Record Shops of Milan, Venice and Verona.

Usually when I give my report on the record stores of a city I've visited, I dwell a bit on the sites, give some pointers on places to visit, dishes to try, etc. Venice will be an exception. You're probably overly familiar with it from popular culture, yet nothing can prepare you for the actual Venice experience. Even though the streets are teeming with hordes of tourists and every other building serves touristic purposes, and even though the true Venetians have left the old town and the people working the shops are from China, Pakistan, or Egypt - the magic is still there. As far as I know, there are some record shops on the mainland but only one in Venice proper. This is called Living In The Past (Sestiere Dorsoduro, 3474). At first glance, it may look like any old thrift store, but it has a well curated collection of used vinyl - mostly original 60's-70's editions. There are a couple of boxes of rare/expensive LP's, the rest (rock, jazz, Italian, some new wave) cost €15-50. Also some CD's and books, mostly in Italian. The shop owner is quite helpful and looks himself like a vintage 70's rocker.

In fair Verona, where we lay our second scene, I only found one record shop, Dischi Volanti. It's on a nice pedestrian street (Via Fama 7) and it's quite big with a lot of variety (rock, alternative, prog, classical etc). About 1/3 of the shop is dedicated to vinyl (€30+) and the rest to CDs (€15+). This was my first visit to a record store together with my young nieces, and I'm happy to say they absolutely loved it. They were happy to discover the albums by their favorite groups which they only know from streaming services, and took photos of album covers they found impressive. Thankfully we weren't reprimanded for their enthusiasm, so their first visit to a record store remains a good experience. Other than this, I visited the local Feltrinelli bookstore - this is a chain you can find in almost every Italian city. They always have some mainstream CD's and vinyl for sale, though there's few discoveries to be made. 

Our third stop in this trip was Milan. As one would expect from the second biggest city in Italy, Milan offers more choices for shopping. Of course, one can find big stores by Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton etc. at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II but if you're looking for records that's the wrong place. Well, not quite. There's a Feltrinelli, which I didn't visit but should carry the usual stuff. Also on the Piazza del Duomo, near the Cathedral, there's a huge Mondadori bookshop that also sells vinyl (new releases and classic album reissues, €25-40) and CD's (€10-15). Very close (at Passaggio Santa Margherita) you can find Discovery by Gigi, a rather singular kind of record shop which is actually a souvenir street kiosk that also sells random used LPs (overpriced at €25-30) and CDs (€5). Moving on to the real record stores, one would have to start with probably the most famous, Serendeepity (Corso di Porta Ticinese 100) This is quite a large shop, with an emphasis on dance music (electronic/disco/reggae/world) as well as some rock classics (LPs €30+, some offers on 50% discount). The shop also sells other stuff, including music books and fashion items. A few meters upstreet you can find a tiny shop called Green Tunnel. It only packs a few dozen records (electronic, disco etc) and dance culture-related T-shirts and trinkets. At the north of the city (Via Gustavo Fara 4) there's Massive Music Store. Not as massive as one would like, but with a decent enough collection of 2nd hand rock/metal/jazz/Italian LPs (€20-30) and new vinyl (€25-50). Also CDs (€10-20) and 7' singles. I also visited Rosetti Records (Via Cesare da Sesto 24). Not too big, but with a decent variety of LPs (used €5-15, new €25+), CDs, books and DVDs. Rock, Indie, Italian, etc. 

Which brings us to a region you really must visit when in Milan: Naviglio Grande is a long canal whose both banks are lined with cute shops and aperitivo bars. After I checked out the record shops here, I returned with friends and we had dinner at a "bar with kitchen". Living in The Netherlands, one expects that to mean nachos or burgers. Instead, we were served large portions of ossobuco with risotto alla milanese and Cotoletta alla milanese - the latter is rather too similar to a Viennese schnitzel, but the Lombards insist they invented it first. Anyway, there are two record stores here, one on each side of the canal. Il Discomane (Alzaia Naviglio Grande 38) is the larger, and apparently the most historic one, as it's been catering to music lovers at the same address since 1978. Can't say I love the way the records are arranged, but it has a respectable collection: classic rock, folk, jazz, indie, punk etc. Used vinyl costs mostly €8-15, new €30+. There are also cassettes, books, DVD's, and 7' singles, as well as crates of rare/collectible vinyl, starting from €35+. CD's are rather cheap, a lot of them are on offer for €2,5-5, the rest go for €10-15. Cross the bridge to the other bank, and you'll find Dischivolanti (Ripa di Porta Ticinese 47). Almost the same name with the Verona store mentioned earlier, no apparent relation. Lots of good records here (rock/prog/metal/indie etc.), prices vary between €15-30(used LP's), €25+ (new LP's) and €7-8 (CDs). From there, it's a 15-minute walk to Psycho Records (Via Zamenhof 2). Classic Rock, psychedelia, jazz, punk etc. New LP's for €25+, used ones €10-30. Also CD's, mostly €5-10. 

A shop I visited but didn't spend any time in was La Bottega Discantica (Via Nirone 5). You see, this shop deals exclusively in classical music. I like to listen to it sometimes, but it's a vast field I know very little about. Lastly, there's another record store I didn't catch open. For some unknown reason, it opened later, specifically on the day I visited. Backflip Records (Via Salasco 17) is run by a well-known Italian female DJ, and aims to provide a full overview of Black Music a.k.a. "the totality of music created through the black experience, regardless of the category". Supposedly she's very knowledgeable on the subject, and the shop carries some lesser-known gems in this kind of music. Judging from what I saw in this trip, the record shops in Milan can be nice enough to browse; one is bound to find some interesting items, but no real bargains - except possibly in Italo Disco which I'm not familiar with myself, but may be of interest to DJ's.

Metallica "Master of Puppets" 1986*****

I recently (27 April) caught Metallica live in Amsterdam, the opening show of their new M72 Tour. The novelty of the tour is that it consists of "No Repeat Weekend" shows, two in every city, with no setlist duplications, allowing thus the band to dig deeper into their catalogue and present the fans with some less obvious choices. The show didn't get off on a good start: support band The Architects had awful sound, and the introduction of a big round Hot Wheels race track in lieu of a stage wasn't very convincing. Neither did I find their entrance very amusing: First you have to sit through a 5-minute slideshow of photos while the speakers play AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top", then there's another long introduction; an Ennio Morricone instrumental while a scene of The Good The Bad And The Ugly is playing on the screens. Instead of building up tension, they have you going "C'mon already! this is getting boring!" But the show itself was good: a setlist featuring many old favorites (plus 3 tracks from their newest opus), played with confidence and undiminished power. Plus, Hetfield's stage banter has considerably improved since the last time I saw Metallica. Admittedly, that was in 1999 (in another century, really) but I remember being amused and bemused at the time by the fact that he couldn't say a complete sentence without using the "F" word... a couple of times, at least. Having listened to so much Metallica lately (before, after, and -above all- during the abovementioned concert), I naturally chose one of their CDs to present this week. And what better choice than Master Of Puppets? Not only it's an album that unites old and new fans in appreciation (there was a big schism among them circa The Black Album) but the inclusion of the title track in an iconic scene from the Strange Things Netflix series has won the band a brand new generation of fans. No surprise it was the set closer of their first show of the new tour, you can't go out on a higher note! 

Album opener "Battery" starts off deceptively with some soft acoustic guitar, before transforming to typical early Metallica thrash: powerful riffs, growling vocals, savage drums, and shredding guitar. For encyclopedic reasons, let me remind you that Thrash Metal is supposed to be an amalgam of Hardcore Punk (e.g. Discharge, Black Flag) and New Wave of Heavy Metal (e.g. Iron Maiden, Diamond Head). The progenitors of that style are usually collectively called The Big 4: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax - yet, with every step they took, Metallica moved away from the genre they helped create. The tempos started getting slower (this is of course very relative, as thrash metal is known primarily for its breakneck speed), compositions more complex, and a sense of melody started emerging from beneath the racket. Instrumental "Orion" is an indication of the band's ambitions: bookended by brutal thrash riffs, this 8,5 minute epic also leaves space in the middle for expressive guitar solos and playful, surprisingly understated, basswork - MoP was destined to be bassist Cliff Burton's swan song: he died soon after in a tour bus accident, aged only 24. "Orion" is also one of 3 tracks in this album that go beyond 8 minutes. The other two are "Disposable Heroes" (because of its speed and anti-military subject matter, and despite its long duration, I think of this as the "punk" song of the album) and "Master of Puppets" itself. What can I say about a classic like that? From the powerful intro, sinister lead vocal and anthemic chorus of "Master! Master!", to its lyrical middle break and strong message about the danger of addictions... this is one of the songs that define the whole genre of Heavy Metal. "Leper Messiah" (a denunciation of ultra-right tele-evangelists) is a slightly less successful dish made with the same recipe, while "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is a semi-ballad with an emotive lead vocal that proved that Metallica were adept at more than just thrashing away. "The Thing That Should Not Be" is, for me, the low point of the album: its sub-Sabbathic riffs are too slow, and it's generally not interesting enough as a composition. The album closes with "Damage Inc." a violent sonic attack probably aiming to reassure their underground audience that Metallica may have diversified into more commercial directions, but remain as uncompromising as ever - a balancing act they excel in, even now.

***** for Master of Puppets, Disposable Heroes, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion

**** for Battery, Leper Messiah, Damage Inc. 

*** for The Thing That Should Not Be 

Trinity "El Cumbanchero b/w Wild Cat" 1973***

So, I took another LP out to place on my turntable, and lo and behold a 7' single fell out the supposedly empty sleeve. I hadn't noticed its existence when I bought that used record from my neighborhood record store, a few weeks ago. And it's not one of those cases where the album comes with a bonus 7', either. The previous owner must have lost the original sleeve and just stuck the single inside another record. Curious to hear what I got, I placed it on the turntable mat, lowered my stylus, and... imagine my surprise to hear a couple simulating sex while a band played a frenzied percussion-led latin funk rhythm on the background. That was apparently Side Two, called "Wild Cat". I turned it then over for Side One, which is another upbeat Latin instrumental; a cover of Rafael Hernández' Latin/dance classic "El Cumbanchero" with various electric guitar effects. The single came out on 1973 on the Dutch Pink Elephant label, which released a lot of Beat/R&B singles - most notably by Shocking Blue of "Venus" fame. It's attributed to Trinity, a possibly non-existent group with no other releases in its name. The only other credits are for Jürgen Koppers (engineer) and Peter Joosten (producer). Very danceable little single, I can imagine it being rather popular with DJ's at the Amsterdam nightclubs of the time. And -now that I think of it- unearthed just in time to celebrate its 50-year anniversary. What a nice coincidence! Enjoy!

Rough Diamond "Rough Diamond" 1977***

Here's another vinyl from a band I was unfamiliar with until I came across their record; a sort-of-supergroup that fell apart after just one LP, Rough Diamond consisted of former members of Uriah Heep (singer David Byron), Humble Pie/Colosseum (guitarist Clem Clempson) and Wings (drummer Geoff Britton), as well as keyboardist  Damon Butcher  and bassist Willie Bath. Byron is the biggest name here, but the clincher for me was Clempson, one of the most underrated guitarists ever - to the wider public, at least. Deep Purple knew what they were doing when they asked him to audition as a replacement for Ritchie Blackmore in '75. It's not too difficult to imagine how that collaboration might sound, as Rough Diamond songs often sound quite similar to DP tracks of that period - not the heavy metal rockers like "Burn" and "Stormbringer", but the groovy mid-tempo funk that Coverdale and Hughes introduced on the eponymous albums. My favorite track here is the ballad. Every hard rock album of the 70's contained the obligatory ballad. In this case, though, there's no sense of the band simply completing an obligation: Byron pours his soul into "Seasong", while Clempson and Butcher add emotive solos. Opener "Rock N' Roll" is an anthemic (albeit unimaginatively titled) rocker featuring a nice, out-of-character sax solo. Other highlights include the catchy riff of upbeat "Hobo", and the funky "Lock & Key". "The Link" is a nice piano interlude, while the rest are pleasant AOR with soul and hard rock influences. The LP failed to enter the Top 100; it probably wasn't hard enough to win over Uriah Heep fans. Of course, Rough Diamond's lack of success isn't necessarily indicative of a lack of quality: 1977 was the year of punk's onslaught; any noisy band wearing short hair and safety pins would be positively received, but the mere sight of Byron's moustache and perm on the back cover would be enough to deter anyone from owning this LP lest they suffer the ridicule of their savvier peers. So, is it a literal raw diamond, or is it fool's gold? Neither, it seems. Despite a respectable vocal effort by Byron and typically flawless guitar by Clempson, the perfunctory material prevents this LP from rising above mediocrity - yet, it should still satisfy fans of 70's bluesy hard rock and AOR.  

**** for Seasong

*** for Rock N' Roll, Lookin' For You, Lock & Key, Scared, Hobo, The Link

** for By The Horn, End Of The Line

Madness "The Rise And Fall" 1982****

Last week I was at AFAS Live in Amsterdam for a Madness concert. I believe it's been 3 years since I bought my ticket for this event, but it got constantly postponed because of COVID. The time came at last, and I must say it was worth the wait. The band may not be their hyperkinetic former selves, but they certainly still know how to throw a party. I got to cross another classic act out of my list, too - and, as I did that,I realized I wasn't born too late after all. Sure, I never got to see Hendrix or Joplin live, but that's their fault for dying too young. I did get to see most of rock's pantheon up close, even those who started the whole thing: Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee, Bo Diddley - all R.I.P. now. I remember when I first saw Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, or The Rolling Stones, 20-30 year ago. I thought at the time "this is great, but imagine seeing them in their prime". Now I'm thinking what a privilege it's been to catch them live at all. Those legends are still touring, incidentally, and you should not miss your chance. Only a few years before they (or Roger Waters, or Robert Plant, or The Who) retire, and the last link to rock's golden age is severed. Don't kid yourself, we aren't about to see their likes again. The well is drying up; Sure, the punk/new wave generation produced its share of iconic figures, but few of them worthy of the "legend" tag. The 80's? Even less. The 90's? Kurt Cobain, at best half a dozen more. Anyway... Madness: what a band, and what an arsenal of hits they have amassed in the last 45 years! Legendary, or what?

The Rise And Fall isn't my favorite Madness LP in my collection; that distinction would go to their debut One Step Beyond... I mean that album's opening triplet is "One Step Beyond...", "My Girl" and "Night Boat To Cairo". Hard to beat or what? Also, in last week's concert, the band played 6 songs from One Step... and only 1 from Rise & Fall. Why then is the latter the one included in all the lists (e.g. 1001 albums you must listen before you die)? I get it, really: Where the debut was a collection of irresistible ska/pop singles, this is a much more ambitious affair: A sort-of-concept album, about childhood memories and growing up in England. I believe that each members contributes at least a song; this results to their first political song (anti-Falkland War "Blue Skinned Beast") as well as some of their trademark nutty moments like "Calling Card" and the cod-Indian voices at the end of "New Delhi" - one could interpret these, or the turbaned blackface snake charmer of the cover, as racist, but that's just The Madness' zany sense of humor: when they played set closer "Night Boat To Cairo" in the concert, Thompson donned a fez, and Suggs fashioned a towel into an Arab-style kerchief. Irreverent, maybe, but well-intended I'm sure. Musically, there's so much more than their usual reggae and ska: jazz, pop, music hall, rock and oriental music get thrown in the mix, and the outcome is more complex and diverse than ever before. A bit of English whimsy reminiscent of The Kinks and The Beatles circa 1967-68, too. In keeping with the nostalgic character of the lyrics, the tempo is mid-paced to fast, but never as frenetic as with some of their earlier works. The record doesn't contain any weak songs, but neither are there many stand-out tracks, other than the two singles: "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" and -above all- their biggest international hit, nostalgic feel-good evergreen "Our House". A classic album featuring solid songwriting, for sure, but newcomers should be directed to a greatest hits package, or the pinnacle of their nutty ska days, One Step Beyond.

***** for Tomorrow's (Just Another Day), Our House

**** for Rise and Fall, Mr. Speaker (Gets the Word), Sunday Morning, Tiptoes, That Face

*** for Blue Skinned Beast, Primrose Hill, New Delhi, Calling Cards, Are You Coming (With Me), Madness (Is All in the Mind)

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Almost Blue" 1981***

Another unlikely country album in a row, before we return to random selection. This time by English new wave icon Elvis Costello. Costello may not have been a punk, but he was part of a movement spearheaded by punk, one that professed a break with pop and rock tradition. So his decision to record an album of old-fashioned country songs in 1981 came as a shock to those who focused on musical surface. Truth is, he had flirted with country during his pub rock years, as well as in a few isolated instances including a duet with George Jones. But as he was a prolific songwriter who almost never recorded covers, a whole album of them -let alone of country and western tunes- was an unlikely (and unpopular) move. The songs were chosen to evoke a "blue" state of mind, mirroring the singer's own frame of mind at the time (crumbling marriage, substance abuse etc). With the exception of sped up/punky opener (Hank Williams' "Why Don't You Love Me?") the rest of the songs mostly follow the original arrangements. The band excel themselves playing in an unfamiliar genre; special mention must be made for keyboardist Steve Nieve whose piano gives the whole album a genuinely "blue" jazzy feel. The material nevertheless cried for a more authentic country touch, which was attained with the help of pedal steel guitarist John McFee (The Doobie Brothers) and George Jones' producer Billy Sherrill. Apparently the band and producer didn't always see eye to eye, but that's not easily noticeable in the end product. Costello himself approaches the songs with the respect one reserves for the Great American Songbook, trying to interpret the material as well as possible, without emulating the vocal stylings of the original artists, much less their accents. As a result, there's a less authentic but more timeless quality to his performance, which I really like. Two songs were singled out and were given extra embellishment (strings, backing vocals): "Good Year for the Roses", featuring one of Costello's hitherto best vocal performances and Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams", reminiscent of ballads by that other, more famous, Elvis. Classic country tunes by George Jones, Charlie Rich, and Gram Parsons follow. Billy Sherrill's own "Too Far Gone" is another deep country number, with great pedal steel playing. Big Joe Turner's rockabilly "Honey Hush" kind of breaks the blue mood, while "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" is also more upeat than usual, featuring some nice honky tonk piano. This is one of my favorite country tunes; one you can often catch me humming, preferably with a glass of whisky in front of me. It was originally written by Merle Haggard, but to me that's also a Gram Parsons song, because when I was in my 20's I found the Flying Burritos version in a sampler CD, and had been listening to it for a full decade before discovering the original - and more than two decades before I was acquainted with Costello's version. At initial release, Almost Blue was met with mixed reviews; maybe the term "cultural misappropriation" didn't exist yet, but the jest of many reviews was "by what right does this English pop star sing country and western?" Now it's easier to view this for what it was: the first of Costello's many genre-hopping experiments. Not one for country purists, certainly, but a good introduction to country for fans of the artist - or, simply, just a good collection of songs.

**** for Sweet Dreams, Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down, Good Year for the Roses

*** for Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)?, Success, I'm Your Toy (AKA "Hot Burrito No. 1"), Brown to Blue, Sittin' and Thinkin', Color of the Blues, Too Far Gone, Honey Hush, How Much I've Lied

Plava Trava Zaborava "Country" 1985***

After presenting country-fied bands from Germany and Greece, I thought I'd do the same for probably the most surprising C&W album in my collection: Plava Trava Zaborava formed in 1982 in Zagreb (then part of The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, now Croatia). The band's name translates as "Blue Grass Oblivion", and they deal strictly in traditional country, mostly bluegrass. This is their 2nd LP, released in 1985 by the local (state-owned, of course) Jugoton label. Apparently, in a time when Ronald Reagan spoke of the Soviet Union as the "Evil Empire" and Eastern Europe supposedly lived behind an impenetrable Iron Curtain, the denizens of communist Yugoslavia got their kicks dressing like cowboys and lovingly recreating the "enemy's" music. Who knew? I don't know whether this was a trend in other Eastern European countries, but it certainly wasn't a unique occurence: during a recent visit in Prague I was surprised by the many old Czechoslovakian C&W records I found in used record bins. I'm not by any means a country music connoisseur, but there's no denying that Plava Trava Zaborava play with skill and gusto and generally sound to me like a legit country band. The instrumentation is just right for this genre, and includes lots of fiddle, as well as mandolin, banjo, dobro, and pedal steel guitar. With the exception of sprightly instrumental "Yugo Goes to Nashville", the rest of the songs are covers: each side starts with a traditional bluegrass tune (Bill Monroe's "I'm Ready to Go" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky") and closes with a John Denver cover ("Country Boy" and "Take Me Home Country Roads"). Inbetween we get covers from Johnny Cash and The Band, among others. The singers' English sound natural without the heavy foreign accents one might fear to come across. Eduard "Jimmy" Matesic takes lead on most of the songs, while a couple of them feature female lead vocals by Rajka Sutlovic. (Pedal steel guitarist) Davor and (banjo and bass player) Vladimir have one lead vocal each, while all of them harmonize nicely throughout. It's strange to associate these Slavic names with this kind of music, but that just proves what we all knew all along: that music is a universal language. Asians can rap, whites can play funk, blacks can play metal, and Slavs can play country and western, and it all sounds good as long as the music connects with something deep inside. I'll admit I only bought this LP as a curious addition to my collection, but it's actually a very enjoyable record within its genre. A solid C&W album, recorded in the Balkans at a time when Nashville was moving away from tradition and towards crass commercialism. How about that?

**** for Voila an American Dream, Thank God I'm a Country Girl, Take Me Home Country Roads

*** for I'm Ready to Go, Corina Corina, Cripple Creek, Country Boy, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Yugo Goes to Nashville, Evangeline, Shot Full of Love, I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train