O TERÇO

As we know, and the same also happens with my country Portugal, Brazil never was a hot bed for the progressive rock music. However, the progressive Brazilian route, which also began in the end of the 60's, was of quality with a market not so open to this genre of music with few events, festivals and record companies investing exclusively in this style. But, in spite of all those problems, the style in Brazil didn't leave the quality owed of the European bands. So, some names appeared with interesting works, such as, Os Mutantes, Som Imaginário, A Barca Do Sol, O Terço e Bacamarte.

So, O Terço was one of the most important Brazilian progressive rock bands of the 70's. The band was formed in 1968 and put together several different styles like gutsy rock & roll, prog rock, folk rock, heavy metal, and funk. O Terço was born with Sérgio Hinds (guitar), César das Mercês (bass) and Vinícius Cantuária (drums). In 1970, with the replacement of Mercês by Jorge Amiden, the band released their eponymous debut album. Two years later they released their second work, also homonymous, which brought a more progressive sound. In 1975, their third work "Criaturas Da Noite" was the album that would definitively enshrine the band. It will be their third work the object of my review today.

So, "Criaturas Da Noite" is the third studio album of O Terço and was released in 1975. The line up on the album is Sérgio Hinds (vocals and guitar), Flávio Venturini (vocals, piano, organ and synthesizers), Sérgio Magrão (vocals and bass) and Luiz Moreno (vocals and percussion). The album had also the participation of Marisa Fossa (vocals) and Cezar de Merces (vocals and percussion).

Although O Terço be regarded as one of the leading progressive Brazilian rock bands in the 70's, on "Criaturas Da Noite" the band presented a mix of musical styles. If in their first two albums the band made a more oriented rock with at most some progressive influences, on "Criaturas Da Noite" they took a huge leap, producing what is one of the most important progressive rock albums from Brazil. Probably it was the entry of Flávio Venturini in the band, as a fixed keyboardist, which made the most important difference for the band to achieve such a more refined musical result. He composed three tracks in partnership and "1974" alone, which would become one of the greatest classics of the band.

"Criaturas Da Noite" has eight tracks. "Hey Amigo" is a dancing energetic rock and roll with a striking bass, drums and organ and a nice guitar solo at the end. This is a good straight starting for the album. "Queimada" shows a more folk side of the band. The electric and acoustic guitars are basically the instrumentation used here played in a beautiful way supported by a beautiful vocal work. "Pano De Fundo" begins with a dark atmosphere, but the vocals give another type of humor to the music, making it more cheerful. The final guitar solo is great. "Ponto Final" starts with a beautiful piano structure next to a very subtle choir. The synths are a perfect filling, bass and drums make a comfortable and solid aid and the distorted guitar adds more sparkle to the music. "Volte Na Próxima Semana" is the heaviest track on the album. It's pure rock and roll with great guitar riffs, striking solos, edgy bass lines, powerful drums, poignant organ work and hard rock vocals. "Criaturas Da Noite" is the title track. It has a vocal on the piano made by Venturini enriched by a nice orchestration work. This is a simple and beautiful song, one of those songs that more than listening, we can feel it due to its emotional charge. "Jogo Das Pedras" has a pleasant initial melody. Again it presents a very well structured vocal work. Sérgio Hinds makes another excellent guitar solo, certainly one of the best of his career. "1974" is a straight full blown, complex symphonic progressive rock track. It's undeniably the most progressive song on the album. It starts with a delicate and sentimental piano. It has more than twelve minutes of an instrumental symphonic progressive rock, despite some vocalizations. The drums and bass can put the necessary mass on the sound walls, while the guitar and the keyboards paint the necessary vibrant and varied colors in every second of the music. This is a true timeless masterpiece, undoubtedly the best track on the album. It shows the amazing quality of Flávio Venturini as a composer.

Conclusion: I must confess that I'm not a great connoisseur of the Brazilian prog. I only knew very well "Depois Do Fim" of Bacamarte and "Sete Cidades" of Mário Neto, both already reviewed by me. And I was deeply impressed with the first one. If we compare it with "Criaturas Da Noite", I must say that both are two different works. "Depois Do Fim" is better and proggier than "Criaturas Da Noite" that is more a mix of different styles. Still, I like very much of this album. O Terço is a specialist of mixing genres and allow themselves wander in the immense universe of prog to arrange their time musical space. As a final result, "Criaturas Da Noite" is a very uneven album but that is very interesting and nice to listen to. Probably due to be quite uneven, I think it cannot please all progressive rock fans. But, in what concerns to me, despite "Criaturas Da Noite" is far from be perfect, is representative of the Brazilian prog as flamboyant as it's rare.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Especially the combinations of guitar and keyboards are finger-licking good. The album lasts almost an hour, so brace yourself; Hinds and De Boni make their presence felt almost continuously. The urgency to create this music has at least not led to overcrowded compositions.

The album starts with the instrumental keyboard intro Space, which is exactly what the title suggests. The tingles and blips are joined by triumphant brass sounds, introducing The Last Journey. With this dynamic track, the group compositions begin, and while Paollilo's energetic drumming boosts the listener's adrenaline, the spatially sounding keyboards and the dragging guitar solo further take you on this journey through time.

In the diverse title track, O Terço demonstrates its versatility by effortlessly combining catchy passages with subdued sections that make room for acoustic guitar or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-like harmonies. A jazzy synth solo also makes an appearance, and then Hinds suddenly taps on his instrument. O Terço manages to make everything happen within their own idiom, where the driven voice of Hinds with his flavorful accent is a prominent presence (think of Aluisio Maggini of Clepsydra).

With the instrumental Crucis, the band brings so much musical bliss that you'll want to listen to this track countless times. The beginning is pleasantly uptempo towards Timelock and then dives through some sharp mood changes into a solemn middle section with delightful play on the Moog and a heavenly guitar solo. A return to the beginning completes the circle.

What else does the album have to offer? Plenty, I can tell you. Lost In Time Affaire is dominated by an infectious theme reminiscent of Marillion's Grendel, and in The Rhythm Of The Universe, we hear a track that wouldn't have been out of place on an album by the Belgian band Now. However, O Terço is at its strongest when they increase the originality. Marear is again a splintering instrumental track, and after the beautiful The Guardians, where a rolling rhythm sets the mood, the fantastic closer Suite follows. This track had already appeared on a previous album by the band but has now been significantly reworked, including added vocal blocks. What makes the song consistently grand are the monumental guitar parts. Unprecedented class.

"Time Travellers" is a fantastic album for neo-prog enthusiasts. The passion and good intentions radiate from the disc, and because O Terço exercises restraint, the album remains captivating. It is another beautiful addition to the list of progressive music from South America.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com

Classic album from the Brazilian scene prog.

If the YES influences can be seen (as in almost all scene of brazilian progressive music), we also have here plenty of ELP and even such bands as Deep Purple - as pretty much obviously in the first track. The second track, on the other hand is a lovely Crosby Stills & Nash song, soon to another heavy riff track come along, with strong vocals. The great epic (of the few brazilian ventures in more than 10min songs) have a orchestra conducted by ROgério Duprat, important figure of the Tropicália - the result is one of the best songs of the album and a sum-up of the whole band and their career so far.

O TERÇO is one of the few Brazilian bands that can walk between the progressive scene and the classic rock scene: brazilians fans of Made in Brazil, Casa das Máquinas and Raul Seixas also find in O TERÇO the best of brazilian rock.

And they are, actually. And this album is probably the best example of it.

Overall it was nice to hear those songs performed by the classic line up at its peak. The addition of the the extra percussion is also a plus, for it enriched their tunes. It is a pity that the sound of the CD is not up to the quality of the music they play. Still, a treat for fans. And fans only. Do not expect the high quality of today´s recording and remastering. For such thing I recommend their Terço Ao Vivo (2007), when the band reunited and recaptured much of their former magic.

Rating: 5 stars for the music X 1,5 stars for the production = 2,5 stars.

This live album was recorded at the Canecão, Rio de Janeiro on may 4th, 2005, but only released in 2007. This is basically the same show they´ve been playing since then, except for the fact that the acoustic set was expanded (here they perform only two songs in that format). And they are playing better than ever! With some guests helping out: long time friend Marcus Vianna (from another brazilan prog legend, Sagrado Coração da Terra) plays violin, Irinéia Moreno sings backing vocals on one song and Ruriá Duprat (nephew of their former orchestrator, the famous Rogério Duprat) arranged a couple of songs on which the Uirapuru string quartet is featured.

The repertoire is of course based on their two most famous records, Criaturas Da Noite and Casa Encantada, but there were a few surprises too: Tributo ao Sorriso, a b side from their very first single of 1970 is played with a new, fine arrangement. P.S. Apareça, from their Compositores (1996) is also a nice treat and they even included a new studio song to close the CD, Antes Do Sol Chegar (which sounds a lot like a Venturini solo work, but good anyway). Unfortunately the long instrumental Suite is missing here (it is on the DVD, though), but 1974, probably their best prog epic, is played beautifully right in the beginning of the set.

Production and overall sound quality is top notch. It was really a dream come true for those who were lucky enough to see them live at their heyday (like me, I saw them in 1976). One of the few reunions that really paid off, even with the loss of the much loved Moreno (who was remembered and praised by the other members during the show). Sérgio Melo, meanwhile, does a great job.

Conclusion: a great comeback and a fine CD. One of Brazil´s most important bands of the 70´s is in great form after all theses years! Rating: something between 4 and 4,5 strong stars. Highly recommended!

The booklet is very weak, with only reference to the tracklist and writing credits, nothing more. On the other hand the overall sound quality is very good (they must have remastered all the tunes). If only they had the same criteria to select the material they had on their hands, it would be a different story...

I can´t recommend this compilation to anyone. Although the music itself is very good, the selection is one of those cases that seemed to be done by someone who didn´t understand the band´s music and/or importance. There are better ones around.

Rating: 2 stars.

I guess the songs should be in chronological order. That would make it easy for anyone to see their development through the years. The idea of having those two b-sides was a good one, though. They both sound better than on the original form (I guess they were remastered): Tributo Ao Sorriso is from their debut single , Velhas Histórias (1970), and recently they added it to their repertoire when the classic line up came back. Unfortunately nothing from their first two LPs is featured here, and some other early or non album single could be added (as long as they were also remastered). The exclusion of anything they released after 1978 is good news, making it a little more coherent, showing the band´s versatility and skill without having to face some terrible material they recorded during the 80´s.

Conclusion: nice compilation if you want to know about this quintessential brazilian band and don´t want to or can´t afford to listen to all their 70´s stuff. At least it does include all the cuts from their most important CD.

Both songs were released as a single in 1970, and their first album came out later on the same year. However, the tunes included here are quite different from their self titled debut, both relying mostly on their harmony vocals and heavy orchestration, bringing their sound much closer to the brazilian popular music of the time than the psychedelic rock experiment that was most of their first full length. And quite better too, I should say. Unfortunately the production was terrible, very muddy and unbalanced. It would be great to see them re-record those songs with today´s technology, because both tracks are good and show glimpses of the style they would embrace in a few years.

Rating: Even if the songs themselves are good and the performances are ok, the dire production makes it nothing more than a collector´s item. Two stars.