Canarios
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1969-70) - Graham Bircumshaw -- organ - Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia -- vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica - Ted Luzardo -- drums, percussion - Alfredo Mahiques -- trombone - Vicente Mahiques -- sax - Feliciano "Nano" Munoz -- trumpet - German Perez -- lead guitar - Alvaro Yebenes -- bass
line up 2 (1970-71) - Graham Bircumshaw -- organ NEW - Chimo -- lead guitar (replaced German Perez) NEW- Alberto Gomez -- drums, percussion (replaced Ted Luzardo) NEW- Lennox Holness - bass (replaced Alvaro Yebenes) - Alfredo Mahiques -- trombone - Vicente Mahiques -- sax - Feliciano "Nano" Munoz -- trumpet
line up 3 (1971-72) - Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia -- vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica - Graham Bircumshaw -- organ NEW - Salvador Dominguez -- lead guitar (replaced Chimo) NEW - Jean Pierre Gomez -- guitar - Alfredo Mahiques -- trombone - Vicente Mahiques -- sax - Feliciano "Nano" Munoz -- trumpet NEW - Alain Richards -- drums, percussion (replaced Alberto Gomez) NEW- Alvaro Yebenes -- bass (replaced Lennox Holness)
line up 4 (1974) NEW - Antonio Garcia de Diego -- lead guitar, keyboards (replaced Salvador Dominguez) - Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia -- vocals, rhythm guitar NEW - Christian Mellies -- bass (replaced Alvaro Yebene) - Alain Richard -- drums, percussion NEW - Mathias Sanveillan -- keyboards, violin
supporting musicians: - Rudmini Sukmawati -- vocals
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- Adam Group - Alcatraz - The Canaries (Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia) - Cinco de Espana - Los Idols (Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia) - The Mode - Los No - Los Top Son
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Liberate! Company: Barclay Catalog: S
21.232 Country/State: Spain Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: small sticker tear top right corner; die cut cover with insert Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $60.00
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As The Canaries they recorded a rare album for the American B.T. Puppy label. When B.T. Puppy collapsed amidst financial issues the band continued onward under their Spanish name Los Canarios. With a line-up of keyboardist Graham Bircumshaw, singer Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia, drummer Ted Luzardo, trombone player Alfredo Mahiques, sax player Vicente Mahiques, trumpeter Feliciano "Nano" Munoz, guitarist German Perez and bassist Alvaro Yebenes they made their debut with 1970's "Liberate!".
Aside from the album title as a political statement, musically this collection was a hit, or miss experience for me. The spotlight was clearly on singer and songwriter Bautista Garcia. With most of the album sung in English (the experimental 'En Chalratan! Donde Esta La Esperazna' being the lone exception), you had to give him credit for writing in a non-native language. Bautista Garcia had a strong, if occasionally ragged voice. Coupled with lyrics that were occasionally a bit clunky, his heavily accented vocals were likely to be problematic for some listeners. For me the horns were an even bigger issue. You got the feeling Blood, Seat and Tears and Chicago were big favorite for the band's three man horn section. The album was also painfully inconsistent with performances bouncing all over the musical spectrum. You got stabs at Blood, Sweat & Tears styled horn-rock ('Free Yourself'), a Spanish version of the blues ('She Brought (the Blues Into My Life)'), Gospel ('Words of the Lord') and even radio-friendly ballads ('Let It Be Me'). Ultimately it was hard to figure out who these guys were.
"Liberate" track listing: 1.) Hello (instrumental) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 1:07 *** stars The short instrumental opener 'Hello' sounded like a the Stax house band warming up before stepping on the stage of a small club concert. They sounded pretty sharp to my ears. Shame it faded out so early 2.) Free Yourself (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 4:34 rating: **** stars The horn opening made me wonder if I had mistakenly put on a Blood, Sweat and Tears album. While I don't necessarily love horn-rock, if the charts are funky enough, I'm fine with it. In this case they were funky enough. The Stax horn section would have been pleased with the Alfredo Mahiques, Vicente Mahiques and Feliciano "Nano" Munoz. Admittedly, singing in English lead singer Eduardo Bautista had a very thick Spanish accent. He also had a voice that got kind of wavy when he pushed it. Luckily 'Free Yourself' was a tasty, twisting rocker that quickly grabbed my attention so I didn't waste too much time on Bautista's short-comings. I also have to admit the man had one helluva voice. The song was tapped as the lead-off single in English and Spanish variants:
- 1971's 'Free Yourself' b/w 'I Wonder What Freedom Means' (Disco Sorpresa Fundador catalog number 10.216) - 1971's 'Liberate' b/w 'I Wonder What Freedom Means' (Barclay catalog number SN 20.403)
YouTube has a promotional video made for the song. Be warned the sound and video quality are poor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVqlNZ3LCXc Equally interesting is an English language live performance of the song on Spanish television. Again, the sound quality isn't great and it was filmed in black and white: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F44lUoOoAj0 3.) Magna (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 5:42 rating: *** stars Opening up with some cool Procol Harum-styled church organ, 'Magna' started bouncing all over the musical spectrum when the horn section kicked in. Yeah, Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia's English lyrics didn't make a great deal of sense to me, but it was interesting to hear him singing in such a deep, baritone voice. 4.) Intro Bossa-Oitp (instrumental) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) / You're My Sunshine (traditional - arranged Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 3:44 rating: *** stars I'm a sucker for Graham Bircumshaw's smooth organ chords and on this one, when combined with the horn section the results were pretty soulful. I can honestly say I've never heard a cover of 'You're My Sunshine' quite like this. Powered by Bircumshaw's organ fills and some punchy horns, the arrangement indicated these guys might have been listening to some Brazilian samba. On this one Bautista Garcia reminded me of a Spanish version of the late Leon Redbone. Its interesting that while Bautista Garcia's vocals were heavily accented his backing singers sang in crisp English.
(side 2) 1.) Say Hi! To the Salvation Army (instrumental) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 0:37 rating: ** stars 'Say Hi! To the Salvation Army' featured the horns on a Salvation Army styled instrumental that 2.) Words of the Lord (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 2:52 rating: *** stars Apparently their stab at a Gospel tune, on 'Words of the Lord' the vibrato in Bautista's voice reminded me of a Spanish version of Family's Roger Chapman. Actually, the song reminded me of a Family song. Beautiful backing vocals from the rest of the band. Taken from the same television as the earlier clip, YouTube has a performance of this one. Curiously Bautista shares vocals with the bass player who is identified as Palabra De Dios: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnpFL6v52gs 3.) Say Bye! To the Salvation Army (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 0:57 rating: ** stars Pretty much the same as the earlier song fragment. 4.) She Brought (the Blues Into My Life) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 4:32 rating: *** stars German Perez opened 'She Brought (the Blues Into My Life)' with some nice fuzz guitar, but then the horns kicked in with a busy arrangement that frequently threatened to drown Bautista. I would have given it another star were it not for the damn horns. 5.) En Chalratan! Donde Esta La Esperazna (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - 1:00 rating: ** stars The album's lone Spanish title, 'En Chalratan! Donde Esta La Esperazna' was also the collection's most experimental track - basically Bautista chanting over a spooky instrumental backdrop. Perhaps if I spoke Spanish it would have made more of an impact on me? Instead it was just a curiosity. 6.) Let It Be Me (Becaud - Delanoe - Curtis - Mann) - 5:35 rating: ** stars Opening with some Baroque-styled horns, 'Let It Be Me' then went into an unexpected jazz jam sessions before eventually morphing into a strange vocal arrangement that blended acapella, Eleanore Rigby-strings and a complete aural meltdown. Totally bonkers.
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Genre: progressive Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Cycles Company: Ariola Catalog: 87
804 XDT Country/State: Spain Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: double LP; gatefold sleeve; Dutch pressing Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1684 Price: $80.00
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Geez, how does a band go from '60s beat band (The Canaries), to social commentary rockers (Los Canaries), to this slice of over-the-top experimentation ?
Having recorded several albums as Los Canarios, in the early 1970s Eduardo Teddy Bautista Garcia was forced to take a break while completing his Spanish national service obligation. His military service over, in 1973 Bautista returned to the music business, reactivating Los Canarios. Notorious for going through musicians and apparently serious about exploring new directions, Bautista kept his reputation intact by hiring a completely new Canarios line-up in the form of lead guitarist Antonio Garcia de Diego, bassist Christian Mellies, drummer Alain Richard, and second keyboardist Mathias Sanveillan.
Released in 1974's, "Cycles". was a double album concept piece loosely based on Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons". Admittedly much of the concept plotline was lost on me - supposedly it had something to do with the history of the world covering everything from creation of the Earth to the future Apocalypse. To be honest, given the set was largely instrumental, the plotline almost didn't matter. Spanning four sides and clocking in at over seventy minutes, if you could get through a couple of original pieces, it didn't take long for Vivaldi's classical melody to break through (which was actually a good thing). That said, to my ears the set has always reminded me of a cross between and early Mike Oldfield effort and an Alan Parsons Project release Like much of Oldfield's work, the album took Vivaldi's work and added layers and layers of rock instrumentation to it. Doubt the comparison, then check out the instrumental section entitled 'Kybernatic Process'. The supposed concept, recalled Parsons' catalog. The results weren't always pretty and the sheer length of the album meant you had to be in the right mood to sit through it. Still, the set had some highly enjoyable segments and has gained a strong reputation among progressive fans. The length probably also helped explain why it was one of the most expensive albums ever recorded in Spain.
"Cycles" track listing: 1.) Primera Transmigración (First Trasmigration: The Remote Paradise) (instrumental) - 16:54 i.) Genesis (Los Canarios) rating: ** stars Opening up with an array of synthesizer bleeps and burps and oddball sound effects, the opening segment 'Genesis' left you wondering what you'd gotten yourself into. ii.) Prana (Primary Cry) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) rating: ** stars 'Prana (Primary Cry)' brought in some rock accompaniment in the form of synthesizer, electric guitar, vibes, and eventually vocalist Rudmini Sukmawati whose shrill, operatic delivery could have been sung in Klingon for all I could tell. (Yes, she was apparently the daughter of then-Indonesian President Sukmawat). iii.) First Vision of a New World (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: **** stars Ariola tapped this tune as a Spanish single:
- 1975's 'Primera Vision De Un Mundo Nuevo (Primer Movimiento: Primavera)' b/w 'Himno Critico A La Primavera Adversidad (Segundo Movimiento: Verano' Ariola catalog number 13732) iv.) Hymn To the Peremptory Harmony (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - This track was the flip side to the above single. v.) Of the Universe (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - vi.) First Steps In a New World (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - vii.) Extravagant Metamorphosis (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - The good news is starting with 'First Vision of a New World' the classic melody finally made an appearance. Kicked along by the band's electric instrumentation, the results were surprisingly enjoyable; kind of like an early Mike Oldfield album. The only let down came in the form of Bautista's flat and muddy vocals.
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2) i.) Extravagant Narration (Eduardo Teddy Bautista - Alfredo Carrion) - rating: ** stars 'Extravagant Narration' started out with a rather trying operatic segment, before morphing into the album's most conventional rock segment. ii.) First Questions In a New World (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - iii.) Canto To the Neurotic Girl (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - iv.) Critical Hymn To the First Adversity (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - v.) Extravagant Parade (Los Canarios) - vi.) Alienate Process (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - vii.) Extravagant Serenade (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars From there the keyboards took over with an occasional assist from the shrill Rudmini Sukmawati and a full chorus. Somewhere itowards the end of this seven section suite Bautista reappeared singing a rather conventional ballad. Again, his voice wasn't any great shakes, but lead guitarist de Diego showed off some nice chops.
(side 3) 1.) Tercera Transmigración (Third Transmigration: The Future Border) i.) Little Extravagant Concerto (instrumental) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars A return to Vivaldi's underlying song structure with synthesizers sounding like a harpsichord. The cheesy factor was mitigated when the full band kicked in. ii.) Silver Pages On An Intimate Diary (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars Not sure who the gruff voiced lead singer was, but he wasn't bad with backing from a full chorus. iii.) Anti-Hymn To the Kybernatic (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: ** stars No idea what the narrative was about, but the accompanying music sounded like something from a Broadway show tune. I think the lyrics were in English, but have no idea what they were actually singing. Kind of a bad Alan Parsons Project vibe going on here. iv.) Programmation (Ma Teresa Bautista - Antonio García de Diego) - rating: ** stars v.) Monastaeries (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: ** stars So why not throw in some church bells and Gregorian chanting ? You've got everything else seemingly covered. vi.) Kybernatic Process (instrumental) (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: **** stars Bless de Diego for finally injecting some electric guitar into the mix. The multi-tracked fuzz and feedback effects which saw him throwing a little but of Flamenco into the mix, really did sound like a Mike Oldfield tune. vii.) Extravagant Christmas Carol (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars By this point nothing should have come as a surprise so heaving a barbershop quartet espouse the evils of modern day commercial Christmas simply didn't sound that odd to my ears.
(side 4) 1.) Cuarta Transmigración (Fourth Transmigration: The Recuperated Link) i.) Hibernus (instrumental) (Eduardo Teddy Bautista - Mathias Sanveillan) - rating: *** stars 'Hibernus' was a stark, piano and synthesizer-powered, classically inspired piece. Pretty, if kind of dark. Once again, it was a relief to hear de Diego's guitar broke out of the mix (sounding a bit like Jan Akkkerman this time around). ii.) Crises (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars Imagine a Broadway cast being marched off to jail and you'll get a feel for this short segment. Bringing back Vavladi's melody in a rock arrangement helped save this tune. Drummer Alain Richard finally got a moment in the spotlight. iii.) Ballet of the Shadow (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars The deep male voice singing the opening section of 'Ballet of the Shadow' didn't sound like Bautista, but who knows. The strained voice that kicked in later on did sound like Bautista. Anyhow, it was another tune that sounded like it had been lifted from a Broadway soundtrack. iv.) Of the End (instrumental) (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: ** stars 'Of the End' opened up with an assortment of odd sound effects. Very avant garde, which meant it wasn't very listenable. v.) Vanessa (The Breath of the Skeleton) (Alain Richard - Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: ** stars Atmospheric slice of incidental music that sounded like it had been lifted from some 'B' flick soundtrack. vi.) Extravagant Nirvana (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars I guess the harps were suppose to give you that Nirvana feel. Before that could actually happen the tune exploded into one of the more accessible rock tunes on the album. vii.) High Level Dialogues (instrumental) (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - viii.) Hyper Destruction (Antonio Vivaldi - adapted by Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: *** stars Alain Richard's frenetic drumming did give the tune the feel of destruction, or rapid machine gun fire. Unfortunately Sukmawati made another appearance at the end of the song. viiii.) Apocalypse (Eduardo Teddy Bautista) - rating: ** stars A brief, deep voiced narrative ended the album. Probably would have helped to understand Spanish.
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I'm
not a historian or a political scientist, but I suspect "Liberate!"
put the band in an awkward position with respect to the Spanish government
under the leadership of Francisco Franco. Franco was not known for a
particular liberal outlook on social, or artistic ventures so I suspect an
album that translates as "Free Me" probably didn't get a thumbs up
from the government (perhaps explaining why it was recorded in London with
Swiss producer Alain Milhaud). (There's an
on-line interview where Bautista
talks about a visit from Spanish officials questioning him about the album
title.)
