ENBOR

If you don't know any other Basque prog, it's hard to find a reference point for ENBOR, but suffice to say that it does not sound like the late 1970s at all. A groundswell of creativity had been stifled under Franco, which came to light in the 1976-1980 period, then essentially vanished. It's rock that is so mellow as to be lumped in with folk, even though I mildly question that categorization. Added winds of diverse pedigree, multipart vocals, and occasional insistent lead guitars, complete an intriguing picture.

I hear a lot of ITOIZ in here, not surprisingly since they had already produced 2 acclaimed albums by this time. In the first minute of the opening number, I hear a bit of ELOY's "Ocean", but this seems a passing snippet, mentioned more to reveal the breadth of interests. "Ondoan ez dut inor" and "Zuek ez dazizue" are the strongest tracks, with the latter bearing similarities to early HORSLIPS ("Musical Priest" and to DECAMERON's ("Tomorrow's Pantomime"). The lovely harmonies make me think of Germany's EDEN. The instrumental closer solidifies the eclectic chill-out vibe, with fluid percussion and electric piano to the fore.

Ultimately this is not an exciting album by any stretch, with a sameness that would not engage more demanding progressive ears. However, that same quality lends itself better to relaxation and reflection, and those who enjoy the pastoral, sometimes breezily jazzy, Basque sound of the period will be in raptures.

ENBOR were a short-lived Electric Folk Rock group,who produced two albums in late-70's/early- 80's.They came from the region of the Basque country in Spain and their line-up included no less than 7 members,most of them contributing on vocals as well.Their first eponymous album was released in 1979 on Elkar Label.

Lying somewhere between pleasant Electric Folk and slightly CAMEL-esque mellow prog rock,''Enbor'' is a nice album in terms of balance and composition,totally sung in the Basque dialect.Clocking at 33 minutes,this album offers the listener three musically positive elements.Firstly it's the smooth yet carefully performed guitar work of Inaki Gutierrez, Joxe Portela and Ramon Gardeazabal with a sensitive edge and delicate melodies,both electric and acoustic.Especially the slow-tempo rhythms come close to the style of ANDY LATIMER.Secondly,there are some really pleasant male and female vocal harmonies in here.The warm voices of the singers are all over the album and making the album even deeper in its sensitive section.Last, but not least,the wind instruments and their smooth interplays with the rhythm section are really awesome.The dreamy flutes and the clarinet passages of Inaki Urettxaga will reward every fan of decent folk rock purchases.

Thougt not that well known like other Basque folk bands (ITOIZ, HAIZEA etc.) or having even a complicated sound, ENBOR certainly deserve a place in the book of progressive rock for their careful blending of rock,wind instrumentation and multi-vocal arrangements .Folk Rock fans around the world,this was made for you!3,5 stars is my accurate rating.

I like the folky side of prog. I guess it all started, for me anyways, with Jethro Tull. After that I went all in with the likes of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and onwards and upwards. There are many a good prog band to be found in variuos parts of the world. The basque prog folk of the 70's and early 80's is not an exception.

Enbors first album reminds me of the times it was made. There is a certain warmth and lustre about Enbor which really strikes a chord with me. Every now and then I return to this album and I find myself smiling and feeling a warm embrace, because the music is warm and gentle. Unfortunately it is not very varied, I'd say. There's more of a general feeling than an albums worth of really good material. The songs does not stand out. Not really. They blend together into one.

The conclusion has to be that Enbors first album is a pleasant and warm album with nice instrumentation and gentle voices. Not a masterpiece, though very pleasant listening.