Oro Incenso & Birra

Oro Incenso & Birra (Gold, Frankincense & Beer) is the fifth studio album released by the Italian singer-songwriter Zucchero Fornaciari on 13 June 1989. As with his previous album Blue's, the album is credited to "Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari". Its title represents a pun on "oro incenso e mirra", the Italian for "gold, frankincense and myrrh", with mirra being replaced by birra, meaning beer.[3]

Oro Incenso & Birra
Studio album by
Zucchero
Released13 June 1989
RecordedJanuary - March 1989
StudioReal World Studios (Bath, England)
Ardent Studios (Memphis, USA)
The Power Station (New York)
Umbi Medicina Blanche Studio (Modena, Italy)
GenreRock, Blues[1]
Length42:16[2]
LabelPolydor
ProducerCorrado Rustici
Zucchero chronology
Snack Bar Budapest
(1988)		 Oro Incenso & Birra
(1989)		 Zucchero
(1991)

It has sold an estimated 1.84 million copies in Italy and 2.5 million copies in Europe up to 1995,[4][5][6] becoming the best-selling album internationally by an Italian until it was overtaken by Andrea Bocelli's album Romanza in 1997. As of 2015 it has reported sales of over 8 million copies.[7] Rolling Stone Italia included the album in its list of "the 100 best Italian music albums of all time".[8]

Composition

This was the last Zucchero album to be sung entirely in Italian: subsequent albums have been released in international versions with English lyrics on some tracks. The guitar solo in "A Wonderful World" was written and performed by Eric Clapton, a close friend of Zucchero's.[1]

The Italian singer-songwriter Francesco de Gregori wrote the lyrics for the song "Diamante", one of Zucchero's biggest hits to date. On the album credits "Diamante" is dedicated to Diamante Arduini Fornaciari, Zucchero's grandmother. The song was included in the Baywatch episode "Tequila Bay" in Season 3.

The song "Libera L'Amore" was composed by Ennio Morricone.[1]

The album also features guest performances by Clarence Clemons, Rufus Thomas, James Taylor and Jimmy Smith.[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Zucchero Fornaciari, except where indicated[1]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Overdose (d'Amore)" 5:21
2."Nice (Nietzsche) Che Dice" 3:19
3."Il Mare Impetuoso al Tramonto Salì sulla Luna e Dietro una Tendina di Stelle..." 3:56
4."Madre Dolcissima" 7:17
5."Diavolo in Me" 4:03
6."Iruben Me" 5:49
7."A Wonderful World" 4:33
8."Diamante"music: Zucchero Fornaciari; lyrics: Francesco de Gregori5:44
9."Libera l'Amore"music: Ennio Morricone; lyrics: Zucchero Fornaciari2:13
Total length:42:16

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[9]

Band

Additional musicians

  • Amelia Monari – "Nonna" on "Diamante"
  • Ardent Gospel Choir – vocals on "Madre Dolcissima", "Diamante"
  • Arthur Miles – backing vocals on "Nice (Nietzsche) Che Dice", sermon on "Diavolo in Me"
  • Clarence Clemons – saxophone on "Il Mare Impetuoso..."
  • Ennio Morricone – music and arrangement on "Libera l'Amore"
  • Eric Clapton – guitar on "A Wonderful World"
  • Fanta Toure – Swahili choir on "Il Mare Impetuoso..."
  • James Taylor – Hammond organ on "Nice (Nietzsche) Che Dice", "Il Mare Impetuoso..."
  • James Thompson – backing vocals on "Nice (Nietzsche) Che Dice"
  • Jay Blackfoot – vocals on "Madre Dolcissima"
  • Jimmy Smith – Hammond organ on "Overdose (d'Amore)"
  • Lisa Hunt – backing vocals on "Overdose (d'Amore)" and "Diavolo in Me"; backing vocals and solo in "Madre Dolcissima"
  • The Memphis Horns (Wayne Jackson – trumpet, trombone; Andrew Love – saxophone) on "Overdose (d'Amore)", "Madre Dolcissima", "Diavolo in Me"
  • Mory Thioune – Swahili choir on "Il Mare Impetuoso..."
  • Rosario Jermano – percussion on "Overdose (d'Amore)", "Il Mare Impetuoso...", "Madre Dolcissima", "Diavolo in Me", "Iruben Me", "A Wonderful World"
  • Ruby Wilson – vocals on "Madre Dolcissima"
  • Rufus Thomas – vocal introduction on "Overdose (d'Amore)"
  • Simone Pirone – backing vocals on "Overdose (d'Amore)", "Madre Dolcissima", "Diavolo in Me", "Il Mare Impetuoso..."
  • Il Coro delle Voci della Chiesa Avventista del Settimo Giorno – vocals on "Il Mare Impetuoso..."

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[10] Gold 25,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari* – Oro Incenso & Birra". Discogs. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  2. "Oro Incenso & Birra". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  3. Wiser, Danny (14 February 2021). "ITALY: Oro Incenso & Birra - Zucchero Fornaciari". 200worldalbums.com. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  4. Daniela Borghi (12 May 1995). "E' Claudio Baglioni il Jackson italiano". La Stampa (in Italian). p. 64. Retrieved 7 March 2016. Secondo l'autorevole mensile Musica e dischi, in testa c'è Zucchero con «Oro incenso & birra» dell'89: pare abbia venduto 1 milione e 300 mila in patria, macinando due milioni e mezzo di copie in Europa.
  5. "Musica: Consegnati A Zucchero 7 Dischi Di Platino" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 11 January 1996. Retrieved 1 December 2011. record personale, raggiunto con 'Oro, incenso e birra' col quale era stato premiato con 8 dischi di platino
  6. Luis (29 January 2015). "I dieci album italiani più venduti di sempre". FanCity Acireale. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  7. "Zucchero Celebra Con Radio Italia I 26 Anni Di "Oro, Incenso & Birra"" (in Italian). Radio Italia. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016. il sesto album di Zucchero uscito nel 1989 che ha venduto più di 8 milioni di copie in tutto il mondo
  8. Bilbo (6 February 2012). "I 100 dischi Italiani più belli di sempre secondo Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  9. Oro Incenso & Birra (booklet). Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari. Polydor. 1989. 839 539-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. "Italian single certifications – Zucchero – Oro Incenso & Birra" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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