CRIATURAS DA NOITE

O TERÇO started life playing straight rock and pyschedelic rock, introducing elements of Progressive Rock in the second album. For this third album two of the previous three group members changed, keyboard player Flávio Venturini joined to make it a foursome, and the group - all talented musicians it should be said - produced its first classic album, a big hit in Brazil. Although the last track '1974' - an instrumental if one discounts the occasional vocalisations - is the highlight of the album in Progressive Rock terms, I find the other tracks very pleasant indeed; this is Brazil, sun and the '70s put to rock music. I like the light, carefree feel of the tracks and the way some incorporate Brazilian rural and popular music styles (even a samba beat on occasion), straight rock and Progressive Rock. And thank goodness the singing is in Portuguese.

Here's a rundown of the tracks:

'Hey Amigo': Early 1970s-style simple rocker, but not bad for it - good, in fact. A foot-tapper and the band's anthem ("Hey friend, sing the song with me").

'Queimada' (burnt): Some lovely, upbeat Brazilian-style acoustic guitar. A bouncing melody, with Brazilian rural influences and happy-sounding vocals. Nice one!

'Pano De Fundo' (backdrop): More Progressive Rock-sounding than the previous two tracks, this pleasing song rocks along nicely. Near the end it changes style and reminds me a little of the music of SANTANA.

'Ponto Final' (final point): Another Progressive Rock-sounding number. Apart from the vocalisations this is a laid-back instrumental, and a very pleasant one too, with some nice electronic keyboards and piano. Good melody.

'Volte Na Proxima Semana' (come back next week): Another simple rocker along the lines of 'Hey Amigo', although sounding more 1960s than 1970s. It's a bit of a head-banger. An OK song, but no masterpiece.

'Criaturas Da Noite' (creatures of the night): Another of the band's hits. This title track starts nicely with calm piano and high-pitched vocals. It has a rather 1960s pop-style melody, with backing strings. A simple enough song but I find this very pleasant, and it gets more complex and classical-sounding about two-thirds of the way through. Sunshine Prog?

'Jogo Das Pedras' (game of the stones): Another track with acoustic guitar and with a nice, upbeat melody that reminds me of Brazilian rural music. A lovely, sunny feel to the music and a catchy tune. Another 'Sunshine Prog' number.

'1974': Tinkling piano starts off this 12-minute Progressive Rock masterpiece. I really enjoy this one. There are some vocalisations but, to all intents and purposes, it's an instrumental. Again, it's 'Sunshine Prog', with a light, breezy feel and lots of melody. There's even a brief samba beat at one point, which works perfectly with the keyboards and guitar and does not feel at all out of place. A high point of the genre in my opinion, which should be heard by all lovers of Progressive Rock.

If you want moody, profound, complex Progressive Rock then look elsewhere, but if you want Progressive Rock that makes you hum along and feel good (not to mention want to get out into the sunshine) then this is definitely worth adding to your collection. It's so consistently enjoyable that I'd be tempted to award it 4.5 stars if such a thing were possible, but I'll settle for 4 (Excellent addition to any progressive music collection). Highly recommended if you're willing to try something different to the usual European/North American fare.

By the way, the LP was re-released on LP under the title "O Terço" instead of "Criaturas Da Noite" and with a different cover: a photo of the band on stage, with the front showing Sérgio Magrão and Luiz Moreno's drum kit. The tracks were the same as on "Criaturas Da Noite", though. The cover of the copy-controlled 2003 "2em1" (two LPs on one CD) CD from EMI Brazil shows the cover of the re-released LP plus the cover of "Casa Encantada". N.B. The 2003 "2em1" CD was a different release to the 1999 "DOIS EM UM" (two in one) CD containing both "Criaturas Da Noite" and "Casa Encantada". Unlike the 2003 release, the 1999 release did not have copy-control software on it. Confused? I don't blame you! Anyway, whether you buy the 1999 'two LPs on one CD' or the 2003 'two LPs on one CD', you get the same tracks, although the latter installs software on the hard disc if you play it on a PC or Mac. It doesn't stop you ripping the tracks to MP3 for your portable player, though.