EDUARDO BORT

A minor but growing legend, Eduardo Bort is a passionate Spanish guitarist who spearheaded two records in the mid-1970s considered milestones in the then small Spanish art rock scene. This, his debut from '74, is a nifty if loosely-rendered bit of acoustic folk, heavy psych and the sounds of traditional symphonic rock. It pushes off with 'Thoughts' part 1&2, a meeting of humble songwriting and complex deviations carefully arranged by drummer/keyboardist Vicente Jimeno founded with Eduardo Bort's acoustic rhythms, electric leads and shrill vocals. 'Walking on the Grass' builds further on this motif, Bort's singing better with a Klaus Meine falsetto and a soulful performance from the Bort/Jimeno pair filled with impassioned solos from both and plenty of hot jams. The mellotron comes out for 'Pictures of Sadness', a drowsy spelunker ribboned with stoner riffs and drops of Floyd, and Eduardo lets loose on his ax. And 12 minute 'Yann' is a big syn-phonic number that takes to the air if only for a low and brief flight of passing glory, Vicente Jimeno's arrangements for keys and 'tron most impressive here as well as his knack for musical construction.

With its dated production, off-key crooning and quaint offerings of art, Eduardo Bort's debut surely will only please a small percentage of listeners, even brave ones. But in prog country that's a tiptoe through the tulips.

This album just shot up into my top ten favourite records from Spain. Eduardo is an incredible guitar player and maybe even a better singer. Sure he's far from perfect but man he lets it all out. He screams, he uses wordless vocals and everything in between. You could say he also does this with his guitar, playing different styles and using both electric and acoustic on a regular basis. Keyboards consist of piano, organ, synths and mellotron. Mellotron on side two only coincidently. We get folky stuff, symphonic, psychedelic and straight up rock. The flute is a nice touch as well.

The album opens with "Thoughts Pt. 1" with that beautiful sounding acoustic guitar as vocals arrive with bass and drums in tow. It all becomes dramatic after 1 1/2 minutes especially those vocals. Contrasts will continue. "Thoughts Pt. 2" is a top three track for me. We get this uptempo strummed guitar that sounds really good before a calm arrives with vocals. Some backing vocals too then just like the opener we get hit hard at 1 1/2 minutes. Electric guitar, bass and drums create some power. Contrasts continue.

"Walking On The Grass" is the song I'd recommend any Prog fan to check out. It's a proggy tune with some killer electric guitar. It sure opens in a mellow way with that flute, acoustic guitar and bass. Vocals join in and they are reserved. It turns psychedelic before 2 minutes with those spacey vocal arrangements. Check out the guitar before 3 minutes then it all gets amped up at 3 1/2 minutes. Vocals are so good along with the bass. It settles right down at 4 1/2 minutes as we get a darker and more serious sound. When the vocals step aside we get a guitar solo then electric piano joins in too. It kicks into a guitar driven, uptempo section before 6 1/2 minutes. A spacey calm follows with vocals as themes are repeated the rest of the way in this 9 minute track. A top three.

"Pictures Of Sadness" is my final top three. Another track that features both acoustic and electric guitar but this time we get mellotron. Spacey synths, vocals and repeated themes as well in this one. I'm not big on those synths shooting off everywhere to open "Yann" but the ripping guitar solo 3 minutes in works fine. The closer features a mellotron solo by the drummer and is more in that folky style early on before the mellotron dominates. A solid 4 stars and I am such a fan of Eduardo's singing and guitar playing. So glad I took a chance on this one. I mean the cover has him cross-legged playing his guitar in outer space. Forgive me for being skeptical.