Hiding in Plain Sight

Listening Post 25. It’s not easy to hide two gems on a 14-track record, but Eros Ramazzotti’s latest album is so packed with enthralling songs that listeners can get distracted. Much reviewer praise has gone, fairly enough, to the country-tinged Alla Fine del Mondo (To the Ends of the Earth) and to the title track, a smooth-rock portrait of how ordinary details of the day become perfect in the reflection of new love. But consider those overlooked gems. Il Viaggio (The Journey) traces the greatest voyage, traversing an inner spiritual map; in his trademark nasal tenor, accompanied by piano and strings, Ramazzotti sings, “The truest journey I’ll ever take follows the path of the soul/I won’t get lost in the dark or believe in fairy tales” (video 1). In Tu Gelosia (Jealousy) he looks at a dark side of romance; wrapped in chords of guitar and country fiddle, jealousy becomes “an absurd frenzy pushing me into a vortex, making it hard to figure out what to believe” (video 2). As a teenager Ramazzotti was denied entry to a music conservatory; thirty years into his career, he has sold more than 60 million records and is the most popular Italian singer-songwriter of his generation. Once a hidden gem himself, tucking jewels into corners of his album may not be intentional, but it seems perfectly apt. (Universal Music Italia Srl)