RAMOS GENERALES

This is a very good album. Contraluz is a group of mature musicians; they had been a cult band in the 70's. This is their last production of 2003. The songs in this album are an excellent blend of progressive rock with Argentinean folklore and some "tango" influences. 1. Surge: opens in a symphonic way, and soon come a strong Argentinean folk influence. This song alternates energetic, folk and delicates moments. It has very nice flute interludes. Very good opener. 2. El Regreso del Hijo Prodigo begins with a heavy bass riff, and then the electric guitar takes the main role. The guitar alternates with the keyboards and whe can hear a nice vocal melody. In the last part the flute sets in. 3. Vuela Viento is a soft ballad with a strong tango feel. The "bandoneon sounds" come from Jaime's keys and we can hear two sax solos. 4. Llevo .. a mi padre is a song that Carlos Barrio dedicates to his father. It opens with acoustic and delicates arrangements. Then the tempo goes in crescendo and the song derives in an emotional melodic melody played by the keyboards. Again, the flute plays an important role. Carlos plays charango ( a little 10 strings guitar) on this tune. 5. Toribio el Pintor is the shortest song. Is a simple song with piano and a lot of flute. A nice melody but nothing special. 6. El Abismo is the darkest song. Again some bandoneon sounds and in the middle section a heavy guitar riff. 7. Vida en el Desierto is the longest track. This one is full of variety. The main role alternates between the keyboards, the guitar and the bass. Sometimes the guitar has a Floydian style. 8. Aconcagua has a nice and simple melody with acoustic guitar, flute, piano and Jaime's voice. 9. El Depertar de la Bestia . Some dark sounds introduce a flute section plenty of energy. The Toll influences here are evident. Then the piano, again the flute, and some symphonic keyboard. The closing section repeat the initial flute parts.

.Contraluz have some Focus, Tull influences but they have their own style that I define as an Argentinean style (I am from Argentina). The rhythm section is very solid and can change the tempo as many times as they want. The singer has a pleasant voice. Generally the tunes are in the melodic side, but alternates whith a few hard moments, but never loosing the sense of melody In summary, an album full of variety, highly recommendable for any prog fan, specially for those that likes fusion between rock and other kind of music