EL PASAJE

With Alejandro Barzi saying goodbye to Contraluz, the rest of the team recruited Jorge Guarnieri on guitar and Gustavo Dinerstein on sax/flute.By the end of 73' a first single was published by EMI and, entering 1974, the band started rehearsing new material for a second album.But first came the second single of the band, but El COMFER, the authority responsible for audiovisual releases, prevented its commercial release.With Nestor Barrio joining the army Contraluz decided to dissolve sometime in 1974.Over 25 years later the Barrio brothers along with Prochnik and newcomer, keyboardist Jaime Fernández Madero revived the Argentinian band.Two years of hard work followed before a second, long-awaited and self-produced album was released in 2000 under the title ''El pasaje''.

While the material is generally softer and less raw than Contraluz'es early stuff, it contains a pair of the band's most ambitious pieces.Actually the eponymous track is a multi-part semi-Symphonic Rock epic with loads of organ and piano and interesting guitar melodies akin to LA MAQUINA DE HAJER PARAJOS.There are still some light Folk references, but the majority of this piece contains Classical-drenched keyboard themes, symphonic orchestrations and harmonic tunes, offered in a calm enviroment with occasional bombastic passages, supported by nice Spanish vocals and a few psychedelic touches in the guitar department.The other long epic, the 18-min. ''Exilio en el espacio'', is closer to Contraluz'es pre-90's days, although a bit updated due to the use of synthesizers.This one contains elements from Folk, Singer/Songwriter stylings akin to LITTO NEBBIA and Heavy/Psych Rock upbeat, electric tunes with only injections of symphonic flavors.It changes radically from acoustic themes to electric exposions, featuring nice flute parts and a solid rhythm section with the keyboards sounding a bit synthetic.The rest of the album is less risky and adventurous with balanced musicianship, led by sensitive vocals, flutes, keyboards and guitars, exploring Folk soundscapes and Hard Rock in equal doses and ranging from rural textures to powerful grooves and even a ballad-like lyricism, again some of the keyboard parts are rather thin, while the songwriting is good but not entirely convincing.

Anyone in touch with Contraluz'es 70's work should be informed about the hard, psychedelic lines sacrified in the name of additional keyboard flashes.The new style has strong links with the past and it's still charming, exploring the combination of traditional music with demanding rock instrumentals.Recommended.