Color Humano "Color Humano 2" 1973***

Although Argentina has a rich rock history, few bands are known internationally - with the exception of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, of whom I have quite a few albums and will present them here in time. A few band names ring a bell, including Color Humano about whom I had read in some blogs. So when I found this CD in a used records shop in Granada Spain I managed to ignore the bad cover art, recognise it as an interesting rarity and buy it. Info on them in English is rare, but this is what I gathered from various sources: This band was largely the brain child of Edelmiro Molinari (guitar/vocals) former member of legendary 60's rockers Almendra. Not ignoring, of course, the contributions of agile bassist Rinaldo Rafanelli and powerful drummer Oscar Moro who joined the band after their debut. The band obviously had a wonderful instrumental chemistry, and that's especially obvious in the longer, jazzy improvised pieces. This CD joins their last 2 LP's, recorded together with the intention of releasing a double album but released separately at the time for financial reasons as "Color Humano 2" and "Color Humano 3". This album cover comes from "3", while number "2" featured the band facing forward. The music is heavily influenced by the great rock power trios Cream and Jimi Hendrix Experience but it's not derivative. It often strays into jazz and prog directions with the band improvising and changing pace many times in the same song. As I said, the virtuosity and chemistry of the musicians is commendable, the only sore point being the lead vocals, which resemble not so much singing as a person speaking in a pompous, drawn-out manner. Opening track "Sangre Del Sol" sees the band settling on a repetitive groove while the singer sings above it. A slower middle section reminds of Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", a trick they repeat in other songs as well. It's an OK introduction, but somewhat monotonous for my taste. "La Tierra Del Gitano" is the opposite, a proggy piece with an improbable number of time changes for its short duration. "Pascual Tal Cual" is a dynamic rocker with an impressive solo, though this also slowly fizzles out in the end. "Humanoides" is a ghostly psychedelic piece, and "Va A Salir Un Lugar" a 13-minute improvisation showcasing the musicians' versatility. Especially the rhythm section finds room to shine here. "Un Blues Para Adelina" is, for once, a straight blues number with Molinari successfully channeling his inner Clapton. This rounds up CD1 or what used to be the Color Humano 2 LP. Moving on to CD2 (aka Color Humano 3), this seems to be better realised despite the fact it was recorded during the same sessions. It was released a few months later so it probably benefited from some more time of overdubbing and mixing. Opener "Hombre De Las Cumbres" is a complex mid tempo piece with a nice guitar solo while "Mañana Por La Noche" once again shows them excel at traditional blues forms. Maybe the best Spanish-language blues I've ever heard. "A Traves De Los Inviernos" combines crunchy hard rock with Floydian (Meddle-era) psychedelia and "Hace Casi 2000 Años" is a classic rocker that reminds me of Hendrix and Uriah Heep until it gets more ethereal with the help of some ghostly female vocals. "Cosas Rústicas" is another prog piece with many tempo changes and "Las Historias Que Tengo" a 12-minute showcase for Molinari's guitar playing. "Vestidos De Agua" closes the album with a delicate prog-folk note, a direction I would have liked to see them take more often. Flautist Jorge Cutello adds a romantic fairytale air to the song. "Color Humano 3" was destined to be the band's last studio album. Molinari would immigrate to the U.S. while the other two loaned their talents to other Argentinian rock groups (Polifemo, Sui Generis etc). A reunion in 1995 spawned a live album which I've yet to hear. I'm sure this CD will appeal more to Spanish speakers, but even for the rest of us it deserves to be heard. Sure it's nothing groundbreaking but neither is it in any way inferior to acclaimed US or European records from that era.

**** for Pascual Tal Cual, Un Blues Para Adelina, Mañana Por La Noche, A Traves De Los Inviernos, Hace Casi 2000 Años, Vestidos De Agua

*** for Sangre Del Sol, La Tierra Del Gitano, Humanoides, Va A Salir Un Lugar, Hombre De Las Cumbres, Cosas Rústicas, Las Historias Que Tengo