I Barritas
Sardegna Mia

I Barritas, Sardinian Beat Cabaret group.

This work, now almost impossible to find, shows the attempt to make Beat music in Sardinian. Among some more or less successful covers, "Help me Rhonda" by the Beach Boys and "Go Now" by the Moody Blues, the Sardinian response to "Romagna Mia" miserably loses the comparison. Meanwhile, the "Country" of "Arizona" manages to bring a smile thanks to the comedy of Benito Urgu, an almost myth in Sardinia.

The record is very so-so, it fails to take off, in the instrumental "Gennargentu" the attempt to bring Sardinia closer to the far-west, but the influence of Morricone’s Spaghetti Western is too evident. The only song that, at least on the island, everyone remembers is: "Gambale Twist" captivating DementialTwistrash that surely must have made millions of piciocheddus/das bend their knees.
It all ends with "Filo Di Seta", a track that the elderly remember with nostalgia, house parties, first kisses. These last two tracks slightly lift the average of the record, otherwise definitely insufficient.

The Barritas lasted just a flash, enough time to record "La Messa Dei Giovani," a cult album for Italian Beat lovers, then the Salis brothers left the group to form "Salis e Salis" and later "Salis," turning to Prog. Folk.
B. Urgu instead continues his career as a comedian; despite some success in the seventies with a sexy and double-entendre-laden song. The album "Messa Per I Giovani" was reissued on CD in 2005 by DUCK RECORD.

I dedicate this review to HAL.