Review Summary: Gustavo Cerati mixes police music style and weird al yankovic lyrics with very bad results.
The only justification of why I'm giving a 3 is because it's soda stereo, if not, this would have probably be a perfect 2.
There's nothing wrong about the starting point of soda stereo's career. Well, they were beginners and they made the album like a beginner would do it.
First problem: The producer. The band chose Virus lead singer (virus at that time was a popular synthpop band which it was becoming very successful). Federico Moura as the producer of the album, but he took the band to the wrong path, and he made them a pseudo-clone of his own band rather than giving them their own personality to create a more authentic product. Bands at that time were focusing in making danceable music in contrast to the progressive naturel of the Rock nacional in the 70's which it was mostly complex.
One of the strong points in the album is that the album is fun to play in parties and discos considering the time that it was released, it's something acceptable. But the record lacks the obscurity and seriousness of the following albums in which the band went from the early police reggae influenced rock sound to a more cure-driven one.
Second problem: The lyrics. Oh my God, Cerati was probably listening to Zappa rather than Spinetta while doing this album and this is reflected in the subjects of the songs. At least, half of the lyrics in the album are painful to listen to, and as sometimes they are embarrassing. Here are some of the "childish" themes explored in the album:
- A bodybuilder girlfriend (mi novia tiene biceps)
- A song about Not being allowed to enter to certain nightclubs (porque no puedo ser del jet set)
- A song written to the average teenager (te hacen falta vitaminas)
- A song about doing Psychokinesis to make other people dance. (tele-ka).
- A song promoting a healthy lifestyle (dietetico)
Fortunately the rest of the songs deals with more serious themes such us TV addiction (sobredosis de t.v.) and the picture of Dorian Grey (el tiempo es dinero) and finally the songs which makes this album to have some decency: The classics "un misil en mi placard" and "tratame suavemente" and a song with lyrics in the vein of nada personal "afrodisiacos".
It is by popular opinion that the album is the worst in soda stereo's career. The band avoided to play most of the songs in the following tours. By the time signos was released, only vita-set and sobredosis de tv survived the setlists. Starting with the 90's the album was ignored completely. None of the songs were played in the last concert in 97 or their reunion tour. If something makes this album so special is that it was released at the end of the so called national reorganization process, and many critics and listeners noted that the album is not only the closing door to those dark years but also the door to a new music generation that was becoming popular in the public eye such us soda stereo, virus, los redondos de ricota and enanitos verdes. The album is nothing awful but nothing outstanding either. Now it's seen as just a band who were finding their own sound, but didn't explode until the release of Nada Personal.
