Barrabas
“Barrabas”
RCA Victor APL1-0219 (US release)
Mono mix (stereo labels)
Genre: Rock, Latin, Funk / Soul
A1 Wild Safari 4:57
A2 Try And Try 6:21
A3 Only For Men 3:34
A4 Never In This World 3:31
B1 Woman 5:07
B2 Cheer Up 3:51
B3 Rock And Roll Everybody 3:34
B4 Chicco 3:48
Record Company – RCA Corporation
Recorded At – Estudios RCA, Madrid
Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis
Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Vocals – Miguel
Drums, Vocals – Fernando
Engineer – J. Cobos*, M. Barrios, N. Dogan
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Ricky*
Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar – Iñaki
Liner Notes – Tom Paisley
Organ, Piano – Juan
Producer – Fernando Arbex
Saxophone, Percussion, Flute, Drums – Ernesto
Notes – Dynaflex pressing
Recorded at the RCA Studios, Spain
Vinyl; Pro-Ject RM-5SE with Audio Tecnica AT440-MLa cartridge; Speedbox power supply; Creek Audio OBH-15; M-Audio Audiophile 192 Soundcard ; Adobe Audition at 32-bit float 96khz; clicks and pops removed with Click Repair, manually auditioned, and individually with Adobe Audition 3.0; resampled using iZotope RX 2 Advanced SRC and dithered with MBIT+ for 16-bit. Converted to FLAC in either Trader’s Little Helper or dBPoweramp. Tags done with Foobar 2000 and Tag and Rename.
Not their best, leaning more towards the rock and less of the funky discotheque stuff they would eventually be known for. Back cover compares the lead singer to Rod “The Mod” Stewart. I’m not so sure about that claim. Actually they kind of remind me of early Traffic here, but with even dopier lyrics. “Only For Men” could have been a TV advertisement for the 1972 equivalent of AXE Body Spray, but the more you listen to it, the more it sounds like a creepy “Men’s Rights Advocate” anthem. The two big smash cuts here were the first tracks on either side, “Wild Safari” and “Woman. I was assured by a friend about the former, “Wild Safari was THE track blasting out everywhere in Can Piacafort, Majorca during my holiday there in the summer of 1972.” The record definitely has its appeal, and it may grow groovier as you listen to it more. It’s easy to see how the locked-in rhythm section was already in place very early and how that made this group a fave of beat farmers everywhere. It’s a stoney party record with Spaniards singing in awkward English, so what’s not to like? I may not think it’s their best album, but you’re welcome to disagree. It’s definitely a more consistent listen than their second album, Power, which finds them meandering into different styles, including an attempt to be some sort of Spanish T-Rex, this debut is just not as good as later efforts like ¡Soltad a Barrabás! and Heart of the City. In any case I plan to post some of their other records soon, by which I mean at some point before I die.
Don’t be put off by the taped-together, busted jacket of this copy – this was a radio station duplicate copy that was probably never played before I got hold of it, although the Dynaflex vinyl is inconsistent as it is wont to be. Also note that the label says stereo but the mix is very much in mono. I’m not sure if this is a mistake at the pressing plant or a genuine AM Radio mix of the whole album? There is definitely a stereo mix of Wild Safari, but I’m not sure about the rest. Maybe some helpful reader can chime in. Oh yes, and this record was released with at least two alternate covers. The French one (which also boasted a different title, Afro-Soul) is particularly groovy, I think. Oh yeah, and today’s my birthday, woo hoo and three cheers for me.
Spanish cover
French cover variant
A word: times are tough all over, and I’m reinventing myself for the third or fourth time in life to adjust to our New Reality. I am trying to save some money so that I can relocate to a place where there are actual jobs for people with my kinds of skills. I’m stuck in a rut, y’all, and it’s been hell getting out. If you enjoy reading these posts and hearing the music, consider making a donation using one of the buttons on the sidebar of the blog. Any amounts given help me pay server costs and continue to have make posts about good (or good-ish) music. Any amounts are welcome. Thanks!
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