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Fabrizio De André - Creuza De Mä CD (album) cover

CREUZA DE MÄ

Fabrizio De André

 

Prog Related

4.41 | 38 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
5 stars I remember comments from Peter Gabriel (actually very interested in World Music) and from David Byrne saying that this was the best album of the year. Effectively it sounds a lot "world" also because of the dialect in which the songs are written and in the use of ethnic instruments also from middle-East.

"Creuza De Ma'" (Road to the Sea) is mainly a description of the little world of his youthness: Genoa, its harbour and the surroundings. It describes places, people and situations with a base of major chords with a middle eastern flavor.

This contamination between the major chords of the Italian tradition and the middle-eastern instruments is stronger on "Jamin-A" This is the name of an Arabic prostitute who "works" in the harbour as a mariner tells. The music is strongly Middle-eastern influenced and there's also a very good "Oud" solo. I think that any prog fan can like this song.

"Sidun" is a very dramatic track. "Sidun" is an ancient city, one of the most important of Lebanon. The city was attacked by the troops sent by Sharon in 1982 and the lyrics are the lament of a father who has seen his son killed by a tank and carries his devastated body. Dark, tragic and moving. "In this big burning sky a so little death"

"Sinan Capudan Pascia'" is a character taken from the history. It's a Genoan seaman captured by Turks and later converted to Isalm. He then became a "Grand Vizir". About his conversion he said "I have only changed the God to blaspheme". This song has less Arabic elements.

"A Pittima" was the debts collector. Genoan citizens had the possibility, during the Renaissance, to call and send him to the debtors. A nasty guy, isn't it? Hated just a little less than am executor. The lyrics are a dialog (for what I can understand) between he and a debtor. One thing about Genoan language, it sounds incredibly similar to Portuguese, and this surely adds a "World" flavor. The song is in the mood of the opener. Major chords and a slow hypnotic rhythm.

"A Dumenega" (The Sunday) is aboout an ancient use: The maitresses of Brothels were used to make a sort of procession to show their prostitutes. A sort of advertising....with the people commenting and joking at their passage. The language is maybe a bit raw but with Fabrizio de Andre also this is poetry. The Arabian influence is eveident in the instrumental coda in which the guitar sounds quite Spanish.

The closer is "Da A Me Riva" (from my seaside) is about the period of his life in Sardinia that's the opposite seaside to Genoa. A nostalgic song like a lullaby, very appropriate as closer.

What else? I agree with Gabriel and Byrne. This is a great album even if you don't understand the language. I had to look to the official artist's website in order to understand what the songs are about, and I'm Italian! The songs are excellent from a musical point of view and knowing what the lyrics are about can improve the listening pleasure.

A masterpiece even if just prog-related.

octopus-4 | 5/5 |

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