SNEGS

One of the most important albums to appear in Brazil at the early 70´s, O Som Nosso De Cada Dia ("Our Everyday Music") was one of the first symphonic prog bands to actually have a record out by a major label. It was very well received by critics and the prog fans at the time, even if the production was quite disappointing. Fortunately for today´s audience, the remastering done by Progressive Rock Worldwide records solved much of the problem, and also includes a new track, recorded around 1993, when the original trio reunited for this occasion.

Their sound is hard to define, since they drawn their influences from several different sources, like symphonic rock, jazz-rock/fusion, brazilian and latin folk, psychedelic/space rock, RPI and even blues and hard rock. The resulting songs were quite stunning for the time, with a mature, varied and original songwriting throughout. The celebrated (and recently deceased) multi instrumentalist Manito (from 60´s legendary beat band Os Incríveis) is the main figure here, playing not only heavily Keith Emerson influenced keyboards, but also a few violin and sax parts (traces of early King Crimson can be detected). Bass and drums are quite good and versatile. Vocals, as usual with so many 70´s bands, are only average at best. All tracks are sung in portuguese, except Direccion de Aquarius, sung partly in Spanish, partly in english.

I had the original LP and I can assure that the CD has a much, much brighter and balanced sound than the vinyl counterpart (the bass for instance was almost inaudible, but now can be heard quite clearly). And I was glad to see how good their debut was and how their music stood well the test of time, even if some timbres and lyrics are quite dated. It is only a shame they could not deliver a follow up as powerful and strong as Snegs. However, this CD is one of the few recorded proofs and a very good example that Brazil had its strong own prog scene in the early 70´s. Sinal Da paranoia became a kind of underground classic and Massavilha with its terrific instrumental parts is probably one of the highlights, but in general all the songs are very good.

The bonus track is a version of a very well known theme from Brazil´s most famous classical composer Carlos Gomes, O Guarani. It shows they had lost none of their musical prowess after all those years and it´s a pity they did not ended up releasing a new CD of original material then.

Conclusion: with all the aforementioned faults, this is one of the first and best prog CDs released in Brazil in that decade. At the time it was really hard to record such new and complex music and most groups disbanded after made their names on live shows only. For us, some were lucky enough to leave their mark despite all the technological and financial difficulties. Snegs is surely one of them. A real gem for any symphonic prog lover. Kudos to PRW records for improving the original LP sound so much without losing any of the group´s energy and essence. 4 strong stars.