FAUSTO: "O Despertar dos Alquimistas"

Edição original em LP CBS 26486

(PORTUGAL 1985, Abril 19)

I can’t help having mixed feelings both about Fausto in a general manner and this album in particular; the inflated ambitious way in which these arrangements seem to have been prepared down to the smallest detail and the pomposity of the instrumentation with strings, horns and choirs all but contribute to enable any eventual sparks of spontaneity; furthermore, his frequent recurring to traditional Portuguese Folk music traditions where the form is normally left predictably untouched and the varied instrumentation can’t disguise a repetitiveness which may be very suitable for a popular dance hall  but becomes irking on record; equally irking is his too serious way of singing filled with arabesques and clichéd expressiveness. However, I also find that the best parts on the album are precisely those that make use of some of these elements, and the elaborate arrangements and the Classical care put in the making on the opening mini-epic “A Memória dos Dias” clearly make it one of the - if not The - album’s highlights; also strong is the both passionate and conformist song of love and delusion “Em Poucas Palavras”, a dichotomy enhanced by the contrast between the Portuguese 12-stringed guitar of Pedro Caldeira Cabral and the strings and French horn and coincidentally the only other piece where pianist Mário Laginha contributes, this time around  with dreamy arpeggios.

On a distinct register is the atmospheric “Quando o Inverno Chegar” with its pedaling tone, Emilio Cao accordion (sanfona) arabesques, the Indian inflections provided by the sitar and ceremonial percussions  and the enthralling anxiety of the choir, whereas the closing title track recurs to a beautifully sorrowful strings arrangements where the celli stand out in cool contrast with the naïve waltzing acoustic guitars of Fausto and Dudas on the one hand and the militant male choir on the other on a positive final note. It’s also impossible to ignore the quality of the lyrics and the way they are sometimes valued and made sound true thanks to the afore mentioned sophisticated singing; but if this album very much follows the “editorial” line of "Por Este Rio Acima“ - and the re-collaboration with producer, musical director and orchestrator (and percussionist, flutist and choir member) Eduardo Paes Mamede is no stranger to the fact - , it’s also true that it lacks a solid script such as its predecessors’ and everything ends up sounding more abstract and intellectual. (in RateYourMusic)