Author: Jernej Vene
Artist: Zucchero
Label: Universal Music Group
Release: 2016
Length: 47:27
Rating: 4/5
Label Zucchero an Italian canzone crooner or chansonnier, even one behind plenty of silky ballads and punchy rock hits, and you’ll be doing him an injustice. That raspy voice alone can sweep you off into a world of its own, the kind that’s perfect for escaping. Music has always stirred up all sorts of thoughts, offered ways out of countless dilemmas, or simply had to play the role of healer for plenty of wounds. But Zucchero is more than that: when he talks about the blues, he sings its praises as something utterly fundamental (which it really is), something everyone should consume before going off to explore other genres. Zucchero knows how to turn the raw, primal blues form into a completely personal experience. On those familiar foundations he keeps building interesting stories, even if that’s getting harder and harder with a catalog spanning decades. After all, the toughest thing is listening to a new release from someone with a heap of excellent songs and albums behind them, who is also a superb translator of the outside world into lyrics that both the everyday listener and the extremely well-read one can get. Zucchero is really just a simple country boy who followed his dreams and, with sheer persistence, made them come true. He’s never hidden his love for the blues; what’s more, ever since he settled in the Tuscan region of Lunigiana, he’s renamed it Lunisiana, in honor of the American state of Louisiana, one of the cradles of the blues. The melodies echo his tried-and-tested hits from the past, especially from the successful records Blue’s and Oro Incenso & Birra. The latter is reportedly the best-selling Italian album in the world, and one of the most important Italian albums, period.
As usual, Zucchero has taken care of the spices, this time in the form of guest writers and instrumentalists. Bono of U2 wrote the English lyrics for Streets Of Surrender (the Italian version is Ci Si Arrende), a tribute to everyone who died in the Bataclan massacre in Paris in November 2015, while Mark Knopfler played the resonator guitar. Adelmo Fornaciari doesn’t stray from the tried-and-tested formula he started using so successfully in 1987 on the record Blue’s. It’s a mix of pop songs with a touch of the blues, a little Italian canzone, and the pretty melodies that are woven into his ballads. Back home they say that with this album he’s returned to his roots. He’s found the perfect harmony between acoustic and electric instruments. The first three tracks are fast and direct, while the middle of the record is ballad-tinged. Even the electronic dance music star Avicci guests on Ten More Days. In that one and in Hey Lord, Zucchero draws on old tunes that once rang out across the cotton fields of Louisiana, serves up a funky L’anno dell’ amore (The Year of Love), and generally steers between melancholy and joy. As always, together with an outstanding production team, he’s caught the essence of the union between music and lyrics. I can’t call it a masterpiece, but it proves once again that he’s a giant with fame reaching far beyond Italy, all the way across the world. He pairs his mother tongue with English on a few tracks in a really charming way, which gives the record a cozy, homey softness.
He still starts from his love of the blues and casually strings together impressions of life. Maybe more than before, he’s anchored in his affection for his home region, draws inspiration from childhood memories, and delivers his melodies intensely, devotedly, passionately, and with real feeling. Along the way he doesn’t forget the sadness, horror, and alienation of the modern world, and hopes we’ll find enough strength to beat all three as soon as possible. He’s the only Italian musician to have sold out the Arena in Verona the most times, and the only non-English-speaking act to have played the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London the most times. We got to see his brilliance for ourselves at the Ljubljana concert too, where he served up a generous helping of songs from Black Cat.
Zucchero – 13 Buone Ragione (official video):
Lineup
Zucchero – vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, Hammond, FARFISA organ, harmonium
Mark Knopfler – “National Steel” guitar
Mark Goldenberg – acoustic guitar
Stavros Ioannou – guitar, bass
Colin Linden – electric guitar
Max Marcolini – electric guitar, bass, harp, Dobro, mellotron, piano
Brendan O’Brien – twelve-string guitar, electric guitar, bass, synthesizer
Tim Pierce – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar
Russell Pahl – pedal steel guitars
Jerry Douglas – lap steel guitar, Dobro
Federico Biagetti – Dobro
Michael Finnigan – piano
Jamie Muhoberac – piano, Minimoog, mellotron
Patrick Warren – mellotron
Nils Ruzicka – keyboards
Barry Balese – bass
Nathan East – bass
Davide Rossi – violin
Matt Chamberlain – drums
Jay Bellerose – drums, percussion
Jim Keltner – drums
Lenny Castro – percussion
Aaron Sterling – percussion
Darrell Leonard – trumpet
Lester Lovitt – trumpet
Ira Nepus – trombone
Thomas Peterson – saxophone
Joe Sublet – saxophone
Gene Cipriano – English horn
Stephanie O’Keefe – horn
Kurt Lykes – backing vocals
Jason Morales – backing vocals
James McCrary – backing vocals
Biagio Antonacci – backing vocals
Linda McCrary – backing vocals
Arthur Miles – backing vocals
Louis Pardini – backing vocals
Melody Perry – backing vocals
Cheryl Porter – backing vocals
Leslie Sackey – backing vocals
Alfie Silas – backing vocals
Lisa Stone – backing vocals
Jennifer Vargas – backing vocals
Vincenzo Draghi – backing vocals
Production
Don Was, T- Bone Burnett, Brendan O’Brien
Track list
1. Partigiano Reggiano
2. 13 Buone Ragioni
3. Ti Voglio Sposare
4. Ci Si Arrende (feat. Mark Knopfler)
5. Ten More Days
6. L’Anno Dell’Amore
7. Hey Lord
8. Fatti Di Sogni
9. La Tortura Della Luna
10. Love Again
11. Terra Incognita
12. Voci (Namanama Version)
13. Streets Of Surrender (S.O.S.)
