Antique - 1973 - Sincerely Antique

01. Chaucha
02. Don't Let Me Down
03. Esta Melodia
04. Feel It
05. Taboo
06. Batuka
07. Dias Como Hoy
08. Crumbs Off The Table
09. Tu Me Acostumbraste
10. Juntos
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Alberto Cuevas (percussion), Manny Salas (keyboards, synthesizers, vocals), Chebi Rodriguez (lead guitar, vocals), Eddy Diaz (lead vocals, percussion), Arturo Blanco (bass guitar, congas, vocals)

For YEARS I've been looking for this little known, obscure Lp that many consider the holy grail of Latin Cuban / Miami  garage psych. But it had eluded me for so long that I gave up hope of ever obtaining a copy. But yesterday, on my last stop at a Hialeah thrift store in Little Havana that I periodically frequent, it surfaced!  This was the same store that helped me unearth RABBITS & CARROTS --the holy grail of Mexican Funk  (fetching $800+ when listed several months ago). As to SINCERLY ANTIQUE: No known copies had surfaced for over a decade, & the 2 or 3 collectors of Latin / Cuban Psych here in Miami where it was pressed & distributed who were fortunate enough to own a copy that they probably purchased way back in the 1970s (it was pressed in 1973 ) absolutely RAVED about it--calling it one of the most overlooked killer Latin Acid Psych Lps of all time. Well, when I arrived home &  took it for a spin on my cheap portable record player, I was FLOORED! Absolutely FLOORED! They were right! Absolute KILLER ORIGINAL CUTS!! 9 of the 10 are original compositions by the band members. 3 of the 10 are pure MONSTER acid prog pysch instrumentals: "Chaucha", "Batuka" & the MONSTER frenetic finale "Juntos" that has to be listened to to be believed!  2 of the cuts are killer blusey hard prog psych rock with strong lead vocals: "Feel It" & "Crumbs Off The Table". One ("Este Melodia") strong vocal (in spanish) with a long prog psych / rock ending. And the long MONSTER soulful prog blusey vocal / instrumental psych "Taboo" with that screaming soulful ending ranks with the best in the genre. A couple of more tame slower numbers in Spanish round out what I consider a true KILLER Latin Garage Lp & destined to become one of your all-time favorites. I would venture a guess that if this band had formed at the beginning of the hippie psychedelic revolution (1966-67) instead of at the tail end (early 1970s) & with the proper backing & promotion, they would have made it to Woodstock in 1969 & brought down the house!!!  The acid heads & freaks would have gone bersurk! Anyway, back to this Lp. It was pressed in 1973 on the obscure FUNNY (# 502) label. (label has light writing on both sides). The album front COVER is pure PSYCH--with strange-looking Rabbits & Roosters along a winding road in a forrest with a ferocious tiger looking to attack-- flanked by HUGE MUSHROOMS with colorful butterflies perched atop...the BACK COVER contains a great B&W Cut-out COLLAGE of the band in action with some psychedelic symbolic images superimposed. The bottom (in script) contains the CREDITS that read: AlbertoCuevas (Percussion )--Manny Salas (Keyboard, Synthesizers, Vocals)--Eheli (?) Rodriguez (Lead Guitar, Vocals)--Eddy Diaz (Lead Vocals, Percussion)--Arturo Blanco (Bass Guitar, Congas, Vocals)--Joe "Electro" Rodriguez (Light Show, Cover Design, & Photography)--Distributed....Miami, Florida" COVER is still in Shrink & grades VG+. The VINYL has some scratches & grades VG (with some surface noise) but the noise (noticeable only in the slower numbers) is all but drowned out by the powerful stratospheric freakbeats that comprise the majority of songs & does not in any way detract from the enjoyment of this great & rare Lp. Stereophonic sound quality is great. There you have it. I will start the bidding at an extremely low opening with no reserve--allowing those interested to bid & determine the final value. A MUST HAVE  for the serious psych / prog psych, bluesy psych, hard rock, garage rock or Latin / Cuban psych collector. Please bid accordingly, as this one is not likely to surface again for a long time.

If it weren't for Ken Golden over at the Laser's Edge, this is one title I probably would never have heard of. We're both fans of 70's Santana influenced Latin rock, and The Antiques fit squarely in that mold. A mix of kick ass instrumentals, bluesy hard rock workouts with Gregg Rolie like vocals, and soulful Latin pop numbers similar to Malo's more commercial efforts. I like all of it, but the first two categories are more to my taste (naturally enough I guess). Not quite as powerful as Chango or Dakila, but better than many in the genre like Broth, Azteca and Malo themselves. Lots of great organ and loud guitar leads here. 1) is a great instrumental opener and shows that The Antiques mean business, with some killer organ and guitar leads. 2) is a good example of one of their more commercial efforts. It's a bit sappy, but I like it in a Malo sort of way. Like driving in a convertible low rider through East LA (believe it or not, I've actually done just that). 3), 4) & 8) represent the third and final style of the album, where the The Antiques play a harder Santana rock style similar to their first 3 albums. 5) sounds like a track lifted from "Abraxas", and is a killer. 6) is the same tune that opens "Santana III". 7) & 9) are traditional Latin pop songs, that folks from the Old Country are going to be fond of (my wife recognized them as favorites from her Mom's generation). 10) closes the album in an absolute smoking way, similar to Chango really, and makes you wish the whole album would have been like it.