BLOPS (AKA: LOCOMOTORA)

The Chilean band BLOPS only released three albums in its initial run and what a difference between the first two primarily folk based albums and the band's third and final self-titled release that followed three years after the second album in 1974. The band had undergone quite a few changes between the final two albums with guitarist Julio Villalobos retiring from the band and not being replaced by another guitarist. Rather the band found an alternative replacement with pianist / keyboardist Juan Carlos Villegas adding a totally new dynamic to the band's overall sound. The folk albums of yore with the primary emphasis on lyrics and soft acoustic guitars had completely changed into a more complex primarily instrumental style of jazz fusion. In fact the first two BLOPS releases sound like a totally different band altogether from this third and final chapter which has become known as LOCOMOTURA to distinguish it from the other two eponymously titled albums.

Add to that the band survived the coup d'etat that took Chile by storm on 11 September 1973 which found the dictator Pinochet seizing power and taking the nation into a state of fascism. While the band managed to record its third album in Buenos Aires in a record 14 hours studio time before these tragic events unfolded, unfortunately the master tapes were lost in the warehouse that suffered military raids. The band actually called it quits before the coup and before this third album was finally released in 1974 which almost never found a public appearance but thanks to Edwardo Gatti, the other band members allowed the album to be released with a limited pressing of only 500 copies. While BLOPS along with Los Jaivas and Congreso were all steering Chile into more progressive arenas with their own visions of experimental folk music, LOCOMOTURA is considered by many to be the very first full blown progressive rock album for the nation.

The album features five lengthy tracks each written by a different band member and showcases the band's evolution from a mopey folk band to a bonafide collective of musical composers. The album is almost entirely instrumental however a few vocals do occur such as the wordless utterances on "Tartaleta De Frutillas" and the vocal track "Sankokán." The album adopts the more nuanced and complex jazz fusion techniques of European bands with heavy bass and percussion along with energetic electric piano runs and hefty doses of flute performances taking on the stunning virtuosity of English bands like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer only tacking the world of jazz fusion influenced by myriad bands including Soft Machine, Return To Forever, Frank Zappa, Sunbirds and others. The artistic direction is stunning when compared to the rather low-key and dreamy folk songs of the second BLOPS release just three years earlier. While a new guitarist wasn't added to the new lineup, Eduardo Gatti contributes some stellar guitar workouts on the album.

A decidedly energetic display of jazz fusion passion is presented on LOCOMOTURA with crafty bass grooves finding improvised piano runs and guitar licks all graced with a touch of psychedelia and knotty complex hairpin turns in the compositions making the album a wild adventure for the Chilean public who had not yet been exposed to such complex jazz rock arrangements in their homeland. While the first four tracks are primarily focused on high charged fusion workouts, the closing "Sankokán" deviates from the plan and begins with a trippy opening sequence with Gatti delivering some sort of spoken word vocals in some language other than Spanish or English. The track is much more rock based with only touches of jazzy keyboard contributions. More vocals follow but once again are basically la-la-la's and meaningless vocalizations that merely serve as supplemental instrumentation. The track at nearly 9 minutes in playing time jumps back into the fusion game midway after the unorthodox opening runs its course.

While the band officially disbanded, Gatti and Oregon revived the band as a trio with Carlos Fernandez joining. The various former band members scattered all over the world as to escape the political situation in Chile. While the trimmed down version of the band managed to record an album's worth of material it was never officially released but did find its way onto the market as an unofficial cassette only album titled "Iquique." In 1981 the band dissolved for good but with the 2001 BMG reissuing of the first three albums the band has since found a newfound world fame with all its albums available on a larger scale. While the first two albums from BLOPS are rather mediocre as far as what's considered progressive folk, this third BLOPS album on the other hand delivers an excellent display of top notch musicianship that mixes the world of psychedelic rock with the nerdy challenging chops of jazz fusion. This album is by far the feather in the cap of BLOPS and really the only significant contribution the band made to the world of Chilean progressive music but basically launched the entire scene in that nation.

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