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DÍAS DE LUNA

Azabache

Symphonic Prog


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Azabache Días De Luna album cover
3.45 | 21 ratings | 4 reviews | 10% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 1979

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Cuidado con la Marisol (3:33)
2. Los dias sin sol (5:30)
3. Cuando la luna (4:05)
4. Tio Carlos (5:55)
5. Algun dia (7:22)
6. Noche de meigas galopantes (3:34)
7. Solo en mi ruta (5:40)
8. Dias de Luna (1:50)

Total Time 37:29

Line-up / Musicians

- Daniel Henestrosa / electric & acoustic guitars, vocals
- Gustavo Ros / piano, synthesizer, Mellotron, acoustic 12-string guitar, vocals
- Jorge "Flaco" Barral / bass, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, percussion, vocals
- Ricardo Valle / drums, vibes, tubular bells, vocals

With:
- César Rechac / guitar
- Juan Carlos / flute (7)

Releases information

Artwork: J. Junquera with Barral & Ros

LP Movieplay ‎- 17 1475/8 (1979, Spain)

CD Fonomusic ‎- 5046770822 (2005, Spain) Remastered (?)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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AZABACHE Días De Luna ratings distribution


3.45
(21 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(10%)
10%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(19%)
19%
Good, but non-essential (48%)
48%
Collectors/fans only (19%)
19%
Poor. Only for completionists (5%)
5%

AZABACHE Días De Luna reviews


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

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by erik neuteboom
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars As a fan from Spanish flamenco inspired band Azahar I was curious to their offshoot named Azabache. After a first listening session I concluded that the music has echoes from Azahar but more polished and a less Spanish flavored atmosphere. In fact I was a bit disappointed but when I gave it another chance, I started to appreciate it more and more. The compositions sound melodic and often accessible but the arrangements are very tasteful with beautiful colouring of the keyboards (piano, lush strings, short synth soli and guitarwork (some great howling soli). The vocals are disctinctive, sometimes a bit high pitched but they sound warm and inspired. The 'magnum opus' on this CD is the composition "Algun dia" (7.22): lots of changing climates (from mellow acoustic guitars and swinging to bombastic and propulsive with echoes from "The gates of delirium" from Yes), excellent guitar soli (from bluesy and rock to fiery). A WONDERFUL AND ELABORATED PROGROCK GEM FROM SPAIN. By the way, I'm glad that Prog Archives eventually has taken time to include bands like Azabache because they deserve a place on this progrock site more than Talk Talk, Captain Beefheart or Radiohead. And now I'm waiting on Alameda, Diego De Moron, the Malibran DVD, Maury E Y Pronomi, Distilleri Di Malta, Dr. No.....
Review by seventhsojourn
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars From 1979 comes Azabache's seemingly little-known gem, Dias De Luna. In my opinion this album has been criminally overlooked on PA; only one previous review, and that was posted in July 2005! Azabache hailed from Spain but there is very little distinctly Spanish flavour on the album, although vocals are in their native tongue. The music does however consist of some great light symphonic prog, with a definite Yes influence throughout. Just listen to the guitars and bass to see what I mean. Unlike Yes, there are no 20 minute suites here. The longest track is 7.22... hardly an epic; what you do get is a collection of melodic tracks that blend soothing soundscapes with catchy hooks and riffs. With the exception of the drummer, lead vocals are shared by all band members. Various short sound effects link all the tracks on the album; the sound of gushing water, a car crashing, sounds of a rainforest etc. I'm not always sure how these effects relate to the songs, if at all, but they add to the general ambience.

Cuidado Con La Marisol opens the album. It's a fairly short and simple song; really it's like a pop tune, very upbeat and having a catchy chorus. However it features Mellotron, synth and a nice guitar solo that make it more worthwhile. Los Dias Sin Sol begins with synth and bass, followed by electric guitar and vibes. This intro is slow and has a lovely melody, with strong echoes of Steve Howe and Chris Squire in the guitar and bass. The song then builds into a romantic ballad with heartfelt singing and another catchy chorus. Track 3, Cuando La Luna, is quite dreamy in mood and features some liquid flanged guitar as well as more Steve Howe reflections. Tio Carlos also starts off in atmospheric mood with electric piano, guitar, whispered vocals and a great melodic bass line. The chorus contains falsetto vocals, then the tempo picks up midway with some nice guitar and synth interplay. The song then reverts to the opening theme with synth and vibes, before finishing with a guitar solo and some quacking synth. This is the most symphonic track thus far on the album, and prepares the way for the fantastic second half of the disc.

Algun Dia is the 7.22 focal point on the album. After a rocking intro with Mellotron, synth and electric guitar, the bass and drums provide a groove that is pure Yes. Kickin'! Around the two minute mark things settle with acoustic guitar and vocals. Electric piano and guitar lead to a pitch-bend synth solo and another of those booming Squire-esque bass lines. Further tempo changes ensue before returning to the main theme, and another guitar solo a la Steve Howe then brings the track to a close. Great stuff. Noche De Meigas Galopantes opens with some suitably galloping drums (the title is Night Of The Galloping Witches in English). This is an instrumental track and may be based on a Galician folk melody. It's an exciting, bombastic chase through the night forest with electric guitar and Mellotron playing the first theme, synth and bass then playing the second subject. Solo En Mi Ruta starts off acoustically before developing into a medium tempo rocker. It then goes into an atmospheric section featuring synth pads and tubular bells, played by a guest percussion group from Madrid. We also hear strums on a chromoharp and some brief flute, again played by a guest. The main theme then returns with Mellotron in the background. The album finishes with a short instrumental piece featuring bass and bell-chime electric piano, along with sounds of a rainforest.

This is a great symphonic prog album that undoubtedly deserves a higher profile. I hope I haven't overplayed the Yes influence. Guitars and bass are very reminiscent of Howe and Squire, but vocals are nothing like Jon Anderson. Most of the songs have fairly simple structures; it's not the most complex of music, but the melodies are just so memorable and there are more guitar solos and classic keys than you could shake a large stick at. This is one of my favourite albums to come out of Spain in the late '70s and I recommend it highly to fans of the more song-oriented prog.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars A late-70's entry in the Spanish Prog scene, actually somekind of an Azahar offshoot band, featuring Gustavo Ros on keyboards and Uruguayan Jorge Barral on bass.The original line-up included also Daniel Henestrosa on guitar/vocals and Ricardo Valle on drums, their debut ''Diad de luna'' was recorded at the Estudios Sonoland in Coslada with the help of Juan Carlos on strings and flute and was launched in 1979 on Movieplay.

Azabache sound like any other Spanish Prog band of the period, they made strong use of synthesizers and had a special Latin touch on vocals and melodies, they constructed their music with a well-hidden love for Classical Music and semi-symphonic orchestrations, but they existed during the wrong time, because the era did not allow many deep and trully progressive experimentations.The generator of their birth AZAHAR and early MEDINA AZAHARA have strong links to the music of Azabache, which twisted around neurotic synthesizers, sweet piano lines and pretty sharp guitars with sentimental vocals all over the place.Their compositions were pretty good, having an efficient balance between laid-back orchestrations and more emphatic instrumentals with the vocals playing a huge role, but the frequently cheesy-sounding keyboards suck much of the album's pleasure.Additionally they had a fair dose of commercial tunes popping up here and there, either being a chorus or a rockin' theme full of cheap keyboard showering.Fortunately they kept a nice profile throughout the work and most of the tracks sound like split in several mini variations, the band avoids to keep the same tempo for over one minute long and the result was a set of decent pieces with specific moments of instrumental majesty.They were pretty unlucky to operate at the dawn of the 80's, because a different instrumental selection would have made this sound a lot better.

They released one more album in 1980 before disbanding , ''No, gracias'', here Valle was replaced by Hermes Calabria plus singer and flutist Miguel Torres was added to the line-up, this one is said to be even more commercial.Later on Jorge Barral played with Labanda, Calabria became the drummer of the Heavy Metal act Baron Rojo and Gustavo Ros performed with Jan.

A bit cheesy Spanish Prog from the dark years.Some great and fiery instrumentation throughout with a few dramatic interplays, but parts of the vocal delivery and synths are quite mediocre.I found the good stuff though to be more satisfying, so this is considered as recommended.

Latest members reviews

5 stars I fell in love with the music on Dias de Luna by Azabache right away, as soon as I listened to the album. This record is filled with musical bliss for fans of overblown keyboard prog like me. In 1979, when the first wave of prog was long gone, the musicians from Azabache really found their own s ... (read more)

Report this review (#2786165) | Posted by Hrychu | Monday, August 22, 2022 | Review Permanlink

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