Eugenio Finardi
Secret Streets

LA RECENSIONE

After Finardi, the eponymous author brings to life the initial project that the record label had initially opposed in favor of an Italian product. From the previous album, five tracks remain, written by Mark Harris, who had already collaborated with Alice, Bennato, and De André, while the other four were "preserved" and never translated into Italian by Valerio Negrini. "Trappole" thus becomes "Hostages," while "Valeria come stai?" is adapted into "Corinna" to fit the sensibility and language of the Anglophone world. "Mayday" remains the same in the title, just as "Oltre gli anelli di Saturno" is literally translated into "Beyond the icy rings of Saturn." However, "Prima della guerra" changes to a more immediate "Warsaw." The four new tracks are the title track, lasting six and a half minutes, "Rock Seeds," which is very rock and well-supported, "Love to make love you," unexpectedly romantic, and "A blues for the Eighties," where Eugenio gives a glimpse of his blues soul fully realized over twenty years later. Certainly a transitional album, but it makes it to 4 stars due to the instrumental work (Lucio Dalla on clarinet, as in the Italian album of the previous year) and successful international aspirations by a singer-songwriter who, being Italian-American, does not have the pronunciation issues that Lucio Battisti had with Images. To demonstrate international intentions, the title and singer's name are written on the cover also in Arabic, Japanese, and Cyrillic. Eugenio would consider this Secret Streets an extemporaneous experience, and the following year he would release one of the finest albums of his entire career.