Traffic Sound [LP], Traffic Sound, Vinyl

Peru enjoyed a thriving and exciting music scene since the mid-1960s. Bands such as Los Saicos, Los Shain's, and Los York's, to name just a few, released a number of brilliant records that drove young fans crazy and set an example for many to follow. The end of the decade brought about an evolution in sound and new music genres, as Peruvian bands kept an eye on the groundbreaking British and US artists exploring baroque pop, psychedelic rock and early prog. One of them was Traffic Sound, founded in Lima in 1967. Over a very short period of time the band managed to successfully develop their career transcending their starting point, in which they'd simply record covers of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Cream, or The Young Rascals, moving on to the more mature sound of their first LP with self-written songs, Virgin (1969), a masterpiece of Latin rock, and this second self-titled LP, released in 1970. Traffic Sound incorporates here complex arrangements and long song structures with which they approach prog music. However, the immediacy of songs like "Yesterday's Game", with a fierce and contagious guitar riff, or "Chicama Way", a terrific anthem, clear any possible doubt about the sound principles of the band: groovy rock. While tracks such as "Those Days Have Gone" or "America" show the friendliest yet psychedelic side of the group, "Tibet's Suzettes", the opening song of the album, simultaneously introduces all the ingredients of the Traffic Sound recipe: hypnotic rhythms, untamed guitars, and very skilled playing. Although some influences cannot be ignored, this second Traffic Sound album is huge and deserves to be considered one of the greatest recordings of it's time, even internationally, as essential as the most hailed works of Cream, Caravan, or Led Zeppelin that served as a bridge for rock music between the '60s and '70s. Presented in facsimile tri-fold sleeve and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.