VIDA

In 1968, one of Argentina's rock heroes, Charly García, well supported by his schoolmate Nito Mestre, formed Sui Generis, one of the fundamental bands in the history of Latin American rock. Not without difficulties and scepticism on the part of some recording studios who doubted their commercial viability, Sui Generis finally released "Vida", their debut album, in 1972.

The proposal of the two very young musicians (they were barely over twenty years old...) reflects the concerns and interests of those who are beginning their adult life, full of doubts and challenges, in a context marked also by the civil-military dictatorship of that time, which adds a shadowy exogenous ingredient to the feel of the album.

Predominated by acoustic guitars, piano and flute, "Vida" is a work of brief and frugal themes with a certain folk air, which, after García's mortuary sensations in the opening "Canción para mi muerte", transmits the emotions that the musicians experienced just out of adolescence: such as the affective urgencies in the lively "Necesito", the youthful summer love in the agile "Estación", the innocence lost in the nostalgic "Dime quien me lo robo", or the doubts that García whispers in the intimate "Quizás, porque".

And that also, on the other hand, recreates mundane characters and attitudes, such as the so human envy in the hilarious and tragic "Mariel y el Capitán", the conservatism and paralysing formality of "Natalio Ruiz, el hombrecito del sombrero gris" adorned by Mestre's beautiful flute and, despite not being related to the general mood of the album, the bluesy and interesting "Toma dos blues". Finally, the instrumental "Posludio" lasts as long as a breath and brings the album to a close.

Despite the rudimentary production, "Vida" managed to shine with its own light due to the beautiful simplicity and harmony of its compositions, and started the band's fleeting but very influential trajectory.

Very good

3.5 stars

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