AVE ROCK

3.5 stars actually...

Rather overlooked short-lived Argentinian band with a very rich and complex heavy rock sound.They were formed at the end of 1972,while in August of 1973 they started recording their debut.The eponymous release was published a year later,while AVE ROCK were touring in Argentina.Influenced by the likes of DEEP PURPLE and pushing their skills to the limit,AVE ROCK presented a powerful album full of time changes and alternating tempos with a touch of psych and symhonic rock.The work on Hammond organ recalls heavily early-70's DEEP PURPLE's,while the sound of the guitar is very psychedelic.Their style easily turns from dynamic rhythms to sensitive organ-based themes and from bluesy-rock parts to complicated GENTLE GIANT-like progressive rock.Vocals are sporadic,this is mostly an instrumental album filled with a thousand music colors and should please every fan of organ-based classic progressive rock.A strongly-recommended little treasure!

‘Espacios’ is the second and presumably final album from Ave Rock. This one moves closer to the symphonic mold than the band’s first album did, but really the strength of the band’s variety earns them an unqualified Art Rock label.

The opening “Pausa En Espacios” starts off a just bit discordant, not unlike King Crimson or any of the scores of other bands who were blown away by ‘In the Court…’, but more understated with these guys, and the Hammond plays the major role here. As with the debut there is heavy emphasis on guitar (particularly in the first half of the song amid the somewhat weighty minor keyboard chords. I believe the intent here was to deliver a symphonic composition; whether the band succeeded is a matter of personal taste I suppose.

“En El Universo” has a distinctly bluesy guitar riff that persists, along with an almost jazzy timbre. This actually reminds me quite a bit of Salem Hill, who in turn remind me a bit of some of ELP’s more approachable works. And so it goes. The vocals are a bit of a distraction though.

The piano on “Surcos En El Aire” wins points with me right away. I’ve always felt there is too much emphasis on Hammond, ARP, and mellotron when one thinks of Symphonic Rock bands; piano has that acoustically resonant quality to it that really makes the various scale progressions really sound poignant. Once again I don’t think the vocals are very good, but this is a symphonic composition – lots of tempo changes that fit together quite well, at least three different types of keyboards that I can discern, all very prominent. Again the band shows a strong leaning toward guitar as well, although here there are psychedelic influences as well as the blues.

This is a very good band whose reputation seems to have been made mostly in our southern hemisphere. Like their first album I don’t think this qualifies as a masterpiece, but it is quite good, and to placate a restrictive rating system I feel the need to mark this as four stars.

peace

This is a rather obscure band, at least outside of their part of the world. That’s too bad though, because this and their only other album are both quite good, and well worth having if you can find them. This one was good enough to be released on CD by the Brazilian label PRW. This band is a classic example of Art Rock in the form of a progressive band that demonstrates a variety of genre sounds without any one of them being dominant.

The guitar on “Dejenme Seguir” is definitely blues-inspired, and would not have been out-of-place on any number of early 70’s ‘heavy rock’ bands like Wishbone Ash, Babe Ruth, maybe even Deep Purple – I could even be convinced there is just a touch of Carlos Santana in those chords. But with the Hammond this track leans almost into psychedelic territory, very much a Latin Pink Floyd kind of thing. The vocals are Spanish, and not particularly strong, and also very much an early 70’s sound. The more I think about it, the more this sounds like a b-side from ‘Abraxas’. A very strong tune, especially if you’re into a blues-based progressive sound (which I very much am).

In a slightly different vein, “Viva Belgica” clearly has symphonic leanings. Despite the heavy presence of bass and guitar here as well, this composition is centered on the keyboard progressions, and those are varied and among the more complex in this band’s repertoire. The guitar is complementary rather than tone-setting, except for a short interlude midway through where the guitar and bass dominate briefly. This is a relaxing and intriguing arrangement that seems to reveal a little more with each listen. Definitely the strongest track on the album, if not the best the band ever did.

“Gritos” hints at times that it might develop into a fully keyboard-driven composition, but the guitars here end up overpowering the Hammond and the result is another bluesy ‘heavy rock’ song, although this one features a stronger Hammond presence than “Dejenme Seguir”. The vocals are again unnecessary and a bit distracting.

“Absence” starts with a beautiful piano sequence, and the soft vocals and guitar make this sound like borderline folk to me. Maybe it’s just the languid tempo that gives off that impression – I dunno’. Were it not for the vocals I would say this is a rather simple style of symphonic rock, and maybe it is anyway, but the Spanish vocals and tempo tell me otherwise.

And speaking of tempo, the band picks it up on the final track “El Absurdo Y La Melodia”. The vocals sound like a Spanish version of Golden Earring or something, and the guitar and keyboards combine with the rapid vocals for more a more conventional sound than anywhere else on either Ave Rock album.

This is a highly recommended album from a band that is apparently still around in some form or another, or at least they have appeared recently in their home country, although they do not appear to record any longer. On a more proper scale I would give this 3.5 stars, but as I’ve done in the past I won’t penalize the band for the lack of precision in our rating system, so four stars it is.

peace

AVE ROCK were Argentina's answer to a progressive DEEP PURPLE! I love this debut album... Great guitar driven heavy prog psych drenched in tons of Hammond organ. Songs are very well developed with some nice mood variations and dynamic arrangements. Although there are some vocals they play a minor role as the album is mostly instrumental. The entire album is pretty trippy and spacey really with tons of great guitar, bass, drum and Hammond interplay. In many ways this album reminds me of bands from the Ital-prog genre. Clearly AVE ROCK is one of the classics of Argentinian rock and a fantastic play.

Here is good news from Argentina! It's the second album from Ave Rock, a gem from the Seventies.

1. Pausa En Espacious (Pause In Spaces) (21:13) : This long track delivers good Spanish vocals, flowing and fiery electric guitar (with choes from Steve Howe), a powerful bass sound (like Chris Squire) and a melodic and warm progrock sound. The climates alternates between dreamy, moving and bombastic featuring lots of great soli on guitar and synthesizer and captivating musical ideas.

2. 4:30 En El Universo (4:30 In The Universe) (4:45) : A dreamy piece with warm vocals and piano, then an accellaration with jazzy electric guitar and inspired Spanish vocals. Halfway the music features compelling organ and again good soli on guitar and organ.

3. Surcos En El Aire (Furrows In The Air) (15:20) : Another long composition that starts with a piano intro, then an accellaration with a guitar/organ duel, followed by instrumental firework on guitar and keyboards, GREAT! The music delivers lots of breaks and shifting moods, at some moments the guitar work reminds me of fellow Dutchman Jan Akkerman, taseful accompanied by Fender Rhodes electric piano. The final part has a wonderful build-up with strong duo-guitarwork and organ.

This second album is a bit more refined than their first effort and recommened to every proghead that loves the Seventies!

www.progwalhalla.com

Compared with their highly acclaimed second album, their debut though being a very nice one was not very intricate but still it contained some well-done compositions ranging from more mellow to quite rocking. They were showing a high skill on their instruments, just the vocals could have been better in a way, but it's not really that much disturbing since there are many instrumental sections as well. Really great Hammond organ sound, at times some piano as well. The kind of stuff presented might be compared with 70's Italian Art Rock bands like b>DALTON or THE TRIP for example. Some bits like in the last track remind as well to YES, especially in the guitar and bass play.

A very good debut, although being probably not an essential one, might be worth to be checked out by fans of Hammond! It would deserve 3.5 stars!

Although the second album sounds more progressive and more mature, I prefer the eponymous debut LP. The Hammond organ play is wonderful featuring many hugh floods and great runs, the guitar play is decent and the compositions are tasteful but not very original (evoking the organ-based progrock bands from the late-Sixties and early Seventies). Only the vocals doesn't please me, they tend too sound a bit unbalanced and at some moments too high pitched. Conclusion: a pleasant album for the Hammond aficionados.

www.progwalhalla.com

Together with Espíritu, Ave Rock was a pioneer of symphonic prog in Argentina, their second album "Espacios" being their most accomplished effort. The band's compositional ambitions are evidently high, as it can be inferred from the pretentious expansions of 'Pausa en Espacios' and 'Surcos en el Aire' - 21 and 15 minutes, respectively -, but if we look beyond this particular detail, we'll notice that the band has a lot of strong points: an ability to organize diverse musical motifs with lively cohesiveness, a clever management of textures and tempo shifts, robust performance skills, and solid interplaying. While references to Yes are evident in Ave Rock's global sound, those are not as notable as they were in Espíritu - Ave Rock's music tends to be more reflective and less lively than their aforementioned compatriots, so their major foreign influences stem from Genesis' dramatic sensibility, 73-75 Pink Floyd's eerie melancholy, and some of the special ethereal magic usually associated to Invisible, another compatriot band that was very influential in the local rock scene during the early 70s. Since the lyrics are not too abundant, the vocal parts don't affect essentially the band's overall style, but every time the vocal harmonies appear, the listener may hear some Yessian hints. The dual guitar labour assures a permanent presence of electric power all throughout the repertoire, both in the fast and the slow parts; meanwhile, keyboardist Alfredo Salomone adds a touch of distinction with his piano chord progressions, and layers on organ and synthesizer. The rhythm section manages to sustain the momentum of the rockier moments and turn to a more subtle role during the slow passages. Sandwiched between the two epics, '4.30 en el Universo' is an intimate ballad that may pass overlooked, but it's pleasant anyway. Generally speaking, "Espacios" is a very interesting example of the high quality attained by the earliest South American prog bands, which paid a close attention to the most prominent bands of the UK and Italy while struggling to create their own sound --- 4 stars.

This album is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is 1977, and it is an amazing album. Listen to the song "en el universo" because it is so freaking emotional!!! This music is even more of a trip, because it is quite 70's sounding, but almost has a 60's character because I'm sure the equipment wasn't top notch 1977 multi track gear at the time. I'm also sure these argentina dudes were way behind technologically speaking, but I think the sound is superb once you get used to it. But obviously professionally done, but most might say it sounds bad. But fear not! The almost nuetered/insane sound of this album is made up with incredibly precious and sensitve compositions, very complex in its own right. Amazing singer, good drums, cool synth/organ runs....just amazing work that makes me smile. Sometimes the singer reminds me of a hip/emotional version of Sinatra, and I'm not sure why. This music is slightly show-tuney as my Mom pointed out, but thats what she says about all prog. YES!