Terreno Baldio - Terreno Baldio (1976)

Artista: Terreno Baldio

Álbum: Terreno Baldio
Año: 1976
Género: Progresivo ecléctico / Rock psicodélico
Duración: ---
Nacionalidad: Brasil

Lista de Temas:
1. Passaro azul
2. Loucuras de amor
3. Despertas
4. Agua que corre
5. A volta
6. Quando as coisas ganham vida
7. este é o lugar
8. Grite

Alineación:
- Joao Kurk "Fusa" / lead vocals, percussion
- Mozart Mello / guitars, vocals
- Roberto Lazzarini / keyboards, xylophone
- Joaquim Correa / drums, percussion
- Joao Ascencao / basses

¡Discazo brazuca!. Primar álbum de los Gentle Giant del Brasil, creo que grabaron un segundo álbum para luego disolverse. No escuché otros trabajos de ellos, pero éste es espectacular, grandísimo trabajo que vale mucho la pena conocer.
Si no me creen, lean los siguientes comentarios, ¡tanta gente no se puede equivocar!.

La banda surge en 1974 con el proyecto de dar un curso de cierta complejidad a su estilo musical. Manifiestan influencias de las bandas británicas clásicas del rock progresivo, pero es Gentle Giant quien deja su marca más considerable. Graban ese año el primer LP, hoy una pieza buscada por los coleccionistas. La falta de copias de buena calidad y el extravío de las cintas originales inducen la medida de regrabar el álbum en 1992, según se comenta manteniendo el espíritu y los arreglos originales, mas con tecnología moderna. Participan en esta regrabación que contiene los temas del primer LP y dos temas ináditos, Mozart Mello en guitarras, Roberto Lazzarini en teclados y Fusa en voz y percusión. Son de destacar los pasajes colmados de contrapuntos entre los dos primeros y la muy buena voz, adecuada para este estilo de João (Fusa) Kurk. A diferencia del original las voces ahora están en inglás. Además de estos miembros originales aparecen como invitados Ricardo Brasa en batería, Renato Muñiz en bajo y Casio Poletto en volín. No participan de la obra el bajista original João Ascenção ni el baterista Joaquim Silveira. Según se comenta la grabación original, casi un registro en vivo en 4 canales era capaz de mostrar la calidad de estos músicos, ahora apuntalada sobre una tecnología de 24 canales. Un álbum de escucha aconsejable (Editado por PRW). Previo a su separación TB registra un nuevo LP que vería la luz en 1976.
A pesar de las motivaciones referidas para regrabar el álbum la grabación original está disponible en CD a travás Rock Symphony. La calidad de sonido es más que aceptable y personalmente me quedo con esta versión, más cruda, con un sonido más propio de los 70s. El paso de los años también ha producido cambios en la voz João Kurk, que sonaba más aguda en los 70s. El arte de tapa es el mismo, salvo por el detalle de que la edición de RS conserva el logo de "Pirata", la discográfica que editó el vinilo. De tener que recomendar una, prefiero el registro original. Claro que quienes quieran escuchar "Aqueloo", una de las piezas culminantes de la banda, deberá recurrir a la regrabación.

Progresiva '70

Luego sigo con mi review, pero los invito a leer (sorry, esto está en inglés, no encontré descripciones en castellano):
Pero antes, escúchenlos por favor:

Terreno Baldio's eponymous debut album is one of the absolute highlights of vintage Brazilian progressive rock. Taking influences from Camel and Genesis regarding the melodic aspect, Gentle Giant regarding the use of stylish counterpoints and Return to Forever regarding the jazzy vibe (especially concerning Mello's guitar playing), Terreno Baldio took this mixture to a different level, closely related to the melodic roots of their own country's Creole folklore. Now, the overall result can be easily perceived as a clever display of technical prowess without overdoing things, and the same can be said about the compositions. That is, the musical ideas bear an appeal that is enhanced by sophisticated arrangements (for some tracks, more complex than in others), yet these arrangements never lead to a hyperbolic exaggeration - the performers act as a well integrated unit faithfully respecting the musical essence of the main ideas. The first two tracks are pretty much focused on the band's relaxing side, with 'Pássaro Azul' leaning more on the jazzy side and 'Loucuras de Amor' defining a direction toward bucolic romanticism in a symphonic context. These two songs have a dreamy flair to them, which allows them to accruately fit the artsy standards of Terreno Baldio's music. With 'Despertar' things start to get really intense. Full of fusionesque colors that are undobtedly indebted to both the tradition of American jazz-rock and bossanova, the band displays an effective portrait of musical sensualism. This is also the first track in which the band begins to show the GG influence: particularly, Lazzarini's delivers on electric piano and synth solo, not precisely cloning Minnear's style but definitely being influenced by it. 'Água que Corre' brings back that ethereal mood present in tracks 1 & 2, mixed with the fusionesque vibe of track 3: this one might truly serve as a perfect recapitulation of the album's first half, as well as a perfect sample of the album's overall essence. The GG thing will never leave the set of ingredients for the repertoire from 'Despertar' onwards, although, as I said before, this is not a copycat. The dissonant interplay of guitar and piano during the intro motif of 'A Volta' is too short, since it could have been such an exciting overture had it been really developed. Anyway, the main motif shows how well can Brazilian music and vintage symphonic prog be mixed in an appealing way. Having a duration of 3 3/4 minutes, it feels too short, and even shorter does 'Quando as Coisa Ganham Vida' feel, too. On the other hand, it is admirable how well can inventiveness give way to variety and solid colorfulness in a 2- minute span. A terrivic short track. Terrific but longer is 'Este é o Lugar', which shows Terreno Baldi oat their most epic. Not unlike 'Água que Corre', this song bears a perfect sample of all main musical sources in Terreno Baldio's style, fully integrated all through the arrangements and variations of the main motifs. 'Grite' closes down the album with a highly symphonic structure, basically lead by the Baroque-like keyboard flourishes. The final claims by lead singer Fusa (the message is "shout at the system if they want to suppress you") feel quite emotive while accompanied by Mello's guitar harmonies during the fade-out. The "Terreno Baldio" album is a hell of a gem in 70s South American prog: from my point of view, it is really a pity that some individual tracks are not more developed, but in general, the repertoire is both genius and attractive.

Cesar Inca

Brazilian underground movement of late 60s and early 70s (sometimes called udigrudi or marginalia) was more powerful and fruitful than originally thought. Checking the odds of the cited era we conclude that bands and artists related with the 'udigrudi' scene were reasonably acclaimed by the critics and got fairly surprising sales but received no media exposure at all, certainly due to the many problems they have with the outrageous censorship that overwhelmed then. All that was produced by those artists could have been lost in the dust of times if a renewed interested shouldn't be arisen with the internet, the new approach toward the musical trends and the eternal and indefatigable work of professional researchers and amateur curious.
And what really 'marginalia' was? A blend of pop, folk, rock, psychedelics and madness, sired and later hugely influenced by the Brazilian tropicalism movement and taking blood continuously from parallel movements from outside: psych & space rock, fusion, proto-prog, hard & acid rock, glam, latin jazz, etc. It's hard to shape an accurate definition since its boundaries are very smooth and not totally clear.
However, while 'tropicalism', rooted on Brazilian popular music, was dead around 1971-1972, the 'udigrudi', rooted mainly on international rock, struggled and got to remain alive until the end of the 70s, and going more and more in the direction of prog-rock or at least prog-related as time passed by.
It's fine, in fact it's enjoyable to see that the Prog Archives shelters acts like Casa Das Máquinas, Som Nosso De Cada Dia, late Mutantes, Recordando O Vale das Maçãs, Saecvla Saecvlorvm and TERRENO BALDIO. Sooner or later other acts from the Brazilian underground will be added, like Marconi Notari, Spectrum, Módulo Mil, Zé Ramalho, Lula Cortez, O Peso, Ave Sangria, etc, while others like Sirlan, Alceu Valença and Jards Macalé even being part of this stream are really more difficult to be included since their progressive sound of the 70s lacked the rock part required at the Archives.
But being a representative of an era or a movement means not necessarily that you are great or musically meaningful, sometimes some acts simply disappear when all the foam vanishes - this is not the case of TERRENO BALDIO: they were good. I do not like to make comparisons between artists, and specifically if one point to a sole name, like being an ersatz to Gentle Giant; it sounds like they were a weak tribute band. Also one must know the history behind the curtains; the way TERRENO BALDIO sing and play has much more to do with Brazilian bands and artists of late 50s and early 60s and it's steadily settled on bossa nova singers and folk acts. Can't we carry the aroma of originality too? Hearing the album "Terreno Baldio" I also grab much of O Terço and Os Mutantes and why not? The main influential line comes from other Brazilian artists, be them prog or not.
So much blabbing and no word up to now about the album "Terreno Baldio", the debut work of TERRENO BALDIO. We have a cluster of neat short tracks decorated with fine musicianship and exquisite whispered vocals, very refreshing and amusing. Lyrics in Portuguese are mainly incidental, basically meaningless but well placed to trim the overall atmosphere - melodies kept a certain resemblance amongst them, which is another part of the intended ambience.
'Pássaro azul', the opener, is a blues-rock provided with good tunes and strange sound effects. 'Loucuras de amor' mixes the blues climate with a kind of balladesque accompaniment; refrain brings a renaissance flair. 'Despertar' maintains the rock trend while 'Água que corre' goes from soft to a bit experimental; the bossa nova drumming and the jazz beat are undeniable. 'A volta' is very interesting with its baião intro, calling the gods from distant worlds, only to give room to some weird tunes. 'Quando as coisas ganham vida' is where they really look like Gentle Giant, but the quaint effects provided are quite different. 'Este é o lugar' shows the fine band musicianship. 'Grite', the closing track, is the album's best - a great progressive song indeed.
I believe that "Terreno Baldio" is an important piece to solve the puzzle of the Brazilian underground movement that happened 30 years ago and should not be forgotten. For this reason and also for the overall quality of songs and musicians, I rate this album an excellent addition to any music collection.

Atkingani

Better than ANY Gentle Giant album, besides being called the brazilian Gentle Giant
This album is a true gem from the original brazilian progressive rock scene and can possibly be the best brazilian rock album ever made, in my opinion. Here, Terreno Baldio represents the first wave of bands that, still in the 70's, were influenced by the previous / major progressive rock band, just like bands such as Triumvirat and Eloy and, along with their german counterparts, the brazilian band was able to put out terrific albums inspired by one major (and amazing) english progressive rock band most of you know, called Gentle Giant. The Giant influence becomes even clearer when you see that both bands have technically challenging songs, similar vocal styles and restless basses and drums (both instruments are the base for all the songs in both bands, hardly having any rest or pause).
However, Terreno Baldio was able to surpass Gentle Giant, at least in this album, in an incredible display of musical skill, creativity, beauty, originality and, last but not least, ROCK. That's right, rock. Terreno Baldio may be called the brazilian Gentle Giant because their music resembles GG but, unlike the english band, the Terreno music is much more energetic, straight to the point and have a heavier music somehow. Another important characteristic that puts Terreno Baldio ahead of Gentle Giant is the language the lyrics are sung: i am more capable to appreciate poetry in my native tongue (portuguese) than in a foreign language (in this case, english).
There is also something very interesting in this album that no one else have noted so far: this is a concept album. However, its concept is actually two different stories put together in an album: the life story of a blue bird and the story of a man in search of something (i still could not put my finger on what he is after, but anyway. . . ) that were connected by an empty lot.
The Concept: Well, the plot is very simple and the band, as far as i know, don't went too deep it, so this will be quite a summary track by track. The opening song talks about the blue bird and prophetizes its destiny: it must fly. The second track talks about the man and he is walking on a beach and the feel of the sand, the wind and the water makes him remember one lost love and he wishes to have her love again, even if he has to suffer to have it. The third track is about the birth and the early life of the bird: it discover a brand new world from its nest; it urges to fly and, after falling a couple times (the downward glissando symbolizes its falls wile it is learning to fly), does it. I am not sure if the fourth track talks about the man or the bird, but it probably talks about the man, since the fifth talks about the bird; the track tells him to find the things he wants, wishes and a new home. The fifth track talks about the voyages and experiences of the blue bird and its search for a warm place to call home in the place were it was born. i don't have any idea of what the sixth track is about. The seventh track is about the empty lot. It is described as the place to throw garbage at, but everything (square, block, street, home, building . . .) was already an empty lot. The blue bird seems to see the empty lot as its new home, the place destined to be its home. In the final track the man realize his loneliness and see in the empty lot a place to set lose all his frustrations screaming, living and dying.
Grade and Final Thoughts: This great band, by improving drastically the quality of the music made by GG and being able to do so with originality wile being heavier and straightforward, deserves rightfully the masterpiece grade.

Caio "Dot" César

A trully ''big'' band coming from Brazil,TERENNO BALDIO were born in 1973 and led by vocalist Joao Furk,guitarist Mozart Mello and keyboardist Robert Lazzarini.It hasn't been cleared yet when their first release came out.Most sources indicate 1975 as the year of their debut's release,though there are references also for year 1974.
Apart from this detail,''Terreno Baldio'' showcases a different side of Brazilian prog.Yes,there are folk influences.Yes,there a few South-American elements and obvious psych traces...but most noteably there are a lot of nice yet smooth interplays and great vocal work contained in here. Certainly,GENTLE GIANT are the closest comparison,starting from the fantastic twisted bass lines,the jazzy and complicated drumming,the beautiful sound of the xylophone and,of course ,the story-telling poetic vocals.However,the vocal harmonies are not so complicated as in GENTLE GIANT's works,yet they are so ethereal and delicate,an ear's heaven.Overall,the musicianship may sound quite mellow,but ,believe me,it is also really demanding and professional with balanced use of piano,organ ,complex guitar parts and the strong presence of a super-tight rhythm section.Short-lived TERRENO BALDIO will leave you undoubtfully a pleasant taste after every listening of their work.Try this other side of Brazilian prog without any hesitation.

Psarros

Terreno Baldio´s first album, released in 1976 was quite a complex affair. I have to agree with the general opinion that their most important influence is british band Gentle Giant. They have lots of things in commom and the elaborated, very dense arrangements are quite similar. Even João Kurk´s vocals - all sung in portuguese - reminds me a lot of them (more especificly, of that of Kerry Minnear). But they were far from being copycats. They actually blended the influece very well with Brazilain popular music and rhythms, even if that is not easily noticeable at first. Besides, there are no vocal hamornies like GG and Mozart Mello´s guitar style is much more jazzier then GG´s Gary Green.
Having said that, it is only unfortunate that the band had distribution problems and the record reached few people (it was very hard to find in stores) even if it was very well received by critics, something rare for prog groups at the time in Brazil. The production was absolute fantastic for the time and the songwriting here is quite mature and strong. You can hear all the instruments and the balance between them and the voice is perfect. All the musicians are masters of their respective instruments and I just loved the bass and drums patterns, very technical and creative without being too flashy. They were all team players and hence, they play for the music not to show how good they are or capable of doing 13 minute solos.
If you´re into complex, GG style class of music, this is surely a must have. The elaborated arrangemnts, the odd rhtyhm paterns and the unusual vocal lines are something to be heard many times to be fully appreciated. Truly eclectic and innovative for the time. Savory, no doubt, but for special tastes. One fo the most interesting, talented and bold brazilian rock bands of the period. The music hasn´t aged a bit since then. Rating: at least four stars.

Tarcisio Moura

This is a tough one to track down since it was never released on cd and the master tapes are gone. The band re-recorded this record in studio but used English vocals back in 1993. I have that and was quite impressed. This original one impresses me more though. So a big thanks to Todd who came through for me once again. Tracks 3, 5 - 7 really remind me of GENTLE GIANT from the sound of the vocals to the complex instrumental work.
"Passaro Azul" is almost RPI sounding with that beautiful sound and vocals. It kicks in after 1 1/2 minutes with an impressive display of instrumental work before settling back late with vocals once again. Great track ! In fact a top three along with the next song "Loucuras De Amor". It's spacey to start then it kicks in with drums, guitar and piano standing out. Reserved vocals before a minute as a flood of emotion hits me. So beautiful. "Despertar" is different as we get this funky jazz to start. It settles back with vocals after a minute as the funk comes and goes. Synths lead after 3 1/2 minutes as the bass throbs. Vocals are back 4 1/2 minutes in. The mellow sections remind me of GG.
"Agua Que Corre" is mellow with water sounds then it kicks in after a minute. Nice crisp drums and chunky bass here as the piano and guitar join in. Organ too and vocal melodies which turn into vocals. "A Volta" has upfront bass and a beat to start as it builds and the vocals join in. Excellent sound here. "Quando As Coisas Ganham Vida" has these intricate sounds that come and go and the vocals are very GG-like. "Este E O Lugar" has more complexity as the organ and punchy sounds lead. Vocals come and go along with the guitar. Impressive stuff. "Grite" is my final top three. Organ, bass and a beat lead as the vocals arrive before a minute. The vocals are passionate suddenly then they soften as it becomes very beautiful sounding. Contrasts continue.
If you don't mind the GENTLE GIANT flavours chances are you will really enjoy this. Great looking album cover as well.

John Davie

Do not confuse the Vinyl of Terreno Baldio with the CD "version", it is NOT the same recording ! The vinyl is the best prog album from 70"s in Brazil ! The CD do not worth the price ... Terreno Baldio meld the best of Gentle Giant with Brazilian Folklore . The folklore influences are subtle and bring to theirs sound a very creative colors, in my opinion the most original of Brazilian bands ever . 1. Pássaro Azul ( Blue Bird ) is a delicate peace, with the vocals of João Kurk in the forefront position, and an incredible guitar solo from Mozart Mello, just perfect to opening . 2. Loucuras de Amor ( crazies of Love ) is the kind of romantic ballad that just progressive bands can do ( like "Dust in the Wind"from Kansas or "Time and a Word" from Yes ), a beautiful lyric embedded in the best arrangement possible to make everything perfect . 3. Despertar ( awakening ) shows a perfect marriage of skilled guitar from Mozart and the creative keyboards of Lazzarini, a more powerful song, reminds me the "In a Glass House" from Gentle Giant . 4. Água que Corre ( Running Water ) is an exercise of "contraponto" with drum, bass and keyboard, with guitar and vocals "running free" in different time, excellent to close the A side of the vinyl album . 5. A Volta ( the back ) Jazzy introduction fast changing to "baião" percussion and then the bass marks the melodic line, with vocals and keyboards floating around, a very good song ! 6. Quando as Coisas Ganham Vida ( When the Things Come to Live ) all instruments ( including vocals ) alternate within melodic line and "contraponto" all the time, another song that reminds me the "In A Glass House" . 7. Este É O Lugar ( This is The Place ) a masterpiece of Progressive Rock,a very delicate introduction from keyboardist Lazzarini, showing the power in perfect constrain, and then all musicians marks for what they come for, pure symphonic in the vein of "Octopus" days from Gentle Giant . My favorite !!! 8. Grite ( Scream ) closes the B side, another very symphonic song with a "screaming" guitar solo, the arrangements is again the main player here, with everything in the right place . All right, I know the vinyl is very difficult to find, but do not make yourself a fool, the real deal IS the vinyl, CD version sound like a workers just fulfilling they're job, Vinyl instead is a Real Masterpiece !
Even the two bonus track do not make the CD worthwhile.

Fabio R.

Great addition!!! Terreno Baldio really deserved the title of brazilian Gentle Giant. I love every single song of this album, the melodies are pretty similar to the ones of GG. Nevertheless, obviously the band lacks originality and loses one star because of it. Result: 4 stars and a "must own" for GG's lunatics like me.

Filipe Wsan

In my opinion, Terreno Baldio was the best progressive band of Brazil. The second album, "Além das lendas brasileiras", is amazing. This one, "Terreno Baldio", the debut album, has a lot (lot and lot!) of Gentle Giant inspiration. I liked the lead voice and the organ work. The bass and drums is very nice too, with great change of "tempo" and arranjements.
The best track is, maybe, "Água que corre", with great guitar riffs by Mozart Mello and great piano and organ arranjements.
"A volta" begins with a very common rythm in Brazil, the "baião", that came from the north side of the country. A very best track to realize a little of brazilian music, that is very common nowadays in brazilians musical production.
Well, I will mark 4 stars to this album. A great album for any prog lover (mainly for GG fans).

Felipe Betschart

Very nice Brazilian (Brazil must be mentioned) Gentle Giant, like they say, and I sign it. Maybe too light and somehow loose for my taste, but the "influences" are so wide here, in a very mixed pack that isn't really anything because it's all so mixed up (like Gentle Giant).
To me this sounds more (or maybe both equally in the whole album) Premiata Forneria Marconi (first two tracks are light and symphonic "pop") than Gentle Giant, at least until Despertar (3.) comes. It starts with jazz fusion (a bit like Finnforest), but is very GG-like (well, there's also refreshing Tarkus-like keyboard solo); bass patterns, almost all sounds and light vocals - like it was sometimes even strongly plagiarizing GG (partially the melodies can be very similar). But there's much Brazilian and jazzy things here in this album, (even very slightly zeuhlish - listen to band Eskaton and compare it to Este é o Lugar (7.) at 4:30), for example in delicate vocals and rhythms (upbeat with slower swing etc) reminds me of Bacamarte, and of course the echoes of samba here and there. The keyboard melodies' structures are sometimes very similar to Genesis. Also the folky part of GG is present, for example Grite (8.) sounds more prog folk than most that are considered o be that style and the song changing from Songs From The Wood to a some kind of waltz. Band eclects from bossanova to
Água que Corre (4.) has some irritating tunes sang, and this GG-pop doesn't really get me liking it. It should be more bombastic, not bombastic in a light form.
A Volta (5.) is compact and attacking light (well, bossanova inspirited like the whole album is) samba (in GG form again, of course, so it really isn't samba after all) and this language is beautiful and it just sounds love (By the way, listen to Elza Soares). Actually, the beginning sound more like chamber rock and arabic music.
Quando as Coisas Ganham Vida (6.) is quite weird (and short but tight), like folk music (the melodies and rhythms, not the instruments) from a place that isn't really existing, a bit monumental and oriental.

Roni Kantola

Ah! ¿les interesó? ¿quieren verlos en vivo antes de escuchar el álbum entero que está en la última parte del post?. Acá tienen una yapa tocando uno de sus clásicos:

Y ahora, una versión de otro clásico de Terreno Baldío, en una versión de "Despertar" pero del año 2011:

¿No está buenísimo?. Me estoy cebando... acá tienen otro tema en vivo:

Bueno, ahora venía mi comentario, ¿no?... ejem.... ¿qué puedo agregar a lo que ya leyeron y escucharon? Típico sonido setentero para no tan típicas composiciones, llenas de ritmo, color y optimismo, haciendo un muy consistente trabajo en base a elaboradas melodías y ejercicios poéticos desparramados en varias voces en un excelente trabajo vocal, muy buen instrumentación... en definitiva, un trabajo muy equilibrado y muy bueno en todas sus aristas, para que no digan que en América del Sur solamente la influencia fue de King Crimson, parece ser que en Brasil los Gigantes Gentiles hicieron muy buenos retoños... ¿cómo habrçia que llamarlos? ¿gigantitos amables? ¿pequeños pero enormes y simpáticos?... no sé, pero escucharlos es un placer.
¿Y para qué seguir escribiendo más si todo está dicho y escuchado?. Abajo está el video para que escuchen todo el disco. Album muy recomendado... que lo disfruten.