GOODMOOD (BEAT ELEGY)

What a pleasant surprise it was to edit my Barbaja bio for this! Who would have thought that after 41 years since his last Ariston album, we would have the chance to hear Mario return to music? Barbaja made the last of his four original albums in 1978 before focusing on a career in architecture and premium lighting design. Suddenly, in 2019, he returns to recorded music with an album of all-new material entitled Goodmood (Beat Elegy).

The "new" album finds Mario's voice and playing in great shape, his songwriting focused, a real feeling of relevance to the whole project. Gone are some of the artistic excesses of the 1970s in favor of a more straightforward singer-songwriter approach not unlike some of the latter-day works of artists like Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor, Neil Young, or Cat Stevens. The stripped-down production is so tastefully handled and very effective. Not sure how he did it, but there is a noticeable crispness to the sound of the acoustic guitars, a tactile 'pick to string' edge that makes it feel as if Mario is sitting across the coffee table from you. That along with the warm voice, mellowed somewhat by the years, create a finished product with a unique sound that stands out from other contemporary albums. When electric guitars are added in, they are even more effective in this environment due to the contrast with the acoustic sound. Most of the new songs are probably closest to folk-rock or acoustic bluesy-rock, but all of them are catchy as all hell. Barbaja knows how to craft a great hook and a chorus that will stick in your head long after you've finished listening.

As usual, not being an Italian speaker, I am missing the component of the lyrics which, in this case, I suspect are a big part of the experience with an older Mario musing about the road of life and looking to the future, of giving acknowledgement to some of his musical and cultural heroes. Given my own personal musical tastes, I definitely enjoyed my recent experience with New York Bazaar more than this one, as my review of that album probably made clear. Still, if you enjoyed Barbaja to any degree or if you enjoy the singer-songwriters I mentioned above, you're going to want to hear this welcome return to the world of music. I'm so pleased when artists of the '70s generation return with a work that sounds inspired rather than obligatory, and Mario pulled that off big time. This is truly a feather in the cap of the older material. Nicely done. Thank you for sharing those songs at your window, particularly "As Tears Go By." I hope you were able to sing around that campfire with your friends as you hoped. From an American fan....