Arco Iris - Los Elementales. 1977.
Tantor – s/t. 1980.
Rayuela – s/t. 1977.
Like a lot of people, I first encountered Arco Iris through the New Age bins in the 1980s. But similar to other bands from the southern cone of South America such as Chilean’s Los Jaivas and Congreso, Arco Iris had gone through many iterations as a rock group. Many bands caught the fusion bug in the late 70s, and Arco Iris were no exception. Plenty of fast, tight jazz rock with guitar, sax and ARP soloing that recall the big names of the day like Weather Report, Passport or Return to Forever. As always with Arco Iris, the flute and piano are a nice touch. They also mix in some symphonic progressive on the flip side. Strong release. Similarly minded Tantor, also from Argentina, were another to tackle the fusion genre with alacrity. Tight and energetic fusion is the order of the day, with 1980 period instruments dominating the sounds. Tantor are exactly what I’d imagine Crucis to sound like had they released an album in 1980. Rayuela are yet another late 1970s band from Argentina who took a swipe at the fusion fad. Where there’s separation, however, is a higher quotient of melodic interplay. And one track is a stunner in the Celeste/Errata Corrige school of soft prog. In some cases, Rayuela extends their stylistic brush a bit too far, such as the awkward singer songwriter blues number, right from the Louisiana bayou, complete with harmonica.