Coming from Argentina, Alas displays their Italian heritage quite vividly. In many places, one can hear that distinct early 70s Italian prog interpretation of ELP (Triade, Metamorfosi, The Trip, etc...). In addition there's also a predominance of mid 70s jazz fusion dispersed about, so there are many long stretches of gratuitous soloing. And finally, there's a bit of avant-garde experimentalism sprinkled indiscriminately, including drum solos. I do think it's a worthy addition to any progressive rock collection, though I don't appear to be as high on it as my peers.
Ownership: CD: 1996 PRW (Brazil). The CD is licensed from EMI Argentina. The first side is clearly taken from vinyl, whereas the second seems from master tapes. So unless the 2007 EMI release has found the masters, the sound will be suspect. Most original vinyl I've heard isn't much better either. Too bad really. The CD does feature brief liner notes, photos, recording details, and a rare 45 single from 1975 that demonstrates Alas in more compact form.
I've got the 2007 EMI issue. Sadly, the booklet contains no technical info on the reissue. I decided to have a good listen to the first track though, and while I think I can hear a few noises during the quiet passages, they're barely audible. So either I'm mistaken and they found the master tapes or they cleaned up the vinyl source meticulously for this issue.
ReplyDeleteGood to know. Thanks Bas!
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