The Italian Prog Appreciation den

Studio Album, 1974

3.68 | 21 ratings 

BUY

Anima Latina
Lucio Battisti Prog Related

Review by dreadpirateroberts

 Anima Latina looks like a warm album - glancing at the summer-scene on the cover, with all that gold and the dancing children, you might be surprised at the almost cold feel the keyboards and the generous reverb bring to this record.

Opener, 'Hug, Hug, Hug' (hope that's translated right) acts as an almost chilly introduction to the album, with the keys and the spacious beat leaving lots of space for reverb to build atmosphere. Even with the Latin-influence to the horns and the jump in tempo later on, this one has the sombre feel of a lost love, and serves as an impressive shift toward even more restless, exploratory material for Battisti. Not that he was a 'by the numbers' artist before. Even as a singer-songwriter firmly entrenched in the pop world, he was always inventive and his exposure to progressive music, as either participant or producer, had been creeping into previous albums, especially on Il Nostro Caro Angelo.

What this release (easily one of my favourites from Battisti) does so well is dispense with conventional song structure. It introduces almost haunting, restless pieces with a more linear feel, supported by reprises rather than choruses, in order to develop its musical themes. The use of horns and flute, while cheerful on one level, are soaked in reverb or treated in such a way to sound almost chilly, where they match the keyboards, which are in turn used to evoke an almost space-like feel, as if a samba band had been shot into the atmosphere, leaving Battisti and lyricist Mogol to pull them back down to earth.

Often compared in Italy to the partnership of Lennon and McCartney, Battisti and Mogol are a powerful song writing duo. Of course, I can't speak for the quality of Mogol's lyrics, but they're said to have an abstract feel, and the songs of food, love, sex and loneliness on Anima Latina have a tortured vibe that still comes through thanks to Lucio's mournful voice. Here, his at times strained but distinctive upper register is less in effect than on earlier albums and singles, but he's always wonderful. In fact, one of my favourite moments from Battisti is in the gentle and direct 'Due Mondi' reprise, where it's just Lucio and the piano.

Without a doubt the album is denser than his earlier works, especially in terms of layering - this is a complex collection of 'pop' music. While the acoustic guitar is important in providing rhythm and also more delicate touches when in a lead role, the ensemble feel to the music is just as vital. In addition to Lucio's voice, drums, bass and guitar, there are two piano/keyboard players, a horn section of trumpets and trombone and flute on top of several percussionists and backing vocalists. This larger cast is really welcome stuff, greatly enhancing the last half of the festive title track for instance, or feeding the faintly ominous tones of 'Anonimo.'

This album is the last of Lucio Battisti's before a disco influence crept into his work for a few records, and so anyone looking for progressive pop might like to start here then go backwards a few albums (including the amazing Amore e Non Amore) rather than move forward from here. RPI fans of the less aggressive end of the country's output might well enjoy this album too, or basically anyone who believes themselves to be a fan of Italian music and are up for an album that reveals its wonders after repeated listens.

Report this review (#731423) | Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 07:29 EST

The acronym I.N.R.I. (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum) represents the Latin inscription which in English reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" that was put on Christ's cross and the album was titled I.N.R.H. (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Hominum) to underline the human side of Jesus. However, Syndéresi's album has nothing to do with woks such as Jesus Christ Superstar, it was not conceived as a lecture about the Gospels or to reinterpret them or to exalt religion. The lyrics were written by Alberto Bazzaco and were inspired by the gospels (canonical and apocryphal) but they deal in a poetical way with issues such as fate, omens, the relationship between men and time, feelings. The music recalls the Italian prog masters of the seventies and is built upon the lyrics adding colorful, evocative touches to the concept.

The opener "Annunciazione" (Annunciation) is a kind of disquieting, psychedelic dream where the meeting between the archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary provokes an emotional vortex. There's no happiness, the atmosphere is dark and some passages in the central section recall Il Balletto di Bronzo's "Ys". Mary sees in a play of shadows the reclined dying face of Jesus and the Annunciation here becomes almost an ominous presage for the future of her son.

"Natività" (Nativity) features a mysterious atmopshere and some Oriental flavours. This track was inspired by a scene narrated in the apocryphal Gospel of James. As Joseph goes out to look for a midwife to help his young bride to give birth to Jesus, Time suddenly stops. Joseph invokes God asking him to let Time flow again... "He looks astounded up to the sky / Please, let the vertex unbind the hourglass from its stagnation...".

"Deserto" (Desert) is a nice, ironic track inspired by the meeting between Jesus and Satan in the desert. The rhythm is slow, the sun shines on the dunes, the musical colours are evocative and full of nuances. The devil is tempting Jesus with false promises but he replies that it would be easier tempting him elsewhere, not in a desert where the illusions of the world are covered by the sand... "Come back when my feet will be washed by clear waters / Bring with you wider fishnets...". A mocking nursery rhyme sung by some children concludes the piece.

"Il discorso della montagna" (Sermon on the mount) is divided in two parts. The first part is an instrumental introduction featuring a delicate, dreamy atmosphere, then the rhythm section and the guitar come in adding new colours. This piece was inspired by the Sermon on the Mount, one of the most widely quoted elements of the canonical Gospels but it's prevalently instrumental. "Dig an abyss of want and set you foundation in it...".

"La parabola del seminatore" (The parable of the sower) is a particular acoustic track settled on a street and according to the band they played it as buskers to set the right atmosphere. It was inspired by the Parable of the Sower and in some way tells about another presage. The last part features a narrative vocal part taken from the Gospel of St. Mark... "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!" (Mark 4, 10-12).

"Maddalena" (Magdalene) is a delicate acoustic ballad inspired by the character of St. Mary Magdalene. The mood is romantic, the lyrics are hermetic... The memory of a kiss comes to mind in a stormy night as a vortex! The excellent last track "Ultima cena" (Last supper) recalls BMS and was inspired by the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion. A very good conclusion for an interesting work. Of course, the production is not perfect and there are many ingenuities but the overall result is not bad at all. The album is available in free legal download, so have a try and judge by yourselves.