Search - La Maquina De Hacer Pajaros :: La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros

Tremendous musical effort from the South of the world

Manny Hernandez | Bay Area, CA | 12/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1976, lagging a bit behind some of musical history's greatest symphonic rock's efforts (such as Genesis, Yes' works of the early seventies), Charly Garcia coupled with one heck of a band to put out an album that continued the musical evolution that had started with his first band, Sui Generis, and set the stage (with this album, and 'Peliculas') for what would become his greatest band ever, Seru Giran, before going solo in the eighties.This album can be best "visualized" as a beautiful blend between the Yes sound sprinkled with chords and riffs borrowed from Jazz Fusion from the likes of Chick Corea and Return to Forever, but sung in Spanish. Sounds odd? Well, it's not and the result is an outstanding piece of work that has stood well against the test of time for over 25 years (and counting). So unfortunate it's such a hidden treasure (actually, not too many die hard Charly Garcia fans have heard La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros -which translates into The Bird Making Machine), so here's your chance to uncover this musical jewel."

Great, synth-heavy Argentinian prog rock

Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 09/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been exploring the Argentinian prog scene lately and really enjoy everything I have heard so far. My general impression is that these bands vary widely with respect to the emphasis that they place on traditional folk music. Overall, this 1976 release is pretty good although there are a few "dicey" moments when funk styles are used. In spite of this, this is a fantastic prog album through and through.



The band was led by keyboardist Charly Garcia (piano, mini-moog, ARP string ensemble, electric piano, acoustic guitar, and vocals); and is accompanied by Oscar Moro (drums); Jose Luis Fernandez (Rickenbacker bass, acoustic guitar and vocals); Gustavo Bazterrica (electric/acoustic guitars and vocals); and Carlos Cutaia (Hammond organ, mellotron, and piano). The musicians are all good with the bassist being very good. His trebly Rickenbacker really cuts through the mix - perhaps a little too much - although it is not distracting whatsoever. The vocals (in Spanish) are excellent. As you can imagine, with two keyboardists this is a very synthesizer heavy album and spacey synth textures are all over the place.



The tracks are mostly in the 2-7 minute range, although the grand closing track breaks the 11 minute mark. In general, this album features many of the elements that I consider the hallmarks of good prog: intricate ensemble work, good individual performances, great melodies, cool synthesizer sounds, dynamic contrast (the soft acoustic textures are especially nice), and interesting arrangements. This album pretty much has all of that and more. In terms of influences, this album sounds like a lot of Italian prog (especially PFM), although there are haunting and spacey moments that recall bands like Stands of the Future-era Pulsar (1976) and Wish you were Here - era Pink Floyd (1975). There are other influences too - including a tiny fraction of jazz rock and funk. Although I absolutely love jazz rock, I really do not care for funk influences on a prog album too much. However, Charly was extremely clever in the way he incorporated the funk. Specifically, you can clearly hear the funkiness, but these moments are quickly "diluted" by the sharp juxtaposition with intensely proggy sections and spacey synth sections. Besides, the rest of the album is so good that you forget about the funk pretty quickly.



This album was released by Sony Music Entertainment (Argentina) and the CD is presented as a thin cardboard sleeve with a thin paper insert that lists the personnel, sports a psychedelic photo of the band, and reprints the lyrics. With respect to the sound quality it is pretty good, although it is a bit bass heavy in spots - this will most likely vary depending on what equipment you listen to your music with.



In conclusion, I would consider this essential listening for hardcore prog fans (like me). I really did enjoy this album quite a lot and will definitely snap up the follow-up Peliculas (1977). Although Charly was involved in other bands (Sui Generis), La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros was his prog project. Other albums from the Argentinian prog scene that might prove enjoyable include Crisalida (Espiritu, 1975)."

For Progressive Lovers, a SouthAmerican Classic!!!

M. P. Barcovsci | Fl, USA | 07/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like progressive rock, and you're trying to expand you Progressive World, here you go with a great SouthAmerican Jewel.

I think that many people who likes prog music, try to expand their collection. However, many times there is not much information, specially with SouthAmerican prog bands.

I've been a prog fan for many years. Like many people I started with the monsters such as Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floy, ELP, Jethro Tull and so on. After a while, I discovered bands like Gong, VDGG, Camel, Caravan, Gentle Giant, etc, among other European bands such as PFM, Banco, Le Orme, Eloy, Magma, Bloque, etc.

Finally, a few years ago, I started looking for SouthAmerican prog bands.

Right now, I've found many interesting and highly recommended bands from SouthAmerica, but there are just some albums that go as high as the classics. This is one of them.

Highly recommended!!!"