ÅTABAL-YÉMAL

One of the Venezuela prog pioneers, this band -after "Atabal Yemal"- sadly used to realise a lot of poppy and dispensable discs. Since the reedition of this classical South American album, TEMPANO returned to his progressive roots, providing a couple of excellent works in the last years.

"Atabal Yemal" isn't a masterpiece, but is an interesting stuff: there are symphonic moments (in the homonymous track), jazz and fusion touches and some nice simple ballads but, in the whole album, the typical Latinamerican flavour is always present.

Musea edition added 3 excellent bonus tracks, made in 1998. Well worth a listen.

Excellent symphonic progressive rock with some grand original melodies and instrumentation. "Atabal Yemal" carries a heavy early "CAMEL" influence with a heavier improvisational aspect to it. The instrumentation is lush and the rhythms are nice and varied with some pretty vast swings throughout. Vocals are exceptionally done and I would put Pedro Castillo at the top of his league with his emotive style and beautiful voice. "Atabal Yemal" has been carefully transferred from vinyl as the master tapes have been lost but considering the age and source the sound quality is quite good. Guitar playing is tremendous with some HACKETT'esque solos and accents throughout. The "CAMEL" influences are more evident in the atmospheric keyboard landscapes and electric piano interludes. One of the standout aspects of this great little album for me is the high skilled percussive and bass performances displayed here. The percussion parts take on a great number of forms from straight forward rock to prog/jazz without ever dominating or crashing the songs out... Bass is heavily accented throughout this album with lots of fretless bass jabs and runs. The bass and guitar interplay is really some of the best I have ever heard and without a question this is a jem of an album... If you pick up the '98 re-released version by Musea Records you will also get 3 new tracks which parallel the character of songs found of their stunning new album "Childhood's End". A great album with lots of amazing instrumental work.

TEMPANO released their debut album back in 1979, and became one of Venezuela's first progressive rock band. Although, after listening to the tracks from the original album, I would have never guessed that "Atabal Yemal" came out in the late seventies. The music here features tones that have more in common with the late-80s prog scene. This is mostly due to the use of early digital synths, and modern guitar sounds, but the band also seemed more interested in exploring new textures rather than copying the early 70s prog sound. Passages throughout the album strive for a certain beauty and mellow atmosphere.

The CD is mostly instrumental, but there are a few vocals tracks which might not appeal to all prog collectors. Some of the vocals here tend to give the otherwise progressive sound a commercial quality that might remind the listener of many neo-prog bands. Three bonus tracks have been added, and are quite impressive. They continue to explore the atmosphere of the original album, while adding stronger compositional ideas. Overall, if you love South American prog, "Atabal Yemal" is a great album to add to your collection.

Actually Tempano's story is quite amazing to me. They put out this album in 1979 an excellent debut pretty much symphonic with jazzy-fusion touches here and there and mostly Instrumental, few lyrics in Spanish. Of course, the best tracks are the long ones, where they stretch their progressive material to the maximum. Pedro's guitar sometimes sounds ala Hackett, and some other times keep sounding in my mind like Iceberg-fusion texture (but not with the energy of that particular band)!! Anyways, the album is pretty good, and I would recommend trying in getting the MUSEA release, which contains 3 bonus tracks (around 24 minutes extra of music). Now, what is amazing is that after this release they went Pop and during the 80' (if my sources are telling the true.) all their output is commercially driven, actually they were a very popular pop-band in Venezuela; So, the story goes...and in 2000 they released IMHO their progressive Masterpiece "El Fin de la Infancia", go figure!?...Which is by the way a different topic.

So, be careful into getting their 80's stuff...which is not progressive!!! Excellent album!!!

In 1979 the Venezulean band Tempano made a beautiful album with echoes from Camel and Happy The Man. At about 18 years later the French progrock label Musea has invited Tempano to re-release their album on CD with the addition of 3 new tracks. These were recorded in 1998 and last for a total time of 25 minutes. The 3 new tracks showcase a dynamic and skillful band: "KTR") powerful rhythm and organ), "Un nuevo encuentro" (soaring keyboards and wonderful guitarwork) and "Arbol de la vida" (fiery electric guitarplay with hints from Jeff Beck). The 6 compositions from the original album feature many accellarations with lost of splendid interplay between the elctric piano and electric guitar. Some contain vocals in Spanish and nice interludes featuring strings or growling bass (often fretless). If you are up to strong and dynamic symphonic jazzrock/fusion this CD is yours. A BAND TO DISCOVER!

Témpano's debut album is one of those much appreciated progressive gems to come out from South America. The appreciation is well deserved, since the material contained in "Atabal-Yemal" is outstanding, full of a special magic created by the combination of beautiful musical ideas and inventive performances, showing their prowess but never getting bombastic. The integration created by all musician's inputs at unison is incredibly flawless; this band works perfectly as a real ensemble. The ethereal magic of Happy the Man, the delicate side of Canterbury, and the melodic sensibility of Camel are the most featured foreign influences on Témpano's music, but these guys have the clear intention of being more than mere carbon copies of the bands they look up to: they manage to create their own musical trend through all these influences, bringing their special touch to the sensuality of jazz and the exquisite beauty of symphonic prog. The first three tracks are accurate examples of the essence of early Témpano, with 'Las Olas' incorporating a major dose of romantic introspectiveness and, at the same time, a higher degree of intensity, especially in the guitar leads. 'Hecho de Horas' is closer in structure to your averagre soft rock ballad, but definitely the lus keyboard arrangements and the exquistely jazzy rhythm section provide a more sophisticated aura. The namesake track is the most impressive in the album's original repertoire: its Gentle Giant-ish counterpoints and the dissonant, almost RIO-esque, guitar solo delivered by Castillo open the door to the most bizarre side of Témpano. Yet, in a strange way, the band's melodic sensibility keeps working on intact: it hadn't been abandoned, but recycled in order to accommodate to the weird demands of this specific composition, which offers a fluid transition between all varied sections. The acoustic ballad 'Anhelos' brings an air of sheer simplicity, before the ethereal candor of tracks 1- 3 is retaken in 'Presencias y Ausencias', a captivating number that closes down the original album in a very evocative manner. Tracks 7-9 were recorded in 1998, a few months after the band's original members decided to reform the band and return to their progressive roots for the new millennium. They are well crafted pieces, which are benefited by the advantages of a more robust sound production and a richer instrumentation (particularly, in the keyboard department). They basically serve as an anticipation of the grandiose stuff that Témpano would create for their following recordings, but the funny thing is that they had been originally written in the late 70s. It is a pity that they couldn't release a strong follow-up to their debut album back then, but indeed it is a blessing that they could be recorded at last. 'KTR' is explosive but it definitel yshould have been more expanded in order to allow its closing motif achieve a more accomplished climax. No complaints regarding this strategy for the longer two tracks, which express both dynamics and musical richness unabashedly. 'Un Nuevo Encuentro' is more symphonic-oriented, portraying ethereal motifs prominently, while 'Árbol de la Vida' is more focused on the fusion side of things while retaining symphonic flavours. As for "Atabal-Yemal" as a refurbished whole, it's an excellent progressive opus that would make a great entry in any good prog collection - in Prog Archives language, 4 to 4.5 stars.

The context of this album requests and requires a few serious inspective auditions before daring any judgment as it holds quite naturally a special place for many progheads perhaps because Venezuela is somewhat more exotic than say Stockholm or Sheffield! Back in 1979 when prog was being assassinated, like Caesar by his (rock) child Brutus Punkus, dying in imperial splendour, this remarkable album was attempting to encompass various tried and true prog influences (such as the Return to Forever feel of the suave opener Cascada, with a heavenly Stanley Clarke style rip from master bassist Miguel Echeverranta, replete with slithering guitar arpeggios, crystalline electric piano and some rippling percussivos). "Hecho de Horas" is an altogether different cat, a gentle melody with plaintive Spanish vocals from guitarist Pedro Castillo, in perhaps a more straightforward easy listening setting, but impregnated with some detailed proggisms (more good bass noodlings, wispy synths from keyboardist Della Noce and an edgy solo from the lead guitar). "Las Olas" is a synthesizer driven mid- tempo piece very reminiscent of Camel-like symphonism (hinting closely to Sebastian Hardie or Windchase territory), a laid back rhythm track leading the soloists into some fluid guitar, fretless bass and synth ventures, really a most appealing track. The title track is a playful 10 minute adventure, taking a simple chord progression and twisting it into something totally fusioned with the classic jazz- rock truisms of the period with fiery guitar a la Gary Boyle, Phil Miller or DiMeola, extensive use of e- piano as a lead keyboard, reptilian bass and swift cymbal-heavy drumming from Gerardo Ubieda. The fragile bittersweet "Anhelos" is a lovely acoustic guitar /vocal exercise with a bucolic flute patch synth solo that simply serves as a brief interlude from the heavier material before and after. "Presencias y Ausencias" continues the fusionesque style, loads of analog keyboard shimmering in the background, sterling rhythm guitar trappings, meaty synths duelling atop, simple and reflective vocal that gently sears the brain as it fades into the mist. This track ends the original album while the following 3 tracks (almost a half hour of extra material) were added as a re-release in 1998, making the Musea offering way more attractive to the shrewd prog purchaser. Obviously after such a hiatus, the differences are ear catching: a vivid sound, a wider array of keys and a way more erudite guitar display in terms of style and tone. "KTR" is a short instrumental folly that exposes all these new elements. The final 2 epics are both 10 minute + multi-part suites that maintain the original flavour but elevate the quality of the instrumental work to riveting heights. "Un Nuevo Encuentro" starts off in a highly introspective mode , drenched in heady atmospherics until Castillo's guitar comes streaming through the clouds with some polyrhythmic weavings that are complex and compelling. Once again, the hallmark use of electric piano twinned with some fuzzy electric guitar keeps the tension focused on the musical voyage. A sublime piece, to say the least. "Arbol de la Vida" finalizes the new found renaissance of this band that went on to record more magic prog albums and remains active today. The piece is quirky, mischievous and totally unpretentious, just a group of musicians enjoying the groove of playing together and staying away from any commercial trappings. Della Noce and Castillo in particular, lay down a variety of sharp licks that keep things "progressive" , unrepentantly throwing in some new twists that instantly appeal (a mid section remindful of Close Encounters! ). Not a masterpiece but a very worthy addition to any "colleccion" But get the extended reissue! 4 caracas beauty queens.

After just my first contact with TEMPANO,I can honestly say that they belong to the major league's art rock bands.They were formed in 1977,suffered from several line-up problems and ended up as a quartet,who recorded and released ''Atabal Yemal'' in 1979.This work is an absolute heaven for classic progressive rock fans,as it contains six elaborated,extremely well-played and complicated compositions,which start from symphonic sessions filled with beautiful keyboard sounds and end in jazz/fusion complex parts with fantastic interplays.Imagine a blend of early STEVE HACKETT works blended with smooth RETURN TO FOREVER-like jazz rock.The 1998 release presented here contains also three bonus tracks,where the band push their skills even more with a more complicated and challenging sound of their late-90's era.An absolutely essential release!

TEMPANO are one of the first Prog bands to come out of Venezuela, forming in 1977 this their debut was released in 1979. It's mostly instrumental (over half) with lots of keyboards.Tasteful, classy and intricate are words that come to mind. Fairly pastoral overall and quite different from their later albums like "Childhood's End" and "The Agony & The Ecstacy" which besides being more modern sounding focus more on the vocals. I much prefer this debut to those later ones I mentioned.

"Cascade" opens with lots of synths then the tempo shifts a few times before the drums lead 2 minutes in. Great section here then it picks back up 5 1/2 minutes in. "Hecho De Horas" opens with keys as reserved vocals join in along with other sounds. Synths after 3 minutes when the vocals stop. I love the guitar that follows.Vocals are back after 4 minutes. "Las Olas (Virginia Woolf)" opens with fairly spacey synths and a beat.Guitar 1 1/2 minutes in.The synths are back leading a minute later. Bass comes to the fore 3 minutes in.The guitar then leads after 4 minutes. Nice.That intro soundscape is back at 6 minutes to end it.

"Atabal Yemal" is not the easiest track to digest. Probably because it's not the most melodic I guess. It takes a while to get going really.The guitar is crying out before 2 1/2 minutes as it continues to lead and wail until 4 1/2 minutes in. Bass and spacey synths before 7 minutes. A calm a minute later. Synths lead 9 1/2 minutes in as they pulse quickly. It kicks back in late to end it.

"Anhelos" is a short song with acoustic guitar and reserved vocals leading with background synths. "Presencias Y Ausencias" opens with synths and gentle guitar as reserved vocals join in. A calm with keys after 3 minutes then the guitar and a beat join in. Another calm follows.Vocals are back before 6 1/2 minutes then we get another calm a minute after that with faint vocal melodies, synths and guitar.There are three bonus tracks and this is one of the few releases where the bonus tracks do the rest of the recording justice. Great job guys !