As with every story, music always has a B-side. Argentine rock has a long tradition of releasing hidden gems and rarities that are pure elixir for fans. Here are five little-known albums by some of Argentina’s most celebrated musicians.

“Only Love Can Sustain”- Luis Alberto Spinetta (1979)

“Only Love Can Sustain” (1979) is Luis Alberto Spinetta’s third solo studio album and his only one sung entirely in English. The project began when tennis star Guillermo Vilas, a close friend of Spinetta, connected him with Columbia Records USA, which offered him an international recording contract.

Produced by George Butler, the album blends soft rock, jazz fusion, soul, and funk with lush strings. Its eleven tracks were recorded in Los Angeles and New York, with orchestral arrangements by Torrie Zito and an all-star lineup of session musicians, including drummer Terry Bozzio, percussionists Alex Acuña and Paulinho Da Costa, and bassist Abraham Laboriel. Gustavo Bazterrica was the only Argentine to play on the album.

Spinetta contributed several of his own compositions—including “Something Beautiful”—while other tracks were co-written with label-appointed songwriters. “Children of the Bells” paired Spinetta’s music with lyrics by Guillermo Vilas. The album also features a cover of Gino Vannelli’s “Omens of Love” and three short piano interludes, “Jade I, II, and III,” which foreshadowed his next legendary band, Spinetta Jade. The title track was originally composed by Spinetta in Spanish as “Solo el amor puede sostener” before being adapted into English for the album.

The album was commercially unsuccessful and left........

© Buenos Aires Herald