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Rating: In the summer of 1992, a new Neapolitan artist, previously unknown, emerged on the Italian music scene: Joe Sarnataro. Yet another Italian unlucky singer-songwriter?!
After traveling to America to deepen his knowledge of blues and rock ('a musica americana), he returned to Italy to release an album, recruiting a well-known Neapolitan blues band (the Blue Stuff) and getting help from his grandfather Vincenzo, who instead of dreaming of lottery numbers, every other night dreams of the "great master" who dictates the poems (he calls them verses) which then end up in music. Joe himself also created a television series broadcast by Rai Uno in episodes, "Joe e suo nonno," with the aforementioned protagonists.
Curious character, isn't he? How had he remained unknown until then? But just hearing him sing or looking at him properly was enough to realize that he had something familiar, that certain je ne sais quoi. Today it's no mystery that behind that name, the long hair, the goatee, the sideburns, and the leather outfits was hidden the more famous artist Edoardo Bennato, who through this second persona, managed to achieve one of his long-pursued goals: a musical film about Naples.
I have vague memories of the TV series, as we're talking about many years ago; the album, however, which I own in the original cassette version (different times...) I remember very well because I was an avid listener back then. The beautiful thing about this Bennato project, which certainly doesn't shine for musical originality, goes beyond the music itself, as his work captures the Naples of that time (unfortunately still relevant in certain aspects), with its problems and hopes, let's say the classic slice of Neapolitan reality alternating between the desire for rebirth and seemingly insurmountable problems, teetering between will and resignation. If you then consider that all this is not described by the usual detractor but by a Neapolitan himself, who has always depicted the environment in which he grew up in his songs, highlighting its social situation (both positive and negative), you will realize that the observations and criticisms pointed out by Bennato acquire a whole different value, perfectly emphasized by the fact that the songs are all exclusively sung in Neapolitan, and hence many terms (and in general the emphasis) take on entirely different connotations when compared to Italian.
The music is a concentrate of the most classic rock-blues with very typical riffs (some even well known), a quarter-note kick drum, and off it goes with distorted guitars and a catchy, danceable rhythm, where each song addresses a different theme always centered on a single core: Naples; from pieces like "E' Asciuto Pazzo 'O Padrone", presumably dedicated to Diego Maradona, to "Sotto Viale Augusto Che Ce Stà?", questioning the (mysterious) reason behind the perpetual road works.
The piece has two sides, those of two personalities, which contend halfway through the physical spaces and opportunities offered by the city. It talks about the people ("'A gente è bona") and the politicians/ruling class ("Vutamme pe te"), touching upon many other themes with scattered references here and there to everyday happenings ("Vide 'o mare quant'è bello/'a luna rossa stà sempe ccà/a marechiaro ce sta 'na fenesta...") where no one is saved in the end, not even himself ("Nisciuno").
We are facing an album of great value from the perspective of initiative, with a good socio-political idea behind it, at times also hilarious and bizarre, particularly in its film version, which combines the Neapolitan musician's passion for this musical genre and his city, spiced with humor and unique ideas, such as Grandpa Vincenzo who composes blues together with his grandson (grandpa played in the film always by Bennato himself). Within the album, there are all the lyrics with translations and cartoons depicting Joe and the blues stuff in comic strip form.
Ultimately, a small gem born from a brilliant idea of one of the most capable Italian singer-songwriters, who unfortunately recently found himself playing the devil on the guitar at an impromptu midsummer night's party...
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