Wednesday, July 17, 2013

40 Year Itch : Tengo Tiempo




Can you spare a minute for the greatest rock album to ever come out of Argentina?

When the Argentine version of Rolling Stone Magazine compiled that nation's top rock albums of all time it was hardly a surprise that Artaud by Pescado Rabioso ( Rabid Fish) topped the list. In truth, this was a solo album by the band's  Luis Alberto Spinetta...known in his country as El Flaco or "Skinny".



Spinetta had a poet's sensibility and a voice that nearly equaled Jeff Buckley in beauty and emotion. Artuad is full of dreamlike images and inspired musical passages that rival anything the great art bands were doing in 1973.



You've heard of vocalists so good you'd want to hear them sing the phone book?
Listen to the 101-second "Por" which begins with just a series of single words:

 Arbol
Oja
Salto
Luz
Apoximacion
Mueble
Lana
Gusto
Pie
Te
Marcas
Mirandas

(tree, eye, jump, light, approximation, furniture, wool, taste, foot, tea, prints, gazes)



 This album has been on high rotation on my iPhone all year. If you'd like to snag another mp3, check out this post from Aquarium Drunkard which features the bluesy "Cementerio Club". Sadly, Spinetta joined that club in February of 2012 leaving behind four children and decades of great music.


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