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CRIATURAS DA NOITE

O Terço

Symphonic Prog


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O Terço Criaturas Da Noite album cover
4.12 | 109 ratings | 12 reviews | 36% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1975

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Hey amigo (3:22)
2. Queimada (3:04)
3. Pano de fundo (3:44)
4. Ponto final (4:38)
5. Volte na proxima semana (2:51)
6. Criaturas da noite (3:41)
7. Jogo das pedras (3:25)
8. 1974 (12:27)

Total Time: 37:12


Line-up / Musicians

- S?rgio Hinds / electric guitar, brazilian viola, vocals
- S?rgio Magr?o / bass, vocals
- Luiz Moreno / drums, vocals
- Fl?vio Venturini / piano, organ, synthesizer, 12 string acoustic guitar, vocals

Guest:

Cezar De Merces - percussion (3), vocals (4)
Marisa Fossa - vocals (4)
Rogerio Duprat - orchestrations



Releases information

Lp. Copacabana COE 41346 / Cd. Vinyl Magic VM 023 (????)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Tarcisio Moura for the last updates
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O TERÇO Criaturas Da Noite ratings distribution


4.12
(109 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(36%)
36%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(36%)
36%
Good, but non-essential (23%)
23%
Collectors/fans only (4%)
4%
Poor. Only for completionists (2%)
2%

O TERÇO Criaturas Da Noite reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Fitzcarraldo
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars O TERÇO started life playing straight rock and pyschedelic rock, introducing elements of Progressive Rock in the second album. For this third album two of the previous three group members changed, keyboard player Flávio Venturini joined to make it a foursome, and the group - all talented musicians it should be said - produced its first classic album, a big hit in Brazil. Although the last track '1974' - an instrumental if one discounts the occasional vocalisations - is the highlight of the album in Progressive Rock terms, I find the other tracks very pleasant indeed; this is Brazil, sun and the '70s put to rock music. I like the light, carefree feel of the tracks and the way some incorporate Brazilian rural and popular music styles (even a samba beat on occasion), straight rock and Progressive Rock. And thank goodness the singing is in Portuguese.

Here's a rundown of the tracks:

'Hey Amigo': Early 1970s-style simple rocker, but not bad for it - good, in fact. A foot-tapper and the band's anthem ("Hey friend, sing the song with me").

'Queimada' (burnt): Some lovely, upbeat Brazilian-style acoustic guitar. A bouncing melody, with Brazilian rural influences and happy-sounding vocals. Nice one!

'Pano De Fundo' (backdrop): More Progressive Rock-sounding than the previous two tracks, this pleasing song rocks along nicely. Near the end it changes style and reminds me a little of the music of SANTANA.

'Ponto Final' (final point): Another Progressive Rock-sounding number. Apart from the vocalisations this is a laid-back instrumental, and a very pleasant one too, with some nice electronic keyboards and piano. Good melody.

'Volte Na Proxima Semana' (come back next week): Another simple rocker along the lines of 'Hey Amigo', although sounding more 1960s than 1970s. It's a bit of a head-banger. An OK song, but no masterpiece.

'Criaturas Da Noite' (creatures of the night): Another of the band's hits. This title track starts nicely with calm piano and high-pitched vocals. It has a rather 1960s pop-style melody, with backing strings. A simple enough song but I find this very pleasant, and it gets more complex and classical-sounding about two-thirds of the way through. Sunshine Prog?

'Jogo Das Pedras' (game of the stones): Another track with acoustic guitar and with a nice, upbeat melody that reminds me of Brazilian rural music. A lovely, sunny feel to the music and a catchy tune. Another 'Sunshine Prog' number.

'1974': Tinkling piano starts off this 12-minute Progressive Rock masterpiece. I really enjoy this one. There are some vocalisations but, to all intents and purposes, it's an instrumental. Again, it's 'Sunshine Prog', with a light, breezy feel and lots of melody. There's even a brief samba beat at one point, which works perfectly with the keyboards and guitar and does not feel at all out of place. A high point of the genre in my opinion, which should be heard by all lovers of Progressive Rock.

If you want moody, profound, complex Progressive Rock then look elsewhere, but if you want Progressive Rock that makes you hum along and feel good (not to mention want to get out into the sunshine) then this is definitely worth adding to your collection. It's so consistently enjoyable that I'd be tempted to award it 4.5 stars if such a thing were possible, but I'll settle for 4 (Excellent addition to any progressive music collection). Highly recommended if you're willing to try something different to the usual European/North American fare.

By the way, the LP was re-released on LP under the title "O Terço" instead of "Criaturas Da Noite" and with a different cover: a photo of the band on stage, with the front showing Sérgio Magrão and Luiz Moreno's drum kit. The tracks were the same as on "Criaturas Da Noite", though. The cover of the copy-controlled 2003 "2em1" (two LPs on one CD) CD from EMI Brazil shows the cover of the re-released LP plus the cover of "Casa Encantada". N.B. The 2003 "2em1" CD was a different release to the 1999 "DOIS EM UM" (two in one) CD containing both "Criaturas Da Noite" and "Casa Encantada". Unlike the 2003 release, the 1999 release did not have copy-control software on it. Confused? I don't blame you! Anyway, whether you buy the 1999 'two LPs on one CD' or the 2003 'two LPs on one CD', you get the same tracks, although the latter installs software on the hard disc if you play it on a PC or Mac. It doesn't stop you ripping the tracks to MP3 for your portable player, though.

Review by Atkingani
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
5 stars O TERÇO is doubtlessly the most important symphonic band in the Brazilian scenario, and I'm quite sure that they are also important in the continental range (I put things in the present tense, 'cause they are still ACTIVE). The original line-up grouped in 1968 and since the beginning they did art-rock and although they grabbed influences from Procol Harum, Moody Blues, late Beatles, etc, the main fuel came from their proper country, be it popular or folk or even experimental and avant-garde. They were very original, if you consider the real time, and influenced many other prog acts, since they were heard in many parts of Latin America and Europe too, hence they need to be more recognized and appreciated as bulwarks of the prog-rock.

That said, after a 3-year hiatus, in 1975, they released "Criaturas Da Noite" which happens to be their magnum opus and with at least 2 noticeable features:
First, a different line-up, led by the omnipresent Sergio Hinds and adding the figure of Flavio Venturini, who proved to be an asset to the band, with his tangible lyrics, fine keyboard playing and brilliant singing ability - one of the most tuned voices amid all Brazilian singers. O TERÇO, a band always very concerned in the singing section reached then an impressive paramount; and
Second, the incredible deed, certainly dubious for some prog-heads, of hitting three tracks on the parade.
What? Well, follow me.

'Hey, amigo', the first track in the album, was one of the mentioned hits, a nervous and swung hard rock that was a fine choice to open the can. The folk 'Queimada' did also the parades and what a nice melody it is, provided with heart-of-the-country guitars and soft and catchy vocals.

'Pano de fundo' starts album's middle-section with powerful playing and singing, soon softened with the mellow and romantic 'Ponto final', an intermezzo before the rockabilly 'Volte na próxima semana' begins, with its funny and amusing tunes.

'Criaturas da noite', the third hit of the album is the most beautiful track heard here, a dreamy and unique song - what a majestic vocals and mesmerizing tunes! Truly unforgettable. 'Jogo das pedras' is a neat and exquisite short song that prepares the ground for the mini-epic '1974', a rare and splendid work, one of the best prog songs ever produced in Brazil. Think in all good things our beloved genre can produce, do you? You'll find them all waiting for you in '1974', a year to last forever for the band.

As soon as the album is fading a feeling with a blend of joy and sadness passes by the spine. was it real or another dream? Even not being exempt of certain flaws, "Criaturas Da Noite" is a definitive landmark in the band's catalog and mainly in the entire Brazilian prog-rock landscape, hence an incontestable masterpiece.

Review by Tarcisio Moura
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars One of the most important albums in Brazil´s prog music. O Terço was, up till then, considered a good rock band by critics and public, but not outstanding. With Criaturas da Noite everything changed. Gone were the primitive recordings and the basic rock format. Now the band has a permanent keyboards player (Flávio Venturini) and a new bassist (Sérgio Magrão). With that line up they´d record their best albums ever and would produce some of the best prog rock songs of the 70´s brazilian scene.

Criaturas da Noite showed the many faces of this talented outfit: straight rock songs (Hey Amigo, Volte na Próxima Semana), Folk rock (Queimada, Jogo Das Pedras), symphonic prog (1974, Pano De Fundo, the title track) and even an interesting instrumetal tune (Ponto Final). The musicians were very talented and skilled (everybody in the band wrote songs and all the members sang lead and harmony vocals). With no fillers and done with passion and skill, the album was, deservely, a massive hit at the time. Even the production was superb for a third world country at that period.

Introducing some new elements like the brazilian viola (a 10 string acoustic guitar, not the classical instrument) to their sound, it gave a brazilian country feel on some songs, something quite unusual until then. That feature would be further explored in their next album, Casa Encantada, but that´s another story. For the progheads, this is the album to look for if you´re interested in the evolution of Brazilian prog scene in the 70´s.

A classic, a masterpiece. At least for us, in Brazil. You should listen and judge for yourself. For its beauty, novelty and importance, 5 stars, no less.

Review by ProgShine
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars 01. Hey! Amigo Magrão destructive of low at the beginning, the sound of the typical 70's Prog, but done in Brazil. Beautiful. The guitars are sensational, the timbre of the vocals and keyboards duplicates (Brazilian Progressive's common practice). The second most Rok 'n' Roll is dancing to the marrow. Strangers in voice tones are added to the end of the chorus and then presents in Hinds with a wonderful solo with his guitar SG that everything will go beautifully

02. Queimada The side of the folk group first appeared, the vocals make a duplicate of fire and guitar tone. Violas and guitars take care of everything as only those who understand the things do. Soil and folks singing voice on freedom of dust in the wind. Need more?

- 3′44 With a Q of Black Sabbath (in the dark), starts with a riff and a strange body giving a strange tone, but the vocals come to get a completely different face, that follows the chorus in giving joy to the song, we get back to you point zero (love those inclined.) Then Santana in the vein, the soil is highly swayed from Hinds, next course, the basic rhythm of the song, the final part is a cheap.

04. Ponto Final Linda structure of piano, which is being built next to the vocal (which is lacking in the current rock focus more on vocals as it was before, the thing of coral), the synthesizer married almost perfectly with the low ground, the battery in and worked wonderfully well and the foundations cadences (and sometimes distorted) give the feel of this instrumental major. The last part and that classical piano and the timbre is below Locanda Delle Fate (band of Italian symphonic prog) in the latter, pretty substantially.

05. Volte Na Próxima Semana This here is my friend ROCK, riff, tons of them, organ, bass and drums playing together, and singing an ad Sergio Hinds and hippie nonsense (but wonderful) highly Hard Rock, actually the heavier of the disc. Listen at maximum volume.

06. Criaturas Da Noite If the Rosary can 'borrow it' the name of his next album (Casa Encantada - 1976) of the Houses Of The Holy Led Zeppelin, Kiss also did the in his Creatures Of The Night (1982)! Creatures of the Night is one of the most beautiful things in our rock. Vocal on the piano for Venturini, and orquestrações the GRANDE Rogerio Duprat (who died a little over a month). It is purely beautiful, with a beautiful letter, worthy of further study, and want to know, just listen and feel, you do not need more than that.

07. Jogo Das Pedras Oh, how I love this song, it has a melody that I try to take the guitar (laughs), a low mark. The staff singing (all by the way) about the uncertainties of life, is that you can throw a rock without the high it hit you? It is possible or not, that the fate (or whatever the worth, I do not believe it is well) gives us a path or take it in our hands. Then one of great guitar solo, Sergio is one of the great from 6 strings that keep on forgetting.

08. 1974 This here is classic baby. This music is pure and progressive symphonic feeling, in a season that was nothing too compose and record a sound of more than 12 minutes and instrumental .... beautiful, which arouses many feelings at once, you do not typically lose 5 minutes in the refrigerator open mind in life? So, lose a little more thinking about the life of 10 to the sound of the soundtrack of the century ... 1974! (Even after 32 years. The music is timeless, you know that the other thing is?) Challenge you are (as) to contradict me, because for me hit the front quelquer cm sound gringo!

Creatures of the night! I bought the CD in one of editions made by EMI, very cool, sound remastered from 1st Capinha well done (I missed the letters, but ...) and paid a trifle for $ 15! As the phonographic market in Brazil is stingy! Because I'll buy a new disc for $ 40, if I can take the third at home for less than half the price ??!!! Brazil nonsense that we live.

www.progshine.com

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars A very melodic and pleasant Symphonic album that was released by O TERCO in 1975. As others have noted this recording is one of the first and most famous progressive albums from Brazil.

"Hey Amigo" is catchy with prominant organ throughout. It's a good full sounding song with vocals. "Queimada" opens with strummed acoustic guitar as vocals join in. Another pleasant and enjoyable track. "Pano De Fundo" has more bottom end to it and the vocals are outstanding. The guitar solo 3 minutes in is a nice touch. "Ponto Final" is my favourite. It's mellow with piano and vocal melodies to open. Synths and bass then take over. We get a heavier sound before 2 minutes. Nice. Some raw guitar leads come in briefly followed by strings. Just an impressive sounding song.

"Volte Na Proxima Semana" makes me smile 'cause it sounds like TEENAGE HEAD a punk band from my area. "Criaturas Da Noite" is a piano led ballad with some strings but it's a little too sweet for my tastes. "Jogos Das Pedras" is melodic and lush with beautiful vocals. The guitar 2 1/2 minutes in is fast yet light. "1974" is the 12 1/2 minute closer. It opens with piano as synths, bass and drums join in. Vocal melodies 2 minutes in. The tempo picks up 5 1/2 minutes in. A calm 2 minutes later as vocal melodies return followed by bass then drums as the tempo picks back up again. Another calm 10 1/2 minutes in with vocal melodies and piano then it kicks back in.

A significant album that in part helps it to be a 4 star album.

Review by seventhsojourn
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars O Terco's third album, Criaturas Da Noite (1975), has been hailed as one of the seminal works of Brazilian progressive music. However in my opinion it's too much of a ragbag of diverse styles. The quality of the music is patchy and uneven; overall the album isn't so much a mosaic as crazy paving. What we have is an eight-song collection that reaches a suitable climax with the 12-minute track, 1974. I'm going to be a caveman by dispensing with the foreplay and getting straight to the action of this last track. 1974 is an ambitious, multicoloured composition that in particular showcases the fabulous guitar work of Sergio Hinds. I can hear strong traces of Focus (Sylvia) and Italian progsters Locanda Delle Fate in here. What a pity to find such a wonderful piece of music in the midst of such mediocrity.

Ponto Final is the only other track that comes close to prog with its variability of mood and dense layers of keyboards. The title song, a lovely ballad with piano and string accompaniment, is another highlight. I also like the folksy Queimada which features the viola caipira, a traditional 10-string guitar. The remainder of the album lacks any kind of uniformity, with the rock'n'roll of Volte Na Proxima Semana being especially out of step with the rest of the tracks. The Hammond-driven shuffle of Hey Amigos and catchy pop of Jogo Das Pedras are ok, if a bit uninspiring. Pano De Fundo is a missed opportunity as the closing Santana- inspired minute is under-developed.

So not a bad album by any means despite my criticisms, and it does contain one absolutely killer track. However the rest of the album really doesn't do that much for me, with most of the songs being, at best, good. For me there are any number of better Brazilian albums out there. 3 stars.

Review by kenethlevine
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Team
3 stars This touted classic of Brazilian prog is actually a mixed bag of rock styles of the day, from heavy to psych to folk to symphonic, none of which sound very distinctive or committed to my ears. The group enjoys altering course frequently within these mostly short pieces, but it's much like taking a walk on a sandy beach in bare feet. It's uncomfortable, and for all the shifting you know where you are going to end up anyways..

The strongest material, mostly appearing in the latter half, couldn't be more diverse. While the title cut and "Jogo Das Pedras" successfully ply the sophisto-pop style to be perfected by the yet unformed 14 BIS, the sprawling symphonic epic "1974" is a flawed yet ultimately worthwhile piece that works as a summation of the sub genres triumphs and excesses to that point. True, the earlier and later themes may have been more effective had they been reversed, but it's definitely worth a listen. Comparison points apart from the bigwigs include NEKTAR or even EELA CRAIG.

While even the best on "Criaturas" is far from stellar, the worst isn't all that bad, so, for fear of angering creatures of the night or their fans, I'll round up to 3 stars and say the rosary.

Review by Marty McFly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars 7 reviews so far, 3 of them awarding 5 stars, but I'll be the first one to give 5-star rating - outside of Brazil area. So why would I want to do that ? Well, because O.T. deserves it, for creating this masterpiece. Not wholesome Prog (it's rather 2/3 [yeah, I think that you can count Jogo Das Pedras, the rest would be Ponto Final, title track and that ending epic 1974] pure latino symphonic prog and the rest are good Rock songs).

This title track is what I call main attraction. Because we Prog lovers are also human beings, we can enjoy various kinds of music, different genres. But while I enjoy Rock, Pop or Soundtrack music, I come here to ProgArchives to enjoy Prog, we talk mostly about Prog (and relation of album's music to Prog), praising, arguing about and generally talking about this umbrella term we love so much. Well, so the title track, comprising of about 1/3 of the album, this is the reason why Prog lovers should get this album - oh, what a good year it was ... OK, I didn't get to be alive for more than 14 years, but still, I am sure it was a great year. Must have been, else such wonderful song wouldn't be created. I am not Braz(s)il expert, but from a quick look at history section from wikipedia, I don't see anything special there. Maybe it's something personal for band member's, or perhaps this album itself was created in '74, being released following year. Wonderful, magical, consistent in general and slowly graduating into big finale (not as big as Dream Theater's Six Degrees CD2 finale, but still it is big).

Nevertheless, it's been a week since I've found this album, dozen or so plays and I feel like I cannot hold all these thoughts back any longer. Nothing weird here, it's a common reason why people are writing reviews.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars The third album by O Terço lures the listener in with some gentle, sunny straight-ahead folky rock numbers before adding increasingly intense progressive rock and psychedelic influences, building up to the expansive concluding track 1974. The band had undergone a mild transformation from their previous album, with only Sergio Hinds sticking around from the group's earlier lineups, but they wisely seem to have decided to spend the intervening years letting the new lineup gel and developing a new sound rather than cranking out a new release before they were ready, and Criaturas da Noite benefits greatly from the care taken in its recording. Interesting stuff, though to be honest I could have done without the folk rock numbers that lead things off - a Latin take on Crosby, Stills and Nash, whilst an intriguing idea, doesn't really play to the strengths of this lineup.

Latest members reviews

4 stars This is a brazilian jewel. One of their best works, O Terço dives into a progressive quest at Criaturas da Noite. It's like a Yes album for my ears. The album in itself it's a classic ones. Well, the great effort that makes me sit down and listen to the whole album was nothing less than "Hey A ... (read more)

Report this review (#959090) | Posted by VOTOMS | Tuesday, May 14, 2013 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Besides starting as a melodic Emerson Lake & Palmer, and then pretty late turning into a heavy rock-pop oriented band (even with a album of cover songs of Raul Seixas), there were in the middle ground, "Criaturas da Noite". If the YES influences can be seen (as in almost all scene of brazilian pr ... (read more)

Report this review (#932975) | Posted by GKR | Tuesday, March 19, 2013 | Review Permanlink

5 stars This is probably the most essential masterpiece when it comes to brazilian prog. Flávio Venturini makes a spectacular job here, giving the difference from their two first albums. Hey Amigo starts with a very groovy riff, and shows to be a classic seventies rock song with a strong brazilian soul ... (read more)

Report this review (#76296) | Posted by Grimble Crumble | Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | Review Permanlink

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