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LP
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MYE 123LP
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Reissue, originally released in 1967. In 1964, in the city of Santiago, Chile, Héctor Sepúlveda and Juan O'Brien were studying law at the University of Chile. With a common taste for the rock and roll of The Beatles, The Kinks, Yardbirds, Dave Clark Five, and The Byrds, plus their love for the guitar, they decided to create their own musical project, which was joined by the brother of a classmate, Cristian Larraín (bass), and his cousin Juan Enrique Garcés (drums). The first line-up under the name of The Lawyers, which later became Los Cuervos, and quickly changed to Los Vidrios Quebrados. The name was inspired by the stained-glass windows of the church of the French Fathers and also because it was supposed to "sound groundbreaking". They started doing covers of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and a lot of The Kings. After their first public appearance as Los Vidrios Quebrados at a singing festival at the Catholic University in 1965, Emilio Rojas from Odeon approached them and said he wanted to record with them. The 1966 single "Friend" and "She'll Never Know I'm Blue" gave way the following year to the recording of Fictions, their only LP, under the RCA Victor and Ues Producciones label. Without merely copying their influences, the songs on the album feature smooth and fine instrumental arrangements by Héctor Sepúlveda (guitar and vocals), who also acted as the album's musical director. Those who were lucky enough to hear them live say that they were much more rock than what can be appreciated on the album. And the music on the Fictions album was even more sophisticated than what was being done at the time, there was a musicality that was quite anticipatory, even foreign. If you listen to the harmonies in "Introduction to Life..." or "Concerto in A Minor", they are quite complex compared to what was heard at the time. That's why they also had a place in radio stations more accustomed to playing classical music, like Radio Andrés Bello. There was a certain intellectual taste, something like an "intellectual arrogance", like the quotations to Oscar Wilde in the lyrics of the songs, for example. For the recording of Fictions, Los Vidrios Quebrados had very little time, as was customary in those days. And despite the technical limitations of the recording studios (two tracks -vocals on one side and all the instruments on the other-, bottle cap tambourines and homemade instruments), when listening to the album, the result is surprising and, considering that in Chile the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was already known, the reception of Fictions was quite good. From the original IRT masters.
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CD
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MYECD 028CD
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CD reissue, originally released in 1967. Los Vidrios Quebrados (something like "The Shattered Glasses") formed in 1965 by making their own instruments and playing at schools while they were in the Católica School of Laws. Odeon offered them a contract and they recorded their first single, Friend b/w She'll Never Know I'm Blue. In 1967, they record the legendary Fictions for RCA. This album is played with their own instruments. They cut, pasted, and arranged the frets of their guitars on their own pure intuition. They cut their strings out of steel wire rolls bought at hardware stores. They picked up the songs they wanted to play -- Beatles, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, and a lot of Kinks stuff -- by going into a club, listening to them on a Wurlitzer jukebox, and going back home trying to remember the song. All songs were sung in English "to separate ourselves from the commercial music of that time", the so-called "Nueva Ola". They sang about everyday things such as "the lack of liberties, the fights caused just by the length of your hair", trying to be the spokesmen of a generation. They were indeed quite an intellectual band in their references and intentions. Though they had begun doing covers, all the songs in Fictions, recorded in a total time of nine hours, were written by themselves. The history of the band ended when Héctor Sepúlveda moved to London in 1969. Originally, they tried to go all together but the rest could not make it, and Héctor played in the streets for a while and opened once for Family at the Marquee. CD with remastered sound from the original master tapes.
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CD
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LION 669CD
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2023 restock. "Some came to make records. Others did not leave any recorded evidence -- they have been reduced (at best) to the testimony of a blurred photograph in an old magazine. But it was a generation of bands from Chile which gave shape to a stream of permeating rock, beat, folk, and psychedelia music influences radiating from the 'first world.' And on that list of pioneers of Chilean rock, Los Vidrios Quebrados ('The Broken Glass') are unanimously considered as the greatest. They had a certain intellectual arrogance. They considered that rock 'n' roll could only be sung in English and refused to sing in their native language, arguing that a cueca (the Chilean national dance) could not be sung in English. They also made their own instruments -- creating their own guitars and amplifiers from furniture and loudspeakers. On one guitar, they replaced a pick-up with a record player needle. It gave an extraordinary sound. That sort of creativity flows freely throughout the music on their only album, the now-legendary Fictions (RCA Victor/UES, 1967). The LP is an excellent collection of songs, recorded in just nine hours, with intimations of psychedelic rock amidst the influence of bands like The Byrds, The Beatles, and The Kinks (with nods to Bach and the classics), all while maintaining a fresh beat sound; Fictions is an album that can compare with the best works of psychedelic pop bands from England and America. Los Vidrios Quebrados is one of a handful of Chilean groups to receive attention around the world; and their songs 'Oscar Wilde' and 'Fictions' are considered among the all-time best tracks in South American rock history. We're pleased to kick off our forthcoming series of crucial Chilean reissues with this bi-lingual, 32-page booklet, which explores the story of Los Vidrios Quebrados in the context of the rich Chilean rock music scene. For the language squeamish -- the song titles are in Spanish, but the songs are in English."
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LP
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ANIMA 1002LP
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"Originally released in 1967 by RCA Victor in Santiago-Chile. Re- mastered from the original mono tapes by Noel Summerville at Metropolis London in 2009. Pressed in MPO France." "In a list of the pioneers in the Chilean rock music, it is impossible to omit the name of Los Vidrios Quebrados (The Broken Glasses). They are probably the most important band in in this musical style that entered to Latin America during the early 60s. Their members, Juan Mateo O'Brien (voice and guitar), Héctor Sepúlveda (guitar and voice), Cristián Larraín (bass guitar) and Juan Enrique Garcés (drums) gave the history of the Chilean rock just one single, Friend/She'll Never Know I'm Blue (1966), and the album Fictions (1967). In spite of its short life, the group is still remembered internationally, thanks to the pirate reissues of its only LP."
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