Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari
Oro Incenso & Birra

THE REVIEW

"Oro Incenso & Birra," the album by Zucchero, dated June 13, 1989, can be considered in every respect a masterpiece of ethnic music: the cast of musicians accompanying the artist from Romagna is truly remarkable, comprising quality performers from all around the world. Prominent in the musical ensemble, which Zucchero employs, are Clarence Clemons, a famous saxophonist, a former member of Springsteen's E Street Band, and Eric Clapton, a formidable and outstanding guitarist of worldwide fame. The sound of "Oro Incenso & Birra" is rich, very compact, and artistically impactful. The Italian king of blues could not be without a choir of both white and black voices, thus he employs the "Choir of the Seventh-day Adventist Church" and some choir members from Africa, like the young Fanta Touré and the Senegalese Mory Thioune, who appear in "Il Mare Impetuoso al Tramonto..." singing in Swahili.

The opening track "Overdose D'Amore" is Zucchero's declaration of the need for love he feels. The track is enriched by the guitar and sitar of Corrado Rustici. "Nice (Nietschze) Che Dice" is an ironic piece in which the Reggio artist declares indifference to the religious concepts imposed on him since birth and celebrates the Kama Sutra and earthly pleasures. He states that he "believes in feet and hands" and that "he who is content enjoys." Along with "Diavolo in Me," "Il Mare Impetuoso al Tramonto..." represents the most lustful piece on the album. If the title "Oro Incenso & Birra" clearly represents an ironic reference to the three gifts of the Magi, it can assume a double meaning: Zucchero celebrates sex, carnal pleasure, and profane love, but also needs salvation from above, asking for mercy for his sins from the "Maria Dolcissima" before whom and for whom he kneels imploringly. The chorus of the track is a sincere blues prayer, a poignant supplication to the divine figure. After the poetic "Iruben Me" and "A Wonderful World," a piece immortalized by the presence on guitar of the aforementioned Clapton (courtesy of Warner Bros Records Inc.), appears "Diamante," the only song not written by Zucchero but born from the pen of Francesco De Gregori. "Oro Incenso & Birra" closes with "Libera l'Amore," composed by Ennio Morricone. This short mostly instrumental composition serves as a finale for an album divided between the sacred and the profane, between innocence and guilt, divine and earthly.

An Italian tour dedicated to the CD will kick off the month after its release, in July 1989, with the first date in Padua, ending in September of the same year. In two concerts, Zucchero appears alongside Joe Cocker and Miles Davis. The Emilian artist proves he is not simply a singer-songwriter bound to his homeland, but an artist of great artistic impact on a global level.