OBRAS DE VIOLETA PARRA

Los JAIVAS struck gold with their 1984 release, "Obras De Violeta Parra". This mature prog album features the band in top shape, and free from any 1980s-related influence. One would think that by 1984, a prog band would have toned down their experimental nature for something more commercial, but Los JAIVAS decided to become even more progressive. F--- off MTV, these guys could have cared less about the cold one-hit wonders that you were promoting at the time. "Obras..." takes elements from Modern classical(Bartok, and Ravel especially), 70s sympho-prog, Andean and Spanish folk, and is light-years away from their well-known classic, "Alturas De Macchu Picchu". At first, I couldn't really hear the Peruvian/Chilean folk influences in the music, but then realized that these influences were naturally combined with the overt prog/modern classical sound featured in the music. The band, of course, still enjoyed to play catchy Andean/Spanish pop-folk, but the overall emphasis here is on seriously complex music. 6 of the tracks here range between 8 to 11 minutes each. The rest of the tracks are between 1-5 minutes, adding up to a double-LP sized album that today fits on one CD. If you've been interested in Los JAIVAS I would recommend "Alturas..." as a great place to start. But if you are ready for some serious prog with modern classical influences, and a friendly South American sound, you will be in for a treat.