I Tipi
Oggi sono tanto triste/La ragazza bruttina (singolo 1967)

Warning. More than a review, this is a kind of request for information. I am almost sure I will find nothing about this group of which I do not know the names of the members nor if they had recorded other albums (I don't think so), but this was a 45 rpm that I had at home since I was a child, and it was probably lost during a house move. But you know, in the recesses of human memory, almost unsuspecting things are hidden and so, from time to time, this little single that I loved at the time would come to mind, and I unexpectedly found it on the Internet.

You might wonder why this group caught my attention, and the reason lies almost entirely in the very interesting B-side of this single. Side A was nothing more than a cover of a Cliff Richard song, “Fifty Tears For Every Kiss”, which in Italian was “Oggi sono tanto triste”, a slow song of the type that was fashionable in Italy in 1967 or thereabouts, a song that was more known in the version by Giuliano e i Notturni (those of “Ballo di Simone”, just to make it clear). A completely different story, indeed, for the B-side, “La ragazza bruttina”, pure garage rock, rough and dirty sound, yet with some melody in the chorus. The lyrics resemble a bit the theme of “Come potete giudicar” by the Nomadi, as it somehow says not to judge appearances but to be a bit more profound. I write it because it is very short, and maybe it could remind someone of something.
"What people say when they see us close/Leaves me indifferent/They talk to me about strange things but with wooden words/Because they never understood/You are the girl I love/Even if others don't know./When the two of us walk hand in hand/People look and speak ill./Even if you're a bit plain it's not what's beautiful that is beautiful/But it's always been what one likes./You are the girl I love/Even if others don't know./When the two of us walk hand in hand/People look and speak ill./Even if you're a bit plain, even if you're a bit plain/Even so, I love you, I love you, I love you"

I know the lyrics are a bit naive and banal, but I assure you that the music is not at all. I played this piece for a friend of mine who listens to bands like the Replacements and various others of the garage rock and punk genre, and he was stunned by this song, which among other things in fairly recent times has also been covered by some bands of our more "underground" punk (for example, i Fichissimi). Who knows more about this group?