They're in the list because... Efe Eme magazine rewarded them with a whopping #11 out of 200.
In my mind, this rank is the crux of the criticism that one could leverage at this attempt of canonizations. Because a list that excludes Barón Rojo, Siniestro Total or Mecano while including this - a somewhat minor hit from a one-album folk rock band only remembered largely by vindicators of the 70s - would probably get urges to shout "INVALID!".
That one album is excellent, though.
Solera were Jose Antonio Martín, Manolo Martín (they were brothers and had already recorded under the name Juan y Manuel), Rodrigo García and José María Guzmán (session guitarist and bassist, respectively, who could also sing). The last two would left after that only album to form Cánovas, Rodrigo, Adolfo y Guzmán, and since CRAG have frequently been referred to as "the Spanish CSNY", it would be tempting to call Solera the Spanish Buffalo Springfield, but actually their music were closer to, say, Left Banke or the Association.
The album, named after the group, was recorded by Hispavox (later fused with EMI in the 80s), one of the labels of the era who had an identifiable sound, in this case the "Torrelaguna sound" (after the name of the street in Madrid in which the record company was located), manned by the Italian producer Rafael Trabucchelli, whose trademark was clear production, carefully recorded vocals and acoustic guitars, the typical emphasis of Italian producers on integrating the bass and drums into the larger ensemble, orchestrations (subtle in this album), and lead instruments like harpsichords, recorders and xylophones weaved into the arrangements.
Although Solera (1973) seems nowadays simply a cult record, the truth is that the album was actively promoted by Hispavox, and they appeared in TV promoting the two songs that were released in the single, as we can see in the two following clips.
"Linda prima" (Pretty cousin) was the "important" number, sung by Rodrigo; Guzmán tackles the other song, "Las calles del viejo París".
(As a curiosity, if one looks around in Youtube there's another TV clip for "Linda prima", more dramatized, but the weird thing is that although the Solera track is used, the band appearing in the clip is CRAG!)
And from the album tracks the most famous one is the opener - perfect sunshine pop. The album was quite varied and had some other songs fore in a folk rock vein, and Guzmán was an interesting and subtle electric guitarist. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the whole thing.
My verdict: Great, but as I said, an example of bias induced by a small reference pool. I bet if this "metalist" had taken into consideration more than 4 lists, they would not be included. Thanks to this small accident, though, I've had the excuse to share my thoughts on an album that certainly deserves recognition.
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