Zucchero
ZU & Co.

A couple of years after the previous album Shake, here comes the new release from our local bluesman, who this time takes on a self-celebratory but undoubtedly interesting endeavor: a collection of duets recorded with some of the major stars of international music. There are both duets taken directly from his discography (such as Miserere, sung with Pavarotti and Bocelli, or the touching Ali D'Oro with the late John Lee Hooker), as well as old tracks completely rearranged and re-sung. There are also a couple of new tracks, of course: Il Grande Baboomba, a highly programmed hit of this summer (and yet another plagiarism of our artist, this time to Johnny Dorelli), and Indaco Dagli Occhi Del Cielo, which is instead a suggestive ballad accompanied by the piano of Vanessa Carlton and the violin of Haylie Ecker.

Obviously, the stars are top-notch (Sting, Macy Gray, Paul Young, Tom Jones, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Dolores of the Cranberries... there's something for everyone), the songs are beautiful or incredibly beautiful, yet, overall, the operation undertaken by Zucchero this time is not entirely successful. The problem is that with such a vast and diverse collection of songs, only a sprawling, disjointed, overly heterogeneous album can result, lacking that "red thread" that should connect the various pieces. Personally, I didn't much appreciate the new arrangements given to some of the older tracks: while on one hand, they succeed in modernizing and re-dressing somewhat dated sounds, on the other, they inevitably end up flattening and trivializing, and some of Zucchero's most memorable songs suffer as a result, like Il Volo or Blu, which are very disappointing compared to the original versions.

Therefore, an imperfect album, where the most intense moments are the opening—five minutes of Dune Mosse with the trumpet of Miles Davis, then Come Il Sole All'Improvviso accompanied by the gritty voice of Macy Gray, and Così Celeste, more vibrant than ever, in a curious but successful duet with the Algerian Cheb Mami. Recommended mainly for fans of Zucchero and those who have never listened to any of his work and want to get an idea of his style.