''Fabrizio De André'' is an album released by Italian singer-songwriter

Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter and the most-prominent '' cantautore'' of his time. He is also known as Faber, a nickname given by the friend Paolo Villaggio, as a referen ...

, in 1981. The songs were written by De André and Massimo Bubola. It is also known as ''L'Indiano'' (''The Indian'') due to the picture of a Native American on the cover. The picture is a painting by

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...

named ''The Outlier''. The title of the painting and its author are not credited on the cover – neither in the original pressing nor in any of the subsequent reprints of the album on CD or vinyl.

Track listing

Side A

# "Quello che non ho" – 5:51 # "Canto del servo pastore" – 3:13 # "Fiume Sand Creek" – 5:37 # "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

" – 5:30

Side B

# "Hotel Supramonte" – 4:32 # "Franziska" – 5:30 # "Se ti tagliassero a pezzetti" – 5:00 # "Verdi pascoli" – 5:18

Overview and songs

The album is a comparison of two apparently distant but nonetheless similar peoples who have both gone through

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

, the

Sardinians Sardinians or Sards are an Italians, Italian ethno-linguistic group and a nation indigenous to Sardinia, an island in the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean which is administratively an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special st ...

and the Native Americans. It opens with the sounds of gunshots and people shouting from a

bison hunting Bison hunting (hunting of the American bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo) was an lifeway, activity fundamental to the economy and society of the Plains Indians peoples who inhabited the Great bison belt, vast grasslands on the ...

party, recorded in Sardinia especially for the album but intended to represent a hunting scene by Native Americans. These sounds also reappear in other sections through the album (the people involved in the hunting party are not credited). Also, the songs "Fiume Sand Creek", "Hotel Supramonte" and "Franziska" start with piano/keyboard introductions, musically unrelated to the songs themselves. The intro to "Hotel Supramonte" is freely based on "

Summer '68 "Summer '68" is a song by English Rock music, rock band Pink Floyd on their 1970 album ''Atom Heart Mother''. Recording Written and sung by Richard Wright (musician), Richard Wright, "Summer '68" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in July 1970 ...

" by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's Richard Wright (from ''

Atom Heart Mother ''Atom Heart Mother'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was released by Harvest on 2 October 1970 in the United Kingdom, and on 10 October 1970 in the United States. It was recorded at EMI Studios (now Abbey Roa ...

''), deliberately inserted by keyboard player Mark Harris as a further Floydian reference, in addition to his arrangement for "Ave Maria" (see below). *"Quello che non ho" ("What I haven't got") is an ironical

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

song, where De André describes himself as lacking the possessions, benefits and advantages typically associated with wealthy people or upper classes in general, and ironically addresses an imaginary, hypotetical "you" who is the opposite of himself. *"Canto del servo pastore" ("Shepherd Servant's Song") is a gentle, moderately-paced

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

about a shepherd's idyllic lifestyle. *"Fiume Sand Creek" (" Sand Creek river") is a

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is primarily focused on singing sto ...

song, including multiple (layered) acoustic guitars, percussion and male backing vocals, whose lyrics are a transfigured account of the

Sand Creek massacre The Sand Creek massacre (also known as the Chivington massacre, the battle of Sand Creek or the massacre of Cheyenne Indians) was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the American Indian Genocide that occurred on No ...

in 1864, seen from the point of view of one of the victims. *"Ave Maria", a folk song from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

based on a version of the

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

prayer in the local language, was sung in a choral multi-tracked style by Connecticut-born keyboardist Mark Harris providing the higher vocals, and De André providing the lower ones. According to Harris's recollections within "L'anarchia" Anarchy" the seventh DVD in the 2011 documentary series ''Dentro Faber'' Inside Faber"about De André's life and work, the song was supposed to be sung by a group of '' tenores'', a Sardinian polyphonic male choir, and Harris recorded a demo with his own voice to teach the song to the choir. However, when De André heard the demo, he was impressed by Harris's performance and told him: "Fuck it all, just sing this by yourself," also adding that he loved Harris's voice when it was strained. The final recording, with an instrumental arrangement inspired by

(particularly by their 1971 album ''

Meddle ''Meddle'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released by Harvest Records on 5 November 1971 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced between the band's touring commitments, from January to August 1971 at a se ...

''), does indeed feature Harris's full-throated singing from the demo, which he jokingly referred to as "a highly unlikely vocal performance by an American singing a Sardinian song in Sardinian." Harris also explained that, although he is not really a Pink Floyd fan, he does own copies of ''Meddle'' and ''Atom Heart Mother'', and that he played the albums for De André during the sessions, in response to the latter's request to find unusual, weird sounds. *"Hotel Supramonte" refers to the kidnapping of De André and

Dori Ghezzi Dori Ghezzi (born 30 March 1946) is an Italian singer who was active as a recording artist between 1966 and 1989. In the 1970s, Ghezzi worked mainly in a duo with American singer Wess, and the couple represented Italy in the 1975 Eurovision Song ...

in 1979 in the

Supramonte The Supramonte is a mountain range located in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy. It lies northeast of the Gennargentu massif, traveling eastwards until it reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea at the Gulf of Orosei. It has an area of about 35,000 hectares, en ...

area of

. As with other songs concerned with personal matters, De André's lyrics are not a direct account of the event or of its circumstances, but instead a metaphorically idealized, poetic vision of it through his own eyes. The singer addresses a woman and invites her to spend some time with him at the "Supramonte Hotel", in an attempt to regain some feelings of love – which he laments she has lost. De André sings the whole lyric in a sweet, quiet style, without any traces of sadness or – for that matter – of anger. *"Franziska" is a

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

-flavored song, set as a fast

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

at 130 BPM (almost a

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a musical genre which originated in the Dominican Republic ** Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music ** Bachata (dance), a dance form * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bach ...

). The lyrics are about a Spanish girl, a penniless unlucky suitor of hers (described alternately as a "bandit with no moon, no stars and no luck" and as a "forest sailor .e. not a seafaring man at all without sleep and without songs") and a painter who, although nearly blind, is madly in love with her and morbidly jealous of everyone else. *"Se ti tagliassero a pezzetti" ("If somebody cut you into little pieces") is, unusually for De André, a straightforwardly sentimental love song, addressing a nameless and possibly imaginary woman. (In the second-to-last verse, he calls her "Mrs. Liberty, Miss Fantasy"; in live performances, he changed the latter to "Miss Anarchy".) The title, inspired by

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He has been the only constant member since the band's formation in 1965, and the only member to appear on every ...

's tongue-in-cheek vocal phrase ("One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces!") on Pink Floyd's " One of These Days", also from ''Meddle'', is not meant to be understood literally, but just as ironically as Mason's utterance in Pink Floyd's experimental track. Indeed, the first two lines in De André's song are as follows: "If somebody cut you into little pieces / The wind would pick them all up and gather them." In one line, De André refers to himself as "Me, a guitar player; me, a violin player"; although the word "violin" was mainly chosen for rhyming purposes, De André did actually play both violin and guitar in his youth, starting on the former and then switching to the latter, and his son Cristiano is equally proficient on both. *"Verdi pascoli" ("Green pastures") is a joyous, quasi-

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

song, including prominent keyboards, backing vocals and a short

drum solo A drum solo is an Solo (music), instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance. In Rock music, rock, drum solos are unique in that traditionally they are minimally ...

. Its lyrics, inspired by a book on Native American culture De André was reading at the time, are about a very stylized and non-religious representation of a happy afterlife, closer to Summerland or to the Native Americans' own "

happy hunting ground The happy hunting ground is a concept of the afterlife associated with the Native Americans in the United States. The phrase most likely originated with the British settlers' interpretation of the Indian description. History The phrase first a ...

" than to the Christian vision of

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

Personnel

The musicians playing on the album were all hand-picked by Mark Harris, who also took care of the arrangements. The line-up features, among others, top Italian session men such as Gabriele "Lele" Melotti, Pier Michelatti, Aldo Banfi and Massimo Luca, as well as De Andrè's wife

and co-producer Oscar Prudente on backing vocals. *

– Acoustic guitar in "Franziska" and "Hotel Supramonte", lead and backing vocals. * Lele Melotti – Drum kit *Pier Michelatti – Bass guitar *Tony Soranno – Acoustic and electric guitars * Mark Harris – Keyboards, synthesizers, lead vocals on "Ave Maria", backing vocals *Aldo Banfi – Synthesizer *Pietro Pellegrini –

Oberheim OB-X The Oberheim OB-X was the first of Oberheim Electronics, Oberheim's OB-series polyphony (instrument), polyphonic Analog synthesizer, analog Subtractive synthesis, subtractive synthesizers. First commercially available in June 1979, the OB-X was ...

*Maurizio Preti – Percussion *Andy J. Forest – Harmonica in "Quello che non-ho" *Bruno Crovetto –

Acoustic bass guitar The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

in "Franziska" and "Hotel Supramonte" *Paolo Donnarumma – Acoustic bass guitar in "Canto del servo pastore" *Massimo Luca – Acoustic guitar in "Franziska" * Claudio Bazzari – Electric guitar in "Se ti tagliassero a pezzetti" and "Canto del servo pastore" *Sergio Almangano – Violin in "Hotel Supramonte" *

Cristiano De André Cristiano De André (; born 29 December 1962) is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. During his career, he competed four times in the Sanremo Music Festival, receiving three Critics' Awards. Biography The son of Fabrizio De André and his ...

– Plucked violin and

hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "Crest (feathers), crown" of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Two living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many y ...

's call Riccardo Bertoncelli: interview with Massimo Bubola in "''Belin, sei sicuro? Storia e canzoni di Fabrizio De André''" ''Are you fucking sure? History and songs of Fabrizio De André''" 1st ed., Giunti Publishing, 2003. p.106 – . In the "Backstage" feature on the 2004 DVD '' Fabrizio De André in Concerto'', Cristiano De André, who performed as a support act (with his own band "Tempi Duri", i.e. "Tough Times") during his father's 1981–'82 tour, recalled that he also appeared on stage, although very briefly, towards the end of "Fiume Sand Creek". Cristiano, who was 19 at the time, described such appearances thus: "I walked on stage, did a whistle thing with my hands and walked away." in "Fiume Sand Creek" *

, Mara Pacini, Massimo Bubola, Oscar Prudente – Backing vocals *Alessandro Colombini –

Field recording Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using diff ...

ison hunting party

References

External links

"''L'indiano''" on viadelcampo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabrizio De Andre (Indiano) 1981 albums Fabrizio De André albums