Search - Spaccanapoli :: Lost Souls

Journey through European south

Edmon Begoli | Knoxville, TN United States | 07/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This excellent album is beautiful blend of southern European (notably Napolitano) sounds supopported by strong, genuine lyrics. If you ask me today what is my favorite European band - answer is quick: Spaccanapoli."

ENERGY, BEAUTY, LIFE...

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 04/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a little late in reviewing this wonderful recording - it came out in 2000, another gift to music listeners from Peter Gabriel's Real World label. There's a quote on the back cover of the CD that sums up the album perfectly: `From the streets of Naples, vibrant energy, impassioned vocals and wild abandon - modern protest songs from ancient roots'. The members of Spaccanapoli were all part of a much larger musical/political group called E Zezi, formed in Naples in 1974 and involving `...more than 100 singers, instrumentalists and dancers' (description from the booklet to this CD). E Zezi was a true cooperative, taking the musical traditions of Italy's past and smelting them with the creative heat of political passion into a new type of urban folk music. Those passions - of politics and life, which are in reality intertwined so thoroughly - drive the music of Spaccanapoli with an energy that is beautiful, infectious and at times a little frightening (but what a rush!).Naples is a city that has always embodied elements of other cultures - and it's easy to hear influences from around the Mediterranean in this music. The Roma element is particularly strong - sometimes more in sheer energy than in direct melodic or instrumental ways.The vocals are handled by two incredible singers - Monica Pinto and Marcello Colasurdo (who also plays the tammorra, a traditional one-sided hand-held drum). Their voices are infused with a fiery power - but they are never out of control. The lyrics are all in Italian, with partial translations provided (the full translations are available on the band's website) - but not understanding much Italian didn't keep me from feeling the emotions conveyed here. The other three group members are Antonio Fraioli (violin, piano, percussion), Oscar Montalbano (acoustic guitar, bass) and Emilio De Matteo (acoustic and electric guitars). This core group of five players and singers is joined here and there by nearly twenty other fine musicians - never overloading the arrangements, always contributing just the right touch to complete the song. There are electronic keyboards in play on occasion - but for the most part, the instrumentation is acoustic, giving the recording an overall purity of sound that only adds to the power of the performances.I have a feeling it'll be a rare occasion that this group ever performs live close enough to where I live for me to see them - but I can also tell from this recording that it would be a show I would never forget, so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and my eyes open. In the meantime, I'd love to see additional recordings by them. It's been four years since this one - with the energy they display here, as well as the apparent commitment to their art, there's bound to be more where this one came from."

Dark, Soulful, Sad, Wild and Wonderful

negu | Athens, GA USA | 01/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't express how great this album is, so i'm relying on short disjointed adjectives for now.



What I can say about the album is that it is powerful and sad. I had searched Amazon for seemingly forever for this album without knowing the name of the artist or song or where to begin. I was specifically looking for the song 'vesuvio' which i had heard on the HBO series Sopranos but i didn't know it's name. Thank goodness I found some lateral association with the Sopranos albums floating around on Amazon, which do *not* have these songs.



'Vesuvio' was the song they chose to elucidate the dangerous love and yearning the character Carmella Soprano had for one of the imported made-men from Italy, the translator Furio Giunta. It is an even more appropriate song as it is about mt vesuvio, a fiery volcano which is an ever-present threat of destruction to the village, a metaphor for the destruction Carmella and Furio would have for each other, should they pursue their love. The 2 tracks from this album the Sopranos used were very good choices.

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Luckily, the album has translations of the lyrics in English, and I gotta tell you, it is quite dark. I found myself crying uncontrollably while listening to the songs and reading the lyrics, they are quite desperate and powerful stories. I believe theres a song about an explosion at a factory and the burial of the victims. According to the album, they are songs of protest of modernization and the struggles and sacrifices involved. Reminds me of U2's 'War' in this regard."