OPUS ALFA Discography Opus Alfa (1972) Casa de huéspedes/Canción para Kenny y los niños (1971) (Simple) Members featured in the album Opus Alfa (1972) DANIEL BERTOLONE - Electric guitar, flute, bass and vocals JORGE BARRAL - Bass and acoustic guitar JESÚS FIGUEROA - Vocals ATILIANO LOSADA - Keyboards and violin JORGE GRAF - Drums and violin In spite of their brief career, Opus Alfa remains in the history of Uruguayan rock as one of the clearest exponents of an international sound. With a firm rhythm section (Barral-Graf) and the appropriate voice of Figueroa, the band was the ideal vehicle for the pyrotechnics of Bertolone in guitar and the blues riffs of Losada on keyboards. A very effective hard rock, coloured with bluesy brushstrokes and a few pshychedelia, is Opus Alfa's language to express throughout their brief existence. The rare first single "Casa de Huéspedes" is a good effort. This superb album includes songs as "Calma de un día", "Blues de mi ciudad" and ''Miel y humo'' and is recommended. After a highly publicised farewell, the band split to path the way for Días de Blues and Figueroa's solo career. He recorded two disappointing –but now very rare- records for Sondor label -Jesús con todos in 1973 (Sondor 44004) and Mágica fuente in 1974. Unfortunately, the hard to get album was never reissued and is one of the most wanted by international collectors. Surprisingly, in 1977 Clave released a rare LP with one side by Opus Alfa and one side by Días de Blues (!). Information: http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/waterloo/728/magicland/beat.html DÍAS DE BLUES Discography Días de blues (1973) Members featured in the album Días de blues (1973) JORGE BARRAL - Bass, acoustic guitar and vocals DANIEL BERTOLONE - Electric guitar, harmonica, pianola and vocals JORGE GRAF - Drums, pianola and vocal percussion After the break-up of Opus Alfa in 1972, the keyboard player returned to his job as sound engineer, the singer went solo and Bertolone, Barral and Graf formed the power trio Días de Blues. Live shows began immediately, endorsed by the excellent background of its members. Their music, an absolutely wild and raw mixture of hyper electric drug-induced progressive blues with social -concerned lyrics, found influences on Cream, Led Zeppelin and Cactus. Their only LP, recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina by the end of 1972, captures the roughness and vitality of their concerts like many few groups ever managed to. Conceived inside the typical parameters of the time, the album is an indisputable sample of progressive hard rock. It is absolutely recommended to understand the acid-progressive rock of that time.Daniel Bertolone -who couldn't afford a guitar of his own- plays the hell out in his solos and riffs obtained the sound that most guitar players dreamed in those days. Jorge Barral, strongly influenced by Jack Bruce in the vocal and instrumental part, gives the global sound of the group with his strongly melodic sense. On the other hand, Jorge Graf, an astonishing effective drummer, contributes with his constant accurate solid metric. The psychedelic blues "Amasijando los blues", the acid rock "Están desubicados" and pro drug allegations like "Dame tu sonrisa, loco" ("Smile to me, dude'') are great examples of the band effectiveness. The strange psycho-folk of "Esto es nuestro" or the brutal energy discharged on "Toda tu vida", round up this great album of inspired compositions. A must have record! Burdened by the political and economic problems that shook the country, the band split and its members emigrated to Germany (Graf), Spain (Barral) and Australia (Bertolone), where he finally could buy himself a guitar! The album was released in Uruguay and Argentina (Trova XT80054) with different covers. Both editions are extremely rare, particularly the Uruguayan. Beware of European counterfeits (both on vinyl and CD). Surprisingly, in 1977 Clave released a rare LP with one side by Días de Blues and one side by Opus Alfa (!). Information: http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/waterloo/728/magicland/beat.html