SOM IMAGINÁRIO

Remarcably album of one of the most creative bands of the Brazilian progressive music scene. Som Imaginário, after changing from the more psychedelic playing that drove their early sound (probably derived from the idiosyncrasies of Zé Rodrix - remember the song "Cenouras"), produced a more elaborated and even better recorded album.

The music leads you smoothly from jazzy guitars and interludes reminiscent of bossa nova and chorinho from one to another without tiring or with excess. The participation of Milton Nascimento is also beautiful and strong - Som Imaginário even recorded a album with him in 1970.

Great work, worth to be heard and praised. I did give 4 stars to this album, but the repeat listening to their melodies makes me wonder if there are thing less deserving in PA of five stars, and have, why not five stars to "A Matança do Morto"? So it is.

Som Imaginário was a famous Brazilian group responsible for support the singer Milton Nascimento. The group released 3 albums between 1970 and 1973.

The band in its original lineup had Wagner Tiso (piano and keyboards), Tavito (vocals and acoustic guitars), Zé Rodrix (vocals, keyboards and flutes), Luiz Alves (bass), Robertinho Silva (drums) and Frederiko (guitars) and their 2 first records are more folk/psychedelic.

In 1973 the band was a quartet with: Wagner Tiso (piano and keyboards), Frederiko (guitars), Luiz Carlos (bass) and Robertinho (drums). With Wagner Tiso as a leader they were now almost instrumental and this is by far their best record.

Zé Rodrix were already with his trio Sá, Rodrix & Guarabira and Tavito still participate in the album as a guest playing acoustic 12 strings guitar in 3 tracks. But it's the hands of the maestro Wagner Tiso that makes all the difference in the world in Matança Do Porco (1973).

'Armina' and 'Matança Do Porco' are the keytracks, Progressive pearls lost in the haze of time. This is one of the true Brazilian classics.

The final Som Imaginario album sees the group transform from a psychedelic band to a tight fusion unit, with enough classical, symphonic and psychedelic influences to give them a sound which will appeal to a broad range of prog listeners. Showing a great increase in the group's technical proficiency, the album title means "The Killing of the Pig" - not an outrageous anti- police statement, but a reference to a tradition from an old Portuguese town where a slaughter of swine at the height of winter is the centrepiece of an annual celebration. In this case, there's plenty of reason to celebrate, because having fattened up their musical capabilities Som Imaginario serve a delicious feast here.

The second Som Imaginario album leans far more towards a classic psych sound, which I feel is a shame because a lot of the songs end up being rather unmemorable. I can't pick out any tracks here, for example, which are as striking or original or as powerful as the electrifying Super God from the debut. Still, the album is perfectly pleasant to listen to and is a reasonable slice of flower power-flavoured psychedelia from an era in which that style had been drifting out of style in its US homeland but still found fertile homes in new scenes abroad. Not as groundbreaking as the debut, and perhaps a little weaker, but still good enough to convince me that Som Imaginario still had something to say at this point.

A very confident prog-psych release from Brazil, Som Imaginario display a unique and innovative approach to a genre which by 1970 had become kind of overcrowded. Songs like Super God, which sounds like nothing else from the era (the closest comparison I can come up with would be the Jimi Hendrix Experience covering CAN), prove that the band were not content to simply replicate the sounds of other groups but were keeping their finger on the pulse and striving to make their own contribution to the progressive scene, and that makes them stand out from a good many bands who were happy to simply tread water.

Som Imaginario's debut is a strong, confident work, which proves that South American bands from this era weren't just mimicing their more famous influences from the US or UK but had something to add themselves. In fact, had this come out from a British or American band I'm sure it'd be much more famous than it currently is. Anyone seeking to expand their musical horizons - and let's face it, if you weren't you wouldn't be here - would be well served by checking these guys out.

Flower Power in Brazil

Except the first song Conouras the second album of SOM IMAGINÁRIO is very calm. This release has a tremendous FlowerPower flavour - mellow with nice melodies and good vocals. Ascenso for example is a wonderful emotional song with acoustic guitar. The musicians are using styles like Psychedelic, Folk and Symphonic to perform songs for relaxing after hours of hard working.

I'm not able to find many unique brazilian moments - excepting the portuguese vocals of course - and the title track A nova Estrala with flute and whistles. This is my favourite song - exciting because very psychedelic/symphonic with excellent organ playing - unfortunately faded out too early.

Since I've started to listen progressive rock and fusion, I've been searching for some brazilian bands, and, someday, while i'm searching for Bacamarte's "Depois do Fim" I find this album.

I've already knows about Som Imaginário and his music, so I listen to this album with a special attention. At first look, they looks like a classic Jazz/rock album, but when comes "a Matança do Porco" with his 10 min I fell in love with that band.This track is so good, with the acid guitar playing exelent melodic lines acompained by a very strong piano, and a realy good drum line until the climax change to a orchestral part.

At the end of the album, when "Mar Azul" started to play, I remember how I like the Bossa-nova and samba. Her jazz lines are so relax, that my mind floats in a sweet and blue atmosphere.

So, I thik that Som Imaginário, are one of the best brasilian prog bands that i've ever seen, and off course a excellent addition to any prog music collection.

Very surprising record for me discovering interesting music from Brazil. And so yet I discovered from this line-up many well known Brazilian musicians as Nana Vasconcelos on percussion (was for example in Pat Metheny Group recording many albums with them), Robertinho Silvaon drums and Milton Nascimento as a guest on vocalese. The music is instrumental mixture (with vocalese on some tracks) of psychedelic and symphonic music, smooth jazz, bossa with some shorter tunes for orchestra. In my oppinion this record has "mountainous" highpoint - the title composition "A Matanca Do Porco" - with aspirative guitar-dominated symphonic-psychedelic rising theme and with melancholic-poetical coda on the last minutes. At least this composition demands to do such kind of discovery as Som Imaginario's album Matanca Do Porco. Also we can listen some very short orchestra themes here. But the rest on this record is maybe more usual, often guitar and organ based smooth-jazz-like stuff (sounds quite nice but hasn't very essential ideas...). Thanks to this monumental composition "Matanca Do Porco" 3,5 stars!

Good album from Som Imaginário, a brazilian band formed in 70´s by great musicians that accompanied the great Milton Nascimento in his earlier albums and tours. I agree that this instrumental album is a mix of fusion and simphonic but I think that it has elements of brazilian popular music too. Althought the relative precarios conditions of that studio recording (Brasil, 1973), this CD has nice arrangements and if you like the early brazilian prog rock you certainly will listen it with pleasure. The main tracks, in my opinion, are "Armina" and "A nº 2" but all tracks are goods. I reccomend!

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.