From: Jeff Marx"
If you are at all a fan of adapting classical pieces into a progressive
format, I urge you to consider experimenting on this disc. Using Vivaldi's
"Four Seasons," Canarios weaves an amazing tapestry of classical and
contemporary (1973) themes into a 73-minute work of art. Dual keyboardists
use a battery of vintage keyboards (several moogs, several hammonds, two
mellotrons, arp synth, piano, etc.) combining the classical leanings and
traits of Wendy Carlos with the chops of Rick Wakeman. The guitar work is
also very tasty, so you can imagine that the interplay between guitar and
dual keyboards over 70 minutes gets to be very very intense. There are some
vocals in all four movements (Mostly English, with some Spanish & Latin),
which serves to bridge together all the wonderful instrumental sections. I
never thought ANY progressive album featuring a classical work as it's
inspiration could ever come close to ELP's "Pictures at an Exhibition" live
CD, but this one is every bit as sonically brilliant, if not quite as
bombastic and over-the-top. I wish I could find ten more just like this one,
or more from this group, but it seems "Ciclos" is the only one they did
together. Sigh...BTW, I ordered this one from Greg Walker at Syn-Phonic.
From: "Andrew J. Rozsa" <>
I am taking deep breaths right now....trying to get it together... these guys
are THAT good. This could be one of the Top 10 best ProgRock albums I ever
heard. Besides the (probably) 30 different instruments [including a Theremin
-- :-)], the lyrics, the vocals (which I normally avoid like pellagra),
actually ADD to the complexity of the album. Incredible dynamic and mood
range, from lyrical to abrasive, from stunning Spanish guitar (acoustic, 6
and 12 strings) solos to raucous, outright in-your-face synths and
percussions, this album is absolutely breath-taking. The fact that I really
love Vivaldi, is incidental, in this case. I still have goose-pimples. The
accompanying booklet (in Spanish) is also a creation of love and a pleasure
to read. This, friends, ought to be what ProgRock is all about. My only
complaint... there is no way in the Universe they can ever outdo this album.
Not in a million years. This is a masterpiece.
From: "Andrew J. Rozsa" <>
> regarding Canarios' "Ciclos': I just bought this a month ago. Someone
(Andrew you or Craig S. (?) raved about it. Unfortunately I've had a very
difficult time getting into it. I suppose it will just take more listens.
Chacun a son gout....to each his own or De gustibus non disputandum est.....one
cannot argue about tastes...
But seriously...I really LOVED this one. It's one my true treasures. I happen
to really like fusion of classics (in this case Vivaldi) with ProgRock
interpretation. I felt that the textures were rich, the voices absolutely
superb (even if I don't like singing that much in my progrock music...but it
seems unavoidable sometimes), the instrumental playing first class and the
interpretations exquisite. Tried to get my wife to listen to it (she loves
Rush, Pink Floyd, Rick Wakeman, etc. and she is herself a fine classical
pianist), but she, like Larry, couldn't "get into it." It could have been my
mood at that time.... so I listened to it again. It is even better on a
second listen...to me.