Musica Nuda – Little Wonder (180g LP)

Limited Edition 496 copies. 180 gram LP pressing.

One-stage plating process. 33 1/2 RPM with heavyweight cardboard jacket.

Two years after their previous album, the duo Musica Nuda made up of Petra Magoni and Ferruccio Spinetti is back on the international music scene with a new project that places a seal on a success-studded career. The new albumLittle Wonder was recorded in Tuscany on a theatre stage in San Casciano.

The opener is “Is This Love” in which, for the first time, the duo tackle Bob Marley’s reggae, totally transforming it into a walking bass format; Bill Withers’ “Ain’t no sunshine” follows, and takes on a whole new shine in Petra and Ferruccio’s version.

The 11 tracks also include more recent songs, such as “Practical Arrangement” by Sting, a “modern classic,” a shining example of sophisticated pop. As always, the work of Italian and international singer-songwriters is also represented, for instance with “Al freddo al freddo” by Vladimir Vysotsky and “Quand il est mort le poète” by Gilbert Bécaud.

Among the cover versions of famous songs of the Italian tradition, a standout is “Stessa spiaggia, stesso mare” performed in French and entitled “Tout S’Arrange Quand On S’Aime”, a little gem of a divertissement, full of verve and character. The same may be said of “Un vecchio errore” by Paolo Conte, and “Io sono metà”, a Musica Nuda original that is given a very different take here.

In “Sei forte papà”, Petra and Ferruccio delve emotionally and with a sense of humour into their childhood memories, while “Far niente” by Chico Buarque features Nicola Stilo on guitar and flutes, and offers a reinterpretation of a classic number of the Brazilian songbook.

The album ends with an intense version of Édith Piaf’s “La vie en rose,” into which the duo breathes a second life, with a beautiful vocal performance and a sophisticated arrangement.

ID: Fonè – LP 095