ALLA FIERA DELL'EST

This 3rd Branduardi album has been described in some quarters as his breakthrough. Since a breakthrough can be distinct from a peak, I cannot refute this claim, but I am more inclined to refer to it as a move in the right direction.

The style of soft folk rock a la RPI is already intact at this early date, but too many of the mellow songs are a bit too sleepy and even sappy without a strong melody to save them, a tendency he overcame in subsequent albums. In particular "La favola degli aironi", "Canzone per Sarah" and "L'uomo e la nuvola" all fail to impress apart from the man's dreamy voice. The album peaks just after the halfway point with the three best tracks being the lively "La serie dei numeri", the Andean influenced "Il dono del cervo", and the suite "Il Funerale" which begins with reflective harp, guitar and fiddle before segueing into an equally melancholy Celtic song that shows where Branduardi would focus in years to come. It's pretty much worth the price of the disk on its own. The rest of the tracks lie in between the weaker tunes and the highlights in quality.

This might be the best place to start if you are committed to discovering ANGELO BRANDUARDI chronologically, but not if you want to hear his most accomplished work. Still, highlights are frequent enough to qualify "Alla Fiera dell'Est" as a good album from a great performer.