El jardín de los presentes

Really beautiful prog, with jazz and psychedelic influences all around. Probably Spinetta at his peak. His soft voice perfectly fits the atmosphere they build on each song, be it a mellow psychedelic tune, or a song with a harder edge to it, in which he ups his vocal game to equate, or sometimes even elevate, himself with the rest of the band.

But to say that this album is wholly just Spinetta carrying it with his genius would be a disservice to the two musicians beside him. Pomo Lorenzo's drumming is a perfect companion to Spinetta's guitar, at times laying down a simple beat to follow Luis Alberto exploring the soundscape, and sometimes being the one who explores using his jazz influences to the maximum.

The lyrics, as they stand, are an unknown to me, but a quick search yields translations, and from what I conclude, this is one of the better progressive rock albums from that side. The poetic picturesque presentation of some of these themes are on par with the best, if not the best.

Once I glanced over a translation of the lyrics, the mysterious poetry delighted me. The music is mostly mellow, like water at low tide after a fleet of ships, their sails puffed by music, outrun the waves that carried them out to sea. Breezy, expansive, not at all confining music. The penultimate track is the only veering off course, as it has a harder rock sound to it. The vocalist, after all, is questioning dogs of different colors.