ALMA DE DIAMANTE

Certainly, there is a recurrent morning feel, not just in the lyrics, but also in the sound of Spinetta, and that trait is particularly prominent in Alma De Diamante, the debut album with his fabulous fourth band, Jade.

The melodic material is truly complex, but it's also played as the whistling of an early morning walker, so light and so sharp it sounds. The harmony is elaborated and personal, and even so, it flows organically, communicating a sense of relaxed immersion in that atmosphere. The crystalline production allows every instrument and voice to shine and breathe in its own space, without any friction or interference with each other. Yet, even within that clarity, a room remains for a darker shade and a deep sense of drama underpinning the proceedings, as it shows, for example, in the last track, Sombras En Los Álamos.

The best known members of this band, if you follow Luis Alberto's career, are the drummer of his previous band, Invisible, Héctor "Pomo" Lorenzo, and Spinetta himself on guitar and vocals. The others are, nevertheless, extraordinary in their own right: both keyboard players, Juan del Barrio and Diego Rapoport, sustaining the multi-layered sonic textures with jazzy fuel, and exchanging solos with each other and the guitar, and the bassist Beto Satragni, from the incredible fusion band Raíces, who makes grow his fat lines as if they were living beings made of sound.

The title track and Dale Gracias are probably the best loved tracks of this set, but, to be honest, the entire album projects an irresistible sense of flow, so, please, don't try to avoid the impulse of listen to it entirely at once, because you'd be missing something.

A masterpiece can only be absorbed complete.