ENBOR

If you don't know any other Basque prog, it's hard to find a reference point for ENBOR, but suffice to say that it does not sound like the late 1970s at all. A groundswell of creativity had been stifled under Franco, which came to light in the 1976-1980 period, then essentially vanished. It's rock that is so mellow as to be lumped in with folk, even though I mildly question that categorization. Added winds of diverse pedigree, multipart vocals, and occasional insistent lead guitars, complete an intriguing picture.

I hear a lot of ITOIZ in here, not surprisingly since they had already produced 2 acclaimed albums by this time. In the first minute of the opening number, I hear a bit of ELOY's "Ocean", but this seems a passing snippet, mentioned more to reveal the breadth of interests. "Ondoan ez dut inor" and "Zuek ez dazizue" are the strongest tracks, with the latter bearing similarities to early HORSLIPS ("Musical Priest" and to DECAMERON's ("Tomorrow's Pantomime"). The lovely harmonies make me think of Germany's EDEN. The instrumental closer solidifies the eclectic chill-out vibe, with fluid percussion and electric piano to the fore.

Ultimately this is not an exciting album by any stretch, with a sameness that would not engage more demanding progressive ears. However, that same quality lends itself better to relaxation and reflection, and those who enjoy the pastoral, sometimes breezily jazzy, Basque sound of the period will be in raptures.

ENBOR were a short-lived Electric Folk Rock group,who produced two albums in late-70's/early- 80's.They came from the region of the Basque country in Spain and their line-up included no less than 7 members,most of them contributing on vocals as well.Their first eponymous album was released in 1979 on Elkar Label.

Lying somewhere between pleasant Electric Folk and slightly CAMEL-esque mellow prog rock,''Enbor'' is a nice album in terms of balance and composition,totally sung in the Basque dialect.Clocking at 33 minutes,this album offers the listener three musically positive elements.Firstly it's the smooth yet carefully performed guitar work of Inaki Gutierrez, Joxe Portela and Ramon Gardeazabal with a sensitive edge and delicate melodies,both electric and acoustic.Especially the slow-tempo rhythms come close to the style of ANDY LATIMER.Secondly,there are some really pleasant male and female vocal harmonies in here.The warm voices of the singers are all over the album and making the album even deeper in its sensitive section.Last, but not least,the wind instruments and their smooth interplays with the rhythm section are really awesome.The dreamy flutes and the clarinet passages of Inaki Urettxaga will reward every fan of decent folk rock purchases.

Thougt not that well known like other Basque folk bands (ITOIZ, HAIZEA etc.) or having even a complicated sound, ENBOR certainly deserve a place in the book of progressive rock for their careful blending of rock,wind instrumentation and multi-vocal arrangements .Folk Rock fans around the world,this was made for you!3,5 stars is my accurate rating.

I like the folky side of prog. I guess it all started, for me anyways, with Jethro Tull. After that I went all in with the likes of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and onwards and upwards. There are many a good prog band to be found in variuos parts of the world. The basque prog folk of the 70's and early 80's is not an exception.

Enbors first album reminds me of the times it was made. There is a certain warmth and lustre about Enbor which really strikes a chord with me. Every now and then I return to this album and I find myself smiling and feeling a warm embrace, because the music is warm and gentle. Unfortunately it is not very varied, I'd say. There's more of a general feeling than an albums worth of really good material. The songs does not stand out. Not really. They blend together into one.

The conclusion has to be that Enbors first album is a pleasant and warm album with nice instrumentation and gentle voices. Not a masterpiece, though very pleasant listening.

When I think about 1970's spanish progressive rock, automatically flashes of their political situation comes on my mind. I'll presente some notes about it. They only experienced the return of democracy on november, 1975. Before that, and for 36 years, there was a semi-fascist regime in curse. And I suppose you know that arts and culture are severely controled and censored on these socio-political contexts. In addition, it can't be said that the transition to democracy was quick and peaceful. The first ellections made on the country at the time was in june 1977. Looking at the particular specific reality on the Basque Country, the debate about their independence started on the 19th Century. But by the time progressive rock was at its peak, the region was living the escalation of violence. On one side there was the armed group ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna; in euskara, Basque Homeland and Liberty). On the other side, the dictatorial objectives of Francisco Franco. They saw the beginning of a more peaceful coexistence after the Constitution of 1978, that gave partial autonomy to the Basque Country. But unfortunately ETA carried on their violent movement, and soon far-rigt paramilitary groups were fighting against ETA. An interesting "detail" emerged from these superficial researches I made. ETA's symbol is a serpent coiled around na ax. What immediatelly reminded me the Lost Vinyl Records's logo. Therefore, during all that musical effervescence on Italy, Germany and specially United Kingdom, spanish and basque artists/musicians were working and submitted to different forces and conditions. Considering that the decline of progressive rock was from 1979 (when this album was released) beyond, they really didn't have much time to surf on the same wave.

Now I'll finally go to its review. Good rythmyc sections and a lot of acoustic guitar is present on the beginning of the first track. Throughout all its extention there are nice vocal harmonies sang in euskara. A striking bass, and interesting synth interventions. Clarinet is beautifully performed, an instrument that appears on other tracks, mainly of side A. The sax, that shows himself less than the other instruments, is hitting the spot this time. A nice flute opens the next track. The rythmyc sections are a bit faster and with a tiny more swing. Good guitar solos and refined harmonies, along with the passionate vocals, male and female, are enough to captivate my ears. And with some short parts which have a slight jazzy feeling, I'd say this song is one of the highlights of the album. Third track begins fabulous on the acoustic guitar. The percussion instruments make inventive marks on the composition, and once again there's this tiny jazzy mood, and vocals are again very melodic. Next track has a more simple composition, but flute, clarinet and guitar make good contributions. The best characteristic of fifth track are the vocals the alternation and combination of the different singers is marvelous. The instrumentals aren't so good, even though the clarinet is inspired. It's one of the longest songs. The penultimate track begins with this very intriguing, unique and powerful sax. A diversificated composition, with a firm and technical approach made by the clarinet, altogether with some of the best rythmiyc harmonies, interludes and fillments of the disc. And also probably the most jazzistic execution among all the compositions, even though it really doesn't become a jazz-rock fusion execution. They still remain on the folk-prog realm, but more "agressive". The last track is by far the best song of the album, and can be chosen for many prog rock compilations. The partnership between the acoustic guitar, the xylophone, bass and flute is amazing! This song is totally instrumental, but the singers make some gorgeous vocalizations. On its second half, incredible atabaques grows on the composition, before a very melodic guitar repeats outstanding phrases.

This disc is one of the great demonstrations of basque prog folk. I don't speak euskara, not even a language similar to it. But I find it so mellow that I translated almost all the lyrics, with google translator and some amount of wisdom and coeherence. Below I presente some of its parts.

1st track - Storms Storms inside the soul / Centuries without stars and bells / on the stormy sea / A nervous and silente cry / the pain / the passion / always resigns / ordered pains / cross the ages / in renunciations of goodwill

3rd track - Loving You Loving you / I'll fly / between flowering chimneys / and be ashamed / of my 15-year old diary / In an old wardrobe / breaking the seas / Learning words in silence / I'll offer in silence / a poem / loving you

6th track - You Don't Know You don't know how it is / the cry of the Man / when the sunset clings to the forehead

You don't know how it is / to be alone / alone / without loneliness / You don't know how it is / you don't know

Musically I give them a 3.5. But the combinations of vocals and lyrics rises them up to 3.7.