A century of songs, 1,500 artists

If the reader is of the age that I am calculating right now, I can dare to speculate that he belongs to the generation of sticker collectors.

It's supposed to be an

old-fashioned

Everything has changed: more than children, now addicted adults are the ones who buy complete collections, without having to resort to peddling at the Rastro or the like.

Addicts complain that the range of trading cards is shrinking: soccer players, Formula 1 drivers, dinosaurs, Harry Potter, Disney characters... and little else.

has just arrived

, an initiative that —beyond the theme— brings a couple of novelties.

Each sticker contains one or several album covers.

And a good part of the cards have a QR code that allows you to listen to one of the songs of the interfect.

The stickers can be printed on the album or, if the buyer is a classicist, they can be pasted page by page.

Those responsible for the

project are two pop legends: record label Carlos Sanmartín and producer Pablo Pinilla.

When speaking with them, it is noted that they have suffered the unspeakable, essentially by seeking a reasonable order for such a huge production.

As you can imagine, they have been forced to do little cheating.

The launches of the figures of the first half of the century, the famous

which did not have covers: generic covers were used;

here they have solved it with realistic drawings of the vocalists.

I also have the suspicion that music for the general public has prevailed and rougher, more experimental records have been forgotten.

So-called cult records are scarce, those that now have a second life on vinyl (and I wanted to recommend, for example, the sublime

, by Remigi Palmero).

Small winks are appreciated, however, such as the presence of the two Rosalías: the one from

and the one who recorded

in 1965. Something we notice is the immense variety of subgenres, styles, local or regional specialties.

Unfortunately, it is the algorithms of a Swedish company that today decide what can or cannot be played on Spanish stations.

And that includes the many announcers who have tried their luck as balladeers or rappers, from Pepe Domingo Castaño to Tony Aguilar.

Actually, in the days of fat cows, everyone recorded here, including leading men, actresses and stars.

And occasionally notable albums were even released, such as those by actor Pedro Mari Sánchez for the Polydor label.

Apart from the fetish content, what it outlines

is the secret history of the record business in Spain.

The two versions of

, printed or with loose stickers, are available through their publishers: www.cancioneselalbum.com

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