BAJO BELGRANO

Spinetta Jade is Luis Alberto Spinetta's jazziest group. The line-up on this album is a quartet of guitar, bass, drums and 80s keyboards. Bajo Belgrano leaves the sophisticated fusion of previous albums and moves onto a simpler, even more melodic fusion with a big emphasize on the keyboards in which Spinetta's lovely guitar is barely heard, though his poetic lyrics are still present fortunately.

The album has from up-lifting songs like 'Cancion del Bajo Belgrano', 'Cola de Mono' and 'Mapa de tu Amor' full of synths and very good bass work, to emotional songs like 'Resumen Porteño', 'Maribel Se Durmio' and 'Vida Siempre' with fantastic poetic lyrics and great vocal expression from Spinetta. Then there's the one instrumental called 'Ping Pong', it has an addictive rhythm and good synth work, plus a bass solo to be delighted with. The album concludes with 'Viaje y Epilogo', which evolves from a beautiful piano piece to a more moving second half with great bass work and where showcases Spinetta's incredible range of voice.

The album, as I remarked on the review of the songs, has a very good mixture of moods. This giving it a very pleasant listen throughout the whole album. This is not an album where you can hear virtuosity or complexity, Bajo Belgrano is very melodic and sentimental where you really feel the music running through your veins, full of energy, which in some cases you want to stand up and dance the hell out of it.

Fans of melodic and friendly jazz rock are to be highly rewarded with this, Bajo Belgrano reminds me at times of Allan Holdsworth's 80s releases with the great sense of melody. Also, if you're able to understand spanish and you're a lyric fan, make sure to check this out or any of the other works by L.A. Spinetta.

4 stars: one of Argentina's most emotional albums and definitely one my favorites from my country alongside the proggier Peliculas by La Maquina de Hacer Pajaros. While musically it's not extremely original nor demanding, it's such a delightful album that I can't not recommend you this if you're searching for Latin American gems.