Zizi Possi - Per Amore (1997)

The singer Zizi Possi lent her sensitive voice to innocuous pop hits in the '80s, but in 1991 she took a radical turn in her career after the acoustic Sobre Todas as Coisas. Since then, she has pursued a sincere trajectory in the best MPB tradition. This album, erroneously taken as a diversion maneuver in relation to Brazilian music, is a sensitive (if somewhat exaggerated) rendition of Neapolitan songs in a very Brazilian execution which in nothing detracts from MPB -- an umbrella designation that has allowed the industry to label even rock music with English lyrics (Gal Costa, Vímana, etc). Even the style of her over-interpretation, reminiscent of Bel Canto (in spite of her being a self-taught, and to some extent, limited singer), was heavily applauded in Brazil until bossa nova. By the way, "Senza Fine" is interpreted in bossa rhythm. The album, a tribute to her Italian parents, is dedicated to older classics but also features the 1970 song "Ho Capito Que Ti Amo." The excesses here are the programmed computers in "Scapricciatiello Mio" (Albano/Vento) and "Torero" (Carosone/Hoffman/Manning/Salerno).