Myriam Lattanzio / Rosa, Rabbia e Sangue / RootsWorld Recording Review

Myriam Lattanzio
Rosa, Rabbia e Sangue
FolkClub Ethnosuoni

Rose, Rage and Blood: that's what the title of this record appears to be on a first view. But then again, Rosa could also be about Rosa Balistreri, who appears to be an important influence on Myriam Lattanzio (and who haunts the first track of the record, "War Lullaby"). Or Rosa could mean a group or a circle of friends, which also seems to be more than appropriate in this context.

Rage is present on many tracks. Rage for a world which leaves children to fetch for themselves in the street (on the second track, "Abandoned Neighborhoods"), illogical excess (on the fifth track 'Troppo Poco' roughly translatable as 'Too Much Nothing') and the seventh track "Rich and Poor."

Blood is running through the veins of every track on this record, either getting spilled or pumping bodies full of life, desire and determination. After all, this is a record in equal parts about love and politics. It's political but almost never polemical and that gives it a big heart that elevates it from empty rhetoric into something more lasting. Musically speaking, from the second track onwards, this is a highly enjoyable record mostly because of Myriam Lattanzio's winning vocal (reminding us of a more left-field Mina) and in particular the strength on the musical front of the mostly original compositions. This is a record with a strong flamenco flavor in particular (although there are also touches of jazz, rock and Celtic music) that reminds us that Spain once ruled over Naples, where the singer comes from. Apart from that, the use of guitars, accordions, sax and a cello create a sense of acoustical melodiousness that relates very well to Lattanzio's rasping and expressive voice.

My only misgiving is for that initial track, which seems out of place on a musical level, even though it falls well in the ideological context of the record. It is a nice version but the rest is much more enjoyable and it really put me off this recording at first.

So, start your first listen from the second track onwards and you'll discover a recording of great beauty, deeply-felt convictions and the fighting, outgoing spirit so characteristic of the music and the people of Napoli. - Nondas Kitsos

CD available at cdRoots

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