Blue's [Import] Review

The Blue's album ment Zucchero's breakthrough in Italy and certain parts of Europe, it's a nice mixture of rock, soul and a touch of blues. The cd contains many now Zucchero-classics like the original version of Senza una Donna, Con le mani, Pippo, Hey Man and the beautiful Hai Scelto Me. If you like this album you might also want to buy the '95 Spirito DiVino album and the '01 Shake album (featuring a duet with the late John Lee Hooker)!

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Metropolis [Import] Review

How many times we italians who leave in the States are disgusted by the the stuff they sell here as "italian music"? Tired of mandolins from Neaples? Bothered by "Oh sole mio" and "Volare"? Do you want something more than the usual pummarola-music, "facciamoci quattro spaghi, sei italiano dunque mafioso, la pizza si mangia con sopra l'ananas" etc... Here you have Guccini at his best, an experienced musician, a novelist and wine drinker in the "Osterie" (bolognese pubs) all the time. Listen to "Venezia", "Bologna", "Bisanzio", "Black-out"... Juicy! Probably his best album.

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La Tarantella: Antidotum Tarantulae [Import] Review

I heard this recording in a shop on a Friday evening a couple of years ago. I listened for a couple of minutes and I bought it then and there. This is a very unusual Early Music recording.

Instead of the usual polite and rather staid Tarantellas we often hear on recordings of Italian folk music today, this is wild and untamed music, much more suited to dancing tarantula venom out of one's system!

Christina Pluhar's L'Arpeggiata ensemble includes: three singers, 2 Baroque harps, theorbo, 4 Baroque guitars, 2 archlutes, colascione (a kind of lute), 3 "chitarra battente", psaltery, lirone, viola da gamba, cornamuse and percussion. The sounds are very rich and colourful.

The singers, Marco Beasley, Lucilla Galeazzi and Alfio Antico, sing with great verve and "naturalness" - Marco Beasley, for instance, is a tenor, but he doesn't let himself get too bogged down by his Classical technique here. This is music with a Folk origin and everyone concerned with this recording seems to have kept that in mind. The result is full of energy, colour (as I said) and rhythmical energy.

I cannot describe the music on display here, it defies description. However, take my word for it, this is a great recording and I think you will find it as fascinating as it is entertaining.

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Zucchero & Co. [Box set, Import] Review

If I were stranded on a desert island with only 10 CDs, this is definitely one of the CDs that would be with me.Zucchero may not have made it big in the States, but the list of performers who want to do duets with him of HIS music, not theirs, is so dazzling it leaves one speechless.Zucchero is a musician that other musicians listen to, and that speaks volumes.Trying to select a favorite piece on here is almost an impossibility, but I'll give it a try.Diavolo in Me with soul, R&B, and gospel godfather Solomon Burke borders is almost a religious experience.What a Wonderful World, Cosi` Celeste, Balia Morena all get under my skin and stay there.

Seeing the performances on the DVD is exhilirating as well.Again Solomon Burke just shines, even while confined tohis throne.His duet with his daughter is also charming.

If you like good music, whether or not you understand the lyrics, this collection is literally a must have.

Ironically the day after I recieved this collection, I learned from a mutual friend in Italy that I know Zucchero's current drummer.That makes listening to him even better.

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Alan Lomax Collection Sampler Review

If you've never heard of Alan Lomax, this CD is a great place to start, with bits and pieces of several collections of his field recordings. It touches down in Spain, Italy, the British Isles, the Carribbean, the deep South, the Appalachians, and a few other places, too. But keep in mind that it is a *sampler* album. Many of the tracks are faded out well before the end of the song in order to fit so much onto one CD. Think of it as a catalog: if you hear something you like, you figure out which of the other CDs it's from and go buy it so you can hear the rest. It's fun to listen to by itself, too.

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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou [Soundtrack, Content/Copy-Protected CD] Review

AMAZING soundtrack. of course, everyone is complaining that Staralfur by Sigur Ros is not included.

well, it is available, LEGALLY, for FREE as an mp3 download at an indie music site called epitonic.

here is the link:
http://www.epitonic.com/artists/sigurros.html

ENJOY!

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I Successi Di Adamo, Vol. 1 [Import] Review

With one of the most expressive voices of our age, this extraordinary singer/songwriter has been delighting me for decades. I bought my first Adamo in 1970, because of the face on the cover. I figured anyone with so much sensitivity and beauty in his eyes had to be a great singer, and great he is.
I love this Italian language CD because of my fondness for "Non Voglio Nascondermi"...it also has translations of some of his most popular songs. The classic, "Inch Allah", "Amo" ("J'aime"), "Affida una Lacrima al Vento" ("Une Larme aux Nuages"), etc. Though born in Italy, he usually sings in French, and if you haven't heard Adamo before, I recommend getting a CD in French first, which seems to be the language he's most comfortable in, but for those of us who are die hard fans, this is the only collection that has " Non Voglio Nascondermi" in it, and that makes it a must to own !

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