IDEACIÓN

I first heard of Psiglo back in 2004 when I bought Crucis' Cronologia (in which a later version was spelled Kronologia, which actually packages both their albums on one disc) and then learned online that drummer Gonzalo Farrugia was in Psiglo, which was a Uruguayan band, who released two albums, Ideacion in 1973, and Psiglo II which was recorded in 1974 but not released until 1981 due to the military dictatorship.

Psiglo is quite a bit different from Crucis, so if you like Crucis, you might not necessarily like Psiglo. This is more of a heavy rock album with prog, psych, and even the occasional blues overtones. I never expected full-on Yes or Genesis type sophistication, or it to resemble Crucis, for that matter, and I find it rather enjoyable. It's like a South American take on groups like Deep Purple or Uriah Heep, I even get reminded a tad of early Birth Control (Hoodoo Man-era), There are some calmer numbers too that give me an almost Italian vibe. I realize this kind of music isn't to every proghead's liking, and most people look towards their second album as more to their liking (I hadn't heard that one yet, but I need to). The album consists of your typical rock instrumentation, plus Hammond organ and even some synth. Vocals are in Spanish.

I was lucky to get the original pressing on the Clave label. Hans Pokora, an Austrian who published a series of Record Collector Dreams books gives a rarity rating to each title featured in his books a one * to six ****** disc rating, and for this particular title, he gives four **** discs. So it's truly very hard to come by. If you happen to own the Sondor pressing, it's obviously a reissue as it gives a 1984 copyright, while the Clave original gives a 1973 copyright. It probably would not have been so ungodly rare if it didn't coincide with a military coup (but I'm sure even so it would still be hard to find outside of Uruguay, as you don't find records from that country outside of Uruguay, with the probable exception of Argentina).

Given this is the first thing I ever own from Uruguay, this is actually quite good. Certainly another great one from Latin America.