PROG FOLK

Apart from one track, "Tarinoita Voimasta" is uniformly mellow, which is one of many compliments I can pay it and perhaps the only criticism I can level against it. When they do break out in "Salaisuis" it's a bit overdone but I admit I don't hate the riff. For the rest, the sweet "Luuttomat" was reprised on VIIMA's first in a similar format and, while I think I prefer the KOSMOS arrangement, I do miss the sax in the breaks. "Oisin" is a bit less bright than most here, with a melody similar to "Decades" by JOY DIVISION, you were expecting what? The quasi instrumental "Seerini" is another highlight, with only Paivi's vocalese offering an indication of any humans across a wide tract of Nordic landscape. Really, all the tunes between the prelude and postlude have much to recommend them in the way of TENHI but more happy with its lot and a whole lot steadier. I do get the feeling their subject matter is not intraworlds apart.

After a reviewing diversion to Brittany, I am happy to be back in Finland, especially its longer days replete with joy and, as always, reflection.

And what's not to love about AQUALUNG? It really is the perfect rock album to grace the early 1970s. After building a steady and incrementally improving momentum since the rather disorganized debut album "This Was," JETHRO TULL evolved leaps and bounds with AQUALUNG providing one of the greatest advances forward propelling the band to a mere opening act to one of the world's most popular arena rock headliners. The album saw quite a few changes but none more impactful than the addition of keyboardist John Evan to the band which added an entirely missing dimension to an already rich and developed band style. Likewise the album also welcomed Jeffrey Hammond as the new bassist replacing Glenn Connick who served the band well for three excellent albums. AQUALUNG also marked the time when the acoustic guitar was used exclusively in both segments of the songs themselves as well as serving as the sole instrument for the shorter bridge songs that were preludes to the ones that followed.

Thematically AQUALUNG was basically the thinking man's rock album and has been considered a concept album by many with an extreme emphasis on the fallibilities of religious thinking and how it leads to distortions in society and humanity in general. Sure such themes in rock dated back to The Electric Prunes "Mass In D Minor" but all in all a pretty impressive feat for such a massively popular album that has been heard by so many millions. Band leader Ian Anderson's disdain towards organized religion permeates the majority of the album's subject matter and delivered in some of the most clever roundabout poetic ways that kept it a few steps away from any sort of direct accusations or uncontrolled rage. The album was thematically divided into two themes with the original vinyl A-side thematically called AQUALUNG, centered around the character AQUALUNG and his infatuation "Cross-Eyed Mary" with other tracks referring to various other misfits in society. "Mother Goose" for example highlights how the non-conformists in society often get cast into the role of circus freak show status. The second half utilized the them "My God."

Musically AQUALUNG was a powerhouse of musical motifs stitched together in a pastiche that mixed folk, blues, psychedelia, hard rock, progressive rock and even Elizabethan madrigals, the latter of which suited Anderson's quirky acoustic numbers to a T. Ironically the opening title track is one of the very few songs where Anderson plays no flute at all whereas the remainder of the album implements it as a key ingredient which has always been one of JETHRO TULL's signature features that set them apart early on from other progressive artists. The greatest triumph of AQUALUNG is how the band crafted absolutely perfect melodies seemingly beamed down from the heavens above and dressed them up in the perfect mix of changing musical motifs that included varying sections that alternated between electrified rock, unplugged acoustic guitar folk and more progressive moments that allowed unorthodox ideas to shine through without disrupting the classic rock flow of the album's momentum.

In short the album was divinely inspired with every track rising to true classic status and while its true the short acoustic bridge numbers aren't quite up to par with the rest of the album, they weren't designed to be anything more than little intros to the songs that followed. Almost every major song has been a staple on classic rock radio for over half a century now with perhaps the exception of "My God" which is the most progressive track on the album with its 7-minute plus playing time and most overtly critical of religion in general. The track features the perfect acoustic folk intro and followed by hard rock riffing and excellent flute delivery including the best solo on the album which culminates in a phenomenally brilliant flute segment with a religious choir chanting behind it thus establishing Ian Anderson's true musical genius to a much larger audience. I mean, wow! "Aqualung," "Cross-Eyed Mary," "Mother Goose," "Up To Me," "My God," "Hymn 43," "Locomotive Breath" and "Wind-Up" are all musical perfection under one roof! Even the shorter acoustic tracks are excellent and don't detract in any way. What can i say? AQUALUNG truly is one of the greatest rock masterpieces of the entire genre's existence.

Luckily the playing is spirited for the spread of tracks 3 to 6. Though the "Uilean Mandinga" pair sounds like it could have been lifted from one of those 1990s MIKE OLDFIELD albums like "Tr3s Lunas", I'll gladly take a mediocre Oldfield at this juncture. "Colombaneon" is probably the high point, with an adept and enthusiastic blend of flute and percussion. After this it's all pretty much the stuff that any pan Celtic rock group could do but many fewer should, with the exception of the closer which sounds like a B track from the superior predecessor "Danse la Musique".

Well, at least the cover is pastoral. From this point, GWENDAL's output dwindled to a trickle before fizzling. Clearly out of ideas and probably in the midst of raising children, they gave way to the oncoming onslaught of morbid Celtic extravaganzas that had every tattooed punk professing to having been fans of the style all along.

Sometimes the rocked up elements are a bit overstated and a lot over produced, such as in "Celtic Break", and the woodwind excursions do draw comparisons to the likes of TIM WEISBERG (with and without DAN FOGELBERG) as well as MONTREUX, SHADOWFAX and a few other Wyndham Hill acts, but mostly that's in a good way. It's hard to harshly judge the distinction of the MOTIS-like title track, with suave vocals, the first on any of their major releases, by guitarist Bertrand Binet, and the delicacy of the longest cut, "Aurore Boreale".

I imagine that Gwendal's considerable peak popularity might have largely diffused by this time, and perhaps they would have been better served to bow out right after, rather than dance their way through a few more barely and poorly received projects.

I believe this stuff was recorded in '73/'74 but never released back in the day. I think it may have been if the band were from and it was recorded in the UK or even Europe, but I can see why it would have sunk without trace in the US. The sound on this album suggests a touch of Comus but with a Curved Air and even PFM vibe...which I know doesn't sound very fusion. That comes mainly from the keys man who seems to be pulling the band in that direction. The aforementioned influences/comparisons are due to the prominent violin which is never JL Ponty flash but more of an enhancer of the sound and perhaps the melody too You can hear a bit of National Health and Hatfield and the North too even though it preceded them. It's not quite 'all over the map' but makes good use of its travel pass and was a speculative purchase in a sale as it looked very my kinda 70's ...and is a just under but will give it a 4 star rating and for those looking for an off the beaten track thing...those travel passes eh...I really would suggest giving it a try if any of the above 'influences and similarities' are in your wheelhouse.

The next album to follow the massively successful "Alturas de Machu Pacchu," the content on the material was actually created prior to that album and primarily brought together from a number of songs that were written during the band's European tour (the band was based out of Paris since 1977's coup in Chile). This was actually supposed to be the album that followed 1979's "Los Sueños de América" but due to the insistence of Daniel Camino who convinced the band to put all its other projects aside and work on a concept album about Peru's most famous archeological site. The result was that a loose number of floating songs accumulated but deemed of high enough quality that the band still wanted to use them.

In essence of compilation of flotsam of jetsam from the late 70s and early 80s, ACONAGUA throws it all together as an album's worth of LOS JAVIAS material but that doesn't mean it's not some mighty good catchy music on it. On the contrary, while not as focused on the progressive rock aspects as its predecessor, if taken as the album that musically precedes "Alturas," ACONAGUA is an excellent slice of Rock andino, Indigenous Andean music, Taquirari ( a highly syncopated traditional music of Bolivia), rock and folk music and while the prog aspects aren't nearly as pronounced as "Alturas," they're not completely absent either. ACONAGUA features the same lineup as on "Alturas" and the tracks are all either archival ones and re-recordings of old songs with a few new songs thrown in at the last minute.

One of the last tracks to be recorded was the opening title track which was inspired by the many sightings of flying in and out of Santiago, Chile. The mountain is located only a short distance away from the Chilean capital. The festive melting pot of Latin American musical sounds and styles pretty much summarizes the album's mission which is sort of a like a musical ambassador for all things Latin American brought together under one roof. While prog purist's may sneer at the mere lack of keyboard solos and moments of European influences, the album is a treasure trove of melding Latin American traditional music sounds in a feat of contemporaneous glory all the while adding elements of rock and Western folk throughout the album's rather short playing time of just under 34 minutes in the form of seven tracks.

Noteworthy is the beautiful "Debajo de las Higueras" features wild classical piano runs in cahoots with the thundering bravado of a Mexican trumpet section as well as delivering the main melody on an electric guitar. "Takirari Del Puerto" takes on a Caribbean vibe only mixed with Andean folk music and instrumentation. The highlight is perhaps the lengthy closing "COrre Que Te Pillo" which at almost 10 minutes in length was actually recorded as a B-side as far back in 1973 and resurrected and re-recorded into an extended powerhouse Indigenous folk meets rock extravaganza. The track is basically a lengthy jam session with moments of repetitive cyclical looping for a few improvisational ideas to float around. The use of classical piano allows a nice fusion sound. Despite complexities involved the track sounds as festive and inviting as the rest of the album with a lively fiesta of the soul sort of exuberance to it.

For being a mere collection of loose track floating around for years with a few newbies recorded to top it off, ACONCAGUA is actually an infectiously beautiful album and an ethnomusicologist's dream come true with references to many styles of ethnic folk music of the Southern Hemisphere as well as adding Western aspects of rock guitar and classical piano. The band was a well-oiled machine and clearly made these tracks more lively through the re-recording process than they ever could've possibly been before. When taken into context as to this being a compilation of previously unreleased material and not the proper followup to "Alturas de Machu PIcchu" then this will make a lot more sense in its relationship to the albums that bookend it. As for my ears i find this to be a brilliantly uplifting album. The album has been released two distinct album covers. My favorite is the one with the band all gathered in the High Andes with all their instruments giving a peak performance!