Lion Prod.
Limonada (UR,1970,re.2005)****
This is one of the first collectors I’ve heard from Uruguay, which now is reissued with the help from Brazil based progressive label Record Runner. Like many Spanish language based rock albums, also this one has a convincing sound with electric and acoustic harmonies, shifting creatively from electric to acoustic elements quiet often, with typical and very pleasant Latin rock vocal harmonies, and with rhythmic surprises of breaks in the musical themes. There are also just a few small strange experimental-psychedelic free passages, like on “Paseles Verdes”. It is very attractive late ‘60s flavoured rock, with a rather spontaneous and thoughtful “progressive” evolution.
This does not immediately present itself as THE Latin rock album, but it still is a recommended and very good release worth checking out.
It also contains an 8 minute live bonus track. On this track is some improvisation which explores rock enriched by what are called candomble rhythms. Such fusion is one of the things that makes Limonada attractive. The candomble rhythms are differently from Latin rhythms. They originate from Africans, from Bantu origin, who were imported as slaves into Montevideo, by Spanish and English traders. It were their rhythms that lit a fuse to the early 60s beat scene in Uruguay. One of these early groups were El Totem, and also, El Kinto, the group which predated Limonada. The record was originally published by a label called Sondor. A brief overview of the label you can read in the sixteen pages booklet, together with some historical background /overview on the Uruguayan scene, something which I missed in this case, because I only have a cdr copy that I was able to describe.
