Spiteri - Spiteri (1973) (Remastered, 2010)

Reissue of this magical album that merges rock, soul and psychedelia with Venezuelan rhythms. Recorded in London in 1973, Spiteri gained the support of artists such as Noel Redding, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood and many others. This is the only legacy from the most important Latin rock group from Venezuela.In love with the British band Traffic and full of Latin American feeling, brothers Charles and Jorge Spiteri decided to move from Caracas to London at the start of the 70s and try their luck as musicians. Jorge had started out in bands such as Los Nasty Pillows, Fantastic Guasacaca, Los Juniors and Los Memphis. In London he met up with his brother Charlie (ex-Los Memphis) and had the chance to know two of the great artists of the "British Invasion": Georgie Fame and Alan Price, keyboard player in The Animals. One thing led to another and Jorge also met Mervin "Muff" Winwood, brother of British super star Stevie Winwood, who fully introduced Jorge to London's music scene.It was during those years when the idea for a band mixing the Latin sound with rock was born. The only thing missing was the musicians, but in 1973 several Venezuelans met in London: Jorge was responsible for the compositions, vocals and guitar. His brother Charlie was in charge of percussion and vocals. The rhythm section was completed by Bernardo Hall (ex- Los Impala) on drums, while Jose?to Romero (ex-member of Tsee Mud and Bacro) was the lead guitar. A fundamental piece in this line-up was Jos? Manuel "Chema" Arria (ex-Los Claners and Sangre), the bass player, as he had a long professional experience. The last one to join them was Rub?n "Micho" Correa (ex-Los Kings and Grupo Pan), who took on flute and vocals. It was in fact a Venezuelan super group established in London, so it wasn't long before London's music industry saw in Spiteri a British alternative to the popular "Santana sound". In 1973, the band was signed by record company GM.The record was released in Venezuela at the end of 1973. They were Venezuelans recording in Europe and making fusion rock that hadn't been heard before; it was Venezuelan music but in a completely contemporary format. 36 years later, "Spiteri" still sounds fresh. Mixing English and Spanish, Jorge Spiteri's compositions and arrangements opened a new horizon, where Venezuelan folklore, Afro Caribbean elements, hard rock and bolero-charged ballads converged.Sadly, the group had a brief life, the result of different reasons. They were a band of foreigners in the UK, which limited them legally. They couldn't play at venues or distribute their records, as to be able to do that they had to have an equal number of British musicians. This led them to play illegal, almost clandestine shows, and to sell the album only in specific record shops. Even though different legal tricks were employed, in the end this situation turned into an unsustainable burden on the band. In 1974 the group split without ever visiting Venezuela, leaving behind just an extraordinary LP, a Venezuelan 45 release and a collector's album for the British market