14 BIS

From the ashes of two important, seminal brazilian bands of the early 70's (O Terço and Bendegó) 14 Bis came to be by the end of that decade. And what a debut album this was! Their mix of prog rock and brazilian folk was a logical step from what those aforementioned bands were trying to do a few years before, but hadn't really came with a definitve blend of both. 14 Bis did with this album. It was a stunning start for a new band, but if you consider how seasoned (and good) musicians they already were, it was not a real big surprise. The real treat was the fact it was released in 1979 and the fact that it was hit. No one could imagine such style being successful at that time.

14 Bis was an outstanding album, with no fillers, excellent production for that period and strong songwriting. It was interesting for its beatles influence on some songs (notably on the opener, Perdido Em Abbey Road, with those orchestrations bearing an uncanny similarity to the ones of George Martin's), but the band had a lot more to show than just that. They found the right balance between the eletric and the acoustic sounds. Where on Terço the acoustic songs were basicly too folky and the electric ones too rock'n roll, 14 Bis could master both of them into a new, very fine, style. Besides, they were able to pedal into some interesting grounds like movie scores (Cinema De Faroeste) and the brazilian seresta (Sonho de Valsa).

Avoiding too much noodling and explicit virtuosity, they were able to concentrade solely for the sake of the music. The result was a series of gems like their hit Natural (great vocal harmonies, their trademark), Pedra Menina, the instrumental Blue and the beautiful Três Ranchos. Even though their sound was not symphonic prog, their arrangements were quite influenced by it (especially the keyboards parts).

14 Bis, the CD, remains their best to date. A classic release in a time very few artists would even try to record something so 'unfashinable'. It was a bold move for those guys and quite a leap of faith by their recording company. And it paid off quite well. One fo the best debut releases by a new band in the late 70's. Five stars.