The Best of Paolo Conte [East West] (1998)

About this title: This is a strange best-of. It features Paolo Conte's (the Italian Tom Waits and Serge Gainsbourg rolled into one) finest songs, but most of the tracks here are re-recorded versions of his RCA material and, to top it off, the disc is a remastered best-of, making the originals doubly absent. There is certainly charm in hearing the musically mature Conte sing "Elisir" once more, or "Sotte le Stelle del Jazz," or "Bartali," but there was something in those older versions, with their dime-store recording techniques, that somehow made them wilder and more untenable as recording industry product. ... read more

Tracks:

1. Via con Me [Conte]
2. Sotto le Stelle del Jazz [Conte]
3. Elisir [Conte]
4. Boogie [Conte]
5. Sparring Partner [Conte]
6. Come Di [Conte]
7. Azzurro [Conte]
8. Un Gelato al Limon [Conte]
9. Happy Feet [Conte]
10. Gli Impermeabili [Conte]
11. Max [Conte]
12. Gong-Oh [Conte]
13. Colleghi Trascurati [Conte]
14. Bartali [Conte]
15. Alle Prese con una Verde Milonga [Conte]
16. Dragon [Conte]
17. Hemingway [Conte]
18. Ho Ballato Di Tutto [Conte]
19. Quadrille [Conte]
20. Genova per Noi [Conte]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.