Loy & Altomare
Chiaro

An almost forgotten duo, but one that absolutely deserves to be rediscovered and reevaluated.

The year is 1974, the title is "Chiaro" and it's the second of three albums by Loy & Altomare. The protagonists are Massimo Altomare, from Verona, and Francesco (Checco) Loy, Roman by adoption, (son of director Nanni Loy), they met as slightly more than teenagers around Portobello Road, during a cold London winter in the late 60s, and shortly after returning to their homeland, they formed the duo. The previous year, their debut album "Portobello" had been a pleasant surprise, already containing all the main musical features that were later developed in the two subsequent works.

The sound is fresh, the arrangements and instruments are measured with taste and refinement, with the predominance of guitars and other acoustic instruments, which make this sort of Italian country more intimate and direct, full of happy suggestions, instrumental moments that give the right space to words, with the alternation of two beautiful voices drawing catchy melodies without ever being banal and a friendly and serene atmosphere that encourages storytelling and self-reflection. It is the bright, hopeful (and utopian) side of the '70s, soon after the tragedy of the 'years of lead' split dreams in two, erasing any hope of change and seeking alternatives.

Loy & Altomare, undoubtedly musically influenced by overseas artists like Simon and Garfunkel or Loggins & Messina, cleverly revise and adjust the colors and melodies to the European and especially Italian taste of the time. Around them is a small but close-knit group of collaborators and musical guests, among whom one can remember, in this album, none other than Stephen Grossman on guitars, Fabio Liberatori on keyboards, and Donatella Bardi, the latter a lamented friend and choir member with Milanese artists Claudio Rocchi, Alberto Camerini, and Eugenio Finardi.

Among the various noteworthy tracks, one can mention "A Zio Remo" with a complex construction involving Pedal steel, Hammond, synthesizer, acoustic guitar interweaving, and vocals, the sweet "Sogni" on thoughts and future reflections of a teenager, "Porte Chiuse" opens with a sax theme and then makes room for a beautiful interplay of acoustic guitars that accompany the verse and an interesting exchange of voices between Loy & Altomare and the two backup singers. Immediately after, perhaps the duo's most well-known song "Quattro Giorni Insieme" was released at the time in a slightly different version on a 45-rpm single, a kind of gentle reminiscence of a love as intense as it was fleeting, instrumentally played on a beautiful bed of 12 strings with a vocal melody that penetrates at first listen, a strophic song meaning it doesn't have a chorus, featuring a beautiful vocal solo by Donatella Bardi in the middle. A harmonica and violin with an American country flavor open "Torre d'Ombra", leading unexpectedly to the burlesque and sarcastic "M'Ha Rimbambito".

Look for it, it has been reissued on CD, it's an album you won't soon forget.