Elisir
Encyclopedia
Elisir is the ninth studio album by Italian
singer-songwriter
Alice
, released in late 1987 on EMI Music.
The album was recorded after the 1986/1987 European Park Hotel
concert tour and includes new interpretations of six songs from the singer's earlier repertoire as performed on the tour, as well as the previously unreleased "Nuvole" ("Clouds") and a cover version of John Lennon
and Paul McCartney
's "The Fool on the Hill
", released as the album's lead single. The Elisir was a commercial success in both Continental Europe
and Scandinavia
and was later awarded the prize Goldene Europa
for sales on the West German
market.
The track "Hispavox" was first released as "Rumba Rock" on the 1980 album Capo Nord
.
Elisir was released with a revised track list under the title Kusamakura in Japan in 1988, then also including tracks from 1986's Park Hotel
as well as the previously unreleased recording "Le scogliere di Dover".
Both "Il vento caldo dell'estate" and "I treni di Tozeur" were again re-recorded and included in the 2000 career retrospective Personal Jukebox
.
Side B
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Alice
Alice (Italian singer)
Alice , also known as Alice Visconti is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971...
, released in late 1987 on EMI Music.
The album was recorded after the 1986/1987 European Park Hotel
Park Hotel (Alice album)
Park Hotel is the eighth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in late 1986 on EMI Music.The album was recorded with a four-piece band consisting of Italian keyboardist Michele Fedrigotti plus three internationally acclaimed musicians: American bassist Tony Levin , American...
concert tour and includes new interpretations of six songs from the singer's earlier repertoire as performed on the tour, as well as the previously unreleased "Nuvole" ("Clouds") and a cover version of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's "The Fool on the Hill
The Fool on the Hill
"The Fool on the Hill" is a song by The Beatles. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and recorded in 1967...
", released as the album's lead single. The Elisir was a commercial success in both Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and was later awarded the prize Goldene Europa
Goldene Europa
The Goldene Europa award is the oldest German Television award for artists and entertainers. It was awarded from 1968 to 2003. In the years 1989 and 2001, there were no ceremonies...
for sales on the West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
market.
The track "Hispavox" was first released as "Rumba Rock" on the 1980 album Capo Nord
Capo Nord (Alice album)
Capo Nord is the third studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1980 on EMI Music.The album includes Alice's Italian breakthrough single "Il vento caldo dell'estate", her first collaboration with composer and singer Franco Battiato....
.
Elisir was released with a revised track list under the title Kusamakura in Japan in 1988, then also including tracks from 1986's Park Hotel
Park Hotel (Alice album)
Park Hotel is the eighth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in late 1986 on EMI Music.The album was recorded with a four-piece band consisting of Italian keyboardist Michele Fedrigotti plus three internationally acclaimed musicians: American bassist Tony Levin , American...
as well as the previously unreleased recording "Le scogliere di Dover".
Both "Il vento caldo dell'estate" and "I treni di Tozeur" were again re-recorded and included in the 2000 career retrospective Personal Jukebox
Personal Jukebox (Alice album)
Personal Jukebox is a compilation album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 2000 on WEA/Warner Music.In the Spring of 2000 Alice returned to the Sanremo music festival, nineteen years after the victory with "Per Elisa"...
.
Track listing
Side A- "Nuvole" (AliceAlice (Italian singer)Alice , also known as Alice Visconti is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971...
, Tuni, Francesco Messina) - 5:13- Previously unreleased recording.
- "Il vento caldo dell'estate" (1987 version) (Alice, Franco BattiatoFranco BattiatoFrancesco Battiato is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes...
, Giusto Pio) - 4:26- Original version appears on 1980 album Capo NordCapo Nord (Alice album)Capo Nord is the third studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1980 on EMI Music.The album includes Alice's Italian breakthrough single "Il vento caldo dell'estate", her first collaboration with composer and singer Franco Battiato....
.
- Original version appears on 1980 album Capo Nord
- "Notte a Roma" (1987 version) (Alice) - 4:14
- Original version appears on 1983 album Falsi allarmiFalsi AllarmiFalsi allarmi is the sixth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1983 on EMI Music.The album includes the single releases "Il profumo del silenzio", "Carthago", "Solo un'dea" and "Notte a Roma"....
.
- Original version appears on 1983 album Falsi allarmi
- "Hispavox" (Alice, Franco BattiatoFranco BattiatoFrancesco Battiato is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes...
, Giusto Pio) - 5:03- Original version entitled "Rumba Rock" appears on 1980 album Capo NordCapo Nord (Alice album)Capo Nord is the third studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1980 on EMI Music.The album includes Alice's Italian breakthrough single "Il vento caldo dell'estate", her first collaboration with composer and singer Franco Battiato....
.
- Original version entitled "Rumba Rock" appears on 1980 album Capo Nord
Side B
- "I treni di TozeurI Treni Di Tozeur"I treni di Tozeur" is an Italian song, written by Franco Battiato, Rosario Cosentino and Giusto Pio. It was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984, performed in Italian by Alice and Franco Battiato.In a studio version sung only by Battiato, the song was later to be included on his...
" (1987 solo version) (Franco Battiato, Saro Cosentino, Giusto Pio) - 4:23- Original duet version with Franco BattiatoFranco BattiatoFrancesco Battiato is an Italian singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym Süphan Barzani, also a painter. Battiato's songs contain esoteric, philosophical and religious themes...
released as single in 1984.
- Original duet version with Franco Battiato
- "The Fool on the HillThe Fool on the Hill"The Fool on the Hill" is a song by The Beatles. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and recorded in 1967...
" (John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
) - 3:32- Previously unreleased recording
- "Una notte speciale" (1987 version) (Alice, Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio) - 4:40
- Original version appears on 1981 album AliceAlice (Per Elisa)Alice is the fourth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1981 on EMI Music.The album includes Alice's winning entry in the 1981 Sanremo Music Festival, "Per Elisa", and the Alice album was released under that title in certain territories, then also with alternative cover art...
, also known as Per Elisa.
- Original version appears on 1981 album Alice
- "La mano" (1987 version) (Alice) - 5:42
- Original version appears on 1982 album AzimutAzimut (Alice album)Azimut is the fifth studio album by Italian singer-songwriter Alice, released in 1982 on EMI Music.Singles released from the album include "Messaggio" , "A cosa pensano" and "Chan-son Egocentrique" , the latter a duet with Franco Battiato. The track "Messaggio" was co-written by Battiato under one...
.
- Original version appears on 1982 album Azimut
Personnel
- AliceAlice (Italian singer)Alice , also known as Alice Visconti is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971...
- lead vocals, keyboard instrumentKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s - Curt Cress - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion instrumentPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
s - Filippo Destrieri - keyboards, computerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
and drum machineDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music... - Michele Fedrigotti - keyboards, KorgKorgis a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
digital pianoDigital pianoA digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
bass - Marco Guarnerio - acoustic and electric guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Francesco Messina - keyboard programming
- Marco Liverani - keyboards
Production
- Francesco Messina - record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, musical arranger - Marco Liverani - musical arranger
- Marco Guarniero - collaborator musical arrangements
- Michele Fedrigotti - musical supervisor
- Benedict Tobias Fenner - sound engineer
- Mixed by Benedict Tobias Fenner except "Notte a Roma" mixed by Marco Guarnerio
- Recorded and mixed at Logic Studio MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in September and October 1987 - CDG Milano - digital editing
- Mastered at Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Polystudio & EMI Creative Service - cover design
- Gik Piccardi - cover photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Gioi Ardessi - make-up
- Alessandro Paderni - tour photography