Ia – Batiste - Chichonera’s Cat - 1975
intro
Before starting to review this record i have to tell you that this is one of my all times favorite works, and the truth is that the objectivity with this one could be a bit doubtful. A work that I wanted very much to talk about, a CD that I love, as I told you before, and that comes from that magical year called 1975, a rich and important year in our country, musically speaking of course. Ia-Batiste, was, and still is, one of the most prolific and charismatic duets of the catalan progressive world.
review
A fusion where the sensibility, creativity, imagination and the talent of two extraordinary and unique characters come together. A group of two, absolutely explosive, an authentic pleasure pot of plenty of good and different ideas. A band that was accompanied by the most important musicians at that time ; Santi Arisa, Max Sunyer, Kitflus, Francis Rabassa, Gostí Fernández… A must. I have always said that Ia-Batiste represent the authentic catalan-prog spirit, a very peculiar way to understand the music, a creation based on the union of the catalan author music with the production and philosophy of pompous grandiloquence of english prog-rock. With this open attitude and the capacity to get together such interesting concepts, and I even would dare to say educational, the duet began its career in 1973 publishing an extraordinary first Lp called “Un gran dia”, to continue toward the half of the decade writing this delicious “Chichonera’s Cat”. A record with a fascinating color, an authentic surrealist circus filled of sweet multicolored delicacies, a collection of delicate and small pieces of art, a subliminal ecstasy of sensibility that fills you, a.. I think that’s enough!!!. A work that shows the most symphonic-progressive side of catalan prog, with pieces such as “Bon dia, lluna”, “Aeronaus”, “Villa Montserrat”, “Imatges de l’estiu”, mixed with simple and delicate vocal compositions as “Cançó per no sentir-se sol”, “El gessamí i la rosa”, “Ocell”... a work with a very large dose of Dalinian surrealism. Some of the songs are just like pictures explaining situations that disconnect from reality to enter a Lewis Carroll world, delirious and descriptive, “El noi i la cançó”, “Vida de pel.licula”, “Chichonera’s cat”, together with almost all the others, show their huge imagination which make to activate ours, yearning and regretting at same time that nothing of this will return again.