Los Pericos and how they covered the song by Julio Iglesias that rockers like the most

When everything was nothing, the beginning was nothing. It is the beginning of the Genesis of the Vox Dei Bible. An obvious but biblical, so it works for everything. When rock was nothing, but had already begun to upset the last half of the last century, there was no cover, because there was nothing before.

After the decades, today 70 years from those days, the cover has developed an entity in rocker life, which can already be discussed. The interpretation of someone else’s song. Something like what one does, or anything else even in the antipodes of one’s own. Debatable attitude from those who see an absence of artistic creativity in a cover, a statement, almost a declaration of principles of the interpreter questioned, a small tribute or simply a personal wish come true. There must be many reasons, as there are many results.

From the choice to the realization of someone else’s song to be reinterpreted, a lot of information is processed that leads to triggering a certain curiosity in those who later listen to the record.

That is the true value of a version.

When the chosen thing opens a new window in a foreign brain that perhaps was totally unaware of the existence of the original author. Or maybe he knew the song but on a rereading he will be more amazed than on the first hearing.

Let’s say making a cover of the Beatles minimally can cause the listener to take a bit of his own updated nostalgia for this century, or it can open a new window on his screen for a curious young man that, needless to say, will only bring him substantial improvements in his spirit.

In the same way, doing a Boz Scaggs cover today speaks more of the person doing the song again than of Boz Scaggs. The great Boz already has his own for a long time, prestige, money and his own legend that is generally unknown in this dark and picturesque corner of the world. If not for a few insiders. Now, any musician, no matter how unknown, capable of playing “Jojo” in any way close to the original, deserves at least respect and attention for his remarkable good taste and his ability to face such a task.

And also making a song about someone we should know is a cerebral treasure that will always be appreciated.

The cover acquired entity in the 80’s. When rock was already 30 years old, and had its first line of nostalgia.

I don’t know what was the first cover around here, but already in the 80’s Sumo played Lou Reed songs. Not big hits, Luca chose to make and record Street Hassle’s “Leave me Alone”, an obscure Lou album. Soda Stereo in his first shows he used to wink for The Police side. The list would also be very long, useless.

Perhaps a tilde to some of our most successful versions would start with Charlie Garcia, our most covered artist, who used to do songs by the Rolling Stones, The Byrds and the immense Todd Rundgren. Let’s say this, if some human being reached Todd by the hand of Charly’s “Influence”, the task would be accomplished for the record. Luis Alberto Spinetta I used to play when George Harrison died, “Don’t bother me” more as a tribute than trying to show anything with it. The Fabulous Cadillacs They are of high intellectual stature choosing songs, they are more on the side of the Specials, Ian Dury & the Blockheads and The Clash, which inevitably raises the price for them. You have to do one of Ian Dury with a certain excellence so as not to be left naked in front of the crowd. There were quite debatable searches, from those of Attaque 77 doing Gilda and the million friends of Roberto Carlos to Vicentico bringing Franco Simone from the artistic beyond. The Violators put the “Long Hair Stranger” from La Joven Guardia back on the field forever. Pappo made the definitive version in Spanish of “Ruta 66″ by Bobby Troupbut I dare to establish as the most valuable contribution of a cover in our Argentine rock to the incomparable reinterpretation of “Carolina” by Moncho Alpuente in charge of Virus.

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There were really few who knew the great Moncho Alpuente, but thanks to Federico Moura he became a cult artist among the youth of the 80’s. Moncho was a brilliant musician, creator of delusional statements such as “Hombre del 600″ and “Carolina Querida” with his highly consecrated De Santurce a Bilbao Blues Band. He was also Gran Wyoming’s partner in the Moncho Alpuente Experience. TV presenter for example in the successful cycle “Que Noche la de Aquel Año” at the end of the 80’s. He had previously hit it on the radio with “Madrid me Mata”, a Spanish urban genius that the boys who were starting out on the radio listened to on previously reserved cassettes. Almost star chronicler of El País and great theater scriptwriter, with his play “Castañuela 70” he marked a milestone. We found out all this after the Virus song.

We have already spoken here about the edition of El Poeta. Songs in Spanish, the saga created by the Cadillac Mario Siperman and Gustavo Roca plus a lot of singers of all colors, from Teresa Parodi to Nito Mestre, doing Spanish versions of the great Canadian Leonard Cohen. Among the novelties would be to appear a live album by Willy Crook with new readings by Gino Vanelli and Marvin Gaye. Although the most tangible thing about the exercise would be “Viva Pericos!”, the most recent album by The parrots, with versions of songs close or distant, in style or time, which are treated with the utmost respect and the most rigorous score. That’s where they face Daniel Melero’s side, “La distancia” by Roberto and Erasmo Carlos, with something from Los Rodriguez like “You’re trapping me again” by Ariel Rot and even some bolero.

From my, the highest point of the work is the risky version of the beautiful “La Carretera” of the Argentine citizen of the world Robert Livipopularized in the mid 90’s by Julio Iglesias.

“It’s raining and the road is wet…

How long is the road! What a long wait!

Kilometers passing, thinking of her

What a night!, what silence!, if she only knew.

That I’m running thinking about her.

The lights of the passing cars.

The noise of trucks speeding up.

There are no people on the street, and it is raining.

The towns on the road are already sleeping.

And I running

Thinking about her.

I’m still on the road looking for you

At the end of the road, I will find you.

I accelerated.

The bars at this time are already closing.

Hotels for couples, always waiting.

A train crosses my pass, it is long and slow.

Thoughts eat my head.

Thinking about her,

Thinking about her.

Thinking, imagining, my doubt increases,

I go out of a curve, without realizing it,

The needle reads 140.

I’m still on the road looking for you

At the end of the road, I will find you.

I accelerated.

It’s raining and the road is wet.

And me feeling jealous, thinking of her.

Lost in doubt and haze

I’m just running out of gas.

It’s raining and the road is wet.

And I feeling jealous of his dark circles.

It rains and the road is wet

I don’t know if he’s with someone else…

If I knew.

It’s raining and the road is wet.

It is already silent night, what a long wait.”

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Beautiful song that Julio Iglesias, one of the most pointlessly discussed artists in this country, sang in his own style. Beyond being hugely popular and financially successful, he is a unique and almost great singer. Many times he sings better live than in the studio, owner of a singularly seductive charisma for many ladies, his songs have already passed generations successfully. I would venture to say that he is an example for many who embrace the art of pop music, and that in any case he has as much rock as Bryan Ferry.

It is worth saying that to get out of facing a song like this, you have to know a lot.

He tells me Juanchi Baleiron about it: “When we were making the tracklist for “Viva Pericos!” this song appeared that to me It is one of the ones I like the most by Julio Iglesias. Not from its most glorious era, from the 70’s, this is from the nineties. It always seemed to us that from its original musical production it had something different, the orchestration, the constant and tiny drums, a hypnotic hi hat that is very rut, where the harmonica appears imitating the noise of passing trucks, of cars. The subject is cyclical, as eternal, but very bearable. El Topo and I were quite fans of this song, so it was quite natural for us to bring it to our sound. As for me, I loved singing it, diving into that atmosphere of a July that was reinventing itself in those days. We put slide guitars on it, touring, with a lot of camera and entering the song from behind. Also that delicious harmonica played by Natu Seara who is very talented, who added more melody and road sound to this beauty of song. Maybe it’s the song I like the most on the album.Although it was not a broadcast cut, it is beautiful as it turned out.

“And it’s part of a record that also has a very dark song by Roby Draco Rose which we lead to a little more periquera light. There is also “The Age of Heaven” by Jorge Drexler in that mood There are also more upbeat songs, but there’s “Treat Me Gently” in the style of beautiful melancholy.

“In October we are going to be in a theater in downtown Buenos Aires with this album, taking the opportunity to say see you later, let’s say, until the end of the year, when we would already be releasing a preview of our new album. As it was before, with single records, you release one at a time and then the album arrives, which is why it’s called an album. A small collection of integrated songs, like the figurines, alone are good, together they make a whole.”

“Long live Pericos!” he took the band around the USA, Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, Chile, Uruguay and more as well. A definitive album in the history of Los Pericos, a minimal collection of beautiful melodies, valuable lyrics, very much in the band’s way, which tirelessly play and play better and better. The stage is their habitat, the recording studios their comfort zone. Seeing them together is one of the best experiences you can find, but seeing them playing is being part of one of the most important pages of our popular music.

Also, what a great name for a play, Viva Pericos!

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