Cai - Mas Allá de Nuestras Mentes Diminutas. 1978 Spain

Progressive rock and jazz fusion meet Flamenco styled rhythms is what Cai's debut is about. 1978 Spain is filled with similar albums and Cai is an excellent representative of the Rock Andaluz movement. Others have called out comparisons to Iman Califato Independiente, and that's a really good reference for this album. Cai later signed to a major label and released two further albums, more geared towards the fusion aspect of their sound. I have them both and we'll cover at some point.

LP: 1987 Soviso

The 1987 release is an exact replica of the 1978 original gatefold. Though pressed in Spain, it was primarily made for the Japanese market. And that's exactly where my copy came from - a Japanese dealer in the late 1980s. A local friend has the Lacochu original and there are scant differences between them.

The CD, by all accounts (and there are many), is a very poor vinyl transfer and thus I've avoided buying one. Not sure why more care wasn't applied - my vinyl reissue sounds perfect! Even if the masters were lost, most assuredly someone else in Spain has one of these mint LPs from 1987 like myself. The reissue is a 2 CD set released by one of the members of the band and he added his own solo music for disc 2. Because it is legit, I don't have it featured on the CDRWL, but here's my plea for a better CD! Maybe the Japanese dealers can convince them to try for a mini-LP version, similar to what they did in 1987? It would be a great candidate for a mini-LP in any case since the gatefold cover is indeed striking.