We All Together: Children
From We All Together (MaG, 1972)
We All Together: Follow If You Can
From We All Together 2 (MaG, 1974)
The latest find in the search for the sublime comes to use from Peru (again). We All Together (quirky grammar, great music) was (from what I can tell) one of the biggest Peruvian rock bands in the early 1970s and as you will readily see, they were incredibly influenced by the sound and aesthetic of the Beatles. Heck, on some songs, they out-Beatle the Beatles, having captured the group’s plaintive vocal style and simple but catchy musicianship. Here’s a decent bio of the group.
“Children” floors me. Reminds me a lot of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and one listen and you can see why: the song is as clean and innocent as its subject matter. The composition/arrangement is beautiful as well – I like how quietly it begins and then builds by adding more and more elements. This comes off the group’s first album. “Follow If You Can” is from We All Together’s second eponymous LP, released a few years later. I went with a harder cut rather than another ballad. For me, my favorite part comes about halfway through, during a bridge that brings back the main rhythm motif and it slams down hard with a wicked grunginess balanced out by the group’s more angelic vocals.
As you can imagine, the original Peruvian copies of these albums are not exactly easy to come by in the States but lucky for all ya’ll – both have been reissued onto CD.
chatter