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**Kamikaze**
*Luis Alberto Spinetta*
★★★★☆

By the time Luis Alberto Spinetta entered the studio to record *Kamikaze* in 1982, Argentina's most revered rock poet had already traversed more musical territories than most artists manage in three lifetimes. Fresh from the dissolution of Spinetta Jade, his jazz-fusion outfit that had pushed his sound into increasingly cerebral waters, the Buenos Aires sage found himself at a crossroads. The country was still reeling from the Falklands War, military dictatorship cast its shadow over artistic expression, and rock nacional was evolving rapidly around him. What emerged from this crucible was perhaps his most cohesive and emotionally direct statement since his Pescado Rabioso days.

*Kamikaze* finds Spinetta stripping away much of the ornate jazz complexity that had characterised his previous work, returning to a more guitar-driven approach without abandoning the sophisticated harmonic sensibilities that had become his trademark. Working with a tight quartet featuring his brother Gustavo on keyboards, the album pulses with an urgency that feels both personal and political, though Spinetta's lyrics remain characteristically oblique, wrapped in the kind of poetic mysticism that had made him Argentina's answer to Bob Dylan.

The opening track, "Bajan," immediately establishes the album's more direct approach. Built around a hypnotic guitar riff that recalls the Velvet Underground's more contemplative moments, it showcases Spinetta's voice in all its weathered glory – that distinctive nasal tone now carrying the weight of experience, delivering lines about descent and transformation with the gravity of a man who'd witnessed his country's tumultuous evolution firsthand. The song's circular structure mirrors its themes of cyclical change, while the guitar work demonstrates Spinetta's underrated abilities as a player, weaving between rhythm and lead with the fluid confidence of someone who'd been exploring these territories since the late Sixties.

"Kamikaze" itself stands as one of Spinetta's most powerful compositions, a seven-minute epic that builds from whispered confessions to soaring declarations. The metaphor of the kamikaze pilot becomes a meditation on artistic sacrifice and the destructive nature of creation itself. Spinetta's guitar tone here is particularly striking – warm but cutting, reminiscent of Neil Young's more introspective moments but with a distinctly Latin sensibility that grounds the cosmic themes in earthly emotion.

The album's secret weapon might be "Ludmila," a tender ballad that finds Spinetta at his most vulnerable. Stripped down to voice, acoustic guitar, and minimal accompaniment, it's a love song that transcends its romantic origins to become something more universal – a meditation on beauty, loss, and the fleeting nature of human connection. The way Spinetta's voice cracks slightly on certain phrases adds an authenticity that no amount of technical perfection could achieve.

"Quedándote o Yéndote" explores similar emotional territory but with a fuller arrangement that allows the band to stretch out. The interplay between Gustavo's keyboards and Luis Alberto's guitar creates a sonic landscape that's both intimate and expansive, while the rhythm section provides a foundation that's rock-solid without being rigid. It's here that the album's jazz influences surface most naturally, not as intellectual exercise but as emotional expression.

The production, handled by Spinetta himself, captures the band in what sounds like a perfect room – present and immediate without being claustrophobic. There's space around each instrument, allowing the subtle interplay between the musicians to breathe while maintaining the album's overall cohesion.

*Kamikaze* has aged remarkably well, standing as a bridge between Spinetta's experimental period and his later, more reflective work. While it may not possess the revolutionary impact of *Artaud* or the commercial appeal of his work with Almendra, it represents Spinetta at his most balanced – the mystic poet and the rock musician in perfect harmony.

In the context of Argentine rock, *Kamikaze* remains essential listening, a reminder that Spinetta's genius lay not just in his ability to push boundaries but in his capacity to synthesise diverse influences into something uniquely his own. For international listeners discovering Spinetta's catalogue, it serves as an ideal entry point – accessible enough to appreciate immediately, deep enough to reward years of listening.