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Friday, February 20, 2015

El Tarro de Mostaza, Mexico


El Tarro de Mostaza - s/t. 1970 Capitol

This title came up in last night's CD-R session. The second photo shows an LP reissue from the late 90s, and this was my introduction to the album. Throughout the 90s I wheeled and dealed records from/to all over the place. I was far less discerning back then on topics such as authentic reissues and the like. I've always enjoyed this record, but I did eventually ditch this reissue, since as foreshadowed, it wasn't legit. Maybe I should have kept it for reference, but I was doing some thinning about 7-8 years ago, and most of the boots got... well, the boot. So I moved it to a CD-R, and it came up last night after many years of not hearing it.

Not sure why I never bothered to research this title for the CDRWL, but of course as you've no doubt figured out already - it's nothing but pirates on this island. Both for CDs and LPs. I wasn't even sure there was an original. But, yes, the first photo is an authentic one, and they are very pricey. And it's on a major label no less.

Lot of misinformation about this title, but deep in the bowels of the internet (yea, I don't recommend you go there often either), I found a Spanish language interview (from a local Veracruz newspaper!). And with the ever trusty help of Google translate, I was able to discern a few interesting facts. The album was actually recorded in 1968, but not released until two years later. Apparently it was a "happening sound in", and the band was forced to play for hours on end, with no chance to sleep, eat, bio breaks, etc... Obviously not a pleasant experience for the participants. The name of the band was Los Sonidos (The Sounds), but the producers (rightly I think) suggested that the moniker was boring. And so the band arbitrarily picked Mustard Jar because it was both solid and hard (ummm... sure.... ok). I also found a little nugget that Spain's Guerssen has (or had) been in hot pursuit. The article goes back to 2009, and Guerssen is one of the best - if not THE best - reissue label today. So if they can't get it done, not sure anyone else could - legitimately of course.

Musically, the album consists of two distinct sides. One is a lengthy jam with killer organ (really old stock too - like a Farfisa) and guitars. The other side is more psychedelic pop, but you're never too far away from a blistering acid guitar solo. For 1968 Mexico, this was really quite a pioneering effort. And well worth a reissue. Hopefully Guerssen will succeed.

Priority: 3

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