Leccion de Twist

Los Jets were one of the most important bands in the emergence of rock and roll in Argentina, and were also pioneers in fusion, recording Argentine and Latin American folk songs with a rock beat. The group was formed in mid-1961 and started out with four members: Héctor Ziblat (bass), Jorge "Jackie" Alvarez (vocals), Guillermo Fuertes (guitar, vocals), and Héctor "Memmo" Campione (drums). After a few months, Martin "Chivo" Echemendi, an excellent drummer who played alongside Memmo, joined, creating the first group in Argentina with two drummers. In September 1962, the line-up of Los Jets changed again, adding a new lead vocalist, Jorge Omar Vidal. Their first LP, La Pecosita, was released in 1963; the title track was the group's first hit. The group's second LP, Twist y Gritos was released at the height of their success, in mid-1964. This album contained three versions of Beatles songs: "Amame" ("Love Me Do"), "Quiero tener tu mano" ("I Want To Hold Your Hand") and "Twist y gritos" ("Twist And Shout"). It also included the band's biggest hit, "Lana" and "Shuripep", a song composed by Los Jets when that still wasn't common practice. Although some describe them as one of the first bands to "imitate" The Beatles, the truth is that Los Jets were part of that period that anticipated the famous "British Invasion". After The Beatles conquered the United States in February 1964, Los Jets' label commissioned them to record three Beatles songs in Spanish, anticipating the release of the original tracks. This meant that Los Jets became the first band to perform The Beatles' music in Argentina (and possibly in South America). Recognizing that The Beatles were to change the pop landscape radically, Los Jets tried to evolve with the times and their third album changed direction in terms of quality of execution and production. Regrettably, it wasn't released; shortly after recording the master tape was erased. According to members of the band and their friends, this was how the group's most powerful recording disappeared. In these lost recordings there was a new band member, the guitarist Oscar Islas, former member of Los Ciclones. Later, in May 1965, Vidal left the group and Oscar joined permanently, while Guillermo became the lead vocalist until Los Jets disbanded in February 1966. Leccion de Twist gathers tracks from their two LPs, singles and their only surviving live recording, recorded in January, 1966. Includes CD with 15 bonus tracks.