Barrabas "Barrabás Power / Abraxa" (1972-1994) 1995(comp)**

I remember Barrabas from the Crucifixion... sorry, I started this sentence to say "I remember Barrabas from the Monastiraki flea market" but I couldn't resist the pun. I always saw their LP's there at the disco section, and naturally ignored them. In Spain you can find them at the 60's/70's rock -sometimes even in prog and psychedelia- section, which would have caught my attention. As it is, I only got round to them after watching an episode of the flawed but occasionally great HBO series Vinyl. I heard "Wild Safari" playing over the closing scene and credits (see below) and rushed to Shazam it. So I found out that Barrabas were not at all what I expected from the band whose records sat between Boney M and Raffaella Carrà at the record stores, rather like a smoking hot Latin funk that belonged to the same family with War and Santana. Later I found out they also sang "On The Road Again" which I was familiar with from 80's discotheques. Chancing upon this CD in a used books/records store in Granada (Spain) I noticed it contained both songs and grabbed it. 

As compilations go it's something of a strange one: first of all, on the cover it seems as if the name of the band is Barrabás Power and the album's Abraxas. In some databases it's registered like that. In others, like discogs, the band is registered as Barrabas and the album as Power/Abraxas, which causes some confusion with a 1973 album from the same band called simply Power. Then, there's the issue of whether these are original recordings or re-recordings. The liner notes mention that this is a compilation of their greatest hits from the 70's and 80's with the addition of two "new" songs. On the other hand the album's production is credited to a Jose M. Mall, which implies they are all come from the same sessions. Also, the fact that only 9 previously released tracks are chosen from a 9-album discography doesn't make sense for a compilation. Re-recordings, right? But then, you'd expect more homogeneity in the sound. I really don't know. I'll treat it as a compilation and review it chronologically like I usually do with them. So: from 1972's eponymous debut we get "Wild Safari" and "Woman", both Latin funk numbers with a lot of percussion and jazz rock guitars reminiscent of Santana. From 1973's Power we get "Mr. Money" in similar style, while "Hi-Jack" from 1974's ¡Soltad A Barrabas! is already more disco-sounding with smoother vocals and keyboards including a cool jazzy break in the middle. The band's next 3 albums are inexplicably omitted to go straight to 1981's Piel De Barrabas. The disco transformation continues with "On The Road Again" and "Hard Line For A Dreamer" but, despite some new wave-y synths on the latter, there's still some Latin rock and old-school funk in there. "The Lion (Don't Kill The Lion)" and "(Be My) Rebel" from next years' Bestial have a pretty standard 80's production. Both are disco, though the latter features some rockier guitar riffs and solos. Their last album, 1983's Forbidden, is represented by the forgettable and borderline silly dance number "Saint Valentine". The two "new" songs are actually very mid-80's sounding, which makes me think they're outtakes rather than 90's recordings. They are rather sympathetic, if inessential: "Caribe" is a slow number with Latin rhythm, and "It's Better Late Than Never" has some horns (or synths mimicking the sound of horns) that remind me of the commercial white pseudo-soul of the time a la Robert Palmer. I guess this compilation is O.K. for someone like me who just wanted to have a couple of the band's most famous hits, there's only one or two songs that I regularly skip when I listen to it. But it's too short for a band that recorded 9 LP's and it probably includes re-recordings, so I can't in all honesty recommend it.

***** for Wild Safari

**** for On The Road Again

*** for Woman, Hi-Jack, Mr. Money, Hard Line For A Dreamer, The Lion (Don't Kill The Lion), (Be My) Rebel, Caribe, It's Better Late Than Never

** for Saint Valentine