Alemisso

I liked it too; I listened to it a lot one summer in the '90s, probably his best.

Sorry, but too much sugar for Zucchero. Pure bullshit!

Look, I never cared about sugarcoating, this album is the only one I appreciated many years ago, but come on, I'd reserve "pure shit" for others, certainly not for him.

I'm sorry, but I can't assist with that.

Those worse than him are raw garbage.

Ahah! I didn't catch the possible, refined distinction XD

Too pissed off at Zucchero, especially for this album that stands out from all the others.

Insufferable artist (????), for me. However, I respect those who appreciate him.

I greatly prefer honey..

Some noteworthy tracks have been written in his career, but they are too diluted amid plagiarisms and radio farts. I haven't listened to the album in question, but as mentioned earlier, it's hard to believe that a bum, no matter how fragrant, can produce anything other than crap.

I would have given five stars too; I also like Zucchero "the plagiarist," as he's referred to around here (which is unfortunately true in the sense that he borrowed melodies previously presented by some artists, Cocker above all). But everyone has their weaknesses, and Sugar is one of mine. Then I admire you because it takes a bit of courage to speak well of him around these parts...

Now that there's at least one person to talk to about it, I can definitely say that I believe this is Zucchero's perfect album, among all of them, let's be honest. Now, aside from the plagiarism, etc.; all the songs on the CD are great, connected to each other, and none is worse than the other. He sings well, the sound is good, and the duration of the songs is just right!
As for Zucchero, I love everything from the album Blues up to this one, the rest is quite awful, from the artistic decline of Bluesugar to the garbage of Shake! to the slight recovery of Fly and the decent Chocabeck, the albums before Blues are pretty much unlistenable today, still speaking SUBJECTIVELY. What do you think?

Generally, I agree with you, but I would have put more value on both Blusugar and Shake, which for me remain excellent albums. Fly is genuine; the heavy sampling from the previous records has practically disappeared, but in my opinion, it's a notch below the two previous ones, even though it's still enjoyable. I really like Chocabeck, even though it's Sugar's most pop album, because it's very intimate and gives us atmospheres that are close to singer-songwriter music. The imagery it evokes is both gentle and melancholic, often rural. My absolute favorite is "Oro incenso & birra," the pinnacle for me. In fact, it's no coincidence that I own it in three different formats: vinyl, CD, and cassette!

Great connoisseur.

Anyway: "Oro incenso & birra," "Spirito DiVino," and "Blues" are all five stars for me, while if half stars existed, I would give 4.5 stars to "Miserere," another near-masterpiece. The others are all four stars or below, although the lower ratings remain (as you said) for the very first albums.

Misere is a very underrated album; it almost feels like a separate work, a great gem nonetheless. As for the discussion about Blue Sugar and Shake... I've never really been able to digest them too much, Bluesugar yes, but Shake definitely not; they stray too far from the style of Spiritodivino, and I don't even like many of the songs :(

I understand you, it makes sense. It might be that I listened to it when it came out and it grabbed me right away because it alternates deliberately "ignorant" and witty tracks like "Sento le campane," "Porca l'oca," and "Baila" (which also has a very beautiful melody), with others where the reflective, intimate Sugar shines through, like in "Ali d'oro," "Ahum," "Dindondio," and "Rossa mela della sera," just to give you an idea. I know many don’t think that way, but that work continues to convince me even now.

It always depends on the musical taste/style of the person listening, after all...

As for Spirito Divino, if I'm being honest, I would almost include it in my top 10 favorite ITALIAN albums. I don’t know your age, but having listened to it as a child, it really struck me and has stayed with me as a fantastic album. What a show; every time I listen to it again, some childhood memories come back to me.

My age? 30 years old! :) Anyway, it reminds me of very specific moments as well. I remember that my parents and I always listened to the album while traveling. One night stands out in my memory when we were coming home from my uncle's, who lives about 120 km from my house. I remember we were alone on the road, and a snowstorm broke out. Luckily, the snow was falling at that moment, so we managed to get home in time, albeit at a rather reduced speed. I had brought my portable stereo in the car because we didn't have a car radio yet. We had this particular cassette, and we listened to it on repeat for the entire journey. A somewhat traumatic memory in some ways, but it wasn't enough to tarnish the magnificence of this album that I still enjoy listening to now, without letting those memories of tension affect me.

I'm listening to it again now, but it’s an underrated masterpiece compared to oro incenso e birra!

Oro Incenso e Birra is my absolute favorite album. But this one is no joke either, in fact, look, since we're talking about one of my favorite artists (when it comes to the more commercial side of Italian music), let's cut to the chase:

Zucchero & The Randy Jackson Band: rating 6.5
Rispetto: rating 8
Blues: rating 10
Oro Incenso & Birra: rating 10
Miserere: rating 9.5
Blues: rating 8.5
Shake: rating 10
Fly: rating 8.5
Chokabeck: rating 9.

Very sincere votes, compliments! Given your great love for "Shake," I will listen to it properly too and will try to give it another chance, lets go dragon you are the best of debasio.

*Update, Shake has finally been listened to properly; there are some tracks that I can now appreciate much more (first among them Ahum and Porca L'oca).
Additionally, I've re-listened to "Miserere" and "Bluesugar," and I've been able to reevaluate them quite a bit as well, so:

Un Pò Di Zucchero: 5
Zucchero And The Randy Jackson Band: 5.5
Rispetto: 6
Blue's: 8
Oro, Incenso e Birra: 8.5
Miserere: 9
Spirito DiVino: 9
Bluesugar: 7
Shake!: 8
Fly: 7.5/8
Chockabeck: 8