TARANTULA

As I wrote in many other occasions, the progressive rock music made in the 70's was essentially a British phenomenon. However, there were many other great progressive rock bands that appeared in many other parts of the world, mainly in Europe. So, some of the best prog made in those days was also made in many European countries, such as, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the Nordic countries, mainly Sweden, only to mention probably the most important of all. The same can be applied to the Iberian Peninsula that despite never was a hot bed for the progressive rock music saw the born of some prog acts in Portugal and Spain. So, this is the case of Tarantula, which is the subject of this my review.

Tarantula was formed in Valencia, Spain in 1973. It was part of the first wave of the Spanish progressive bands from the 70's. Tarantula was one of the many progressive rock bands that appeared in Spain in the second half of the 70's. It was one of the formations that were born in Spain, such as Triana and Mezquita. Tarantula has been described as some of the big responsible for the best prog to come out of Spain with Triana, Los Canarios, Gotic, Mezquita and Granada.

Tarantula released their self-titled debut studio album in 1976 on the Zafiro's Chapa label. The line up on the album is Rafael Cabrera (vocals), M. G. Peydro (guitar), Vicente Guillot (Hammond organ, Melotron, Moog and synthesizers), Jose Pereira (bass guitar) and Emilio Santoja (drums). Their second studio album that was named "Tarantula 2" and that was released in 1978 features a different line up and it's essentially a pop album.

On their eponymous debut studio work, Tarantula's musicality is unique and emerges through wonderful keyboards and an extremely melodic guitar. Cabrera's vocals are another highlight of this first album of the band. The sound tends to be keyboarding driven, although not overly complex, and is supported well by the rhythm section and good writing. Their style is fairly original, elements of rock, classical, blues, folk and other forms in various extended arrangements, with changing tempos and rhythmic textures. Some rudimentary comparisons might be made to some of the Italian prog bands of the same period, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso and Le Orme, for example, but an occasional hard-rock outburst lends the band a different character beyond the progressive realm, giving them a truly chameleon feel. The excellent writing, Cabrera's powerful vocals and clever arrangements, give the music the real strength of the album.

"Tarantula" has eight tracks. The album is opened by "Recuerdos", a song with a fresh keyboard touch and Cabrera's powerful Spanish vocals. This is a dramatic composition with vocals, drums, electric guitar and a great keyboard solo. "La Arana Y La Mosca" is an Emerson, Lake & Palmer's style instrumental theme with great performance. The keyboard sound echoing from the left side symbolizes a spider, and the guitar playing on the right side symbolizes a fly being eaten by a tarantula. "Singladura Final" is a Spanish style song with a rather rustic keyboard performance and vocals with a slow tempo, which suddenly changes to a hard rock theme with a slow tempo from the middle of the song. At the end, the previous theme is reintroduced. "Um Mundo Anterior" is a prog rock song where you can enjoy their fantastic performances for a long time. The electric guitar bounces like a mandolin, the mysterious chorus and a magnificent keyboard work completes the beauty of the trinity. "Imperio Muerto" is a great song with an excellent vocal work that is again broken by a frenetic rock & roll in the classic Tarantula's style. In the end the keyboard and the guitar calm down again. "La Danza Del Diablo" is a chilling tale by Cabrera with the keyboards played as a reminiscent of Italian bands with drum rolls and a Spanish voice and were the sophisticated electric guitar and organ are performed sparkly. "Lydia" is a short instrumental with classical guitar and happy keyboards. It's a prop that puts forward the pride of Spain, the original country of the classical guitar. "Paisajes Pintorescos" is a theme that takes up previous passages with the predominance of the Mellotron. As the powerful electric guitar and the organ explode, soft and delicate vocals and a beautiful organ work flows. After that, Cabrera's vocals turned normal, including a chorus part, ending the album nicely.

Conclusion: "Tarantula" is a very decent album with a classic symphonic sound, an interesting sample of the Spanish progressive rock in a year when the progressive rock was just beginning to take its first steps in Spain. The themes are very varied and changeable, ranging from the romanticism that came from Italy and the more aggressive rock and roll. The Spaniards definitely keep the prog standard of the time with this album that apart the vocals of course and some Spanish elements, mainly the short, folky-jazzy "Lydia" dominated by the classic acoustic guitar, is very influenced by the European progressive rock style, mainly the Italian sub-genre, which at times it makes us remember of Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme and Il Balletto Di Bronzo, for instance. So, despite the album doesn't provide any particularly original moment, the lovers of the melodic gentle variety of the classic symphonic prog should definitely like the album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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