O Terco - Terco LP. Vinyl reissue of their second album (1973), a landmark of Brazilian progressive/psychedelic rock, in no small part thanks to Luiz Pablo Simas (ex-member of Módulo 1000), who brought his talent and his mini-moog to the band. O Terço had been working on a new sound for some time, taking part in the "Aberto para Obras" spectacle in 1970 at the Teatro de Arena do Largo da Cariocafor, the main arena for bullfighting. People wending their way through barbed-wire had to choose between looking at a lower stage, upon which Modulo 1000 was playing, or at an upper stage, where O Terço was playing. Below, a woman prepared popcorn in a stove, and further on, seated in a urinal, the brother of O Terço band-member Jorge Amiden played static on his guitar for three hours, then smashed his instrument to pieces! Participation in this sort of anarchy makes it no surprise that their album kicks off with a hard rock guitar riff, perhaps influenced by King Crimson, Led Zeppelin or even Black Sabbath; even so, other tracks present a blend of symphonic and psychedelic sounds, with beautiful pastoral passages that demonstrate the influence of Os Mutantes, the Moody Blues, and early Pink Floyd. The final track, ‘Amanhecer total” (Complete Dawn), is amazing—a nineteen minute collage with a pastoral introduction (and lovely female vocals); vocals, synth lines, acoustic guitars and percussion effects then provide a fine, easy atmosphere; then a psychedelic section, with strange keyboard effects merged with fading voices—dreamy, and ambient; heavy guitar riffs, low-profile keyboards, and aggressive vocals revisit the album’s first track; then the finale, with soft piano (revisiting the bucolic origins of the suite) and synthesizer coloring the mantra-like chorus. A grand finale for a great album. (sealed, m/m)