Customer Reviews

Lost Souls

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Spaccanapoli take their name from a crossroad street in Naples. Nothing could better express the way in which this music intersects so many musical styles. Celtic music fans will hear uillean pipe like sounds; Arabic music fans will here the percussion and instrumentation of their culture; and Italian music fans will marvel at the fact that none of this conjures up images of checkered, red and white tableclothes.

The music on this CD is passionate and poetic in a way that only the Italian language can accomplish. The lyrics feature a myriad of alliteration and assonance, so that you're left in awe as lines like "Chesta capa ca m'abruzzia, ma vulesse ta faglia" become new tongue twisters to roll around in your mouth. The album books contains the lyrics and translations, so that you can get a feel for what they're singing about. However, you should not even delve past the excellent introductory notes, and give the album about two weeks as you just soak in the sounds. Instead, you can dance along as a song of social protest turns into a musical carnival, as drums and trumpets, clarinets and tambourines, and hundred other things spin you around and around.

If you've never bought anything Italian except food or clothing, you're in for a real treat. And fans of Middle Eastern and Celtic music might just find that this group is the bridge that explains the evolutions of their musical heritage. Get listening!

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.

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.

and the rest of Europe. Great stuff, a fascinating mix of Neopolitan street music, Tunisian-influenced melodies (Tunisian immigrants in Naples left their unmistakable mark) and lots of socialist rumblings from some former Alfa Romeo workers. Spaccanapoli is hot on the Euro-Festival circuit and is really terrific, rollicking stuff. We jumped up and danced all over the pizzaria where we first heard this cd.

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.

Why, oh why, hasn't this album gotten more attention here in the U.S.? Is it because Narada seems to do such a poor job of marketing new Real World releases stateside? Or does it have something to do with the fact that Spaccanapoli are socialists? (They can't be THAT socialistic if they've signed with a major label -- distributed by the mega-conglomerate Virgin Records, no less. That sounds more like capitalism...) Whatever the case, "Aneme Perze" is an album that would rule the world if only more people could hear it. Spaccanapoli fire up an energetic brew of acoustic protest music, using guitars, violins, clarinets, and enthusiastic vocals to paint a spirited picture of Naples and its people. This album depicts joy, sorrow, and especially anger -- often all in the same song. Some of the more vitriolic tunes sound remarkably similar to Celtic music. But while Irish singers are protesting the occupation of the Republic, Spaccanapoli take jabs at the auto industry and the factory-working existence that dominate southern Italy. This music is beautiful, emotional, and unique. "Lost Souls" is an excellent album that you should not miss.

Spaccanapoli is truly wonderful (notwithstanding a certain hint of Euro-leftism that comes through in their songs), and this is one of my favorite albums. Hopefully, the group will come out with another one soon.

Monica Pinto's voice is both powerful and beautiful; the lyrics and the music together capture a feeling that will be familiar to anyone who has ever been touched by the crazy, chaotic, dysfunctional, delicious, exotic and passionate spirit of southern Italy.

A note on the lyrics-- while "Lost Souls" contains excerpts from the lyrics, you have to go the group's website to get the complete version.

This CD was in great shape for being used and the Italian music is very upbeat and enjoyable to listen to.

Good CD and quickly delivered from the USA, 2 of the tracks are from the Sopranos TV series and good they are too. Cheaper in the US than here in fact 1/2 the price of Australian CDs incl the postage.

I bought this for the two songs seen onSopranos episode 43 (the Weight), with the sinuous sexy dance of Furio and Carmella. But the other tracks are an intriguing mix of folk, with some Celtic flavors, some middle eastern elements, and others. Plus superb musicianship, both singing and instrumental. Not just drums but violin, a flute like sound, tambourines (excuse my musical illiteracy). Destined to be one of my favorite CDs. Complex, heartfelt. Get it!