Soda Stereo - Ruido Blanco [Clear Argentina Import]

Ruido Blanco by Soda Stereo arrives here as a limited clear vinyl Argentina import, a 1987 live set that caught the band at the moment of full continental lift-off.

By then Gustavo Cerati, Zeta Bosio and Charly Alberti were filling venues far beyond Buenos Aires. The performances on this record were captured over a few months in 1987 across Argentina, Peru, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela, then mixed at Eddy Grant's Blue Wave studio in Barbados, which explains the sleek, sunlit polish laid over the roar of the crowds.

The set draws on the band's first three albums. "Signos" opens in a moody, slow-burning haze, and "Persiana Americana" becomes a full-throated singalong, its taut new wave guitar pinging off Alberti's crisp drumming. "Cuando Pase el Temblor" carries its lilting, Andean-flavoured rhythm onto the big stage, while "Final Caja Negra" shows how darkly elegant the trio could sound in front of thousands. Elsewhere, two early favourites are stitched together into one breathless medley.

Plenty of fans rank some of these versions above the studio originals, and it is easy to hear why, with the songs breathing deeper and Cerati sounding utterly in command.

For collectors of rock en español, this is the trio at the point they became a phenomenon across Latin America.