TERRENO BALDIO

Introduction: There was Mutantes, there was O Ter�o and there was one of the less known of them all, Terreno Baldio. A band that not only sounds similar with Gentle Giant, but also have great musicianship to be compared with them. Besides the unfavorable environment (brazilian dictatorship with high protectionism) they reached the sky which "the mountains come out and stand there". In other words, they created a progressive rock that worth a listen.

Album (General) - Terreno Baldio: I truly don't know how did anyone can accomplish something like this in 4-track recording, impressive. And it was Allan Kraus (former Mutantes) that did the sound engineering. In 1976, 16-track recording was pratically the default ("Tales from Topographic Oceans", in 1973, used the first 24-track machine). The album art is great, really proggy, by the way, one of the reasons of the album's delay to 1976.

Songs:

Passaro Azul - Like many prog songs, it begins with a rhythm played by few instruments, like a xylophone in this case, and the number of them rises to create the intense moment. In the song, a electric guitar in a blues style enters. And well, the lyrics is just "a blue bird that flies high". "High" i think (laughs), because psychedelic is the main characteristic of Passaro Azul. Good vocals.

Loucuras de Amor - Good Hammond's sounds. Vocals and lyrics are regular. "I will love you one more time". A little too romantic. The weakest of the album.

Despertar - Great funky/jazz groove of the Joao Ascencao's bass. The song gets intense in the middle: "And then came the time to the jump to the air", and the Roberto Lazzarini's hammond accompanies the vocals in a great way. Like the song's title says (Awakening) i think the album turns better and better from here.

Agua que corre - The song starts literally with the "water that flows" (song's title). Experimental. Keyboards's arrangement produces a creepy vibe. Here Jo�o Kurk's vocals reminds more of Sergio Dias from Mutantes: "You are like the water that runs searching your place to stop". Psychedelic.

A Volta - The guitar riff from the beginning seems like it's from a Gentle Gentle's song (too obvious, eh?) and soon after a Samba percussion starts. "Bird that flies searching a warm place". Wow, another song about birds (drugs? fetish? laughs). It must connect with Passaro Azul in some way. Hammond works great in the song.

Quando as Coisas Ganham Vida - One of the moments that i most love in music: Instrument's dialogues. Someone plays one riff, stops and other musician plays another riff. Lyrics are Yes-esque: "The day painted to clean the stars and the demons".

Este e o Lugar - Longest and the best track. The most Gentle Giant-ish too mainly because of the vocals and electric guitar. Great sounds from the Moog. "This is the place to you to dump what is left". What this place is? A wasteland (Band's name).

Grite - Well composed. The harmony reminds me of baroque music. "In the wasteland you can shout". And the vocals fades out in a peculiar way.

I will give 4 stars but i think i need more time to absorb more of this album to a final rating.

Briefly touching on some of the highlights (mentioning the frequent Gentle Giant-esque passages that pop up throughout most of the tracks would become redundant very quickly!), `Passaro Azul' is a warm and pleasant opener with a sweetly crooning falsetto vocal over piano and nimble fiery electric guitar licks emerging around bristles of Hammond organ. `Loucuras de Amor' is a dignified and mellow tune with frequent Camel-like chiming lead guitar, restrained wisps of synths in the background and a stirring vocal finale, and the jazz-fusion/funk-tinged `Despertas' is full of slinking subtle grooves woven into twisting-turning rollicking guitar lines, buoyant bass and peppy drumming. Joao Kurk `Fusa's vocals move between early Jon Anderson-like gentle innocence and hearty RPI-throated theatrical bellowing, as loopy Moog spirals dash over runaway piano and rough guitar grinding alongside.

`Agua Que Corre' mixes droning electronics, early A.M-hours piano coolness, strolling bass ruminations that grow mud-thick and almost Zeuhl-like jazzy flights. `A Volta' holds jazzy smoothness with organ-fuelled symphonic bursts, `Quando as Coiasas Ganham Vida' is a spirited multi-part vocal interlude, and `Este e o Lugar' has plenty of keyboard dazzle. But it's closer `Grite' that turns out to be one of the absolute standout moments of the LP, a melancholic and powerful tune with a weary wailing vocal that almost reminds of Italian band Banco del Mutuo Soccorsso.

If you're looking into this album, be sure you're getting the new 2015 reissue of the original version, as a complete re-recording of the album in English was released back in 1993. Although that likely has its own merits, the original is the one you really want, as `Terreno Baldio' remains one of the standout Brazilian prog albums alongside Casa das Marquinas' `Lar de Maravilhas'. While it's easy to enjoy the Gentle Giant-inspired parts, there's really so much more going for the album than that, and it makes for another fine addition for anyone with a large progressive music collection looking to add more of those obscure titles and bands.

Four stars.

From the well made fusion between the best of progressive rock in the same vein of Gentle Giant with brailian folk music to a marvelous cover version of Chico Buarque, "Passaredo" (and thats not a easy task, must be said), the music itself is very criative, fluid and variated, showing the best of Brazilian Progressive Music.

The choise to sing the most know brazilian legends was a ambitious task. Not only because Brazil have a lot of, and, being the size it is, but because even the most common ones have a thousand of changes bewteen them. But the lyrics achieved to highlight the intersection points of this stories (and the vocals work, especially when accompanied with flutes). Flutes, by the way, that emulates the brazilian birds in "Iara" in a magnificent track.

My mind says 4 stars, my heart go with 5.

Maybe, MAYBE, we should see them as a sort of Chico Buarque of the progressive rock, for the complex arreangements and beautifull melodies. I have a specific taste for albums that closes with the strongest tracks, and certainly the last three are key tracks: "Quando as coisas ganham vida", "Este � o Lugar" and "grite", not only embrace you with their style and good musicianship as left you wonder of some kind of concept turning around the empty lot and the flow of life in general.

I dont think that Terreno Baldio should feature in the bottom half of brazilian progressive bands, they certainly deserve to be among the great.

"Passaro Azul" is almost RPI sounding with that beautiful sound and vocals. It kicks in after 1 1/2 minutes with an impressive display of instrumental work before settling back late with vocals once again. Great track ! In fact a top three along with the next song "Loucuras De Amor". It's spacey to start then it kicks in with drums, guitar and piano standing out. Reserved vocals before a minute as a flood of emotion hits me. So beautiful. "Despertar" is different as we get this funky jazz to start. It settles back with vocals after a minute as the funk comes and goes. Synths lead after 3 1/2 minutes as the bass throbs. Vocals are back 4 1/2 minutes in. The mellow sections remind me of GG.

"Agua Que Corre" is mellow with water sounds then it kicks in after a minute. Nice crisp drums and chunky bass here as the piano and guitar join in. Organ too and vocal melodies which turn into vocals. "A Volta" has upfront bass and a beat to start as it builds and the vocals join in. Excellent sound here. "Quando As Coisas Ganham Vida" has these intricate sounds that come and go and the vocals are very GG-like. "Este E O Lugar" has more complexity as the organ and punchy sounds lead. Vocals come and go along with the guitar. Impressive stuff. "Grite" is my final top three. Organ, bass and a beat lead as the vocals arrive before a minute. The vocals are passionate suddenly then they soften as it becomes very beautiful sounding. Contrasts continue.

If you don't mind the GENTLE GIANT flavours chances are you will really enjoy this. Great looking album cover as well.

At times I feel like I am listening to a MILTON NASCIMENTO album, especially in the fluid vocals styles of "Passaredo" and "Primavera". The jazz dance style improves on the middle of the pack pseudo-symphonics of their self titled effort. The album reaches its peak, however, when sounding a bit more unique than either of these variations, as on "Lobisomen" and especially "Curupira", where they come closest to leaving a distinct footprint all their own. Lively keyboard touches, funky but smooth vocals and syncopated bass and drums all propel the album along quite well. The rapid fire chorus of "Curupira" is particularly noteworthy, as are the lead guitar pyrotechnics that open "As Amazonas" even if the song itself cannot nearly do them justice.

While I'm not a fan per se, I find it hard to be overly critical of this authentic effort. With many of the less appealing aspects of its predecessor dispensed with and replaced by high quality and very eclectic Latin prog, "Alem.." may fall short of its titular promise, but is still good for 3 stars.

It seems prog by the numbers to me, with calculated contrived passages designed to captivate the inner time signature nerd. "Despertar" is a good case in point, although, like several of the other tracks ("A Volta" for instance), one can discern a competent ethnic groove trying in vain to surface but being thrown a anchor at the precisely wrong moment. The most GIANT like piece is also the lengthiest, and it has its moments through the ADHD haze, but the two most successful tracks are the gentle " Loucuras de amor" which reminds me of more symphonic groups, and the more in-character "Água que corre" which seems to hit the group's quirky lyricism on a high note and includes fine vocal work.

Needless to say I'm not enthralled, but others will be, and I could understand why. My big problem is that it seems artificial, with less commitment to the composition or the song than the clever playing. That's pretty much my problem with the GIANT too. Gets an extra half star for the Brazilian undercurrents, but loses it again for suppressing them.

For a good, wide, explanation of the lyrics and stories on which they are based, I suggest you see Atkingani�s excellent review of the same album. He explains them with a good amount of detail (nice work, Guigo!). The music itself changed a little bit from their self titled first release, with more influences from the brazilian popular music and rhythms added to the mix. The inclusion of the classic Passaredo, written by the legendary brazilian songwriter Chico Buarque is no coincidence. The intricated, complex Gentle Giant-like arrangements are still present, but in a more subtle way. The musicanship is still excellent, but nothing�s very flashy and there are few long instrumental passages or solos. Most of their outstanding techinique and talent work for the songs, with layers of jazzy keyboards and guitars backed by a very strong and creative rhythm section. Some extra instrumentation is provided by band members themselves (percussion, flute, whistle) or guests (violin, cello, acoustic bass).

At the time I must admit that I didn�t like the record very much. I guess the music was too different from what I was hearing then and my poor stereo could not reproduce all the fine details I now enjoy when I listen to the CD version. I still think they could have made the songs a little longer, exploring more their terrific musical talents, but I believe budget and vinyl limitations prevented that. Also Jo�o Kurk�s vocal lines were quite unusual and his frequent falsetto was not everybody�s cup of tea. Nowadays I see how ahead of the time those guys really were and how good this CD is even today. Production is quite good. All the tracks are excellent and the CD has no fillers. I�m glad I found it again.

The mixture of prog rock, elaborated and jazzy arrangements, folk themes and brazilian rhythms makes this album one of the most interesting and groundbreaking albums to come from south america in the 70�s. A CD that sounds fresh, relevant and exciting even after 30 years of its original release. Surely a must have if you want to hear something that is different and yet have enough melody and song structure to sound quite familiar too. Rating: 4,5 stars.

Having said that, it is only unfortunate that the band had distribution problems and the record reached few people (it was very hard to find in stores) even if it was very well received by critics, something rare for prog groups at the time in Brazil. The production was absolute fantastic for the time and the songwriting here is quite mature and strong. You can hear all the instruments and the balance between them and the voice is perfect. All the musicians are masters of their respective instruments and I just loved the bass and drums patterns, very technical and creative without being too flashy. They were all team players and hence, they play for the music not to show how good they are or capable of doing 13 minute solos.

If you�re into complex, GG style class of music, this is surely a must have. The elaborated arrangemnts, the odd rhtyhm paterns and the unusual vocal lines are something to be heard many times to be fully appreciated. Truly eclectic and innovative for the time. Savory, no doubt, but for special tastes. One fo the most interesting, talented and bold brazilian rock bands of the period. The music hasn�t aged a bit since then. Rating: at least four stars.

A trully ''big'' band coming from Brazil,TERENNO BALDIO were born in 1973 and led by vocalist Joao Furk,guitarist Mozart Mello and keyboardist Robert Lazzarini.It hasn't been cleared yet when their first release came out.Most sources indicate 1975 as the year of their debut's release,though there are references also for year 1974.

Apart from this detail,''Terreno Baldio'' showcases a different side of Brazilian prog.Yes,there are folk influences.Yes,there a few South-American elements and obvious psych traces...but most noteably there are a lot of nice yet smooth interplays and great vocal work contained in here. Certainly,GENTLE GIANT are the closest comparison,starting from the fantastic twisted bass lines,the jazzy and complicated drumming,the beautiful sound of the xylophone and,of course ,the story-telling poetic vocals.However,the vocal harmonies are not so complicated as in GENTLE GIANT's works,yet they are so ethereal and delicate,an ear's heaven.Overall,the musicianship may sound quite mellow,but ,believe me,it is also really demanding and professional with balanced use of piano,organ ,complex guitar parts and the strong presence of a super-tight rhythm section.Short-lived TERRENO BALDIO will leave you undoubtfully a pleasant taste after every listening of their work.Try this other side of Brazilian prog without any hesitation.