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Pescado Rabioso 2
Originally released in 1973, the second album from this Argentinian band arrived into the world as a double LP. Its all squeezed onto one CD.
The band was led by Luis Alberto Spinetta, who had/has quite a prolific career in the Argentinian scene. The album is very much guitar driven but there are underpinnings through out of swirling organ bits. A not uncommon mix for that region of hard rock, prog rock, and blues.
"Even for a double album, this is a definite improvement over Pescado Rabioso's debut album Desatormentándonos. Their sound was rooted in blues rock, which also comes with the unfortunate side of blues rock: the fact that the songs drag on and on, with no excitement, or nothing to even enjoy in the slightest. With every song being over eight-minutes, you just get...bored.
On this, oh boy! Hold on to your butts, 'cause this album rocks your cock in the most non-sexual, psychologically satisfying way imaginable! I thought I was forever turned off hard rock, but this totally turns me back on. Unfortunately, my idea of hard rock is always going to be tarnished by having bands like AC/DC and Pearl Jam springing to mind when I hear the word, but Pescado Rabioso just proves that it doesn't all have to be bad. And I thank Luis Alberto Spinetta the most for this. I went the longest time without listening to him, and when I listened to this I forgot how absolutely mind-blowing this man's guitar work is. And he's self-taught! My God!
It's like your hard rock with organ along with all of the other conventional rock instruments. So it's really more heavy psychedelic rock than anything. Maybe a little bluesy, who knows. Spinetta sounds so unique, that his music should just be classified as 'Spinetta music'. The man does what he wants. If you know me, you would know that I have a personal vendetta against double albums, but the fact that this is a double album doesn't really turn me off. For a double album, this has relatively little filler. This makes the whole album seem much shorter than it actually is, since the boredom factor sets in very rarely. And time flies when you're having fun, right? I do prefer the first half to the second half, but the second half isn't bad by any means.
Now here's the most important part, where I tell you the goods on here. The following tracks rule on some level or another: "Inicidao del Alba", "Como el Viento Voy a Ver", "Madre-Selva", "Sombra de la Noche Negra" and "Cristalida". Not to say that those are the only good tracks, since everything rules on here in one way or another. And am I the only one who notices the glaring similarities between "Madre-Selva" and "Free Bird"? Since this album predates "Free Bird", I wouldn't be surprised if Lynyrd Skynyrd went down to Argentina and totally ripped off these guys. Mudderfuggaz...
In late 1972/early 73, Pescado Rabioso went to studio to cut their masterpiece: Pescado 2, a 2-LP set considered one of the top 5 best South American rock albums ever recorded, and certainly the highest point of Spinetta's creative genius.
Pescado 2 was conceived as two separate LPs: one called Pescado, and the other called 2. The two covers were joined upside down and the original version included a 48-page booklet with the lyrics, technical data, photos, texts and drawings, as well as a poem by Arthur Rimbaud and a quote from his "Illuminations". This is a coincidence, since it explains the origin of Spinetta's surrealistic lyrics of that time.
The 18 tracks are numbered, and the numbers are part of the song titles as well.
Side A opens with "Panadero ensoñado" a guttural duo between Luis and David, and is followed by the great saga "Iniciado del Alba"/"Poseído del Alba" lead by the Hammond organ with Leslie. "Como el viento voy a ver" is a wonderful easy blues number. The effects of "Viajero naciendo" and the first Lebón composition to be recorded "Mañana o pasado" close the side.
Side B features a rock and roll number "Nena boba", "Madre Selva", another superb moment of the album with climatic guitar and organ, and the enigmatic "Peteribí" (unique Argentine tree).
Side C begins with 16 seconds of "Peteribí" to give continuity to the whole concept. "Señorita" is a group-improvised composition. "Credulidad" is an acoustic song with Spinetta remembering his early years. "Hola, pequeño ser!" is an anti-drug hard rock with excellent guitar and organ duels. "Mi espíritu se fue" is a nice ballad written by Bocón.
Side D opens with "Sombra de la noche negra", a hard rock composed by Black Amaya with furious guitars and organs. The calm returns with "La cereza del zar", a folk-psycho ballad, and "Corto" (originally called "Después de la bomba") about the nuclear holocaust. The album closes with an absolute Spinetta masterpiece: "Cristálida", a 9-minute opus with rhythm changes and orchestral arrangements.
In other words, an absolute must have album!!!" - Surfing The Odyssey