I usually avoid italian music. I feel like rock n roll has always been best suited for the english language, where you can say meaningful stuff without using words that have more than two or three syllables. The italian language doesn't have that, and besides IMHO the lyrics are often very silly and simplistic. Especially during the 60's, when dealing with covers of popular english songs. The cover to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" is the perfect example: the italian lyrics tell a completely unrelated and utterly banal story, the trite "oh boo hoo my girl made me cry" crap that was so damn popular at the time. Most of that stuff just sounds like bubblegum music to me, and the few good ones were often covers of popular british or american hits.
That said, I do enjoy some of it, either because I think they're musically interesting or lyrically or both. PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) made some amazing stuff, I know they were popular abroad. My father recommended "Area - International POPular Group" to me once, but I never took the time to listen. They're supposed to be great, I'll have to try them sometime.
I like some of Franco Battiato's stuff for his "interesting" lyrics, many people will think them nonsensical, but there's a meaning all right.
Fabrizio DeAndré is another one whose lyrics are the strong point but he was more "direct" in his approach, no cryptic stuff. One of my favorites of his is "La ballata dell'amore cieco" (Ballad of blind love). Some ass (I think it was just some dude on the internet) tried to make, in recent times, a cover of it, in what is supposed to be english, and completely ruined it. Don't waste your time trying to find it. Laughable effort, they just merely translated the lyrics but made no attempt to put them to music, if you know what I mean. Like, it's poetry, you can't just translate it like that...
I will now comment on your playlist.
01 - Gino Paoli - Il cielo in una stanza
Beautiful song, it's been recorded by many artists. The english language cover is pretty good too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbxr4lV5wa0
02 - Drupi - Piccola e fragile
Deffo not my cuppa tea. I remember listening to the A side of this and liking it, but I listened to it just now and... nah.
03 - Cugini di campagna - Bella da morire
Hate it with a passion.
04 - Loredana Berté - E la luna bussò
Don't usually like her but this one is good. I like the chord progression.
05 - Matia Bazar - Solo tu
Same as above, more interested in the arrangement.
06 - Edoardo Bennato - Viva la mamma
Nah.
07 - Donatella Rettore - Lamette
Yes. It's a song that takes the mick out of cutters, but I like it anyways.
08 - Caterina Caselli - Sono bugiarda
The original was enough for me.
09 - Rita Pavone - Il Geghegé
Utter bobbins, but it will stay in your head for a while.
10 - Gianni Morandi - Fatti mandare dalla mamma
Utter bobbins.
11 - Franco Battiato - Cuccurucucu
Good stuff.
12 - Amedeo Minghi & Mietta - Vattene amore
Awful. Would rather listen to "Walking on sunshine" on repeat for 12 hours. And I absolutely loathe that song.
13 - Gianni Togni - Luna
Nice.
14 - Gigliola Cinguetti - Non ho l'età
Snorefest.
15 - Tony Renis - Quando quando quando
Yuck-a-roo.
16 - Julio Iglesias - Sono un pirata e un signore
I don't even.
17 - Mal dei Primitives - Yeeeeh!
Not my cuppa.
"The Primitives" were part of the British invasion in Italy. Which had its peculiarities. Take a group like the Primitives, for example, who would come to Italy, and record songs in italian, and they were hits. Now, Mr. Paul Bradley Couling, AKA "Mal", is welsh, and as a british person, speaks (and sings) with a pronounced british accent. So, what do you do when a gimmick is popular? You adopt it of course! And all of a sudden many italian singers would adopt a fake english name and sing in a fake british accent. After the fad was over, names and accent went. Not for Mal though, he still has it of course. The general public, nowadays, knows him more for "Furia", a 45 which was recorded as a closing theme to "Fury" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fury_%28TV_series%29
a song that almost single handedly ruined his whole career, because from then on, everybody thought of him a singer of kids songs. He hates it to this day.
18 - The Rockes - E la pioggia che và
Here's another british group that had success in Italy. Not my cuppa.
19 - Bobby Solo - Una lacrima sul viso
Don't like him. Both him and Little Tony relied too much on aping Elvis Presley and Little Richard, going as far as keeping the same look for decades and looking ridiculous.
20 - Umberto Tozzi - Tu
Eeeeeechhhhh.
21 - Lucio Battisti - Un'avventura
Many love Lucio to death, others just refuse to like him because of his alleged political affiliations. I like some of his songs, that's it.
22 - Heather Parisi - Cicale
80's bubblegum pop. Can be obnoxious at times.
23 - Rocky Roberts - Stasera mi butto
Rocky was from Miami, he passed away 10 years ago. I don't usually listen to his stuff, but with his rhythm and blues he's a nice change from the usual fare.
24 - Pupo - Gelato al cioccolato
Awful. "Pupo" began with a label, "Baby Records", that usually dealt with Italo Disco, which as trashy and unsophisticated as some would think, is highly preferable to Pupo's music.
25 - Umberto Tozzi - Stella stai
Not my cuppa.
26 - Ricchi e Poveri - Mamma maria
These people, too, came from "Baby Records". They're slightly better than Pupo but that's not saying much.
27 - Viola Valentino - Comprami
Never heard of it before. Don't like the "whispered" style.
28 - Renato Zero - Mi vendo
Renato's interesting, although not my usual fare.
29 - Gianni Drudi - Fiki fiki
What in the world???? Sorry but this is shit, the lyrics are beyond childish, very vulgar, the title basically translates to "Hump-y Hump-y" if you know what I mean. Seeing this one amid everything else makes it stick out like a sore thumb.
30 - Francesco Salvi - Esatto!
Tired catchphrases from an 80's comedian that no one cares about anymore. Dumb.
31 - Raffaella Carrà - Rumore
Don't like Raffaella at all.
32 - Mina - Zum zum zum
Mina's good. Her voice is legendary.
33 - Edoardo Vianello - I watussi
Song about the actual african tribe, the Watusi. Not the most PC song, if it were translated in english. Good thing the italians today are still as racists as in the 1920s.
34 - Patty Pravo - Ragazzo triste
Cover of a Sonny & Cher song, I'm indifferent to it.
35 - Vasco Rossi - Ti voglio bene
Don't like Vasco. I think he's highly overrated.
36 - Luis Miguel - Noi ragazzi di oggi
Never heard of it before.
37 - Loredana Bertè - Non sono una signora
Classic 80's stuff.
38 - Righeira - L'estate sta finendo
It's 80's pop but I like it.
39 - Adriano Celentano - La storia di Serafino
Don't like Adriano, I think he's a pretentious, pompous ass.
40 - Toto Cutugno - L'italiano
Awful.
41 - Piero Focaccia - Stessa spiaggia stesso mare
60's beach music.
42 - Domenico Modugno - Volare
A classic, much has been said and written.
43 - Mina - Nessuno ti giuro nessuno
Not my one of my faves from Mina.
44 - Dik Dik - Sognando la California
Doesn't reach the original but it's pretty good.
45 - Little Tony - Cuore matto
Hate this song.
46 - Equipe 84 - Io ho in mente te
Pretty good.
Hope you don't mind me asking, how did you compile this playlist? Did you find it on youtube? Most of it looks like the stuff people sing at karaoke night.
