b r a n d o n

South America has produced a huge number of progressive rock bands over the decades; many of them, like many of the bands from the famed Italian prog scene, combine bombastic classical progressive rock influences with a distinct native flavor. Arguably, though, none have done it more reliably or consistently than Chile's Los Jaivas, still going strong as I write this, some forty years after their inception in the mid-1960s. Obras de Violeta Parra is a work from their prime period in the early '80s, three years after their most revered work, the landmark Alturas de Macchu Picchu. And though my exploration of this band's massive discography has been limited at best, I can safely say that this album is the only one of theirs I have yet heard that can legitimately be considered the equal of Alturas de Macchu Picchu. While many of Los Jaivas' songs, including those on Alturas, are either very proggy or very folky without necessarily being both, most of the songs on this album combine the two influences to an extent that a neophyte listener might be forgiven for thinking that progressive rock actually emerged from early-1980s Andean music instead of late-1960s British music. Based upon the works of Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra, the songs here are dominated by Parra's lyrics, often sung by multiple beautifully harmonized voices, and the dual-keys attack of Claudio and Eduardo Parra (who seem to heavily favor acoustic piano over other keys), though also prominent are a wide variety of native instruments such as quenas (wood or bamboo flutes) and zampoņas (panpipes); and the charango, which sounds like a small mandolin. Some songs are bouncy, irrepressibly energetic workouts in odd time signatures, such as "El Guillatun" and "Violeta Ausente"; others are more measured epics such as the dramatic "Y Arriba Quemando el Sol" with its almost declamatory vocal style that features insistent, rhythmic chords on piano overlaid by howling Moog and militant drumming. All have a distinct Andean flavor mixed seamlessly with progressive rock idioms, which is what makes the album so successful on the whole. Ironically, the instrumental interpretation of "El Gavilán," the longest and most traditionally "proggy" track on the album, is also the weakest, feeling a bit disjointed and failing to remain gripping over the course of its 12 minutes. Compared to the soulful songs the make up the rest of the album, this song comes off as a bit academic. In fact, the second half of the album drags a bit in comparison to the fantastic opening four tracks: still, aside from "El Gavilán," all of the songs are good if not great. Faithful fans of Alturas de Macchu Picchu, of which there are many, should no doubt make Obras de Violeta Parra their next stop in the oeuvre of Los Jaivas. review by Brandon Wu — 10-17-05 —