Invisible (band)

After the break-up of Pescado Rabioso, Luis Alberto Spinetta founded Invisible with Carlos Alberto "Machi" Rufino (bass, backing vocals) and Héctor "Pomo" Lorenzo (drums). Spinetta had already met these musicians because -between Almendra and Pescado Rabioso- he recorded a solo album, played bass as guest in La Pesada del Rock and Roll and took part in an album of Pappo's Blues.

Invisible's first live performance took place in the Teatro Astral, on 23 November 1973 and, the following year, they recorded their first single and their first album, self-titled Invisible. The group secluded more and more in their rehearsals and dropped live performances in small places; they only performed in big theatres or stadiums, but never in festivals.

After a long hiatus, they changed recording company (from Talent - Microfón to multinational CBS), and announced their second LP, Durazno Sangrando in 1975. The premiere took place in the Teatro Coliseo on 21 and 22 November that year. the title song stands out in the album. A cover version of Amor de primavera, a song originally composed and performed by Tanguito, was the only life sign given by Invisible until the release of their third and last LP. At that moment, the band incorporated Tomás Gubitsch as second guitar.

El jardín de los Presentes (1976). The album would turn out to be one of the best of the "third phase" (1976–1982) of Argentine rock, and it features a fusion of rhythms y genres. Filled with tracks of unexpected beauty, El jardín de los Presentes obtained massive success almost immediately. This LP contains at least two songs that are considered by many classics of this band and Argentine rock: El Anillo del Capitán Beto and Las golondrinas de Plaza de Mayo. The latter and other tracks of the album revealed a clear influence of tango-rock, a local sub-genre that was in vogue in those years.

The new material included in this LP would be first performed live on 6 August 1976 in the Estadio Luna Park. Due to its tango-rock style, Spinetta and his band mates summoned guest bandoneón virtuoso Rodolfo Mederos. Invisible had its last concert on 12 December 1976 in the Luna Park. In early 1977, the group disbanded due to the different opinions among its members on what musical style they should follow.

On El Anillo del Capitán Beto Spinetta once said: "I remember myself with Pomo y Machi, having a great time in the cafeteria that was next to Teatro Astral and thinking of possible names for that astronaut who has gone through the fight of ages (in Spanish: lucha de las eras)... Las eras... Las Heras y Bustamante (in Spanish, the intersection of two streets of Buenos Aires). I imagined that his spaceship was similar to the DeLorean of Back to the Future, or something like that, that took off due to a science that only Beto understands, and goes far away... Actually, Beto does not want to come back. He has conquered something impressive but, as any conqueror, he can't avoid comparison and farness to the world he left behind." (Rolling Stone magazine, Argentine edition, March 2002).

Discography