Monterrey musician Hernando Rocha managed to record his debut LP in 1970 after spending time living in the United States, where he absorbed the latest waves of psychedelic rock. Reinventing himself as Ernan Roch, the album \u201cLa Onda Pesada\u201d was finally released a year later, credited to Ernan Roch with Las Voces Frescas. <\/p>\n
Three elements really stood out on the record: Ernan\u2019s strong, expressive vocals; the guitars, ranging from powerful fuzz-driven riffs to calm, reflective passages close to the folk sound of Simon & Garfunkel; and the high poetic level of the lyrics. The album included songs written during his year in the U.S.: \u2018Sittin on a Side of the Ocean,\u2019 \u2018Give Me a Piece (She Doesn\u2019t Care),\u2019 and \u2018The Train,\u2019 which opened Side A. That track also appeared on the B-side of a 7\u201d single, where \u2018She Doesn\u2019t Care\u2019 was retitled \u2018Give Me a Piece\u2019 and pressed as the A-side.<\/p>\n
The songs reflect the existential angst of a 16-year-old\u2014Ernan\u2019s age when he wrote them. For instance, \u2018The Train,\u2019 with its powerful guitar intro, might suggest the anticipation of love, but it\u2019s actually not about romance at all: it deals with suicide and a dialogue with death, portrayed as a woman dressed in black waiting at the end of the station. The life-and-death theme continues in \u2018Sittin on a Side of the Ocean,\u2019 which speaks of a loveless world filled with hate, erupting into a striking riff by guitarist Miguel C\u00e1rdenas. These tracks were joined on Side A by \u2018I Found All,\u2019 \u2018I Can\u2019t,\u2019 and \u2018Round Round.\u2019 Side B featured \u2018Gonna Make I,\u2019 \u2018A Life of Love,\u2019 \u2018Cause of Love,\u2019 \u2018All Right \/ It\u2019s Gonna Take Me Time,\u2019 and \u2018Give Me a Peace,\u2019 for a total of ten songs. The quality of the material is even more impressive when you realize Rocha was only 17 years old when he recorded it. <\/p>\n
When the album came out, with its bluesy, psychedelic sound and Hendrix-inspired guitar work, it seemed destined for commercial success\u2014but several factors stood in the way. One was the growing censorship of Mexican rock after Av\u00e1ndaro; another was the new government\u2019s view of rock as \u201ccultural imperialism.\u201d The record went largely unnoticed throughout the \u201970s and \u201980s, but with the rise of online marketplaces in the early 2000s, it was rediscovered by international collectors, who hailed it as a hidden gem and praised its production. It eventually became one of the most sought-after Mexican records of all time. We\u2019re now pleased to reissue it with liner notes and newly remastered sound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cLa Onda Pesada\u201d (1971) by Ernan Roch showcases the most experimental side of Mexican rock of the era, blending blues and psychedelia, with Hendrix-style guitars driven by powerful fuzz riffs, alongside more folk-oriented passages and deeply poetic lyrics.<\/p>\n
This album has become one of the most coveted titles among collectors due to its outstanding musical quality and the fact that it suffered the consequences of the persecution of Mexican rock, which prevented it from being properly circulated at the time of its original release and resulted in very limited sales, condemning it to years of obscurity. Our fully licensed reissue includes liner notes and remastered sound. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":116894,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[248,64],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-116897","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-psychedelia-en","7":"product_cat-rock-en","8":"product_shipping_class-lp-en-4","9":"pa_formato-lp-en","11":"first","12":"instock","13":"taxable","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"purchasable","16":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/116897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=116897"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=116897"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/munster-records.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=116897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}