Brazilians were hooked on Trini Lopez now with 'Michael' and 'Perfidia' and Trini's 'Latin Album' that played constantly on the radio. After an overkill of Italian music in the market it seemed like 1965 would be different. Rita Pavone was the only singer with 2 songs 'San Francesco' & 'L'amore mio'. 'Benissimo' with a Brazilian model on the cover was released in early 1965 having 11 different acts. Half of 1963, the whole of 1964 and some 1965. This sort of love affair with everything Italian must have lasted a couple of years. That's how serious some of us Brazilian thought about Italy and its music. I fantasized I would one day go to Italy and see that Wonderland. Mingo, the rhythm-guitarrist, said that in Italy there was only young-people's music, There was not a single old-people-act in the whole Peninsula. I remember listening to some of The Clevers's members being interviewed by a radio DJ and the most wonderful stories they told about how modern and advanced Italy was. They had the best and most lively music on earth.īrazilian instrumental rock-band The Clevers had been in Italy to accompany Rita Pavone during her Italian summer-tour of 1964. Italy represented all the good things modern society could provide. I used to look at the colourful RCA Italiana building photo on the sleeve of 'Via Tiburtina, km 12' and dream about being there and meeting Rita Pavone, Sergio Endrigo and the other stars. Nico Fidenco's ' Con te sulla spiaggia' and La Cricca's ' Il surf delle mattonelle' and ' Vieni al mare' were extremely danceable tracks in the tradition of Pavone's ' Datemi un martello' which was the biggest-selling 1964 single in Brazil.
This album represents the height of the so-called Italian surf-music. Compare ' Stringiti alla mia mano' with ' Ciò che rimane alla fine di un amore' (included in the album 'Gioventù') which Nico wrote and sang himself. He must have had some direct line with Heaven, Angels and Arch-angels. Fidenco had a few very inspiring moments in his song-writing. My favourite track is doubtless ' Stringiti alla mia mano' an ethereal hymn to ever-lasting love written by Nico Fidenco and sung magnificently by beautiful Miranda Martino. We, Brazilians lived on the other side of the Atlantic and we had our own different reality.
As RCA Italiana had a few young acts ready for action they put them together on a Saturday night TV show and made them rich and famous overnight: Gianni Morandi, Rosy, Roby Ferrante, I Quattro di Lucca, Edoardo Vianello and the Rita Pavone were prominently placed in 'Alta Pressione' and soon they released a compilation album bearing the same title. 'Alta Pressione' (High pressure) was actually the title of a RAI-TV youth-oriented programme aired on Saturday evenings from 16 September 1962 to 13 October 1962. ' Se le cose stanno così' was B-side to Endrigo's paramount ' Io che amo solo te' that endep up 1964 as the 2nd best-selling single in Brazil. Edoardo Vianello's ' Abbronzatissima' reached Top 5 too. Gino Paoli's beautiful ballad ' Sapore di sale' turned out to be the most popular track having sold a lot of singles too.
' Sapore di sale' opned the B side plus single-tracks by Rita Pavone, Sergio Endrigo and Miranda Martino would complete the album.
Edoardo Vianello, Rosy and Gianni Meccia had 2 songs each. As Nico Fidenco was the most successful Italian act in Brazil at that time he opened the album with ' Goccia di mare' and have ' Se mi perderai' on the flip-side. The title and the sleeve would be the same as the one released in Italy earlier in 1963.