With “Shadows and Fragments” Luca Burgalassi wants to bring his own original songs, all written and arranged by him, on tour, live, together with other blues and jazz traditionals. An amazing journey, almost completely “unplugged”, through the different areas, sounds and languages that have characterized the growth of twentieth century music: from the folk roots of the medieval ballads and Irish tunes, to American country music; from the plantation blues through the swing of the 20’s and the Jazz of the 40’s; from the 60’s beat, to acoustic rock of the 70’s’. A musical trip down history lane uniquely interpreted by Luca Burgalassi and his band.
“Luca’s songs are very well textured.. There is a newness to the blues songs. Some Pop worked in there with some Jazz.. Very nice… great job… nice voice” Johnny Max – Radio Blues Canada
“Shadows and Fragments”, released in 2015 by Videoradio Edizioni Musicali, contains ten original songs. The genre is a colorful mix of folk, country, blues, jazz, and rock influenced themes, all written and sung by Luca. The songs are in English, arranged and recorded with live acoustic instruments, including acoustic guitars and folk instruments, such as: dobro, banjo, mandolin, violin, cello, double-bass, accordion, drums and percussions.
“…“Shadows and Fragments” is a sort of passage through my life, from past to present. Many of the songs had been written years ago, and left, unfinished, on an old pad, until I decided to pick them up again, breathe new life into the words, rejuvenate old tracks, compose anew the shadows and fragments that have accompanied me through the years…”
“Shadows” and “Fragments” are also the first and last songs of the album. Followed by “Orange Rooms”, inspired by the life of Amedeo Modigliani, recounting the last days of his life in Paris and his relationship with Livorno; “Lord Randal”, an original version of a Traditional Scottish medieval ballad composed by Luca Burgalassi, guest starring the English singer Wendy Nieper (Swingle Singers); two acoustic blues numbers, “Highs and Lows” and “Starless Night Blues”; and the instrumental track, “34, Orange Road”, with finger-picking guitar in Open D tuning.
Album credits:
Luca Burgalassi:
Vocals, Backing Vocals, Acoustic 6 & 12-strings Guitars, Nylon Strings Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Electric Guitars, Slide Guitar, Resonator Guitar,Banjo, Mandolin, Harmonica,Percussions, Organ.
Ettore Fancelli: Drums, Percussion
Nino Pellegrini: Upright Bass
Stefano Lunardi: Violin
Franco Ceccanti: Cello
Luca Bellofiore: Accordion
Wendy Nieper: Vocals on Lord Randal
Giacomo Bertaccini: Bass on Shadows
Gianni Apicella: Drums on Orange Rooms
Lyrics:
SHADOWS
You can sit back and say
They’re enough to do this job
You can believe the world
Is taking care of you,
but when the roads you run
turn narrow and cold,
you must follow them alone.
I’ve heard so many words
telling me what to do
all the help from friends
teaching me what is true
but every time I tried to understand,
I find myself sitting with my head in my hands
In her eyes I see new light
growing step by step
Through her eyes I see a bright sky
I see a deep blue sea
Tonight the moonlight seems to call my name
she knows that I’m alone
I know that she is alone
Nobody knows, I trust,
the pathway of one’s life;
you see the moments changing, changing all the time;
the only thing you find as right and true
one day may fade away, too soon.
In her eyes I saw a new light
growing step by step
Through her eyes I saw a bright sky
I saw a deep blue sea
Tonight the moonlight seems to call my name
she knows that I’m alone
I know that she is alone
Dust and Rust
I feel like Iím on the corner of a street
Waiting for someone
I feel like at the end of a long dream
Afraid of the dawn
I am looking for a passage in the night
i’m still searching for a light
dust and rust is all I have
and nothing more at all
And I know and I think…. I believe that…..
Something must have gone wrong
What I dream, what I wonder, I hope
now I really don’t know
Iím already or just twenty two
How can I tell what is true?
Now that you, you’re going away, you too
I don’t even know what I’m loosing
but I know… and I think… I believe that…
Everything seems so wrong
And I dream… and I wonder…I hope
Now I really don’t know
Who am I?
What am I searching for?
Does anyone really care?
How much time? Tell me how long
will I be alone?
what I know…. what I think….. I believe that
Everything could go wrong
What I dream, what I wonder, I hope
I really don’t know
Dark Cherries and Wine
A dim light through the window’s curtain
on our blankets and pillows.
Outside the sparrows start singing at dawn
and sheís still breathing on me.
I can feel her skin on my skin
The odour of wine, the sounds of the night
The small room breathing with us
Whispered words under the stars
She was standing at the door
Tasting a glass of red wine.
Her glance up to the sky
that warm summer night.
Hard to tell her skin from my skin
Her odour from mine, the scent of the night
Her breath is my own but I know that soon
We will be too far
Lying on the cool sand
faint fishermen’s lights
Listening to the sea whisper
that quiet summer night
I know our candle is ceasing to burn
Iím still not ready to leave.
I’ll never let anyone
cancel these memories from me
Her breath over me, her skin on my skin
dark cherries and wine in the still of the night
That small room falling with us
Unspoken words sent to the stars
ORANGE ROOMS
Blow out the candle
lay down on our bed beside me
dream of a new life away from here
out of all these hells
A little bit more
just the last effort
then we can reach out for the green
Tuscan shore.
Goodbye Orange Rooms goodbye
La Rotonde, les boulevards, Aurevoir
goodbye Paris goodbye
Bittersweet, wandering nights
Jeanne je t’aime
are you afraid of loving me
Jeanne you are the shadow of this shadow
of a man
Mille neuf cent vingt
Janvier il pleut encore
tu dis you will stay forever
beside me
Goodbye Orange Rooms goodbye
La Rotonde, les boulevards, Aurevoir
Goodbye Paris, goodbye
Bittersweet, crazy nights
Away from my night obsessions
From all my hallucinations
Dans les boulevards
Jeanne ne pleurer pas
Goodbye Orange Rooms goodbye
La Rotonde, les boulevards, Aurevoir
say goodbye to Paris goodbye
to our bittersweet wandering nights
LORD RANDAL
“O where ha you been, Lord Randal, my son?
And where ha you been, my handsome young man?”
“I ha been at the greenwood; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m wearied wi hunting, and fain wad lie down.”
“An wha met ye there, Lord Randal, my son?
And wha met ye there, my handsome young man?”
“O I met wi my true-love; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m wearied wi huntin, and fain wad lie down.”
“And what did she give you, Lord Randal, my son?
And wha did she give you, my handsome young man?”
“Eels fried in a pan; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m wearied wi huntin, and fein wad lie down.”
“And what gat your leavins, Lord Randal my son?
And wha gat your leavins, my handsome young man?”
“My hawks and my hounds; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m wearied wi huntin, and fein wad lie down.”
“And what becam of them, Lord Randal, my son?
And what becam of them, my handsome young man?”
“They stretched their legs out and died; mother mak my bed soon,
For I’m wearied wi huntin, and fain wad lie down.”
“O I fear you are poisoned, Lord Randal, my son!
I fear you are poisoned, my handsome young man!”
“O yes, I am poisoned; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and fain wad lie down.”
“What d’ye leave to your mother, Lord Randal, my son?
What d’ye leave to your mother, my handsome young man?”
“Four and twenty milk kye; mother, make my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.”
“What d’ye leave to your sister, Lord Randal, my son?
What d’ye leave to your sister, my handsome young man?”
“My gold and my silver; mother mak my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, an I fain wad lie down.”
“What d’ye leave to your brother, Lord Randal, my son?
What d’ye leave to your brother, my handsome young man?”
“My houses and my lands; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.”
“What d’ye leave to your true-love, Lord Randal, my son?
What d’ye leave to your true-love, my handsome young man?”
“I leave her hell and fire; mother mak my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.”
HIGHS & LOWS
I play this tune for you
’cause you know
I’m in a funny kind’a mood.
When I woke up this morning
I was a bit hazed
’cause all the time I was thinking about you.
And I wrote down this song
without much thought to the words
I got this sweet blues playing inside’a me
I know that every morning, I’ll be satisfied
with my heart just beating for you
Suddenly I miss you
Just a minute seems to be too long for me to wait
Today I’ve got these blues
Hanging round inside’a me
And I know It’s gonna be alright
Itís a pretty strange, strange feeling
Turning my Highs to Lows
deep inside I feel fine
’cause when I wake up in the morning
I’m happy to think that
you could be dreaming of me
It’s funny I miss you
Just a minute seems way long for me to wait
Today I’ve got these Blues
Hanging on all day with me
but I know I’m going to be alright
Pay no heed if I feel a bit down
’cause every summer’s got its rainy days
The sun will shine soon
Really I miss you
Every moment seems to be too long for me to wait
Today I’ve got these Blues
spending all this time with me
but I sure I’m gonna be alright
STARLESS NIGHT
Only a friend of mine
you say, here by my side
Could I change your mind?
Please give me one last chance
Donít go away.
Would you stay with me…
without asking why…
just one more night
On this riverside
time quickly passes by
when you’re by my side.
Will this be our last dance,
Once you’ve gone away?
Give me a reason why you canít stay here
Just one more night
Night is falling and the city sleeps
Night brings silence, all over the streets
Dark clouds cover the sky
On this Starless Night
Night is falling and the city sleeps
Night is coming all over the streets
Dark clouds cover the sky
On this Starless Night
Now I realize
time no longer passes by
without you by my side.
Had I opened my soul,
Now you would be mine.
Would you come back to me?
help to brighten up
Such a starless night
SHIPWRECK
It seems like a dream
or some shadow of the past
It seems… what it seems…
Seems to be so far away
Now tracks are lost
they vanished soon
I can go on again
I feel like a ship
sailing in no sea
I feel… what I feel
I feel like everything is unreal
Yes, tracks are lost
They vanished fast
I must go on and on and on again
You are still not ready
And I don’t want to fall
I just need a place to go
I don’t want this space anymore
Nothing’s left to say
If your game remains the same
I feel like a ship
sailing in no sea
I feel… what I feel
I see that everything is so real
Yes, tracks are gone
They vanished soon
I will go on and on and on alone
You are still not ready
You’re scared to fall
I’ll find a place to go
I don’t want this cage anymore
Nothing’s left to say
If your game remains this game
FRAGMENTS
On my knees
trying
to pick up
the broken pieces from the ground
Since our
porcelain building
shattered on the floor
And every fragment
is a new wound
needing to be cured
And every fragment
Is just
A fragment to forget
And you?
Are you in front of the mirror,
frozen
criticized by your own image
pretending to defend yourself
when no oneís there attacking you?
Now I find
small pieces everywhere
at every step
I’m afraid to cut myself
Purity
Was equilibrium
And you knew
It could break down easily
To rebuild
Is not easy
Not as clear as before
Everything
anytime
May crumble down again
And you?
Are you inside the mirror
Still
criticizing your own image
and still attacking
who is no longer defending?