AGITOR LUCENS V

Arco Iris was an Argentinian group that started off as a psych band before falling under the influence of Dana, a female guru, who they continued to follow for thirty years. They went on to a long career in prog before eventually relocating to the U.S. to do more of a traditional Andean folk thing. This ambitious double album from 1975 is certainly one of the better South American prog albums I've heard, which is saying a lot. It appears to have a concept about aliens visiting ancient South Americans. Arco Iris's sound, like Los Jaivas, has a lot of Andean folk influences, though not to the same extent. There is also a pronounced jazz rock edge to the more up-tempo pieces and an occasional Floydian spaciness. A double album was not always the best idea for prog groups, which often lost focus over 80+ minutes, but in this case it allowed the band to stretch out without getting too boring. The songs vary from delicate acoustic pieces to the aforementioned sax-driven jazzy numbers. The quality of musicianship is very impressive, particularly in the guitar department. The band was also very strong vocally. Though the album occasionally slips into a less interesting and more typical jammy organ-driven 70s prog sound, it is rescued from the mundane by the disarming South American folk melodies in the acoustic pieces. Anyone into Los Jaivas or South American 70s prog in general will really enjoy this record. The band did another concept album, Sudamérica, which I haven't been able to find yet, but is no doubt of a similar quality.