The Prog Andaluz Aficionado Thread

 

                  Here's my weekly contribution to this wonderful thread :

 

 

 

I just read on the homepage that you succeeded to escape from your study books

Good to have you here on this thread and I am looking forward to your Prog Andaluz reviews, you mean before Christmas 2007  ?

 

                                                OK Andrea, it's a deal

 

                       By the way, Senogul and Medina Azahara are in my 2007

                       Prog Album Top 5 list, a healthy dosis of Prog Andaluz 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I think the only problem with En Al Hakim (but the word problem is wrong) is that it was released in 1989 with that kind of inndtrumentation and echo on drums (echo or something to describe that typical effect that seem to deprove drums of their genuinity.

 

Despite that, the album is truly excellent.

On about Triana, I have to say that the first two (that I own) are terrific. The second is different and shows a different, more pessimistic, approach...I wonder why of that change of feeling...

 

BTW, I'm waiting for my copy of Escenes by the spanish band Gotic. Not prog andaluz but good old sympho-prog. What do you think of, Erik?

 

By the way, I just noticed that my review from their debut album has disappeared from this site, I can only find this review:

 

This is the most popular Spanish rock band in the post-TRIANA era. In 1990 they released the double-LP “En Vivo”, on this live recording the band succeeded to capture the great live atmosphere and it contains all their best work. MEDIANA AZAHARA delivers on my 1- CD release version “En Vivo” (running time almost 75 minutes) a powerful blend of rock and ‘heavy progressive’. The keyboards from Pablo Rabadan have obvious hints from Mark Kelly (synthesizer flights), Manual Martinez his vocals sound inspired and emotional and the rhythm-section Randy Lopez on bass and Manuel Reyes on drums is strong and tight (sometimes too). But the focus is on Francisco Ventura’s varied and powerful guita rplay, he gives the tasteful arranged compositions a special flavour with his harder-edged but sensitive play, like Ritchie BLACKMORE meets Carlos SANTANA! Discover this top notch Spanish prog rock band: from the catchy “Velocidad”, the beautiful ballad “Otono”, the stage favourites “Amiga”, “Se” and “Hacia Ti” to the highlight “Paseando Por La Mezquita” (compelling Morish undertone and moving crowd participation, goose bumps!) and the up- tempo rock version from “El Lago”, a legendary track from TRIANA’s eponymous debut- album.

      By the way, this doesn't mean I am fed up with the Andrea's and Guillermo's  !

 

                           This evening I will write a review about Medina Azahara

                                             their first album, one of my favorites.

 

 

 

Sean, since I heard Paco De Lucia playing Entre Dos Aguas (a hit single in Spain) I love flamenco and since my 15th I have visited many flamenco concerts, also because in my hometown The Hague the National Dutch Flamenco Society had her residence. I have seen many famous singers, dancers and guitarists. In the second part of the Seventies I discovered Triana, we had a small group of progrock diehards and we visited a person who was known as the Dutch proghead #1, he owned the first 3 Triana albums, I still remember that I listened for the first time to their sound and I got goose bumps all over my body, even on the back of my feet, I was absolutely thrilled and blown away. I was delighted that he put the albums on tape for me, that was my first Prog Andaluz, later I bought albums from Carmen and then Cai, Azahar, Mezquita, Alameda and finally Medina Azahara. To witness the special Andalusian atmosphere I took a plane to Andalusia (Southern part of Spain) and visited the wonderful flamenco drenched cities Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba and Ronda, an unforgettable experience

 

Yesterday I published this review on the homepage:

 

MEDINA AZAHARA – Paseando Por La Mezquita

 

This popular Spanish band from Cordoba was founded in the late Seventies. In 1979 Medina Azahara released their debut-album Paseando Por La Mezquita (aka Medina Azahara). This album earned a double-platinum status and since 1983 when Spanish legend Triana called it a day (because of the tragical death of their keyboardplayer/singer Jesus De La Rosa) the Spanish fans consider Medina Azahara as the successors of Triana, the masters of the Prog Andaluz movement.

On their debut album Medina Azahara delivers a very pleasant blend of melodic rock (mid-tempo songs like En La Manana and Se), neo prog in the vein of Marillion (lots of Mark Kelly-like synthesizer flights) and Prog Andaluz (mainly ballads and slow rhythms) with strong hints from Triana like in the exciting titletrack (a flamenco rhythm with heavy guitar riffs, howling guitar and emotional vocals) and En La Manana and Busco (parts with flamenco guitar). A very strong point on this album is the guitarwork, from sensitive and howling to electric rhythm guitar that creates a flamenco atmosphere, this matches perfectly with the emotional Spanish vocals that contain a wailing undertone you can often hear in flamenco singing. Medina Azahara still makes music (in 2003 they released their latest studio album entitled Aixa) but during the years the sound became more polished and straighforward rock so I consider this band as a heavy version of Triana, not every album is interesting but they have made some very good records like En El-Hakim and En Vivo (live), especially their early work is worth to check out.

 

                                                      

 

 

Flamenco passion:

 

 

 

 

My hero Paco De Lucia