Sitting in your favourite armchair, sipping a glass of beer or wine, listening to the dulcet tones of Baccara on your turntable. No better way of relaxing for an hour or so, especially if you can’t get out of home due to the enforced lockdown of the Corona virus.

Yes Sir, Baccara, that consisted of Spanish artists Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola can boogie and so can you with this fab collection from the continental Euro pop duo that created a sensation when they came on the scene in the late 70s.

The disco infused tracks with its repetitious lyrics immediately hit you upon the very first listen, but then all their tracks are so catchy you just want to join in and dance along. Their broken English vocalizations and heavy Spanish accent is noticeable all over the record.

You have all the hits that the girls released in that era, and this Indian release includes 12 of Baccara's hits and best-known songs from the era of the original formation (1977–1981), mainly focusing on their best-selling debut album ‘Baccara’.

So take a spin of Side One that brings back memories of songs like The Devil Sent You To Lorado, Koochie-Koo, Adelita, Sorry, I'm a Lady among the hot favorites, not forgetting Granada.

For those who still have this LP, it was and even today, its great value for money, Baccara's version of Light My Fire packed with a mix Baby Why don’t you reach out, has to be heard by anyone around at the time. Their other hits like La Bamba, Darling is a no miss for sure.

An excellent collection even though fans would love to hear Parlez-Vous Français? Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, Ay, Ay Sailor which are missing.  It’s been over 40 years, but this music is still nostalgic for me and will always remain, for it brings back great and happy memories of my youth.

The back cover of the album has Baccara and Producer Rolf Soja at the World Popular song Festival I Tokyo 1977.

Baccara was Spain's answer to ABBA and you can bet they really hit it off. Baccara had disco success. Despite a substantial following in Spain, Germany  and Japan, by 1981 the duo's distinctive blend of disco, pop and Spanish folk music was no longer fashionable, and by 1983 Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola were both working on solo projects. Achieving little success as solo artists, the two formed duos of their own: separate incarnations of the original Baccara appeared during the middle of the decade, with Mendiola fronting New Baccara and Mateos keeping the duo's original name. They continue to function till today.

But keeping all that aside, if you want to fill your home with danceable disco beats, this is the perfect record to do it with. So bring out that glitter ball and play Baccara as you relive the 70s.

Released – 1978

Label: RCA (India)

Reviewed By Verus Ferreira