LOS NIÑOS QUE ESCRIBEN EN EL CIELO

This album follows the same musical line of "Alma de diamante". The guitar's sound is amazing. The odd meters are the main property in this album.

(1) "Moviola": various meters, a cutting beautiful guitar, good keys. Some of latin influences. ***

(2) "La herida de Paris": a 'prog-ballad'. The rhythm is as complex as previous song. Nice song.***

(3) "El hombre dirigente": an almost pop song in the beginning. Afterwards, the song become in a complex composition when the odd metters appear.****

(4) "Sexo": a bluesy song. Some of classic minor blues and jazz influences. Great solos. The lirycs are for pay attention.***

(5) "Siguiendo los pasos del maestro": a beautiful work. An intense instrumental work. The guitar 'arpegio' are the moog's solo are outstanding.****

(6) "Contra Todos los Males de este Mundo": something of rock'n'roll. Nice song, but no more.***

(7) "Un viento celeste": a typical SJ's song: emotional vocals, complex harmony and rhythmical proposition, and amazing keyboard's 'melodic drawings'.****

(8) "No te Busques ya en el Umbral (Umbral)": a beautiful prog-ballad. Passionate song.***

(9) "Influjo estelar": various meters. An strange and nice instrumental composition. Great work. ****

(10) "Nunca me oiste en tiempo": something of r'n'r again. Nice song, but perhaps it isn't prog-rock.**

Average rate: 3.3 stars

Ok, I'll give this recording 4 stars, not because it's a prog essential or nothing like that. . . Spinetta Jade is really not a prog group, it's more a fusion group, but to see this album only fare an anemic 3 stars, is a CRIME. . . it's MUCH BETTER THAN THAT, believe me. . .

The instrumental songs are really awsome. . . very rare metrics, but FANTASTIC. . .

The songs with lyrics are very nice poems by Luis Alberto Spinetta. . . WHAT AN IMAGINATION, this guy!!!

I can tell you, before I knew Spinetta; I was a huge fan of Charly García (Sui Generis, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, Serú Girán, etc.) but since I've been knowing his albums and crafts (with his different outlets), I can confirm: He's my favourite Argentinian composer of all times in rock 'n' roll. . .

Long live EL FLACO. . . Enjoy his jazzy-fusion stage.

Regards,

Songo

What a neat album. It is a work made with silk gloves. When listening it, you can find a high level of accuracy. The disc has many rhythms, but in each of them, even in the jazzier or harder ones, the musicians keep the order and precision. At the same time, it is an album involved in the style of its age. That is why we can find on it some pop elements. But to say that it is a poppy album would be unfair. It just has a special 80's atmosphere that makes it... evocative.

Moviola, the opening theme, contains many rhythms, but we can not say it is a fussion song. It is a very well built song. It has great and sharp guitar and a good work in bass guitar.

La herida de Paris is the accuracy made song. Voice, guitar, bass guitar, keys, drums... Everything fits at perfection. Even the lyrics, which are full of poetic images.

El hombre dirigente. Nice song. It has a very interesting speed that means the topic of the song. The lyrics are about yuppies and their hunger of power and money.

Sexo. A lot of jazz in this song. It is smooth, and because of that I like it less than the other ones. As a single song it is very nice; but in the middle of such a powerful album, you feel that the ship lost speed.

Siguiendo los pasos del maestro. Loss of accuracy, but a great trip.

Contra todos los males de este mundo. Accuracy and power returns. Spinetta sings with softness and force in the same song. Guitar play with bass guitar in a weird (funny?) melody. It's rock and roll in the best Spinetta's style.

Un viento celeste. It has the 80's feeling, but with a very nice complexity. I like very much the instrumental part: powerful jazz with stops and strong strings of bass guitar. This one sounds like a spring.

Umbral is a tipical Spinetta's ballad. Full of beautifull images sung in a weird and beautiful way.

Influjo estelar. Instrumental with rare metrics. Beautiful piece of art.

Nunca me oiste en tiempo. My favorite song from this album. Here you can realize why Spinetta is the best musician in Argentina. Lyrics have an obscure meaning, but make you feel a lot of things. Everything is in its correct place.

Honestly, I would give 4.7 stars to this disc. But as I have noticed that its progressiveness is a matter of controversy, I'm going to give 4. 2 (it means 4) stars, because less would be unfair.

PS: For those who have listened very carefuly this album: Have you noticed that sometimes we can listened in this album something like the sound of a steam or gas scaping from a compressing device? You have to pay special attention.

The Kids that Write in the Sky...

The sophomore effort of the ever so enjoyable Spinetta's fusion group, Spinetta Jade, is a great, though slightly different, successor to the stunning jazzy debut. Los Niños Que Escriben en el Cielo shows Spinetta moving to a catchier affair, yet not as accessible as Bajo Belgrano would be.

Spinetta's guitar and voice are clear and are augmented by Leo's characteristical synths, Diego's piano and a solid rhythm section with some funk inclinations.

The first four songs are all excellent with catchy rhythms, but if you pay attention they're not any simple rhythms, rather complex ones but done accessible somehow. They're all jazzy some way or another due to the bass or to the keys, but don't expect complex fusion, some how you could compare it to the jazz rock style of Steely Dan in the sense that both are jazzy and accessible, yet they have their moments of musical brilliance.

There are two oddities in this album however. First one is the short instrumental called 'Siguiendo los Pasos del Maestro' which translates to 'Following the Master's Footsteps', although I haven't read anything about it, it sounds to me as a tribute to John McLaughlin, just listen to it, those are the same guitar lines that John is famous of. Not bad, but nothing brilliant. The second oddity would be 'No Te Busques Ya en el Umbral' which Spinetta plays acoustic guitar for the first time in his Jade career, it's a soft emotional tune dedicated to John Lennon.

The rest of the album is similar to the first four songs, pleasant with good synths and interesting rhythms. Highlights of this second would be 'Contra Todos los Males de este Mundo' with its addictive riff and powerful vocals, and 'Un Viento Celeste' that features a splendid two minute electric piano solo.

Though mainly simplistic in terms of instrumental complexity, you really can't get bored of this easily. Luis Albert Spinetta managed to compose rather accessible yet entertaining and original pieces of fusion-inspired music that are definitely overlooked gems from the despised decade, the 80s.

4 stars: excellent compositions with a touch of originality. If you're into the more friendly side of fusion, this is a must-have, otherwise you might consider this rather poppy jazz, true or not that, this album is superb at what it offers. Highly recommended Argentine album after you've got Alma de Diamante first.

Los niños que escriben en el cielo is Spinetta Jade sophomore effort and while it's more mainstream oriented it still features the same characteristics that made the previous álbum Alma de Diamante a really strong release: Odd time signatures , great bass lines and ethereal keyboards , this time with a more rock approach in some of the songs and a stronger 80's sound if you know what I mean , but in this record it's still tolerable.

Out of the records 10 tracks , the standouts are some Spinetta's classics like "La Herida de Paris" or "Un viento celeste" still being performed today in live concerts. There are some other particular songs that are really remarkable like "Nunca me oiste en tiempo" or "Influjo estelar". However , the record is less consistent than the previous album having some weak songs in the middle.

In the end , this record is still a good blend of jazz fusion and poppier songs like "Contra todos los males de este mundo" or "Moviola". The quality of the musicians involved is still top notch and the repertoire is more varied than Alma de Diamante but a somewhat weaker.

3.6 stars for me rounded up to 4. A very enjoyable record for the ones looking for accessible jazz fusion stuff.

This 1982 release from SPINETTA JADE certainly has it's moments but for my tastes this comes off sounding a little too commercial. I feel like i've reviewed several albums of late that would fit the 3.5 star rating perfectly including this one.

"Moviola" is a catchy vocal track with some energy. Synths come and go including a minute in, after 2 1/2 minutes and then at 3 minutes to end it. "La Herida De Paris" has a good intro then it settles with reserved vocals and some tasty bass that growls. "El Hombre Dirigente" is uptempo with vocals coming in before a minute. Good song. "Sexo" must mean sexy right ? Anyway it's laid back with wanting (haha) vocals. Yikes ! "Siguiendo Los Pasos Del Maestro" is my favourite. Love the growly bass and it's a somewhat intense instrumental.

"Contra Todos Los Males De Este Mundo" is uptempo with guitar and more. Vocals are prominant too in this catchy tune. "Un Viento Celeste" is synth led to start then reserved vocals take over in this mellow sounding tune. Not a fan. "Note Busques Ya En El Umbral" has relaxed vocals with acoustic guitar and more. It's okay. "Influjo Estelar" is an instrumental with lots of drums and synths. "Nunca Me Oiste En Tiempo" ends the album with a catchy beat, vocals and more.

I like this record but it's a little too soft and catchy for my tastes. Check out their debut though.