Consider him the Anti-Hanson. Paolo Conte's music is guaranteed not to appeal to anyone under the legal drinking age, and that's probably as it should be. This collection of tunes by the Italian singer/songwriter is full of the kind of passion and thoughtfulness that can only come from a long life fully lived. At the age of sixty, Conte, though he'd been known in Europe as a songwriter since the '60s and as a performer since the '70s, was virtually unknown in America, with most of his catalogue available only on import. One listen to this domestic compilation should convert American ears.
Conte can be pigeon-holed any number of ways; the Italian Leonard Cohen, Asti's Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Brel ala Roma. While all these comparisons are apt, Conte's sound is uniquely his own. He combines traditional Italian styles with international influences (French, German, Argentinian) as well as American genres (blues, jazz, dixieland, boogie-woogie), weaving it all together to support his dark, emotive lyricism. Incidentally, the Surgeon General would like you to know that extended doses of Paolo Conte can lead to chain-smoking, whiskey drinking and nocturnal brooding in dimly-lit cafes.
Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly (8/7/98, p.79) - "...this 61-year-old Italian jazz-pop singer captures the atmosphere of smoky, lonely bars, tapping the sort of bleary-eyed romanticism well known to fans of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Jacques Brel..." - Rating: A-
