LUCAS

The prog world was robbed of one of its most overlooked talents when Marco Antônio Araújo died in early 1986, not least because his final album - Lucas - shows such an incredible musical growth. The crown jewel of the album is the side-long epic Lembranças, a rowdy composition which shows more drama and flair that suggested by the more tranquil album that preceded this (Entre Um Silencio E Outro), but the second side has a few gems too, with Araújo's Anthony Phillips-like classical guitar skills on display just as much as his skills as a band leader and composer. The album concludes with a number dedicated to Jimmy Page, though only the folkiest Led Zeppelin moments are called on here. If this is to be Araújo's monument, it's certainly one to be proud of.