MATANÇA DO PORCO

As I have said in the Biography of this band: "Some people prefer the first Som Imaginário phase, others the third album". I prefer this last Som Imaginário album. "A Matança do Porco" - The pig's butchery (11:07) is one of the best progressive album from Brazil. Leaded by keyboardist Wagner Tiso, Som Imaginário recorded a different kind of music here. Instead psychedelic, like their first records, this album is a kind of fusion, symphonic and classical music. "A Matança do Porco" is an all instrumental album (with voices but no lyrics). The first music, Armina (5:45), begins like classical music, but soon changes to rock and closes with classic piano again. Bolera (3:11), "Mar Azul" - Blue Sea (3:46) and A-3 (3:12) are rock united with jazz and bossa nova accompanied by Danilo Caymmi's flute. Armina 2 (6:37) and excerpt 2 (0:35) is very jazzistic, excerpts 1 (0:46) and 3 (0:45) are conduct by symphonic orchestra. Finally, the great "A Matança do Porco" with more than eleven minutes: a beautiful combination between fusion and symphonic rock. Soft piano and dark 12 strings guitar in the beggining (approximately three and half minutes), crazy fusion with strongs piano, drums and percussion by the jazzman Chico Batera (3:30 to 6:30), and completely symphonic with Gaya conducting Odeon Orchestra, with vocals by Golden Boys and Milton Nascimento: aaaaAAAAAAaaaaAAAAA... Ten minutes, and the suite closes with organ and a sad (maybe dying) pig crying: gniifff, gniffff... I'm very shure this is one of the five best of brazilian progressive rock! I give four stars to songs: Armina number 1, number 2 (including the three excerpts); three stars to bossa nova and jazz songs and, of course, five stars to wonderful song theme. So I give four stars to this album.