MATERIA GRIS

Materia Gris were formed in 1970 in Argentina, originally playing a rather Beatles-esque Psych Pop, featuring Julio Presas and Eduardo Rapetti on guitars, Omar Constanzo on bass and Carlos Riganti on drums.After a single on the Music Hall label, their style changed towards a more rockin' sound and in 1972 they released what was considered to be the first Rock Opera in Argentinian Rock, the title was ''Ohperra vida de Beto''.It came out on Harvest and features Litto Nebbia on piano, while all members contributed on vocals.

They had evolved actually into a Hard/Psychedelic Rock band at the time, but the choice of a concept work with multiple variations, as presented in the 16 tightly connected pieces, helped them spread a style with strong progressive leanings.The album works nicely even if it had been recorded with just a couple of titles, so consider it as two side-long tracks, where sharp guitars and acoustic parts combine along with some strings and piano.The most powerful parts are a bit reminiscent of the Italian school, bands like OSAGE TRIBE or CAPITOLO 6 for example, but there are also certain moments in here with discreet jazzy and Classical vibes.Of course the album is loaded with a heavy lyrical content, which makes the instrumental parts a bit of a desire, but the dual guitars displayed offer some excellent moments with mascular rhythms, tempo changes, melodic solos and frenetic twists, all showered with a psychedelic touch.Maybe some stronger doses of piano or keyboards could have made this sound less raw and more convincing, but the band manages to overcome any tendencies towards monotony with the presence of electroacoustic interplays and the endless variety on moods and climates.Some parts of the album sound a bit fragmented and others are too straightforward, but overall this was a pretty nice effort on extended and dynamic Rock music.

It was a shame that this effort went unnoticed back in early-70's and reputedly the band was working on a second album called ''Pandemonium'' at the time of its demise.Riganti went on to play with Alas and collaborated with several great Argentinian Rock musicians like Carlos Cutaia and Raul Porchetto, while in 1979 he moved to Spain.Costanzo joined Naranja Mecánica in mid-70's and Presas worked on his own album ''Amaneciendo en la cruz del sur'', released in 1978.

Tight Psychedelic Rock with hard deliveries on guitar and plenty of progressive elements, produced over a concept work.Rather overlooked, but certainly recommended.