Napoli Centrale - Campagna ( Countryside)

[umbertino]

 

 

Napoli Centrale (name  indicates  Naples' main train station) were formed in Naples in 1974 on the initiative of James Senese (sax, vocals....later he will play with Pino Daniele-RIP & others) and Franco Del Prete (drums) after their experience in another band called the Showmen 2. They joined forces with American keyboardist Mark Harris and British bassist Tony Walmsley and in 1975 released an eponymous debut album blending in an original way Mediterranean roots and jazz rock.

 

James Senese's father was an American soldier who had been working in the base of Naples and his mother was a Neapolitan girl, perhaps that's why the fusion between Afro-American music and Neapolitan folklore sounds so natural and authentic in the band's output.

 

Franco Del Prete-RIP (umb's note: one of the best Italian drummers) committed lyrics in Neapolitan dialect add a touch of colour contributing to express what's an almost a tribal rage. They perfectly fit the music composed by James Senese where you can find influences ranging from Weather Report and Miles Davis to Osanna (Italian Band)

 

That's the 1st band where Pino Daniele started his music career ( not in this album)...He'd play bass

 

All tracks below are from their 1st album "Napoli Centrale" 1975

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://songstranslation.com/napoli-centrale/campagna-b/

 

 

The opener "Campagna" (Countryside) begins softly with a short intro featuring shy flutes notes... Then the rhythm section starts pulsing while vocals describe in a caustic way how "beautiful" is the countryside.

 

Lyrics depict the miserable life of the farm labourers, exploited by their greedy employers... "Countryside / How beautiful is the country... But it is more beautiful for the landlord!".

 

The rhythm is full of energy and James Senese's draws fiery sax passages under a midday sun. This track was released also as a single and was quite successful in Italy. An absolutely unexpected result for such kind of song!

[umbertino]

 

 

People from Bucciano

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/gente-e-bucciano-people-bucciano.html

 

 

 

" 'A gente 'e Bucciano" (The people from Bucciano) is a long track featuring jazz and funky influences and obstinate drum patterns. Bucciano is a village in the province of Caserta and the song is about the workers that had to emigrate from the countryside of South Italy to the industrial cities of the North.

 

"Hunger is stronger than the love for the countryside... And now the people of Bucciano live in the North and work in the factories / Where they throw away blood and health...Why? Why? Why?". Well, the answer is rather venomous and caustic... "Because the Pope is not the King!"

 

[umbertino]

 

 

Old women, wives, dead and little children

 

 

 

 

 

The evocative "Viecchie, mugliere, muorte e criaturi" (Old women, wives, dead and little children) is another excellent long track dealing with the issue of emigration (Southern Italians moving up North to get jobs......in the 60's, 70's esp..... but also in the following decades).

 

Music and lyrics depict a village where all the men are gone to work elsewhere, far away.

 

What's left is a desolated place where you can't find no one but old women, wives, dead, little children, crippled men or skinny and hungry dogs. The atmosphere is dark and the rhythm almost hypnotic but the result is intense and dramatic

 

 

 

 

Translation

 

The old farm laborer doesn’t take on the adventure, He was born in the country and there he wants to die In addition, he has the country in his blood, despite the country made us suffer and die [lit. made us throw the blood out of our veins]

 

But the youngsters move... Go work in a factory In the small towns only old ladies, wives, dead people and kids, the stupid guy, the crippled men, the wild dog with the ribs pronounced stay But the youngsters move Go work in a factory The newlywed leaves his wife leaves his wife and emigrates to Northern Italy He goes there, he goes there He goes work in a factory

 

In the night, on the doorstep of the grass widows, You can hear sigh and cry But you stranger, maybe you don’t know how strong these people is attached to the country And, if they could have a piece of land and they could make a living out of it, Be sure, they would stay, They would stay in the country, happy to hoe the soil

[umbertino]

 

 

Great track ...One of the best on album

 

Instrumental

 

Title is a street address

 

 

 

 

 

 

The instrumental "Vico Primo Parise n. 8"  is lighter. It features a powerful jazz rock veined of funky where keyboards and sax perfectly interact with the rhythm section.

 

Vocals here are used as an instrument adding touches of color all along the way.

 

According to some sources, the title is the address of the house where Napoli Centrale's leader James Senese (umb's note: whom I saw playing with Pino Daniele in a 1981 show) was born, in the district of Miano (not to be confused w Milano-Milan) in Naples

 

 

 

Just for the record: Most FIAT auto workers in Torino (Turin...deep North-West) were southern Italians