...Balla! cover

...Balla!

Released

Although burdened by a pair of slightly odd retro rock and roll tracks that jar with the rest of the album, most of this 1981 set from Italian singer Pino D’Angio is excellently sleazy plastic disco. D’Angiò opts to rap rather than sing which straight away sets it apart from most other Italo disco and it’s mostly played on traditional instruments with just a smattering of Polymoog and ARP Solina synth work. Overall the mood is sultry disco but there’s a stark contrast between the slightly mawkish female vocals and D’Angiò’s low muttering raps which lends a faint air of unease to the proceedings, as though beneath the shiny, cheery surface something darker lurks. Features million seller Ma Quale Idea which rips the bassline from McFadden & Whitehead’s Aint No Stopping Us Now with aplomb.

Harold Heath

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