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In the 1970s, there was a resurgence of youth movements that had already begun in Italy in the previous decade. In music, these changes were accompanied by an increasing influence of the Anglo-Saxon style, with rock at the forefront. The debut of Pino Daniele with "Terra Mia" in 1977 was the explosion of a further innovation. It was a strange innovation, however, made with a return to the origins of Neapolitan melody mixed with pop, blues, and (certainly not to follow fashion), rock. Unfortunately, few witnessed the phenomenon at the time. In fact, the record only sold 3,000 copies, only to be rediscovered in the following years, those that accompanied Pino's national fame.
But let's delve into the work right away. The first notes are those of the unforgettable melody on the violin of "Napule è," supported by a background piano that manages to be of a remarkable impact, so much so that in the later stages it seems to increasingly take on the role of protagonist. The lyrics and voice of this piece have long been considered akin to the great Neapolitan classics. Pino's guitar here is limited to accompaniment, although, when it enters at the beginning of the second verse, it envelops the ears with warmth and touching clarity. In return, the maestro quickly moves the fingers of his right hand to make a mandola and a mandolin play in duet. Subsequently, the piece assumes a rock flavor that will accompany it to the end, with the main voice alternating with that of the choirs. "Na tazzulella 'e cafè" is the second track, the B-side of the single "Napule è." The upbeat accompaniment serves as a backdrop for a riff that rests on the fourth degree of the scale, giving the whole a color that is as Neapolitan as it gets. The solo, on the other hand, has a blues stamp, very blues. The third track opens the dance to folklore with male and female voices embellishing Pino's in a harmonic chaos from the Spanish quarters. The riff is once again up to the mandolin, as in the fourth piece "Suonno d'ajere," on which I will not say anything. I just invite you to listen and enjoy the sound of the muted bass in the chorus. One of the most successful blends of classic and modern in the album. With "Madonna mia," space is given to the blues even in the accompaniment, but it is certainly not the simple turn of the three chords of American blues. Listening to the sixth track "Saglie saglie" reveals the countless qualities of a beautiful voice. Long and very precise notes are mixed with faster phrasings along with a female voice. Then comes "Terra mia," another piece of history. The next "Che calore" is beautiful and playful with two key melodies, one more beautiful than the other, one on percussion, which also provides accompaniment, the other on brass. Follows "Chi po' dicere," short and intense: what a voice and a guitar can do… "Furtunato" evokes the summer heat and smells of air breathed in the alleys. "Cammina cammina," perhaps for its simplicity, on first listening, remains more impressed for the lyrics than for the music. However, it doesn’t have a chorus, and playing it again a second time, the melody inevitably gets stuck in your head. The intro of "O' padrone" is sunny, with an electric guitar that gives its almost dissonant blues touch to the Mediterranean atmosphere. The album ends with "Libertà," perhaps the poppiest track of all, with simple chords and a distorted guitar riff that is harmonized in certain parts. As simple as it is beautiful.
In short, a brilliant album that, like every work by Pino Daniele, would require an analysis different from a simple telegraphic list of the tracks present in it, which, however, all deserved to be at least mentioned. It will, therefore, be up to the listener to pay attention to every passage, to every nuance of music that is different, superior: made by a genius who, at only 22 years old, published a work still unique in its kind.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Napule è (03:49)
Napule è mille culure
Napule è mille paure
Napule è a voce de' criature
che saglie chianu chianu e
tu sai ca nun si sulo.
Napule è nu sole amaro
Napule è n’addore 'e mare
Napule è 'na carta sporca
e nisciuno se ne importa e
ognuno aspetta a' ciorta.
Napule è 'na cammenata
int’e viche miezo all'ate
Napule è tutto 'nu suonno
e 'a sape tutt’o munno
ma nun sanno a verità.
Napule è mille culure
(Napule è mille paure)
Napule è 'nu sole amaro
(Napule è n’addore e' mare)
Napule è 'na carta sporca
(e nisciuno se ne importa)
Napule è 'na camminata
(int’e viche miezo all'ate)
Napule è tutto nu suonno
(e a' sape tutt’o munno)
07 Terra mia (02:08)
Comm'è triste, comm'è amaro
Assettarse pe guardà'
Tutt'e ccose tutt'è parole
Ca niente pònno fa'
Si m'accido je agg'jettato
Chellu ppoco 'e libertà
Ca sta' terra, chesta gente
'nu juorno m'adda da'
Terra mia terra mia
comm'è bello a la penzà'
Terra mia terra mia
comm'è bello a la guardà
Nun è 'o vero nun è sempe 'o stesso
Tutt'e juornë po' cagnà'
Ogge è deritto, dimane è stuorto
E chesta vita se ne và
'E vecchie vanno dinto a chiesa
Cu' a curona pe' prià'
E 'a paura 'e chesta morte
Ca nun ce vo' lassà'
Terra mia terra mia
Tu si' chiena 'e libbertà
Terra mia terra mia
I' mò sento 'a libbertà.
11 Cammina cammina (02:50)
Nc'oppa l'evera ca addore se ne scennene e' culure
e cammina o vicchiariello sotta a luna
quante vote s'è fermato pe' parlà cu qualcheruno
e nun c'è sta mai nisciuno che se ferma po' sentì
E cammina, cammina vicino ò puorto
e rirenno pensa a' morte
se venisse mò fosse cchiù cuntento
tanto io parlo e nisciuno me sento
Guardando o mare penso a' Mariaca' mo nun ce sta cchiù
so sulo tre anni e ce' penso tutte e' sere
passo o' tiempo e nun me pare o vero
E cammina, cammina vicino ò puorto
e chiagnenno aspetta a' morte
sotta a' luna nun parla nisciuno
sotta a' luna nisciuno vo' sentì
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Other reviews
By Raimondo A. Vailatti
"If Pino Daniele still lived in his lower floor, on his Via Medina, in his Naples, he would (re)write a great album again."
"We have no choice but to listen to the original Terra Mia, the one released on the record market at the end of the seventies."
By enbar77
With 'Terra mia', the first Pino Daniele, the profound one, the masterful one, lights up with healthy vigor... one of the most beautiful albums in Italian music.
'Suonno d’ajere' is, in my opinion, the most beautiful Neapolitan song of the second school of thought mentioned.
By alessioIRIDE
"Terra Mia is the way a Neapolitan takes to talk about himself and his life: terrible content that breaks backs, but delivered with a smile in that bittersweet way that Naples forces you to learn."
"Terra Mia, in its merits and its bestialities, is Naples, and the Gennariello on the cover offering a clod of this land is saying that it’s not necessary to be there to know the things of this world, of Naples."
By MarkRChandar
The work is permeated with melancholic poetry, with lyrics recalling detached dreams.
The first Italian punk record, because innovation is the preservation and development of tradition.
