Soul turned Spanish pop into the fuel that ignited the dance floors and parties of Spain in the second half of the 60s. For most bands, the soul explosion meant facing the “renovate or die” dilemma. After years of trying to emulate The Shadows and later The Beatles, the groups had two alternatives: joining the psychedelic movement or adapting the soul genre to the Spanish taste.
Those who wanted to follow the rock path had to bear in mind the advances in the recording techniques that led to Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, something that was virtually impossible for most Spanish bands. Besides, the record companies, radio stations and especially the public were not ready to “open their minds” to the psychedelic revolution.
Soul, however, did enjoy a bigger success thanks to the hits by the Tamla Motown and Atlantic artists, and thus many guitar groups decided to incorporate a horn section. Spanish soul became hugely popular, and during the second half of the 60s was the dominant music genre in a country still under Franco’s dictatorship.
Those who wanted to follow the rock path had to bear in mind the advances in the recording techniques that led to Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, something that was virtually impossible for most Spanish bands. Besides, the record companies, radio stations and especially the public were not ready to “open their minds” to the psychedelic revolution.
Soul, however, did enjoy a bigger success thanks to the hits by the Tamla Motown and Atlantic artists, and thus many guitar groups decided to incorporate a horn section. Spanish soul became hugely popular, and during the second half of the 60s was the dominant music genre in a country still under Franco’s dictatorship.
Apart from artists that imitated the purest sounds from the US, others took risks and tried subgenres such as progressive R&B, freakbeat soul, sunshine soul or psych-pop with soulish influences. This volume and Vol. 2 offers a fantastic selection of all of them, including tracks by hit acts such as Los Bravos, Los Pekenikes, Manolo y Ramón (aka Dúo Dinámico) and obscure bands such as Jae’s Soul and Conjunto Brillant’s.
In Chisel Records
Album gentilmente cedido por Luís Futre.
Album gentilmente cedido por Luís Futre.