The third studio release by
Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters offers another generous serving of rock, soul, and pop covers, set to a rocksteady beat. Backed up by a relentlessly swinging band made up of seasoned pros ostensibly having a jolly good time together,
Palma pours and croons his obvious enthusiasm for the material over 17 tracks. Just as the
Bluebeaters approach remains the same, their taste remains equally eclectic, ranging from more or less expected choices such as
the Coasters,
Lord Creator, or
Stray Cats to
Kiss,
Peter Frampton,
Aztec Camera, 1980s Spanish pop combo
La Unión, or Italian romantic singer Iva Zannichi. For a band so steeped in retro revival, it seems only fitting that
Boogaloo's big hit turned out to be a cover of a cover,
Equipe 84's "Tutta Mia la Città," an Italian version of
the Move's "Blackberry Way."
Boogaloo also includes the first
Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters original to date, "The Marvin Boogaloo." Unsurprisingly, it aptly sums up what this album or any of the other
Bluebeaters albums are: a fun and faultless exercise in nostalgia. [Universal Italy's 2008 edition included two bonus tracks.] ~ Mariano Prunes