DIUMENGE

Man I was not expecting this debut from these Spaniards to be this good. I was reminded of MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA alot, although there is no violin. Lots of electric piano and the drummer is simply killer on this disc. Throw in sax, trumpet, guitar and chunky bass and mix it into a Jazz / Fusion style and that's what we get.

"Fesomies Urbanes" opens with cymbals, horns and atmosphere before it kicks in with some impressive and intricate drum work. Electric piano and horns sound amazing. "Lila" is a mellow piece with acoustic guitar and smooth horns. "Capitan Truend" has such an incredible sounding rhyhm section as horns, electric piano and guitar help out. This is just a pleasure. Love the guitar. Lalila" is just over a minute of acoustic guitar as horns come in late.

"Euphoria" sounds so good. Chunky bass, drums, electric piano and horns are all so impressive. It settles with guitar 1 1/2 minutes in.The drumming is once again amazing. "L'harmoniosa Simfonia D'un Cos. Part 1" is atmospheric with horns and electric piano slowly playing. "L'harmoniosa Simfonia D'un Cos. Part 2" has this beat with guitar, horns and electric piano. Gorgeous. "El "Bailaor" Cosmic" features piano early then it picks up 1 1/2 minutes in. Nice bass and drum work as piano continues. The guitar starts to light it up. "Tema Dels Carrers Radioactius" opens with drums as guitar,electric piano and horns join in. Some fire here. It ends with the sound of a large truck going by.

I just can't give this less than 5 stars.The atmosphere and lights out instrumental work has left me stunned. This is right up there with fellow Spaniards ICEBERG's best but better.

"Diumenge", the debut album by the pioneers of Catalonian rock-fusion Companyia Eléctrica Dharma, was at the time a great impulse for the development of the avant-garde rock and jazz scenarios; nowadays, it can be truly appreciated as an unforgettable gem of Catalonian jazz-prog that served the band's purpose to boost their own musical voice by exorcising their jazz-dominated influences (akin to Weather Report and early RtF, and also coincidental with Perigeo). First and last, "Diumenge" is a lovely jazz-prog album, and so CED reveal that they have plenty of good ideas to offer to whoever may stop and listen to them. 'Fesomies urbanes' opens up the album with a free-form intro and then deliveres a warm, joyful main body. The overall mood is soaring and thereral, but the colorfulness is petnetly there to be noticed immediately. 'Lila' is a whole different thing: a soft piece led by the acoustic guitar and filled with electric piano washes and soprano sax lines, it delicately brings an array of successively free-jazz, bossanova and Flamenco textures. So beautiful... probably many listeners have taken the time to listen to this piece twice in a row before getting at the next track, and quite rightly so. Again, this album must go on and so we come to 'Capitán Trueno', which actually happens to be a constant CED staple. With its 10+ minute span, it brings back the fusion ambience and works on it with amazing intensity. Esteve Fortuny's guitar solo is one of his best moments ever; additionally, there are no words for me to express the solid power that the rhythm duo provides to the whole sonic scheme. The fact that the sax solo is the last one helps the track to contain itself in its own vibrant colorfulness rght up to the end, which in turn makes sense with the reprise of 'Lila' entitled 'Lalila'. 'Eufória' has a very convenient title: it is an euphoric piece, full of enthusiastic moods and optimistic sensations that will surely affect the listener's mind in a good way. Next are the two parts of 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos': part 1 is mysterious and reflective, part 2 is stated on a funky mid-tempo that partially echoes the cosmic mood of part 1. It's like part 1 portrayed the foggy shades of late afternoon and part 2 focused on the stable blackness of the night - I wouldn't have minded if the fade-out of part 2 had come in later on, but in general, 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos' generates a particular climax for the whole album's framework. 'El "Bailaor" cósmic' starts with an agile grand piano intro, then an introspective electric piano interlude follows, and by the 1 1/2 minute mark the main body is set to express a constrained mode of energetic extrovertiveness. Ultimately, the closer 'Tema dels carrers radioactius' dellivers a fuller extroverted aura, humorous indeed: it is a proper closure for such a colorful album. This CED debut is highly recommended to all prog rock collectors sensitive to the jazzier side of experimental rock.

Companyia Electrica Dharma (aka La Dharma) were, together with Iceberg and Orquestra Mirasol, one of the pioneers of the 2nd wave of catalan progressive music, the wave dominated by Jazz-Rock/Fusion. Formed around the core of the Fortuny siblings from Barcelona city, when they released this debut in 1975 they immediately became a benchmark for their talent and musicianship.

La Dharma would soon differentiate themselves from other bands by coining a very personal fusion of Jazz-Rock with traditional catalan music, very joyful and evocative of the summer festivities celebrations in a catalan village.

But in this debut album this sound had not yet evolved and we are treated with top notch classic JR/F in the style of Mahavishnu, RtF, Brand X and the likes, although one key element was already present being the trademark soprano sax evoquing the catalan tradional wind instrument tenora , which would remain a very distinct feature of their sound for their long career.

The album starts with the fast-paced Fesomies Urbanes (Urban Physiognomies), displaying right away their high musicianship, a track with plenty of electric piano adorned with great soprano sax and synth solos. It becomes immediately clear that Pep Fortuny's drumming is one of the highlights, amazing combination of rythmic playing with constant intrincate fills.

Lila calms things down, a beautiful soft piece based on spanish guitar with sax melodies full of sensitivity, which has a short reprise in Lalila, but before that we have the 10 min Capitan Trueno (a popular character from 1970's Spanish comics) with its groovy rythmic section and fantastic Rhodes, sax and guitar melodies and solos. Only one thing may be slightly criticised, Esteve Fortuny was (besides a good composer) a good guitarist playing rythm or mid-speed solos but when he attempted to solo at very high speed he couldn't compete with the greats like McLaughlin or Di Meola, which is not a shame (he would tragically die of a brain bleeding on stage in 1986, RIP).

Euforia is another great fast-paced fusion track with Rhodes, sax and guitar.

L'Harmoniosa Simfonia d'Un Cos (The Harmonious Symphony Of A Body) is split in 2 parts, the first dreamy with a very sensitive sax and the second more mid-tempo, great stuff.

El Bailaor Cosmic (The Cosmic Flamenco Dancer) has a soft piano intro and develops into a gorgeous mid-tempo theme with Rhodes and guitar solos, the rythm section again magnificient. The album closes with the short but highly energetic and syncopated Tema Dels Carrers Radioactius (Theme Of The Radioactive Streets).

A great Fusion album without any weak points, I can't give it less than 5 stars even if it's not yet very personal. As from their second album L'Oucomballa they retained their quality but they coupled it with their to-be trademark sound blending the Jazz-Rock/Fusion with catalan folk and popular music, which made them very unique and interesting.

Catalàn Jazz-Rock Fusion pioneers from the family Fortuny from Barcelona--their debut album, before they managed to imbed their j-r Fuse within traditional Catalàn musical traditions.

1. "Fesomies Urbanes" (5:26) awesomely rich Jazz-Rock Fusion of the funk-infused sort; a cross between Headhunters- era Herbie Hancock and Return To Forever. I love the support of the too-heavily-reverbed soprano saxophone by the electric wah-wah rhythm guitar and Fender Rhodes keyboard (they almost bury the sax!). Jordi Soley's Moog sound choice and play is very fresh/refreshing as well. Bass player Carles Vidal is solid though a bit too muted while drummer Josep Fortuny is great in his pacing and support. (9/10)

2. "Lila" (4:17) water sounds beneath a soloing Spanish guitar open this one for about 40-seconds before bass, Fender Rhodes, and soprano sax join in with some very nice harmonic support. But it's the guitar that's the center and star of this show: displaying some pretty amazing skills in a kind of unique style along the way. The sax and Fender get some solo time in the third and fourth minutes, but, again, it's really Esteve Fortuny's show on his Spanish guitar. (9/10)

3. "Capità Trueno" (10:16) back to RTF style and sound palette, though this time the guitar has a bit more Johnny Mac style to it--and the soprano sax certainly flavors the music differently than anything contemporary MO or RTF are doing. On this song the bass, electric guitar, and Fender Rhodes are mixed as if in the same universe while the sax and drums feel as if they're on different continents: the former a small church and the latter a distant tunnel of an underground cave system. Though all the musicians are competent at their instruments--and perform proving such-- they really do not seem to always be "in the same song," that is, there's just a little too much separation and distance between the melodies and rhythms to make me feel a cohesive unity for this composition. Is it more mathematical--or more independent "free jazz" they're trying to merge within the RTF style? At 6:55 there is an interesting--and pleasant--shift in tempo and key which allows the sax a better bed over which to lay down his next solo. This is the first time in this song that I've felt as if the band had "come together" with a common vision for the song. The sax player is good--expressive and talented--but that weird, overly-reverbed sound is quite annoying. (17.5/20)

4. "Lalila" (1:16) more acoustic guitar play: either two or just one with a long-delayed echo effect employed. At the 0:45 mark Joan Fortuny enters with her soprano sax and then the song fades out! (4.25/5)

5. "Eufòria" (4:24) again the band seems to be trying to emulate the Return To Forever formula with guitar, drums, and bass propelling the song along while keyboards and sax add their own spices. At the same time, it's guitarist Esteve Fortuny who takes the first (and, it turns out, only) solo--one that is quite like Larry Coryell (in sound) and/or Corrado Restuci (in style) more than J. McLaughlin or Al Di. (8.75/10)

6. "L'harmoniosa Simfonia D'un Cos. Part 1" (4:17) opening with percussion bells and saxophone with spacious Fender Rhodes, bass, and guitar chords providing some accompaniment and mood-manipulation beneath. This one really sounds like the music that will represent the band NOVA either during the same year or just after this release. Unfortunately, despite the nice sound base, it never really develops much or takes off until "part 2." (8.875/10)

7. "L'harmoniosa Simfonia D'un Cos. Part 2" (3:39) the rhythm is added so that the song can move forward. It's a nice, city driving pace but it is highlighted by the top being down so the listeners can enjoy the sun, wind, and exo-urban scenery. Here all of the instruments seem to be in perfect synchrony while still supporting the soloing of Joan Fortuny's soprano sax. (9.125/10)

8. "El "bailaor" Còsmic" (4:22) a slow, spacey opening like something from a Larry Coryell album turns into a nice movin' bass-and-drum generated J-R F flight over which keyboard artist Jordi Soley gets a chance to show his stuff on his Fender Rhodes, that is, before guitarist Esteve Fortuny jumps in and takes over with his rather aggressive electric jazz guitar play. I like the more Latin (Catalàn?) rhythmic touches in the foundation. I also like the band's tightness on this one. (9/10)

9. "Tema Dels Carrers Radioactius" (1:50) another shaker and mover that shows the band firing on all cylinders--with fairly good precision timing, too. Too bad it's so brief. (4.5/5)

Total time 39:47

B+/four stars; a wonderful display of peak-era, somewhat Latin and Return To Forever-influenced Jazz-Rock Fusion. The family needs another year or two to polish their collective vision and timing skills, but I can only recommend this one highly!