Author: Ciccone, Nicola

Release Date: 01-12-2008

Details: Amazon.ca Second album in the young career of author, composer and performer Nicola Ciccone, Noctambule turns out to be more rock and more contemporary than The Beggar's Opera, the first disc which had had an unexpected commercial success. Recorded partly in Los Angeles with director Rick Neigher (a regular in the world of John Mellencamp), Noctambule, however, plows the same furrows: Ciccone remains anchored in the concrete of the big city (Montreal, even if it is never named), enveloped in carbon monoxide and wisps of cigarettes and cannabis. It is in "Le blues de la 55" that the style of the Italian-Quebec singer is most effective: he discusses it with a bus driver and we hear, in the background, the characteristic noise of the opening doors at stops. Ciccone seems to carry all urban misery on his shoulders. On first listen, you may find it a little dark (the title of the album sets the tone) or even downright depressing. But here and there, more rhythmic melodies (as in “Bonsoir”) and a bit of humor lighten things up (“Mine is bigger, bigger than yours, It's the biggest in town, it's is the naughtiest…”, he brags in “Fireman”). If he ventures into reggae land (“Jama Song”), Ciccone continues above all on the road traced by The Beggar's Opera: with his enveloping voice, he sings without embellishment the daily life of ordinary people and the lost, their setbacks and their fleeting happiness. Take it or leave it. --Jean-Yves Girard

UPC: 064027452327

EAN: 0064027452327

Languages: English

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood