Early Years

The Early Years collects material recorded in April and May 1988, before Brazilian progressive rock outfit Violeta de Outono released its first album (except for the last track, "Echoes/No Quarter," recorded during rehearsals in April 1996 and presented as a "bonus track"). The five tracks on this CD are covers of psychedelic/prog songs. Included are the Rolling Stones' "Citadel," Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive," Gong's "Blues for Findlay," George Harrison's "Within You Without You," and a medley of Floyd's "Echoes" and Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter." The sound quality is average (like a professional demo), except for the medley where it gets noticeably worse. Interpretations are also quite average and stay close to the originals, the one exception being "Blues for Findlay," where the band jams furiously. The musicianship is a lot better on the medley (drums are tighter, the chemistry works better), which counterbalances the weak sound -- but Fabio Golfetti can't hit Robert Plant's higher notes. This CD is clearly for the fan or the collector of South American prog/psych music. ~ Francois Couture