PsychepediA

From: Montevideo, Uruguay

This Uruguayan quartet was formed in 1963 by brothers Hugo (lead vocals, lead guitar, piano, harmonica) and Osvaldo Fattoruso (rhythm guitar, vocals), and is considered to have been the most successful 60s band in Latin America. Other members included Roberto "Pelin" Capobianco (bass, bandoneon, vocals) and Carlos "Caio" Villa (drums, vocals). In 1964, after seeing the Beatles film A Hard Days Night, they modeled themselves after the Fab Four, even adopting similar haircuts and clothing as can be seen in the photo here on TWOS. They then signed to the Odeon label of EMI and issued their first 45 ('Mas' b/w 'Rompan Todo') towards the end of the year.

In 1965, the band relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentina where their popularity skyrocketed. They issued more singles and then a self-titled LP later in the year. By this time, they were playing regularly in theaters and ballrooms throughout Uruguay and Argentina, and also made frequent appearances on South American TV. Early 1966 saw an attempt to break into the North American market with the U.S. release of the LP Break It All, which includes tracks from their first album, along with songs off of early 45s that were rerecorded and retitled in English. Later in the year, they issued a third album of all new material titled For You, which is considered by many to be the South American version of the Beatles' Revolver LP. The record includes some truly great cuts including the incredible 'Espero Que Les Guste 042', which can be compared closely to the Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows'.

Three more singles followed in 1967, but there had already been serious friction with their record company that wanted them to avoid psychedelia and release more conventional, poppy material. This delayed the release of their fourth LP (La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto's Bar), which finally saw the light of day in late 1968. The record is pretty much the exact opposite of what their label wanted, containing a number of outstanding free flowing and jazzy psychedelic numbers. This prompted Odeon to leave them without any promotion or support, thus imploding the band. The Fattoruso brothers later relocated to the U.S. to support Latino bands there, while Capobianco moved to Brazil and played in a symphony orchestra, and Villa became a record producer in Venezuela.

Artist information sources include: The book, 'Dreams, Fantasies, and Nightmares From Far Away Lands Revisited' by Vernon Joynson.