SUDAMÉRICA - O EL REGRESO A LA AURORA

This is first of two double albums that Argentinian band Arco Iris recorded, the second being Agitor Lucens V. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is an essential South American prog album in every way, quite stunning, in fact. Arco Iris combined elements of psychedelia, jazz (the excellent sax playing resembles early Crimson), symphonic prog, some Floydian spacy elements, and Andean folk in a stew that is not too far off from Jaivas' early sound but is still distinctive. This is too long an album to break down track by track, but it comprises a number of short pieces (occasionally a recurring melody pops up from the overture) and two long tracks. The long tracks tend to devolve into guitar based jamming, which is not entirely my cup of tea, but the level of musicianship is very high. The short songs are all wonderful, usually characterized by great harmony vocals and often some lovely acoustic playing. S. American folk instruments pop up from time to time, as well as some very tasty flute playing.

For the time and place (meaning the technology available there at the time), the production is very good, clean and clear. I'd like to give this five stars, but it's not currently available on CD and may not become so, so I don't want to make all you proggers jealous. But if you come across it, you will not regret picking this album up. It's ambitious, artistic and a great musical journey into the realms of South American prog.