14 DE ABRIL

One of the better example of Spanish prog, the debut of this Sevillian group has become one of the most sought after vinyl in their home country. This quintet - your standard prog quartet plus sax man Pepe Sanchez - develops a rather punchy and relatively personal prog but mainly inspired of the British scene while maintaining a Spanish touch through the acoustic guitar. Four long tracks of which the shortest (still above the 8 min-mark) is divided into two sections make the backbone of this symphonic album.

The opening track is sometimes annoying with its approximate recording of a VDGG- like sax and vocals (too loud in the mix), but there are some beautiful moments. From the first guitar arpeggios of the 2-part Mother Earth track, this is all forgotten and all you have to do is let yourself be transported by the calm and wild ambiances - how these guys come from total chaos into superb arpeggios in twenty seconds without being abrupt is amazing. The third track is much harder rocking with its crunchy guitar power chords, but remains very charming. Unfortunately for the continuity of the album, the last track is sung in English (all the rest were in Spanish), but there are some evidences of very early Crimson in its slow start. The track is rather odd with its fade-ins and outs, but shows Goma at their most adventurous.

With their first album, Goma strike a minor masterpiece, but for some reason, will not be able to capitalize on this album, and by the time that came out the second album four years after, the feeling was quite different and the momentum lost. However, this album is really recommended for all progheads, maybe one of the top 10 from Spain.