''Re matto'' ( en, "Mad king"; ) is the second studio EP by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

singer

Marco Mengoni Marco Mengoni (; born 25 December 1988) is an Italian pop singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 2009, after winning the third season of Italian talent show ''X Factor''. Since that he has sold over 2.8 million records in Italy, peaking the I ...

. In Italy the album sold more than 82.000 copies and received double platinum certification from the

Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. The first single taken from the album was " Credimi ancora". The song ranked 3rd in the 60th Sanremo Music Festival and debuted at number 3 on the

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. The other singles from the album were "Stanco (Deeper Inside)", released in May 2011, and the ballad " In un giorno qualunque", released on 1 October 2010.

Background

In October 2010, Mengoni explained the reason why he decided to title his album ''Re matto'' (in English, "Crazy king"): The album was recorded in early 2010, immediately after the release of the first album by Mengoni, " Dove si vola". It was produced by Stefano Calabrese, Stella Fabiani, Marco Mengoni and Gianluca Vaccaro for "Cantieri Musicali".

Composition and themes

The album features songs with different musical styles: "Credimi ancora" is a

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

song, while "Questa notte" and "In un giorno qualunque" are typical Italian-style pop ballads. Other tracks are influenced by

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

, such as "Fino a ieri", while the second single, "Stanco (Deeper Inside)" has been described by critics as a pop-

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

song. Moreover, the Italian critic Mario Luzzatto Fegiz wrote that in "Re matto" Mengoni sometimes calls to mind

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

. During an interview with the Italian radio programme "

Deejay chiama Italia A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

", Mengoni said that he chose to record an album with different types of songs in order to allow himself to follow different expressive styles in the future. During the same interview, he stated that the song "Questa Notte" was influenced by

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, ''Sunny ...

's music.

Release and promotion

The digital version of the album was released on 17 February 2010, two days before the physical version. To promote the album, Mengoni participated in the 60th Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Credimi ancora". Moreover, Mengoni appeared in several Italian TV programmes, including "Domenica In", "Domenica 5" and "

Porta a Porta ''Porta a Porta'' (literally ''Door-to-door'') is an Italian late night television talk show hosted by the Italian journalist Bruno Vespa Bruno Paolo Vespa (born 27 May 1944) is an Italian television and newspaper journalist. A former directo ...

". From February 2010 to March 2010 Mengoni promoted his album through an in-store tour, while the "Re matto tour", the singer's first tour, officially started on 3 May 2010 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and ended in September 2010 with a concert in the same town, at the

PalaSharp Palatrussardi, later known as PalaVobis, PalaTucker, Mazda Palace and PalaSharp, was an indoor arena located in Milan, Italy. The seating capacity was 8,479 and it hosted concerts and sporting events. It was built in 1985 to replace two pre-existi ...

arena during the " Festa dell'Unità". The "Re matto tour" consisted of 56 concerts throughout Italy.

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews. Jason Birchmeier gave the album a negative review, claiming that "there's little substance on this 24-minute EP and too much of the material is half-baked". Guido Marco gave it 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote on the Italian music magazine ''Musica e dischi'' that "the mix of vocal neurotic flashes on a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

musical texture, with an absolutely simple and incisive lexicon, makes of Mengoni something more than a promise". Italian popular critic Mario Luzzatto Fegiz wrote on the newspaper '' Il Corriere della Sera'' that Mengoni is not always at the same level as in "Credimi Ancora", but he has charisma and a great gift in giving renditions of his song.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 1 on the

Italian Albums Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

, holding down the number one spot for four weeks. In April 2010 it was certified Platinum and in January 2011 the copies sold by ''Re matto'' were more than 82.000.

Track list

Charts and certifications

Year-end charts

Personnel

* Marco Mengoni – vocals, backing vocals * Fabio Gurian –

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* Piero Calabrese –

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, computer programming * Massimo Calabrese – bass * Stefano Calabrese –

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acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Alessandro Canini –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Roberto Procaccini Roberto Procaccini • Lobbe (born Roberto Procaccini, on , Rome, Italy) is an Italian composer, producer, and keyboard player. Studies He studied piano (classical and jazz) privately, and then at the University of Music in Rome. In 1995 he mo ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, keyboards, computer programming * Peter Cornacchia – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classical guitar * Marco Rinalduzzi – acoustic guitar,

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

* Davide Colomba – backing vocals * Giovanni Pallotti – bass * Chris Cags – radio speaker * Andrea Secchi – intro radio editing concept

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Re Matto 2010 EPs Sony Music Italy EPs Italian-language EPs Marco Mengoni EPs