La voz de los '80

La voz de los '80 (translation: The voice of the 80's) is the debut studio album by the Chilean rock band Los Prisioneros, released on December 13, 1984 by the Fusion label, in August 1985 it was relaunched by the EMI label with a new cover.^[1]

Is considered one of the most important albums of Chilean rock, and also one of the most important youth albums in Chilean music, since the members were not over twenty years old at the time of recording.^[2] EMOL included the album within of his selection of the 35 discos fundamentales de la música popular chilena (35 fundamental albums of Chilean popular music).^[3] Rolling Stone Chile ranked the albums as the third best Chilean record of all time.^[4]

Background[]

Jorge González, and Miguel Tapia met in March 1979, at the Liceo No. 6 for men (now ) of the commune of San Miguel, Chile. This high school was not only representative because it was the place where they met, González explained in a visit they made to their establishment in 1987, it was also important for the creation of the band's first album. In 1981, they listened to a Radio Concierto special from the last album by the punk band The Clash: Sandinista! According to Narea, this album was key to further development by Los Prisioneros, because he taught them a rock with a sound different from what they heard before and with an unprecedented versatility. González cited "Sandinista!" As his favorite album. In 1982, when they were in the last year of secondary education, they learned to play guitar, it was at that time that González began to write the first songs that would be part of the debut album.

In March of the following year, after taking the Prueba de Aptitud Académica (PAA), González entered the to study a degree in music, being a companion of those who most Later, they would become part of the scene: (future member of ), Roberto Rodríguez (future member of ) and Carlos Fonseca, with the last two he quickly became friends. On his side, Fonseca first became friends with González and Igor Rodríguez, since their musical preferences were similar and differentiated them from the rest. Fonseca, born in Peru in 1961, when he was four years old he came to live with his family in Chile, in 1971 they moved to Argentina. Ten years later he definitively returned to Chile. "I found a country in which there was nothing and the relationship of the people with music was very light ", he declared in the first impression of him upon arrival. ^[5] That year Fonseca returned to Chile, he began to study "Commercial Engineering" (as in Argentina) at the Universidad Católica, at the same time that he opened the Fusión record store. However, with the approval of his father, he dropped out to study music. Thus, as in 1982, he dedicated himself entirely to Fusion, and gave the PAA to enter the Faculty of the Arts the following year, where he met González. González immediately stood out as a sharp and brilliant student. He used to tease the music reading teacher by making all of her classmates laugh; One of the first times Fonseca spoke to González was after bothering the teacher.

Recording[]

The album was recorded for the most part in the studios of Francisco Straub, and mixed in the studios of Alejandro "Caco" Lyon. It was characterized by combining the simple sound of guitar, bass and drums; In addition, some of the songs used synthesizers and electronic drums as accompaniment.

Songs removed[]

Two songs that were originally on the album were later removed for not being up to the standards of the rest of the songs. "Mi profesor se está volviendo loco" described by Mauricio Jürgensen in "La Tercera" like a fast-paced rock, with a pulse like the song "La voz de los '80" from this album, which finally appeared on the compilation album Ni Por La Razon, Ni Por La Fuerza , and «Descubre tus poderes» described by Jürgensen as a disenchanted reggae that was written, composed and performed by Miguel Tapia. This was when Fonseca intervened in the group, deciding which songs were left and which ones were not. Narea and Tapia composed, but when it came to selecting the songs that were to remain on the album, González's were better and he was also the one who composed the most, Jorge himself pointed out, the exception being «¿Quien mato a Marylin?», written by Miguel Tapia.

Release[]

For its launch on December 13, 1984, a thousand copies were edited and sold in cassette format at its launch, today these cassettes are considered cult objects of rock Chilean, his cover photo It was taken in February of that same year by Cristián Galáz.^[6] Others were distributed to other record stores, including Feria del Disco, and in March, 1985 Fonseca made another 500 copies.^[7] In its first edition, the album was not well received. Fonseca recalled: "It was difficult for people to grasp it right off the bat, at Fusión we were surrounded by people who knew about music, I recommended many artists, most of them were surprised but they did not take the weight as I did. Starting with the broadcast media, the radio was not interested in at first".^[8]

In August 1985, the EMI label, reissued the album, with a new artwork, which also was photographed by Galáz, but this time it was in La Vega Central.^[6] Managing to sell in Chile around 100,000 do you copy.^[1]

Track listing[]

Side A

All tracks are written by Jorge González, however ¿Quién mató a Marilyn?, also was written by Miguel Tapia.

Side B

Personnel[]

• Jorge González (lead vocals, bass guitar)^[9]
• (electric guitar, backing vocals)^[9]
• Miguel Tapia (electronic drums, backing vocals,^[9] and the lead vocal on the song "¿Quién mató a Marilyn?")
• Francisco Straub (recording, mixing)
• Caco Lyon (recording, mixing)
• Vicente Vargas (cover)
• Cristián Galaz (photography)

Reception[]

Accolades[]

References[]