I Remember My World: The Journey To 'La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto's Bar' - Part Three (July 1967)

 After a brief promotional trip, the band returned to EMI Studios on the 11th once again to work on the ever growing Toto’s Bar project. This song would be from the pen of Osvaldo although final writing credits also include Hugo’s name potentially from contributions for the arrangement. Although not as musically dense as many of the other tracks on the album, the song’s arrangement emphasising cello work and seemingly missing piano (an instrument found on the nearly of the album’s other tracks) gives the trippy sounding song a unique identity on the album along with Osvaldo’s lead vocal appearance. 

It is unclear however whether the track as it was released on the album was actually fully realised, with the session’s two hour running time eaten up developing the arrangement and working on the cello parts, an instrument which despite appearing in multiple sessions to this point the members particularly Hugo was rusty with.

“I think at that time we were exhausted, if we had more energy it could’ve been something. Not to say it was phoned in but we were starting to run on empty, I think that sentiment feels with a lot of the stuff on that album. It could’ve been something really special if we were on it.” - Osvaldo Fattoruso, 1990

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Yo Recuerdo Mi Mundo (I Remember My World)

Date: Tuesday, the 11th of July 1967
Producer: José Soler
Studio: EMI Studios, Argentina

Hugo Fattoruso: Backing vocal, cello, accordion 
Osvaldo Fattoruso: Lead vocal, rhythm guitar, lead guitar
Pelin Capobianco: Bass guitar, cello
Caio Vila: Drums

Track 1: Drums (Caio Vila), bass guitar (Pelin Capobianco)
Track 2: Rhythm guitar (Osvaldo Fattoruso), cello (Hugo Fattoruso)
Track 3: Cello (Pelin Capobianco), lead guitar (Osvaldo Fattoruso)
Track 4: Vocals (Osvaldo Fattoruso & Hugo Fattoruso)
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fortunately for the group the rest of July was lighter at least on the recording front, with only one full band recording session taking place. The 20th was (with one exception), the band’s final studio activity with the month which thankfully posed a small break within their collective schedules before a tour of Germany would commence in August. This session would produce The Shape Of A Rainbow and for Shakers nerd heads also proved to be the final time certain elements of the group’s equipment were used such as the iconic cursive drumhead replaced in favour of a less stylised bold drumhead for the German tour and the final recording featuring Pelin’s iconic Hofner 185 bass. Although he used this bass for a few stops on the German tour, it would lose favour to a brand new Hofner Beatle violin bass acquired during the trip. 


An alternate mix of this song appears on the US prototype release of La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto’s Bar which features an embarrassing amount of accidental off-mic chatter/whistling present through the entire song which thankfully was greatly resolved by the song’s final release. Strangely initial copies of the 2007 remaster CD of the album contained an alternate stereo remix that retains some of the chatter as well as other minor changes including a slightly extended fade-out. As further copies were made of this disc, this remix was replaced with the regular stereo mix which seemingly means its release was a mistake (finding a CD with that mix is challenging given practically no physical changes to the album’s artwork/barcode were made between releases).

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Una Forma De Arco Iris (The Shape Of A Rainbow)


Date: Thursday, the 20th of July 1967

Producer: José Soler

Studio: EMI Studios, Argentina


Hugo Fattoruso: Lead vocal, piano, lead guitar

Osvaldo Fattoruso: Backing vocal, tambourine

Pelin Capobianco: Bass guitar, backing vocal

Caio Vila: Drums


Track 1: Drums (Caio Vila), tambourine (Osvaldo Fattoruso)

Track 2: Piano (Hugo Fattoruso), bass (Pelin Capobianco)

Track 3: Lead vocal (Hugo Fattoruso), backing vocal (Pelin Capobianco)

Track 4: Lead vocal (Hugo Fattoruso)


Track 1: Drums (Caio Vila), tambourine (Osvaldo Fattoruso)

Track 2: Piano (Hugo Fattoruso), bass (Pelin Capobianco)

Track 3: Lead vocals (Hugo Fattoruso), backing vocal (Pelin Capobianco)

Track 4: Backing vocals (Osvaldo Fattoruso & Pelin Capobianco)

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The recording of what became known as the Toto Prelude and Toto Epilogue is fascinating and certainly the most twisted of all the tracks on the album’s first disc. Unlike the majority of the band’s work up to that point, these pieces of music were fully written and arranged prior to a studio session composed by Hugo as a highlight piece for the accordion. It was a piece intended to be well rehearsed and quickly put to tape at a session, although it’s documented that rehearsals for both pieces was set to take place on the 20th of July ultimately this plan fell through for an unknown reason (maybe the amount of work needed to record The Shape Of A Rainbow). 

The ambitious goal was to rehearse the pieces on the 20th and record them on the 21st, ultimately this recording session also became the rehearsal session with the ensemble moving between studios after the initial two hours of blocked session time had run out. Word however didn’t seem to hit all members of the group who assumed that session had been cancelled with the pieces being postponed to another time entirely. By the time the 21st rolled around only two members of the group had arrived (Hugo & Pelin), and after a slightly delayed start eventually saw Osvaldo enter. Caio nor producer José Soler appeared and thus does not appear on either track. 


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Preludio De Toto (Toto Prelude)

Date: Tuesday, the 11th of July 1967

Producer: Hugo Fattoruso

Studio: EMI Studios, Argentina


Hugo Fattoruso: Accordion

Osvaldo Fattoruso: Celeste

Pelin Capobianco: Double bass, sleigh bells

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Epílogo De Toto (Toto Epilogue)

Date: Tuesday, the 11th of July 1967

Producer: Hugo Fattoruso

Studio: EMI Studios, Argentina


Hugo Fattoruso: Accordion

Osvaldo Fattoruso: Piano
Pelin Capobianco: Sleigh bells, tambourine

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As shown in the prototype US release of La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto’s Bar, the use of both tracks was originally very different with two very small segments of either one crossfaded into Candombe and On A Tuesday I Watch Channel 36 instead of both takes being played cleanly as the opening and closing tracks of the double album.


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