MESTRE

Portugese psych/prog obscurity,the first prog-related record I ever heard from this country.PETRUS CASTRUS were found in August,1971 by the Castro brothers,Pedro on bass and Jose on keys/vocals.Among the band's members we meet guitarist Júlio Pereira,a respected figure of the Potruguese musical scene,who participated in more than 70 records throughout his career.PETRUS CASTRUS released a single entitled ''Marasmo'' in 1971 and an EP under the tiltle ''Tudo Isto e Mais'' the next year,before recording their first LP ''Mestre''.

At a time of dicatorship in the Iverian country,PETRUS CASTRUS dared to blend rock with political lyrics,which actually cost them after the album's pressing.This is mostly a Psych album with Folk and progressive leanings,very much in a song-based style.Unfortunately I do not know even one Potruguese word,as the album would be much more interesting if I understood the lyrics.Musically we have to deal with somekind of a mix between Classic and prog rock with Acoustic/Folk parts and heavy lyrical doses.About half of the album is more in a singer/song-writer style with decent acoustic guitars,calm piano and changing vocal lines,which sometimes sound really angry and expressive.The band tries obviously to send anti-political messages to the listener,however non-Portugese/Brazilian listeners will have a limited interest for these songs.On the other half the compositions seem more intricate with nice Hammond organ,good electric parts,heavy bass lines and a few nice breaks as well,though the band never trully enters the real progressive realm.Some moments of these songs are really captivating,but notice that they also contain lots of lyrical moments and a mostly calm atmosphere.

I would recommend this album only to those who can understand PETRUS CASTRUS' lyrics or could actually translate them.The album's true value is based on its lyrical content,while musically it has a few to offer to a demanding proghead.Except you are a devoted fan of Proto- Prog with strong Psych/Folk overtones...