MÁQUINA!

Máquina! didn't use the Spanish or Catalan language to do their album; all the songs are in English. I think that thing is because Máquina! wanted to be more "European" and to make a different music, nearer to the progressive underground than the sixties pop.

The fantastic cover was an idea of Jordi Batiste and it seems it's a calling to "wake up" in Spain. Why? is, musically, excellent, but I think the songs 5 and 6 are more pop than progressive rock. The rest of the album is excellent. Moreover, both "Why?" and "Why? (continuació)" make Máquina! a "Spanish Soft Machine".

Four stars; it would be five, but the song number 5 and 6 are clearly inferior.

Just as laden with energy as their debut album, this double vinyl is however quite different developing a more bluesy, funky, brassier sound not far away from Chicago Transit Authority's debut album but also maybe the funky War combo (remember them with Eric Burdon). The Hammond organ is still the centre of the band and one can feel that Herrera is maybe the main ingredient behind this machine! ;-) Tracks like the lenghty Chains (used a bit as a showcase for the musos to display their aptitude at their respective instruments) or heavy blues Time Is Over are major fun and have a real impressive sound (given what was probably amateurish conditions of then-Spain) and the other great blues (In F) track is full of solos that most fans love to die for. A superb, adapted and extended rendition of their first single Look Away Our Happiness is another great moment. The lenghty track called Sonata is definitely deceiving but in name only as it yet again another scoarcher that could be on any of the first five Chicago albums.

Not quite essential for the proghead, this is nevertheless a great album, which should please all 70's music lovers. Whatever happened to these guys after this is still a mystery to this writer.

Stylistically, we are dealing with a psych/prog rock with extended and excellent interplay, somewhere in between live Cream (with KBs) and early Floyd or even a live Grateful Dead. The twin guitars are one of the features but one of them played bass when the bassist was busy with the flute or singing. The opening track is simply a superb atmospheric instrumental with organ-piano KB attack doubled by a superb and orgasmic guitar, a pure delight! Then comes the 25 min title track (broken over the two sides of the vinyl) with superb organs, twin guitar attack and rather enjoyable but muffled-in vocals, the whole thing going on an not too extended jam and evolving to one of the more entertaining drum solo I have ever been given to listen - maybe because it is not a pure solo as the KB outlines a few phase here and there. The second part of Why? opens the second side of the vinyl and picks up where the first part had left: a superb mostly instrumental enthusiastic prog-tinged rock jam. Quite enjoyable, especially when discovering this in 05, some 35 years after it was recorded. There are some particularly exhilarating moments in this track! The last track is yet another great tune

The two bonus tracks are the afore-mentioned single tracks and although a bit different than the album (especially in the vocal dept but the Earth's Daughter track sounds like some David Bowie spin-off), they do not interfere in the continuous ambiance of the album and they add to the album's incredibly short duration. This album is a relative minor gem for progheads but is a 24-carat nugget for the psych-jam group fans!! Impressive, although I must be careful in not over- rating it!! But I think rounding it up to the upper star is not insulting the album or the proghead.