was born in 1970 at Fernando Arbex's initiative after Alacran's disbanding. Arbex was the creator of the name and musical ideas based on a funky-salsa sound wich had been thinking over for some time. For this purpose, he composed songs such as "Wild Safary" or "Woman" and started to contact with the first members of the band, who were Ignacio Egaña, Tito Duarte, Miguel and Ricky Morales, Joao Vidal and Arbex himself on drums and as a producer. Once the first demos were presented to RCA's director, Mr. Gil Beltran, who was delighted with the project, a production agreement was signed with Fernando Arbex and a commercial artists contract with the members of the band. The first LP was recorded at RCA studios in Madrid and the master was cut in London at Trident studios with the engineer David Jones. This first LP meant the worldwide promotion of Barrabas wich managed to get into the USA Billboard with the song "Woman" in the Canadian lists. This event opened the doors to the group in the international market, and both market as well as the public remained faithful to the band throughout their long musical career. Barrabás recorded eight albums more with some significant changes in the group, such as the new lead singer, José Luís Tejada. Barrabás is undoubtedly the most important band as well as the most internationally known group of the spanish music business witin the last few years. A classic!.
Tracklisting:
1. Mr. Money (Arbex) - 3:22
2. Boogie Rock (Arbex) - 3:07
3. Keep on Moving (Morales) - 3:11
4. The Horse (Morales) - 4:40
5. Casanova (Arbex) - 3:35
6. You Know (Morales/Morales/Tejada) - 3:18
7. Children (Arbex/Morales) - 4:00
8. Time to Love (González/Morales) - 4:00
Recorded in 1973
AMG Review:
Madrid's Barrabas followed the success of their debut due in most part to "Woman," a surprise hit that found a home in several American discos a year later with Power, an accomplished if unremarkable album that indicates the varied stylistic interests of the group. "Mr. Money" seems to temper the hard, organ-driven sound of Deep Purple with the rhythmic thrust of early Santana, but unlike those two groups, Barrabas pushes their guitars into the distance. After a pair of nondescript traditional rock numbers, the group temporarily slides into easy listening pop with "The Horse," an instrumental led by Tito Duarte's flute. Two of the album's strongest songs appear during the latter half. "Casanova"'s lyrics are a bit silly, but it shows the group's rhythm section at its dynamic and complex best, and the soft "Time to Love" closes the album out in a breezy fashion, displaying how Barrabas is at its best when it avoids aggressive rock trappings here, the band sounds its most natural.
