Pino Daniele
Bonne Soirée

Alright, most have almost forgotten about good old Pino on this site by now, which I can understand, given that he has been 'musically' done for 20 years. However, I couldn't resist and I want to review this 'gem' of his too, a masterpiece album that only those with knowledge have been able to appreciate.

We're in 1987, a transitional year for the Neapolitan guitarist: after Ferryboat (in my opinion the most expressive album of uncle Pino) in 1985, the genre changes. As he stated, it was mainly his travels to France that pushed him into the composition of rock-arabesque style music that we will find in some tracks of this CD. The band has also completely changed but the essence remains the same, meaning, the musicians are always of great caliber.

The first track is the title-track 'Bonne soirée': it is not the best song on the album but it is still a catchy song that, in my view, only becomes beautiful in the chorus. Next is 'Vita mia': in my opinion, it's the most beautiful song on this CD, second only to 'Boys in the night'. The class of the talented Bruno Illiano on keyboards is immediately noticeable, but what strikes me is the mix that Daniele brings to the song: a slow yet pleasant start but in the middle of the track, the rhythm picks up, the words become more intense and Palladino's bass makes its presence felt, all in all, a great song as if it were a dedication to someone or something in particular, who knows...'Guardami in face' is the third track, a real dictionary this song! Three languages within it but the most evident thing is the classic Neapolitan-English bilingualism which is somewhat less prominent in this record. 'Baccalà' aims to be the link between Pino of the early 80s and this change of genre. It's a short but intense song. Very Neapolitan (of course I mean in terms of lyrics and culture) but our artist does his best to make the sounds of his electric guitar almost sublime. Solos and interludes are perfect in my opinion and everything is completed by the other instruments which, however, only serve as a backdrop. Then there's 'Nu poco 'e sentimento': this song is simply beautiful. There isn't much drumming but Marotta manages to shine with offbeat hits and especially with a lot of technical display. Again highlighted is Pino (Palladino this time...) with his bass and the lyrics are very deep and beautiful...a gem.

The sixth track is 'Boys in the night': it's the best song on the album but it earns this special recognition only in the final part. First, there's the solo from the ''guest'' (and what a guest...) Larry Nocella on sax, then Pino kicks in (and what an entrance!). His guitar is sublime, perfect sounds, right notes, insane virtuosity worthy of a great guitarist. In the background, you can also appreciate the work of Mino Cinelu on percussion. 'Mama e!' I find mediocre, I don’t like it... a matter of taste. 'Aria' is the song that contains most of the Arabic influences, especially the intro. Then the chorus is beautiful and the words are poetic, a beautiful song. We are heading towards the epilogue of the album: 'Scrack' still contains influences of Arabic music, then there's 'Occhi grigi' which is a masterpiece: a classic par excellence; the guitar almost sings better than Pino but it's the lyrics that amaze with their poetic nature. The eleventh track is also the last: 'Watch out' has an engaging intro which then lives up to the promises or expectations the song can create. The piece is really beautiful, good arrangements and plenty of English. In my opinion, this song is a signal: as if Pino were telling us he wants to follow up on this 'rock-arabesque' experiment. I don't pick up on this in the lyrics (perhaps a bit melancholic) but in the lyrics ('Look out/beyond' for those not familiar with English).

In summary, it is a fantastic album but perhaps his fans did not 'read' it correctly and unfairly criticized him for this change. For me, it only comes second to 'Ferryboat' (excluding the live collection 'Live sciò of 1984, which is a testament). Who knows if it would have been successful, where this album would have taken him...