Loredana Berté
Traslocando

649.99 euros, today the vinyl is on sale on eBay.

Streaking, Bertè’s first album. It was censored because of the cover, which unfolded into a poster where Loredana poses with just a few veils, in provocative scenes. I don’t think the asking price is for the quality of the tracks. The album was heavily censored, while the cover hung in every radio station, but they couldn’t play it because of the swear words in the songs. Lory, when she sings la tua bocca è un palcoscenico and ends with “cazzo!” and the guitar ... bursts into a solo, calls it an example of punk ante litteram. Well, maybe, but I doubt it.

The songs are... how shall I say, unripe? Nothing promising for the future emerges. She was looking for a big hit, but ended up in oblivion... She tried again the following year with “sei bellissima”, but was eliminated from “un disco per l’estate” in 1975. Once the single was recorded, the song was a real smash, selling well and earning a gold record. Here too, the lyrics were initially censored, and there are doubts about the real author (lyrics credited to C. Daiano), but from there the road seemed (or so it seemed) downhill. Dedicato, E la luna bussò, the first reggae track written in Italy right after a trip to Jamaica where she met Bob Marley, in alto mare, and Non sono una signora are the hits that established her with the general public in those years. Of course, the cover and the Playboy photoshoot helped, as did her brief acting career, her relationship with Panatta, TV appearances...

A woman fighting for success, but aware of her limits, so she moved to America to learn English and pick up everything about music, connected with Andy Warhol and the Factory, with whom she made a videoclip. She was also nicknamed “pasta queen”. And she did get better, no doubt about it. She refined her voice, recognized the quality of the songs she was offered, and became an outstanding performer.

Traslocando is the first album in collaboration with Fossati, before Borg, before the coke, before her sister, and Fossati in the 80s was something else. 9 gems and one flop. Hugely enjoyable pop with touches of funk, a bit of reggae, Platinium Hook, the group backing her, are on fire. Per i tuoi occhi is delightfully enchanting, sweet lyrics but a powerful voice. Stella di carta, my favorite, a moving story and a passionate performance.

Stella di carta che ora bruci con me
Hai perso ormai la rincorsa
E il tuo traguardo qual è
Siamo anche noi cercatori
In questo fiume impetuoso
Resisti stanotte che alle luci dell'alba
Forse il cuore lo trovo

A captivating duo that bewitches. Notte che verrà is by her sister, only Renato Zero, her lifelong friend, misses the mark.

The cover is Bertè style, sacred and profane, dressed as a nun with red lips. Just to shock some more, but everything is forgiven to the Bertè of ’82.

The dark times were yet to come.