Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Intriguing and theatrical Italian album from Faith No More man
Trust mad musical scientist Mike Patton to come up with something unhinged, romantic and fruity all in one. His latest musical outing is more like a soundtrack or score to an extravagant cabaret or theatre show than simply an album. Recorded a few years ago, with a 30-piece plus orchestra, Mondo Cane is made up of versions of 1950s and 1960s Italian pop songs as well as a sweeping and swooning version of soundtrack maestro Ennio Morricone's Deep Down.
The infatuation with Italy is not some random experiment; he was married to Italian artist Titi Zuccatosta until 2001, owned a home in Bologna, speaks fluent Italian, and has worked with Italian sax-metal act Zu.
Patton's output is exhaustive - he's probably one of the most prolific musicians around - so there are both hits and misses. But Mondo Cane, as with many of his musical projects, be it the manic brutality of Fantomas, or the obscure Kaada vs. Patton experimentations, falls into the acquired taste category. So it's for Patton devotees, and those twisted individuals keen to give their vast and sick musical minds more of a workout. And it's thrilling and dramatic as it sprawls between the dark and amorous acoustic serenade of Scalinatella, the husky jazz folk of 20Km Al Giorno, the flouncy and brassy Ti Offro Da Bere, through to the rowdy cabaret metal of Urlo Negro.
Patton's musical theatre is well worth a visit.
