SENTIMENTS

"Sentiments" is first-rate Spanish jazz-rock that will blow away anyone who loves RETURN TO FOREVER's "Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy". ICEBERG peaked with this masterpiece. The guitar and Moog duels are not only mind-blowing, but worth the price of the CD. In my opinion, the only low-point of the album is the track called "Magic" which sounds more like late 70's Los Angeles-funk/fusion. "Magic" is an okay track, but lacks originality compared to the other epics. Overall, you can't go wrong with this album.

almost 4.5 stars, really!!!

After the superb Coses Nostres, how can one follow up and still appear as on top of their game? Iceberg found the easy (but not so obvious) answer, to make another superb album, and believe me they did. The album actually veers a bit more jazzy in the fusion sense sometimes approaching the over-demonstrative Return To Forever or even a bit Weather Report and still the better Santana (Caravanserai) and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Some moments are so powerful that I cannot help but thinking of Journey's superb jazz-rock debut album with the incredible Ainsley Dunbar on drums.

Right from the opening title track, you know this album will strike all the rights chords if you like the above-mentioned bands, and the Spanish feel is present but nothing obtrusive (hardly any flamenco hints, but more of Rodrigo (Aranjuez) feel. Again Sunyer and Mas take the stage by storm, but the rhythm section is really on top of its game. The only small gripe I might have is that the synths sounds are a bit more "modern", but at least on this album they have been correctly reproduced during the CD transcript. To separate one track and raise it above the rest is simply impossible to this reviewer, because the album is incredibly even, with maybe Magic a bit under par. However, if I must name just one track, listen to the closer Alegries Del Mediterraneo.

A smoking album, just as excellent as the previous Coses Nostres but better rated because of no avoidable sound flaws. Among my top 40 jazz-rock albums, no problems even if I have only known it for the last few months.

Another excellent album by Iceberg. I think this is their best, better than previous one and better than next one, with some influences from early Mahavishnu Orchestra but not a copy. All the pieces are really incredible, with a stunning duel between guitar and keys, specially moog. In every track Kitflus and Sunyé develop their skills at the maximum, proving that they are among the best in jazz. Anyway a very enjoyble album, 4 stars. Iceberg here can fight with any giant band from the '70's in jazz. Recommended. The best pieces are: Andalusia, Andalusia and Ball De Les Fulles, the rest are also very good.

4.5 stars. Another incredible example of Jazz / Fusion from this Spanish band. Their previous album "Coses Nostres" along with this album are really must-haves for Fusion fans out there. They're one of those bands where each member is outstanding on his instrument and isn't afraid to show it.

"Sentiments" opens rather quietly as sounds come and go seemingly in the background. It's building though until the guitar comes to the fore after a minute. "Andalusia; Andalusia" opens with electric piano followed by some scorching guitar. Chunky bass and pounding drums follow. The keys and bass sound great 2 1/2 minutes then the guitar comes in. He's lighting it up a minute later. "A Sevilla" opens with piano and the sound eventually gets fuller. The guitar stars to solo before 2 minutes then the synths take the lead. Back and forth between the guitar and synths the rest of the way. You need to check out the keyboard / drum intro on "Ball De Les Fulles". Fat bass and guitar follow. It settles after 2 minutes, electric piano comes in. Themes are repeated.

"Magic" opens with the sounds of dogs carrying on. They don't sound like real dogs though (haha). A funky beat takes over and it stays funky throughout. Synths and guitar come and go. "Joguines" calms down quickly with acoustic guitar before a minute. Piano, bass and drums help out as well. "Alegries Del Mediterrani" is my favourite track. It reminds me of MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA especially the atmospheric sections. Drums to open then it settles with that atmosphere. Deep bass, drums and electric piano are outstanding here. The tempo picks up after 3 minutes then the guitar joins in. Piano replaces the guitar 4 minutes in as the bass and drums impress big time. The guitar and piano continue to trade off. It settles again 6 1/2 minutes in. Amazing ! More guitar after 7 minutes as drums pound. This is really incredible.

I highly recommend this album from ICEBERG and the previous one as well.

With apologies for lack of originality I will give the same comment as for the previous album 'Coses Nostres': possibly not 5-stars from a total Prog-Rock point of view but certainly a 5-star Jazz-Rock-Fusion album. Probably Iceberg's best album, musically as outstanding as 'Coses Nostres' and yet more polished, especially for what concerns Max's guitar. Max was already a fast player but a bit 'dirty' in his fastest alternate picking runs, and here his improved technique together with the newer hardware and recording capabilities make him sound much smoother even at the same or even faster picking speeds.

As with many fusion records, much of this album relies on soloing displays, but there's still a lot of variation and quality to keep the listener's attention.

The short 'Sentiments' opens with a haunting middle east atmosphere, you could nearly say that Dream Theater took here an inspiration for the beginning of Metropolis Pt. 2 'Home'.

'Andalusia, Andalusia' has a bit of everything, mid-tempo fusion, mediterranean feel, tempo breaks, a shift to samba-like rhythm, alternating and synchronized solos etc. It even feels like some Dixie Dregs tune at moments.

'A Sevilla' displays again great dynamics with a beautiful piano intro and then guitar & keyboards melody, tempo breaks, alternate furious solos etc.

'Ball De Les Fulles' is a mid-tempo track with always amazing drumming, bass and soloing, and a similar pattern follows with 'Magic' which has great solos on a groovy main beat.

'Joguines'is probably the most distictive song, very mediterranean with clean guitar and piano.

Their best album in my opinion although you should also check at the very least their previous 'Coses Nostres', these two are very close to eachother in overall quality.

Madrid would be again the city to receive the talents of the remaining Iceberg quartet, as the group moved on to a third work.Angel Riba, who had cut any instrumental ties with the band, still served them as a manager and was propably the one who arranged the visit of the group at the Sonoland Studios.The album was titled ''Sentiments'' and was released in 1977 on CFE.

Iceberg would now present their sharpest and most dense album so far, still containing the occasional Latin Fusion echoes, but performed in a frenetic and convincing way.More mature than on ''Coses nostres'', their smoky performances remind me of Italians ARTI E MESTIERI, the tracks are fast-paced with impossible-to-follow interactions and breaks into dramatic solos and bombastic parts.They never forget to throw in the appropriate laid-back, Latin-spiced melodies, more apparent during the guitar solos, and the album keeps the listener stuck on his headphones until the very end.Now, there is something called ''composition'' in music and, yes, they did it pretty well in that section too, even if the album is dominated by the solos and interplays.And that's because every note here seems to be appearing in the proper place, the executions are maybe too excessive, technically superficient and fairly virtuosic, but the mass of breaks leads to more down-to-earth passages with atmospheric and melodic injections.Fantastic guitar work by Sune and Josep Mas had eventually become one of the notable figures of Spanish Fusion with his electrified keyboard playing.And a special mention to Jordi Colomer, who's drumming is coming out of a seminar, flawless, solid and very technical.

Very nice Spanish Fusion.Rich in interplays, melodies and atmospheres, containing lovely Latin tunes and some amazing solos.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.