Invisible
El jardín de los presentes

Argentinian rock has always fascinated me, for its innate ability to have its own identity, despite the fact that it is quite evident that it draws inspiration from British progressive rock: clear examples of this are groups such as Sui Generis, authors of Pequenas Anecdotas Sobre Las Istituciones, in some ways the Close To The Edge of Argentinian rock (listen to believe), and Crucis, capable of building monumental musical works with their keyboards, such as Los Delirios Del Mariscal.

However, above all, the predominant personality of this scene is none other than Luis Alberto Spinetta, one of the most charismatic, brilliant, and exuberant personalities in the history of rock (no, I am not exaggerating), raised on bread and the Beatles, he was the leader of no less than three fundamental bands for Argentinian rock: Almendra (which could be considered the Argentine Beatles, contaminated by obvious folk elements of their country), Pescado Rabioso (a truly interesting group, where Spinetta's genius truly erupts, thanks to extraordinary albums such as "Artaud", which mix folk, jazz, and blues without much pretentiousness, giving Argentinian rock an elegance it lacked at the time) and Invisible, the greatest Argentinian rock band of all time, a trio that does not fear comparisons with big names such as Rush, and would easily show up overly overrated groups such as Emerson, Lake And Palmer. He recorded two sensational albums in jazz rock style, and then left us mere mortals with this wonder that I will briefly review, "El Jardín De Los Presentes", the greatest album in the history of Argentina, the highest peak reached by the "Flaco", and, paradoxically, the album that caused the group's dissolution.

In fact, Spinetta, during the creation of his greatest masterpiece, met Tomas Gubitsch, a very young guitarist with a unique and rare talent, who transmitted to him the passion for tango. Unfortunately, Gubitsch's figure became predominant and would be the cause of the end of Invisible's adventure and, paradoxically, would be the winning card for Spinetta to record his greatest masterpiece.

El Jardin De Los Presentes starts with a sumptuous, "spatial" track, with an almost dreamy rhythm, dealing with science fiction themes, music that twists and expands, without mercy, a song where Spinetta demonstrates great vocal abilities, between calm tones and more "aggressive" ones. This track, "El Anillo De Capitan Beto" is without many doubts one of the best possible starts for an album. "Los Libros De La Buena Memoria", on the other hand, is a ballad, I would define it as the Argentinean "I Talk To The Wind", but with an almost nostalgic atmosphere, towards a past that seems almost forgotten, through wonderful sounds teetering between jazz and flamenco.

"Alarma Entre Los Angeles" instead is the musical materialization of a tango ballet. What can I say, folks, hold on tight, sit down, close your eyes, and enjoy the show by Gubitsch, the 18-year-old six-string phenomenon, who explores uncharted territories, first sinuous, then aggressive, then romantic, then melancholic, proving to everyone the stuff he's made of. All in six minutes. Poor rockers who still believe Slash is a good guitarist, let them frolic in their enchanted world... I enjoy mine... "Que Ves El Cielo" immediately returns to more calm, more relaxed sounds, thanks to the superb acoustic guitar arpeggios and Spinetta's graceful voice.

"Ruido De Magia" instead presents more "launched" tones, thanks to that wonderful electric guitar that seems to simulate a sax, while Spinetta's voice becomes more "sensual", the rhythm becomes almost "heavier", only to occasionally soften thanks to those wonderful flamenco guitar arpeggios. Simply the perfect balance. "Doscientos Años" seems to be yet another ballad on the album, but in reality, it presents hybrid rhythms, capable once again of demolishing every certainty, while Spinetta tries to defeat time, Spinetta's voice, with a naive, soft yet liberating song, runs along with the guitar, with the same innocence with which we, as children, chased each other with our friends, in the endless countryside fields, unaware of the fact that time passes for all of us... an experience that unfortunately I never really had as a child, because of my shyness... maybe that's why I get emotional while listening to this track...

"Niño Condenado" presents a captivating atmosphere, almost able to move the listener towards new unexplored and unspoiled routes, thanks to acoustic and electric arpeggios that seem to reconstruct a new relaxing atmosphere, but everything is interrupted by the Flaco's masterful vocal performance, sharply breaking the musical peace, with an aggressive, dramatic, poetic voice, the atmosphere is completely rarefied, nothing is as before, and to conclude the masterpiece of the album is that wonderful final guitar solo, which seems to sweep away any certainties about what could happen during the listening, just like in life... PERDONADOOOOOO, PERDONADOOOOO.... SUMPTUOUS...

To conclude this monumental masterpiece is "Las Golondrinas De Plaza De Mayo", the closing track, capable, thanks to the sumptuous work of the bass, of giving the listener the serenity they seek in life, thanks to Spinetta's already overly praised voice. The dreamy keyboards of the track season everything. A liberating song that leads to the end of what is and will remain one of my favorite albums of the "underground" scene, better than much of the '70s progressive rock, capable of moving without the need for showy virtuosity in Emerson Lake And Palmer style, capable of moving the listener like a pawn in unique and rare atmospheres, perfectly mixing jazz, blues, folk, flamenco, and giving it all a "tango", almost "dancer" tint. In an era marked by the inauguration of Videla's regime in 1976, Spinetta gifted a masterpiece to his people, despite the censorship that followed due to anti-regime lyrics. Spinetta never gave up, expressed his art, and rightfully entered Olympus.

Rest in peace, Flaco (1950-2012)