By José Gandue @Gandour
Yes, albums are still being released, and there are still those who dare to say that they will sit in their favorite armchair to listen to the new album of some recent star. Many of those who undertake this task divide their mission into one or more segments.. There's always something interrupting them, whether it's their cell phone, a chat with a friend, a silly Instagram check, or that damn TikTok. And even more so if we're listening through Spotify or another digital platform, any slowdown is possible, almost inevitable. Listening to a whole new album these days is one of the many entertainment activities, and once you do it, Many do not repeat the experience; they feel they have fulfilled their mission. They'll mention to their friends that they heard the latest release, subtly analyzing what they liked and what they didn't quite grasp, and their friends will accept their argument and promise to do the same soon. Clearly, times have changed, and there's very little that can be done about it. Who can afford to stand aside?, Put on your headphones and ignore the entire planet, becoming fascinated, as in this case, with 14 songs, whose total duration adds up to a little over an hour, And once the work is finished, can you review the details, the magic we just captured? If I were a novice artist these days, Could Fito Páez invent himself? Love after love in 2022?.
30 years later we can reflect on all that we have lost with the advance of technology, or on the contrary, celebrate that this album can be listened to anywhere in the world with just one click. Fito Páez remains a highly relevant artist, and he has intelligently revitalized and redefined the concept of pop music constantly, with very few disappointments in his career. And, conversely, they've had remarkable bursts of popularity in recent decades. Their songs have aged brilliantly, and countless generations of fans continue to sing them as if they heard them for the first time yesterday, songs like A dress and a flower, Tombs of Glorya, and obviously the recording that gives this masterpiece its title.
In 1992, prominent Latin American artists (not many, it must be said) could enter the studio, with time and budget., to break the mold, to leave listeners speechless.Record labels, not always the best partners, knew there were musicians they could take a chance on to impress the world. And, if we listen closely now, after all this time, we understand that Love After Love is a delightfully eclectic album, in times when the square boxes of eighties music were being rearranged. It's an album that opens with an invitation to dance, inspired by the parties in the British cities of Manchester and its surroundings. It gives way to psychedelia, to ecstasy, to going out on the dance floor as if nobody were watching. But what's striking is that the formula isn't repeated.. What follows is rock with a distinctly Argentine flavor, many jazz elements, folk music from the interior, and Buenos Aires tango at certain points: It is the fierce scream that few vocalists on the continent achieve with such grace. It is also the anger that has been expressed since the beginning of his life, but now with the vision of a man who wants to have fun and express himself more directly, without feeling the need to ask for permission. It's the same old arrogant Páez, the one who looks down on many, but confident that what he was presenting was going to be a smash hit., There was no doubt. Then, the numbers proved him right: 700,000 records sold in his country, making it the best-selling physical catalog title in Argentine history, and, Today, it has already accumulated over one hundred and forty million plays on Spotify.
Is this Páez's best album ever? We can debate that. I enjoyed it a lot. The Liberated City, And obviously I love their classic album City of Poor Hearts. But Love after love It marked a turning point and remains relevant three decades later., And many good fans, simply for the sake of the celebration and commemoration, are out there trying to achieve the peace of listening that some of us had when it went on sale and we could retreat, with our stereo at full volume, from the noise of the world., putting on the best face of recovering joy in solitude.