CUEVAS DE ALTAMIRA

Ibio was purportedly touted as the Spanish Strawbs, but, other than the first few minutes of the title and opening track which are more than a little reminiscent of the first few minutes of "Heroine's Theme" that began the British group's "Hero and Heroine" album, the similarity just isn't there. Ibio tends to go for mostly instrumental symphonic prog with mellotrons, synthesizers, and searing lead guitars served on a bed of Spanish folk.

Strongest tracks are the aforementioned opener which evolves into a heartfelt ballad, the short instrumental "Romance Del Conde Lara", and the superb "Pastor" that features the return of vocals as well as some crackling synthesizer lines and the most melodic guitar workouts to be found within these and many other grooves. Unfortunately the album sags a bit in the midsection during the frenetic shorter pieces and parts of the overly meandering "La Virulencia Del Ferrocarril", while the finale "La Laila de Ibio" is out of sync with the generally lighter mood of the rest of the material, even if it does feature stellar percussion.

While much of this album is decidedly appealing from a number of standpoints, a lack of compositional prowess combined with muddy production, even for its time, prevents it from attaining classic status.