Tony Tammaro
Tutto Tony Tammaro

THE REVIEW

''19,900 lire!!! 100 lire less than the counterfeit CD!!!!''

With this heartfelt invitation, broadcasted through the cathode tubes of all Campania, Tony Tammaro convinced me and other fans to purchase the double CD that collects all his songs (a whopping 48) from his beginnings, dating between the late '80s and early '90s, up until 1999, the release date of this hilarious compilation.

Undisputed leader of the "tamarra" music, both Neapolitan and Italian (I apologize to the fans of Leone di Lernia or Er Piotta), Tony Tammaro was indicated, especially at the beginning, as the successor of Squallor, and sometimes compared to Federico Salvatore, however, using a decidedly less vulgar language, and skillfully dispensing the ''vulgarities''. Never gratuitously.
In this double album, Tammaro becomes a bard of the Neapolitan lifestyle, ridiculing the contradictions, habits, and shortcomings that characterize the Campanian capital to the maximum. Courageous is the choice to open the collection with the famous ''Patrizia'', his greatest success (also featured in the Bagaglino film ''Gole Ruggenti'').

It's hard to find a Neapolitan who hasn't listened to this song at least once, possibly coming from the car radio of some "tamarro" stuck in traffic. Those who, at the time, used to hang out in front of the stalls, the official points of sale for the cassette tapes of "tamarra" music (even the covers were photocopied, more "tamarro" than that...) cannot forget masterpieces like ''Il Parco Dell'Amore'', ''Scalea'', ''Il Mozzarellista'', ''Puzzulan Rap'', or the successful reinterpretation of ''Teorema'' by Ferradini.

Tony Tammaro had the merit of understanding that attitudes and situations that seem consolidated throughout Italy, in Naples acquire a completely unique connotation; this is proven by the episodes that tackle the most diverse themes. Therefore, our artist confronts adultery in ''Volo Di Un Cazettino'' and ''Tiene 'e ccorna'' (Have you ever wondered what that Lambretta was doing parked downstairs?), adolescent loves (and the consequences that the clandestine nature of these flings entails) in 'Din't a villa'', the father-son relationship, amid dissatisfaction and latent attitudes in ''Michè'', the annual dilemma of how to spend Easter Monday and the summer holidays in ''Il Rock Dei Tamarri'' and ''La Villeggiatura'', the problems of... figure in ''Aerobic Tamar Dance'' and ''Chiatta'' (for the latter Tony collaborates with Neri Per Fame); ''Un'altra guerra'' is an idealistic song, an anthem to common sense if you will, on the right to... poop, when the family is large and the sanitary services are not sufficient for everyone. By heeding the exhortation of this song, maybe we would live better...

Another milestone of my adolescence, recommended to those who, while listening to the record, smile and think: ''uhm... it's true!'', to those who just want to smile (or indulge in a few healthy laughs), but fundamentally to those who are aware of being a TAMARRO (or have inklings of it and seek confirmation).