Crisalida is one of those albums I've owned on CD for 34 years, but haven't heard in the last 20 (2004 being the first year I journaled every listen). And despite the lengthy gap, I found myself recognizing most of the album as it went on. Such was the era when we had less, so there was more repetition per album.
I noted for Espiritu's second album: "an intriguing mix of Relayer-era Yes blended with Argentine singer songwriter tendencies. Libre y Natural can be weighed down by the latter, especially as it drifts towards pop realms with whiny dramatic vocals, only to be reeled back with some fine Moog soloing, wicked bass, and odd rhythms." On this debut they sound far more like an Italian prog band, rather than the more established acts of the day, which they were to pursue on Libre y Natural. I would submit that their opening salvo was a consequence of their culture versus a concerted effort to sound that way. They also stayed primarily within the progressive rock rails eschewing the temptation for pop stardom. What you get here are the trademarks of the Italian scene: Stop-start rhythms, severe dynamic changes, dramatic vocals, and a reckless seeking of new ideas without an end game in sight. All positives as far as I'm concerned. Crisalida is an album that has aged very well for me. +1 after all these years.
Ownership: CD: 1989 Music Hall (USA). Jewel case with booklet that is blank inside.
1990 (first listen); 9/24/24 (review / new entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment