“We want to be in Seville / sitting in the park / Glorieta de los lotos, smelling flowers / Yes, we want to be yes / Oh, what a roll!, oh what a roll!, they won’t let us,” Smash sang in 1970 Six years later, Spain was still a mess, but with the dictator already dead, the authorities began to raise their hands a little, and this was exploited by the young population to conquer new areas of freedom. One of those young people was from Seville. louis clemente It was inspired by exactly that Smash song and released it in 1976. crossroads of water liliesA radio show in which he reviews the history of Spanish rock focusing on three important cities: Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.
“The media was in the big cities, but Seville had a special character, not just because of flamenco, but also because of the seed. underground “He was here,” explains Clemente, a music critic specializing in flamenco, but was always sure that this radio show should be a book.
“I was slowly quitting journalism because I wanted to listen to music for pleasure, not because of the compulsion of current events. Then I realized that I mostly listen to 70s music, and so after publishing five books on flamenco, in 2013 I found Vicente Fabuel, a great Valencian record collector. I called and asked if he knew anyone who had done something similar to him. He said no and started working on the book in earnest”.
Almost half a century after it was designed, it has just seen the light Spanish progressive rockA book of over three hundred pages and hundreds of pictures, compiling the most representative LPs and singles of this musical genre from the late 1960s to 1979; Double Openwork, pau riba, agamemnon, bread and licorice anyone live water. “The book begins 1966, because it’s the year a new way of making music was born.. Consolidated in the 60s, pop is slowly being fed by other music. All of this gave birth to the music of the 70s, a very rich decade in which the principles of the music of the future were determined,” explains Clemente, emphasizing how music has undergone a change from that moment on, along with all of the above.
“Towards 1969 they started to get their feet off the music plate. Between that year and 1971 was when pure progressive was developed, which then started to expand by taking it here and there until it was later symphonic rock, folk, and even punk. In any case, and beyond description, what I’m trying to do in the book is, non-commercial music with an infringing spirit“, comments Clemente, who does not hide the fact that in some cases this distinction is a fine line that is difficult to draw.”humble soulsFor example, it is a commercial group with several songs. The sun will shine in winterit stands out from the others because they have something different, an elegance, that made me include them in the book”.
While Clemente was lax in starting his study of Spanish progressive music by incorporating several years from the previous decade to contextualize the music scene, the truth is that he was very strict when it came to putting an end to it. “The book ends in 1979. Even if that resignation leaves some of my favorite recordings out, like Tabletom’s debut album or Silvio and Luzbel’s album, I didn’t want to do a chapter explaining that everything is going on from 1980. At the end. I made a logbook, not of discographies or biographies, nor alignments,” concludes Clemente.
Spanish Progressive Rock It is a lifetime project in which its author has invested time, knowledge, effort and money. In addition to writing and editing, Clemente was responsible for paying for the production and even selling it. Actually the only way to get it is to contact him directly by sending an email to [email protected].
“I’ve been self-publishing for twenty-five years. That’s how I got out my other books because I love to write, design, and I also love the production part, although it’s more cumbersome. For me, it’s the best option, but that doesn’t mean I have a job. underground leave this project. The natural place of Spanish Progressive Rock is bookstores, because when someone gets their hands on a book and sees it, they want it. The problem is, it’s impossible for me to predict the percentage the distributors get. Therefore, my intention is to get the money necessary to sell this first print run and finance a second, larger print run that will allow me to work with a distributor and reach the stores. Actually, one of the other things I want to do is translate it into English, but if I can’t get the second edition out yet, how about paying a translator?”
five jewels
Luis Clemente chose five of the hundreds of recordings that make up the book for El Periódico de España from the group Prensa Ibérica. Here are some rare gems that do not have huge sales, but whose originality has made them indisputable milestones in the history of Spanish music.
Sisa’s ‘Orgy’ (1971).
“His first LP armhole It is a surreal delicacy touched by some thirty collaborative works from colleagues. messy music with machine! or the trumpeter rudy ventura. According to Ramón de España, “it contains orgy Of course, it was not folk music, but a handful of poetic-musical excesses sprang from his sick mind. While some try to put an end to Francoism with an out-of-tune guitar, others spend the whole day perfecting their left hand as a pianist. This fine gentleman wrote hallucinatory stories and dressed them in beautiful and strange melodies that were not devoid of peculiar effects.‘. shortly after its appearance orgySisa temporarily retired from music, practiced various professions, composed a lot and matured the ideas that would give way to the approval of his second LP. Quasevolnit pot sortir el sol”.
‘April 14’ from Goma (1975).
“Goma was the distillation of a large group that emerged around an art gallery of five world-class musicians: an ancient Gong on saxophone, Antonito Smash to battery and battery futures Magnetguitarist Poison and keyboard player fallen. Goma’s promotional page ended with “A hopeful avant-garde with the possibility to conquer any international market”, but the truth is that her album was overshadowed by Goma’s success. triana, who took the gold and the Moor. Goma left this LP only as a milestone of progress, Including loads of instrumentals that best translate the King Crimson style. according to their criticism popular 1“his music requires patient listening and meditation to try to distinguish whether what the person is feeling is tension, headache, or rock paroxysm”. Masonic portal, his work alberto heart, It was censored and the republican flag had to be changed, but not the woman’s eye or title”.
‘Brossa d’ahir’ (1977) by Pep Laguarda & Tapinería.
“Authentic Mediterranean sound with evocative acoustics and intergenerational interludes, for example light year blues in MilanThe verses say: ‘Your mother and father will never know / You made love to an old demon at night / You climbed the bushes with your bare feet / You made milk communion between thunder and lightning / Your father and mother are sleeping in an egg / without communication’. sung in Valencian by pep laguarda and the quartet of musicians came together in this work david allen this puts the pressure, pau riba provided by the electricity company and group of which his brother is a member. xavier riba violin and mandoline, saki as a multi-instrumentalist and Tico Balanza for drum and flute. This charismatic atmosphere Brossa d’ahir It could have been a sequel because two years later Laguarda released a second album that was not released”.
“The shoeshine boy who wants to be a bullfighter” by Cucharada (1979)
“LP on consumerism and commercial imperialism, with the title of farce, pulp fiction, illusion. Trained in the tunnels of the Madrid metro and participated in theatrical reels, Tablespoon They talked when Zappa met and took over Tubes, Living Theatre. CHueca Collective Laboratories (La Cochu) They managed to record two songs for [el recopilatorio] Manzanares Rock and they stepped in with a stern sound show on stage where they dressed to the accompaniment of an Italian dancer and two surprising pantomimes. Shoe shiner who wants to be a bullfighter This is the only Spoonful album and he sang and played bass on it. Manolo Tena (alias Lolilla Cardo), after the breakup of the group concept and with its elements, alarm!!! Stand out among the songs on the disc social dangerdedicated Vagrants and Fraudsters ActThey ask who is guilty and who is innocent. / The right millionaire or the necessary poor?’”.
NHUfrom NHU (1978)
“A record that didn’t even sell three hundred copies at the time, and then desperately envy it. First progressive rock album sung in Galician (small) and also because it has an above-average experimental value.
The name was short for Una Hermosa Noche, and it can be curiously said that they were a fair group, and with a good crew, they rehearsed in a deserted house on their way to the Santiago psychiatric hospital.