | 7% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 1982

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Aconcagua (3:33)
2. Desde Un Barrial (5:24)
3. Debajo De Las Higueras (3:25)
4. Takirari Del Puerto (3:45)
5. Mambo De Machaguay (4:54)
6. Huayruro (2:57)
7. Corre Que Te Pillo (9:47)

Total time 33:45

Line-up / Musicians

- Gato Alquinta / lead vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, bass (7), charango, mandolin, siku, quena, recorder, trompe, congas
- Eduardo Parra / Fender Rhodes, Mini-Moog, bongos, tambourine, claves
- Claudio Parra / piano, celesta, Mini-Moog, güiro
- Mario Mutis / bass, electric guitar, bombo legüero, ratchet, vocals
- Gabriel Parra / drums, maracas, timbales, congas, cultrun, bombo legüero, triangle, charango, vocals

With:
- Kako Bessot / trumpet (3,7)
- Patricio Castillo / quena (2,5), tiple (2), charango (5)

Releases information

Artwork: René Olivares

LP CBS ‎- LIL-0004 (1982, Chile)
LP Sazam Records ‎- 50-14.632-0 (1982, Argentina) Different cover art, "Mambo De Machaguay" substituted by "Todos Juntos (alternative version)"

CD Columbia ‎- CNIA-2 461823 (1993, Chile) Remastered by Mariano Pavéz with original Chilean version track list but cover with alternative art

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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LOS JAIVAS Aconcagua ratings distribution


3.16
(54 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(7%)
7%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(46%)
46%
Good, but non-essential (41%)
41%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

LOS JAIVAS Aconcagua reviews


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

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
3 stars Named after the Ande's second highest peak (if memory serves me correctly), this album is somewhat of a deception for me. Most progheads will point the prdecessor Alturas as their best work ( I personally prefer their 75 to 79 period) but this one is rather poor especially in the inspiration department. If my informations are correct , they were living in France at the time (the album was recorded in Paris) and maybe they were not all that happy there , as they were fleeing the Pinochet regime and had moved away from Argentina (also dictatorial in those years) - so maybe they were homesick. All supputations aside , there are two reworkings from older numbers that do not make the original obsolete and most of the shorter numbers are made in a "Business -As -Usual"manner and even the longer final track is not really up to par. Only my respect for this great and otherwise innovative band stops me from rating this album lower.
Review by Trotsky
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Aconcagua is widely perceived as a backward step in the Los Jaivas journey, and justifiably so, for it is the weakest in the run of albums from 1975 to 1984 (significantly trumped by the preceeding trio of Los Jaivas (El Indio), Cancion Del Sur and Alturas De Macchu Picchu as well as its successor the double album Obras De Violeta Parra). Nonetheless for all its relative "simplicity" it does contain some beautiful folk music.

The opening title track is delicious, with heartfelt vocals, glorious dancing flutes, and clever use of electric guitar and Andean mandolin (charanga) to build the mood. And the second track, Desde Un Barril starts off with an interesting combination of Jew's harp and Moog (I swear it) and has a "main body" that is rhythmically challenging, with some nice piano flourishes and muscular bass work (even a brief solo) before more joyous flute returns.

Unfortunately from that point on, the album is a pretty pop-oriented presentation of some great folk music. Debajo De La Higueras and the instrumentals Takirari Del Puerto and Huairuro are all the kinds of song that Las Jaivas could play in their sleep. A remake of Corre Que Te Pillo (from the Todos Juntos album recorded a decade earlier) is better though and emphasizes the shift in the band's sound over the years. This is a much more taut version than the original with prominent piano, electric guitar and synth brass! Despite some more challenging moments including some great Gabriel Parra drum excursions, it does lack the charm of the infinitely more naive original.

I should say that again there are two different versions of this album, as far as I know, and my version omits the 1982 re-recording of the superb Todos Juntos track (rather disappointingly, as it is my favourite song in the Spanish language), in favour of Manbo Del Machaguay, which is a catchy blend of blistering electric guitar, energetic drumming and traditional flutes.

I would recommend that you come to this one only after you've fallen in love with the other, more progressive albums that surround it. And perhaps a low level of expectation might just leave you enjoying its handful of pleasant surprises! ... 51% on the MPV scale

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Los Jaivas forgot about the prog elements they incorporated into their Andean folk music during their previous album Alturas De Machu Pichu which was undeniably their best effort so far.

As they paid tribute to the best known Inca archeological site in their previous work, this one is titled with the name of the highest mountain from the American continent (almost 7,000 meters). Located in Argentina where the band resided for about four years (73 - 77).

This album recorded in Paris (as their previous one) will be the start of important touring all over Europe, adding Scandinavia to the number of countries they have already visited there. But almost no country from Western Europe would be forgotten during their European life (even small Belgium was visited)!

This album is not as good as "Machu Pichu". The good "Desde Un Barrial" sits together with the worse which is represented with "Debajo de las Higueras". Really painful "melody". A typical Latin American song. Gosh! The next key is seriously needed. And you might as well hit the same one (or maybe double next will do) because the instrumental "Takirari del Puerto" is not good either.

My version of this album features "Mambo De Machaguay" (instead of the reworked version of "Todos Juntos"). When I looked at the title, I was expecting nothing great but it is a solid rocking number with superb electric guitar. One of my fave here.

This version is also a reworked one. The original was released as a single in 1976 and can also be found on a compilation album from 1980 simply called "Mambo De Machaguay". This version is far much better than its original counterpart and certainly deserves some attention. It is a song from the Peruvian folklore named from a small village in the South of Peru.

The band is certainly out of steam in terms of compositions. This album is very short (as usual) and almost fifteen minutes are dedicated to two reworked songs. OK, these were good ones but out of thirty five minutes, this makes it almost fifty per cent of non original work!

The long closing number (another one of their habits) was my favourite track from their second album. This lengthy version was maybe not the best thing to do. It denaturizes the original with the addition of some mariachi oriented trumpets which are not really my cup of tea! But electric guitar is pretty good.

"Aconcagua" is not a bad album but two stars sounds as the maximum rating.

Latest members reviews

3 stars The Jaivas, Aconcacagüa album, is a little disimilar in which I consider his masterpiece, "Alturas de Machu Pichu", if it´s the case, the band kept the sound in his instrumentations, but nothing else, the energy, the depth of voice and the conjunction between the harmonies and the symbolism of ... (read more)

Report this review (#457742) | Posted by Diego I | Monday, June 6, 2011 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Well...this is a very light album, but even the shorts song are good compositions... For me the best three songs: Corre que te pillo, of course, the jewel of the disc (about 10 min), with an amazing drum solo in the final section...put attention on the whole drum of corre...i have the video pla ... (read more)

Report this review (#31489) | Posted by | Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | Review Permanlink

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