Que nadie, nadie despierte al niño

Almendra - Almendra - 1969

I am very happy to place this album at the top of the post. Considering how brilliant the second album today is, I have to admit that I surprised myself.
But listening to this album again, especially in the context of the almost non-existent condition in which Argentinean rock was at the time, and having listened to international contemporary artists, I realise now what a brilliant album this one is.
I mentioned them before, about a week or so ago. I had been listening to a few of their simples, and it was mostly nostalgia that I felt. But this album is a whole different animal and, barring some quite understandable production limitations, I think it can sit very comfortable together with any great album of the era.
Almendra was a band formed in 1967 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by two kids, Luis Alberto Spinetta, and Emilio del Guercio (both were about 17 at the time), and two slightly "older" guys, Edelmiro Molinari and Rodolfo Garcia, who were in their early 20s.
The brains, composition, guitars, singing and spirit of the band were all in the hands of the insanely talented "Flaco" ("Slim") Spinetta, one of the most influential musicians and poets from my country.
There's no easy way to talk about Spinetta. He was one of the most respected and loved musicians here, but also one of the most difficult to understand sometimes. I don't think I exaggerate if i compare his talent to the likes of Dali, one of those people who are not only creative geniuses, but also carry their brilliant madness with them wherever they go. And nothing seems fake or pretence. They are authentic in their unique way to see the world.
Now, to the album.
What I think makes this one such a unique gem is the fact that they managed to include many of the motifs and sounds from the era, but gave them a new twist, making it a fully original piece of work and, many times, an undoubtedly Argentinean one.
I don't think this is a perfect album though. At times, I find some of the songs a bit forced, especially in the singing parts. "Color Humano" is a good example of this: written by Molinari, the main guitarist, is brilliant from the musical point of view, but the lyrics don't seem to flow as well as Spinetta's ones. Something similar happens to me with "Que el viento borró tus manos", written by Del Guercio.
Musically, the album mixes contemporary pop and rock, jazz, latin rhythms and tango. The instrumentation is brilliant, although, as I said, the production was not the best. Spinetta's lyrics deal with different subjects, like love, madness, isolation, and are full of metaphors and surrealistic images.
Oh, and the album cover, also drawn by Spinetta, portrays a distressed man, with a tear running down his cheek. a scarf around his hair, a toy arrow stuck to his head. On the album's tracklisting, each song has a symbol next to it, identifying it with an element of the cover: toy arrow, eye, teardrop, and a description of what each means. I can't think of any previous instance in which the cover art had such a close relation to the music, and not many after that either.

Now, I know I may be biased, because this album was a fundamental part of my childhood and adolescence, but I can't recommend it high enough.

• The opening track, "Muchacha (Ojos de Papel)" ("Girl (Paper Eyes)"), was to become one of the most famous songs of the local scene. It's a beautiful and slightly surrealistic love song. 
• The song "Fermin" is about a boy suffering from some type of mental illness. It deals with the alienation of the main character, and it showcases a wonderful mixture of sweetness and sadness. The character, Fermín, was inspired by a neighbour of Spinetta's when growing up, a kid with Down Syndrome. 
• "Fermin" ends with the music of "Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre" ("Malbrough has left for war" - "Mambrú se fue a la guerra"), a well known French folk song, but the lyrics here say "Fermín se fue a la vida, no sé cuando vendrá" ("Fermin has left for life, I don't know when he'll be back"). 
• The closing track, "Laura Va" was heavily influenced by The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home". It also deals with a girl leaving home, and has that "old times" atmosphere to it. I think this one is a much better song. 
• Probably my favourite song here, and one of my favourites ever is "Plegaria para un Niño Dormido" ("Prayer for a Sleeping Child"). It's a ballad, a lullaby, and the most amazing expression of childhood's happiness and frailty. At the same time, it's subtle criticism towards society. It blows my mind that Spinetta, actually wrote it in 1965, when he was no more than a child himself. 
• And no matter how much I listen to it, or how often I do, this song always makes me cry a bit.

On the night I was born, Lord, I swear the moon turned fire red

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland - 1969

Is there anything I can really say about this album?
I seriously doubt it, but I'm gonna give it a short try.
This was the third, and last, album released by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. And it is a massive tour-de-force, a sprawling beast of an album, in which Hendrix seems to expand across the most varied music genres, moving from blues to psychedelic, from funk to ballads, without ever compromising quality, emotion or intensity.
There's really not much that can be said about this album: Either you have heard it already, or you're doing yourself a major disservice.

• As if Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell wasn't enough, this album includes guest musicians, amongst them Brian Jones, Al Kooper and Steve Winwood. 
• While "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", the shorter of the two, that closes the album, is the best known version, I think that the one that appears as "Voodoo Chile", a 15 minute blues jam, is a must listen to understand what blues is supposed to be about. 
• "1983/Moon, Turn the Tides..." constitutes one of the most amazing pieces of psychedelic rock I have heard. A truly hypnotic piece of music 
• And Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is not only a lesson on how to play guitar, it's also a lesson on how to turn a good song into an amazing cover.