Eduardo Bort - s/t. 1975 Spain

When I started collecting rare progressive rock in the mid to late 1980s, Eduardo Bort's album was considered by many a dealer as Spain's single best progressive rock album - and mighty expensive too (and often times in the dealer world - most expensive=best). So I pounced on the first reissue commonly available, the Fonomusic CD, and anxiously awaited "this best" prog album from Spain. Huh? My inherent cynicism kicked into gear quickly, and my initial thoughts were more akin to "the xenophobes' choice of best album from Spain". In effect, it was in the comfort zone of your common 80s psychedelic dealer who dabbled in prog, but never could really accept any lyrical language but good ol' Engrish ("What's the point of music if you can't understand the words?"). Yes - I've read genius statements like this in the past. And with Spain, it's not just one language, but multiple, each adding a unique spice to the region they come from.

Over the years, I began to embrace Bort's album on its own terms, ignoring the cultural backdrop. The irony here is that Bort had no business singing in English, and is really the only weak element on the album. The music here evolves greatly from the psychedelic folk rock of 'Thoughts', onto the progressive hard rocking 'Walking on the Grass', and finishes in superb symphonic fashion, with multiple themes, meter shifts, and mellotron galore. Overall an excellent pan-European styled progressive rock album and definitely well worth owning.

Personal collection
CD: 1989 Fonomusic

I never did improve upon the initial CD, which is as basic as it gets with a single tray card. But the sound is fine and from the master tapes. Original LPs come in a fine gatefold, and I wouldn't mind owning one myself, but as noted above, it's always been a bit pricey. Incidentally Fonomusic is Movieplay Ver 2.0.

Worth noting that the original and early reissues do not list a definitive date beyond the recording date of 1974. Later reissues appended a copyright of 1975, which appears to be the correct release year.