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Zucchero: Chocabeck

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Polydor Records
Released: 2010.11.03
Time:
 60:09
Category: Rock Blues
Producer(s): Don Was, Brendan O'Brien, Zucchero
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.zucchero.it
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2015
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Un soffio caldo (Zucchero) - 5:02
[2] Il suono della domenica (Zucchero) - 3:36
[3] Soldati nella mia citta (Zucchero) - 3:19
[4] È un peccato morir (Zucchero) - 3:41
[5] Vedo nero (Zucchero) - 3:53
[6] Oltre le rive (Zucchero) - 4:39
[7] Un uovo sodo (Zucchero) - 3:15
[8] Chocabeck (Zucchero) - 4:42
[9] Alla fine (Zucchero) - 3:43
[10] Spicinfrin boy (Zucchero) - 3:54
[11] God bless the child (C.Jankel/Zucchero) - 3:47

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Zucchero - Concept, Creation, 12 String, Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Harpsichord, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric), Pre-Production, Producer, String Arrangements, Vocals
 
Don Was - Bass, Producer
Paul Bushnell - Bass
Blaks Mills - Acoustic Guitar
Mark Goldenberg - Guitar
Jon Hopkins - Keyboards
Patrick Warren - Keyboards
Greg Leisz - Banjo, Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Pedal Steel
Max Marcolini - Guitar Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Instrumentation, Mixing, Pre-Production
Brendan O'Brien - Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Producer, Vocals
Aaron Sterling - Drums, Percussion
Josh Freese - Percussion

Unni & Visigoti Gospel Choir Lunisiana Soul - Choir/Chorus
Jeffrey Foskett - Vocals (Background)
Brian Wilson - Vocals (Background)

Davide Rossi - String Arrangements, Strings, Viola
Bob Carr - Bassoon
Ira Nepus - Trombone
Stephanie O'Keefe - French Horn
Tom Peterson - Flute
John Yoakum - French Horn, English Horn, Piccolo

Nick Cervonaro - Engineer
Lars Fox - Engineer
Lee Slater - Engineer
Krish Sharma - Engineer, Vocal Engineer
Tom Syrowski - Engineer, Vocal Engineer
Robbes Stieglitz - Second Engineer
Mimi Parker - Second Engineer
Ted Jensen - Mastering
Maurizio Biancani - Digital Editing
Ivy Skoff - Production Coordination
Stefano Steo Zacchi - Art Direction, Design
Ari Michelson - Photography
Aurelio Amendola - Photography
Davide Benetti - A&R
Ross Cullum - A&R
Martin Cooke - Assistant
Sandro Ferrini - Assistant
Mary Hooton - Assistant
Eddy Mattei - Assistant
Gabrielle Rocchi - Assistant
Giampiero Ulacco - Assistant
Laura Vergani - Coordination, Personal Assistant
Lauro Fornaciari - Personal Assistant
Stefano Marcante - Personal Assistant
Angela Moles - Stylist
Stewart Young - Management

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Zucchero's absurdly successful career has been built around the combination of all-too-Italian histrionics and his passion for African-American music. As many extroverted entertainers before him, as the decades went by there was always the inherent risk of his one day turning into a parody of his own persona. Signs of a newfound maturity were already visible in his last studio offering, 2006's Fly, but in 2010's Chocabeck he fully reaches an understated grandeur. A concept album of sorts, loosely describing one day from dawn to dusk in a small Italian town not unlike the ones of the singer's childhood, this beautiful, autumnal cycle of songs works quite differently from Zucchero's standard proposition of a few instant hits and a lot of raunchy filler. The first three songs, for instance, constitute almost a mini-suite of quiet, hymn-like ballads that set the mood for most of the album. It certainly helps that the opener, "Un Soffio Caldo," has lyrics by the great Francesco Guccini, or that is immediately followed by the album's centerpiece "Il Suono Della Domenica," with lyrics by Bono translated into Italian, while the third one, "Soldati Nella Mia Città," is reminiscent of Francesco de Gregori. It is only when the day reaches noon that loud guitars and soul background vocals come back to announce a double dose of old-school Zucchero, with the first single, "E un Peccato Morir," and the compulsory double entendre joke "Vedo Nero." The remainder of the album is split between more atmospheric ballads and midtempo numbers, but the reigning sensation is one of melancholy, not in the least because the last three tracks progressively slow things down, drawing closed a perfect circle. As is customary with Zucchero's productions, the list of collaborators is both impressive and key to the album's success. Co-writers, for instance, include Pacifico and Roland Orzabal, the aforementioned Bono and Guccini, and Zucchero regulars such as composer Mimmo Cavallo and lyricist Pasquale Panella. Brian Wilson sings multiple harmonies on the title track, and Don Was and Brendan O'Brien produce. For all of their input, what is most remarkable about Chocabeck is its stylistic and thematic consistency and, of course, Zucchero's emotive singing. Surprisingly for an artist so long associated with raucous fun, this is a work that often achieves a certain stately elegance. Far from a spent creative force, Zucchero looks like an artist capable of reinventing himself in a poignant and dignified manner. Buyers beware: as has typically been the case since Zucchero achieved international stardom, the Italian, European, and American versions of Chocabeck will differ. Instead of "Il Suono Della Domenica," the European version includes the original Bono English lyrics for the same song, titled "Someone Else's Tears." The American version will be sung entirely in English, with two songs featuring new lyrics penned by Iggy Pop, "Too Late" and "Spirit Together" ("Alla Fine" and "Chocabeck" in the Italian CD). This review concerns the Italian edition.

Mariano Prunes - All Music Guide



Rarely has a musician chosen such an apt stage name than Zucchero, whose name means “sugar” in Italian. This is pop balladry of the most sugary kind, and individual mileage will vary depending on your personal tolerance for developing aural diabetes.

Don’t let the major-label hype trick you; his handlers would like us to bite at the hook that Zucchero’s Chocabeck is to Italian rock what Bruce Springsteen represents in America. It’s a weak comparison, and no matter how much work Don Was and Brendan O’Brien put into beefing up the production, strip it all away and you’re left with mere second-rate stadium bombast.

Perhaps the bulk of its appeal lost in trans-Atlantic translation. Some of the best songs are the ones are the ones Zucchero doesn’t even bother translating: “Otre Le Rive” does manage to echo the essence of Springsteen, though it fails to develop that sound into anything uniquely his. This is stadium rock for the same people who idolize David Foster, and who think Josh Groban produces operatic pop at the same level as Pavarotti. Chocabeck is chock full of melodies that fail to resonate coupled with vocals that fail to define Zucchero as anything but an Italian-rock curiosity. There’s certainly nothing on this album that suggests this mediocre dreck is going to be the breakthrough in America his previous twenty albums weren’t.

Jonathan Sanders - 3 October 2011
© 1999-2016 PopMatters.com



Chocabeck is the eleventh studio album by Italian rock singer Zucchero Fornaciari. It was released on November 2010. The album was produced by Don Was and Brendan O'Brien and includes collaborations with Brian Wilson and U2's Bono. The first single in Italy was the song È un peccato morir, and in the rest of Europe Chocabeck and Alla fine. Fornaciari toured to promote this album in 2011. The album was on the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana Italian album charts for 59 weeks, peaking at #1.

Wikipedia.org



Hierzulande gilt Zucchero wohl eher einer überschaubaren Gruppe von Fans als Idol, während der 55 jährige Italiener in seinem Heimatland von einer breiten Öffentlichkeit verehrt wird. Immerhin ist sein Album "Oro incenso e birra" ("Gold, Weihrauch und Bier") aus dem Jahr 1989 eines der meistverkauften in der italienischen Popgeschichte! Im Laufe seiner Karriere musizierte er mit keinen Geringeren als Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker und B.B. King, -eine Liste prominenter Musiker, die sich auf beeindruckende Ausmaße erweitern ließe und von seiner überragenden musikalischen Integrität und Vielseitigkeit zeugt.

Auch für sein aktuelles Album Chocabeck hat sich Zucchero eine erlesene Auswahl musikalischer Mitstreiter an Bord geholt, darunter Brian Wilson als Vokalgast für den Titelsong. Wer dieses Album in seiner gesamten Bedeutung erfassen möchte, sollte wissen, dass sich der bekennende Nostalgiker Zucchero die Werte mediterraner Lebensart allemal denen des Internet und seinen Communities wie Facebook & Co vorzieht. Weshalb es auf der Hand lag, dass er mit Chocabeck eine großartige, persönliche Hommage an vergangene Zeiten verfasst hat. In elf Songs beschwört Zucchero das Bild vom Alltag eines Bauerndorfs in der italienischen Provinz und verweist damit auf seine eigene Jugend in der Reggio Emilia-Romagna. "Meine Eltern waren Bauern, und als ich klein war, hatten wir nie besonders viel Geld" berichtet Zucchero, "Sonntagskuchen war für uns etwas Besonderes." Wenn es keinen gab und er danach fragte, lautete die Antwort, es gäbe stattdessen "Chocabeck". Ein Wortspiel, das sich aus "klappern" ("choca") und "Schnabel" ("beck") zusammensetzt und bedeutet, dass ein Schnabel klappert, weil er mal wieder leer ist, da es kein Futter gibt. Für all jene, die Italienisch verstehen, sind die Texte eine wahre Fundgrube. Doch auch zwei englischsprachige Songs sind auf dem Album vertreten. Sie stammen aus der Feder von Iggy Pop ("Alla Fine") und Bono ("Someone Else's Tears"), ersterer Song mit einem grandiosen Orchesterarrangement und letzterer im Stil eines sanften Akustiksongs mit Cembalo und Orgel, als leise Reminiszenz an Zuccheros erste musikalische Erfahrungen an der dörflichen Kirchenorgel.
Keine Sorge: Chocabeck ist alles andere als ein sentimentales Rührstück geworden. Die Zusammenarbeit mit Roland Orzabal (Tears For Fears), Chaz Jankel und Derek Hussey (The Blockheads) sorgt für genügend frischen Wind. Dass sich rockige Klänge und Streicherarrangements hervorragen vertragen können, hat Geiger Davide Rossi Arrangeur in der Vergangenheit bereits bei Goldfrapp und Coldplay unter Beweis gestellt, -und nun auch hier: Kein überladener Bombast à la Hollywood, sondern zeitgenössisch und modern, wie es dem Rock-Groove auf Zuccheros Chocabeck entspricht.

Andreas Schultz - Amazon.de



"Verträumt, melodieverliebt und maximal im gemäßigten Midtempo, so klingen Zuccheros Songs mittlerweile - Soft-Rock der Güteklasse A."

Good Times, 12/2010-01/2011



"Samtig, unaufgeregt, nachhaltig: eine Platte wie ein gutes Glas italienischer Rotwein."

stereoplay, 12/2010



"Die Geschichte eines italienischen Dorfes, so der Künstler selbst, erzähle er in ,,Chocabeck". ln der Tat klingt die Platte kaum nach dem Zuccherotypischen Bluesrock, sondern so zurückgelehnt wie ein Nachmittag in der südlichen Sonne."

audio, 12/2010
 

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