WHY ?

The sole studio release from Barcelona's Maquina, Why? was one of the earliest Rock albums to come out of Franco's fascist Spain; a remarkable thing, though not too unfamiliar, given all the 'wayward' and 'dissident' art officially disowned by one earlier, more famous autocracy... It's interesting to think what may have come out of the country given different circumstance. Coming off the heels of the earliest Progressive Rock, and specifically by way of the Moody Blues--in this general way--I was struck by the separation of its title track, continuing after a disc-flip to Side 2. Where the Moodies gave us the cohesive original Psych-Prog song cycle throughout Days of Future Passed at least two years prior (1967)--see also the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow (1968)--the multi-side movement is something that wouldn't really be seen in Prog Rock at large until Tull's iconic spite-piece Thick As A Brick (1972), followed up by A Passion Play ('73), or, from that same year (1973), Tubular Bells and Remember the Future. Interestingly, it is their supposedly expressed love of early Tull which influenced their sound here; broadly that does show. The version here under review includes two 1969 singles; I'm very happy it does.

"I Believe" is a fuzz-filled waltz, featuring more of the wonderful flavors of popular music at this time; the warmth of the bass here... Lovely. And then, around the midpoint, Hammond organ enters, lightly changing in tone, only becoming slightly harsh as the guitar, as seen for the whole track, continues to solo most bluesily. Next, to already wrap up our first side, is part 1 to our title track, "Why?"; our first taste of bassist Jordi Batiste on vocals, they're also responsible for the wonderful, conceptual artwork for the album. His voice (with English lyrics, by the way) is honestly so high in register and soft in delivery, I was at first convinced he was a lady; I'm into it, genuinely. This is a very of-the-time groovin' number, the drums from Josep María Vilaseca being especially choice to my ears. Approaching minute 8 is this crunchy, fuzzed-out wah-guitar (Lluis Cabanach), married (simultaneously) to another would-be guitar solo (Josep Maria Paris). I would classify this jam compositionally as fairly standard Psych-Blues-Rock; progressive, of course, in its exploratory, extended length. As we approach its partial close, the drums are once again on display, Vilaseca getting his own solo; a fine solo it is, in my opinion. Altogether, great Proto-Progging here and now.

Flipping over to Side 2, we get "Why[?] (Continuacio)". Without a hitch, we're picking up, it feels, from where we left off from its first part. Instead of a traditional starting-out, we begin with said psychedelic jam. I don't know why, but I already dig it significantly enough more. After minute 2, we get this long crescendo, with shimmering organ underneath pulsing drums and wriggling lead guitar; that's right, ladies and gentlemen(!), it's Adjectives Time! This crescendo falls away to nothingness, essentially, the organ playing a bluesy, neo-classical arpeggio. As this shifts eventually to a single, pedaled chord, the rest of the band flips their proverbial wig. What follows is very memorable, the band shifting chromatically and darkly from chord to chord. I think this is a much more interesting jam than the one in the last half+ of regular old "Why?", and one I would recommend checking out in the least. Finishing out for its final minute or so, we get the return of vocals, and in a likewise much more welcome fashion, too. Finally, as for original album tracks, "(Continuacio)" is followed by "Let Me Be Born", twice featuring a sample, I assume, of Elvis's "Jailhouse Rock". Batiste's vocals enter in, via the tin can he showed up in, while the band is down low with minimal oddball percussion and a cool yet simple bass. We're back into the groove then, and we also get some lovely close Psych-Pop-ready vocal harmonies. Batiste likewise performs a solo on recorder! Delightful, honestly. With the sample alone, it was interesting, but to me this track really has it going on.

Included in this version are two singles from '69, first of all "Earth's Daughter", a David Bowie-style orchestral / Traditional Pop song (maybe at times a la Scott Walker) (at rarer times maybe Harry Nilsson). Nice melodies--likewise overtly Bowiesque--and overall a nice song for the nearing end to the Psychedelic Era. Lastly is "Look Away Our Happiness", a live rendition of a song which immediately brought early Bee Gees to my mind. And then... as verse falls away, we have this insane avant-garde noisefest. What then follows is expectedly groovy and cool, some absolutely stellar Jazz-Rock! Honestly, this would have killed on the album originally, but blessed are we to hear it tethered thus; to fellow fans of early Jazz-Rock and Fusion, genuinely a near-essential.

True Rate: 3.75/5.00